1980 Series 1 GTi Silver

Thought I would start a thread on here with some pics of my car….


After it being on the drive for 2 years whilst I spent my time hunting nos parts it is now in at the body shop for some real progress.

Since being in at the body shop I have stripped it of all interior bits and the engine bay is completely empty.


I had the job of removing the sound deadening from the floor…it came off really easily with a plumbers torch and a paint scraper…the floor plans were revealed to be still covered in factory primer and in perfect condition!

This car may look like a bit of a rotten apple but in fact I think for a series 1 it is very good, the carpets had never been removed before…

Some of the parts collected for it are:

*Pair of nos genuine doors

*Nos genuine boot lid

*Nos Genuine bonnet

*Nos genuine small metal bumpers + end caps

Pics of car;

Photos of the bad bits…











The fuel filler area is good though….

Cleaning up my photo bucket account and found some old pics of when it was a complete car…





I do miss the 13" BBS Mahle wheels   ….but these would be no good as with b18c power I need some decent brakes.




Edit:  the wheels weren't actually bbs mahle but infact were compomotives… looked very similar and had the same technical spec.

The car is having a full body restoration.
The interior will be restored to original spec.

These will be the wheels…

bbs 14x6 ra's

Nothing special but I like them and think they'll be perfect for the car

The engine unfortunately will not be original nor will it be VW….

I would have liked a oetteinger 1.6 16v setup but they're not around every corner.

I may get shot down for this but hey ho… here's a clue as to what will be powering the car.

Here are the clocks, they're a work in progress (the dials need spacing and some simple brackets made up).

But these "non vw" dials are the perfect size for the series 1 dash pods.



Sorry for the thread being a bit vague but I will post some real progress pics soon when the bodywork starts.

Looking forward to seeing this progress, have one myself but in red and in much worse state (don't even know if the thing runs yet)

Rich

I remember going to look at a very similar car and turning it down due to the amount of work involved. Subsequently, I bought a car that needed even more work, but looked better at first glance as it had fresh paint!
I love early Silver GTI's. I think they are my favourite.

Why are you opting for that motor?

benandemu said

I remember going to look at a very similar car and turning it down due to the amount of work involved. Subsequently, I bought a car that needed even more work, but looked better at first glance as it had fresh paint!
I love early Silver GTI's. I think they are my favourite.

Why are you opting for that motor?

Yeah fresh paint can deceive!

As for the choice of motor, well it's simple really.

I am having the car restored because I just love the early mk1's and I intend to use the car as much as possible..the car is being built to be enjoyed. Where it is important original parts have been sourced at great expense.

As for engine performance well…you can't really argue with 10k revs, 200bhp+ and a lsd transmission…oh and also 30-40mpg and reliability to boot.

The engine is a honda b18c6 1.8 16v type r motor and will have a few special goodies, lovely engines!

I know people won't like it because it's a vw and the engine is honda.

The way I see it is, when these cars are really really sparse in say 15 years time? what is better….a car with a rotten body and an original engine or a car with a decent body and a honda engine.

Here's a pic of what's going in….

if you can pull it off then hats off to you
i have a civic its not a b18 but wish it was
supercharge that beast!!!!

8O  8)  8)  8)  8)  8)  8)  8)  8)  8)

Living my mk1 vtec dreams, good luck with it!

Well it's gone from this:











To this:…the result of 2 days with a zip wheel































It's almost been completely stripped but not quite…




Really pleased as some good progress is finally being made!

Some more progress has been made, the car is almost ready for blasting (just got to have the sills partially cut out so any bad areas inside can be done).

Once it's back from blasting sills and rear arches will be the first bits to get done.

Front panel has been chopped out….slam panel assembly will be kept as it's 79-80 specific and nla….the rest of it has gone in the bin..







Various little brackets have been removed ready for smoothing!…..not….real reason is most wiring and plumbing is going to be routed differently with the honda setup.



Engine / gearbox mounts are gone…no more vag engines for me!

Here's some pics post media blasting.

I am really pleased with the condition of the shell and cannot wait for the welding to start!

Sides:











Underside:















Inside:







Rear beam mounting points..only got a pic of one side but they're both like this.(been patched in the past):



Passenger side rear inner sill / side support panel:



Engine bay:



Inner sill (both inner sills are in brilliant condition:




First job to be done will be sills, rear arches & beam mounts.

Some more progress…

Rear axle mounting points have gone from:



To this:









Basically all the rubbish / crappy repair patches done over the years have been removed so the areas around the axle mounting points and some of the inner sill panels can be cleaned up and repaired properly.

Doesn't look like massive progress but all the boring detail under the surface has to be done properly…real impressive progress will be apparent when the rear arches / sills go on.

Some more progress…













Same is about to happen to the other side…

Passenger side sill and arch;





















Drivers side sill and arch;

Cracking thread mate, and it's your car dude, you do what you want to it……. If I ever have to replace my engine, yes it would a 16s engine, but as you say not readily available…. Second to that…. Probably a Honda s2000 engine….. Yes please!!!

Good luck with it… By the way, quality welding…..!

hysteric said

Cracking thread mate, and it's your car dude, you do what you want to it……. If I ever have to replace my engine, yes it would a 16s engine, but as you say not readily available…. Second to that…. Probably a Honda s2000 engine….. Yes please!!!

Good luck with it… By the way, quality welding…..!

Cheers buddy  

S2000 engine mmmmmmmm…..s2000 engine + bmw 2002 touring = my dream haha.

The rear end is now on the car

Hopefully bodywork should be finished and engine will be in by xmas.


Rear end now on….














Rear wheel well repair…

Clutch cable hole was rusted through but the damaged metal has been cut out and the hole has been filled.



There will be no more clutch cable as I will be running the integras hydraulic clutch off and autocavan style pedal box


Few pics of what is being tackled next;