1983 Mars Red Gti

In a moment of madness ( and a few beers) i purchased a Mk1 gti on ebay.

The car has bee stripped to almost a bare shell and came with some new parts.



The shell is fairly solid but major problem with rust around the sunroof.







Easiest option was to cut it out, going to make a new panel and weld in.

Other areas to repair are sills, front corners and rear wheel arches.







My plan is a full restoration with some minor upgrades, suspension, brakes, stage 2 motor, trying to keep it as i would if id bought it in the eighties.

 

Sunroof rust cut out, should i attempt to refit a sunroof or just blank off, i'm not bothered about the sunroof but a few people have said if it had on originally i should keep it.

Few more pictures





I will try and keep the thread up to date, once i start a project i can become a little obsessive so i expect good progress.
 

Welcome!
Great looking project mate.
Keep the pics coming.
Flipping heck, who ever fitted the sunroof forgot about rust protection!
I believe that is really hard to get a straight roof welding a panel in. I have seen open air sun roofs fitted or the roof re-skinned.
Keep the pics coming!

Apart from the roof  the shell look really good. Ideally it needs replacing and most say you need to reskin it. Someones just posted a thread about completing the exercise with a Jetta, (same roof as Golf).

Were the engine and seats stored in a swamp?

That's an aftermarket sunroof as they came with a steel sunroof from factory.
Most people now a days don't want those 80s glass pop up sunroofs.

Looks pretty good apart from sunroof hole,  as already stated not original and needs to go.  I am in a similiar situation, dont really want to replace the whole roof, think i may try to weld in a piece of steel although it will probably distort to hell, will do it very slowly to avoid heat build up..

That answers my question on the sunroof, if it was the metal sliding roof i would definately save

I have made a cardboard template, going to make a panel 10mm over size and roll slightly to match the roof curve. the joggle a flange around the edge, punch some 5mm holes and spot weld in place. The rest of the roof and gutters are spot on so want to keep as much of the original as possible.

Then need a plan to keep it cool whilst welding, I work with liquid nitrogen so might hatch an over the top plan !!!



I have just noticed that the car is fitted with electric windows, looks like they have been in a long time as the electrics are aged like the car, they are after market made by electric life, might plan to keep them if they are a period kit.

My Cabrio (E-reg '87) has 3rd party dealer fit elecy windows. They still just about work very slowly. When I 1st got the car @13 years ago I removed interior panels and oiled everything to great effect, might have to do it again. If I remember correctly some old paper work shows £400 to fit them along with central locking (which doesnt work). In todays money that would @£1,000+?

Not a panel beating expert but think the problem with welding in a sheet is not only the initial distortion but what you use to fill the inevitable gaps. Compared to modern cars the MK1 shell is a bit torsionally jelly wobbly and the roof will flex, just push roof in the middle with your thumb and watch the deflection. Any normal filler would crack? Lead loading?

Thanks for the info on the windows, I will try an preserve them if they work.

Started on the engine today, cleaned and removed gearbox ready to start pulling apart, gearbox will go to a specialist for a re-furb.

Plan for the engine is:

2.5mm oversize forged pistons with steel rods
Ported head
higher lift cam, undecided on fast road or a bit more aggressive
Audi throttle body
custom manifold and exhaust

Whist the block is being re-bored they will grind the crank.

I am aiming for 150 HP, is that a reasonable expectation with these upgrades ?

Looking forward to watching this rebuild. Strong start for sure, looks like lots of work to do.

Engine stripped today.













Pistons and Con-Rods ordered
Gearbox delivered to specialist
Engine block and crank booked in for next week, company will supply gaskets, bearings etc.
Head will be delivered to CNC Heads on Friday

Would like to have the engine built back up in three weeks.

Also stripped rear axle and front hubs for blasting and powder coating.

Booked car into paint shop 1st July !!!!!!!!!!

Parts ordered today:

2 x outer sills
front lower panel
rear lower panel
New front wings door skin, rear arch repair panels, bonnet and hatch came with the car.

Also ordered:
Eibach suspension kit
rear drums, shoes and cylinders
front disks and calipers (Mk2 16v)
wheel bearings
steering rack
drive shafts
clutch kit
Master cylinder (Mk2 16v)

I ordered the 16v brakes before doing my research, managed to buy one Audi 80 caliper bracket so looking for another. Same breaker had a throttle body so bought that too.
 

As a 'panel beater' for 50 years, I'm interested in how the roof repair goes ,

good luck with that one….

and good decision to do away with the nasty aftermarket one -
 I was fitting those in brand new VW cars in 1980's, when I worked for a Vw dealership, and I always hated them…

If I'm honest I'm not confident with the roof, I expected to be able to get a new skin but they are no longer available.

Plan B is a carbon fibre skin which i can bond in but comes at a high price.

Throttle body arrived today, can anybody confirm that i have the correct one, I assume that i can remove the switches.

Gaz343 said

.

Plan B is a carbon fibre skin which i can bond in but comes at a high price.

£640 I believe which i dont think is too bad compared to a bonnet or door etc, suppose its just a single skin..

If I had to do the job,
I would choose a complete second hand roof and join through the pillars, or a bonded carbon fibre skin.

Of the two I’d go with the carbon fibre skin.

I really don’t think it’s patchable…


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There is a roof on eBay that looks good. Friend did one and rather than cutting the gutters it was cut before the gutters and bonded on as bmw (and most others) now do. Still welded at the rear and front though. Absolutely no way you'd tell it had been done