Dont say i told you so

Right folks i decided to fulfill one of my dreams this exact day a year ago and bought a mk1 golf cab went all the way to scotland for it from leeds unfortunatley the bottom end went on the return journey which didnt really faze me as  i had a year to wait before getting my liscence bk so in the next year i replaced the engine and had the head gasket replaced wi the new one as well as new belt and clutch anyway got my liscence bk last friday moted and insured yesterday and taxed it today so today was the first time i actually drove my pride and joy and to my dismay the car is seriously overheating it was only a 20 minute round trip with a 5 min stop in between to power wash it lol when i got bk the temp gauge was 3/4 full and the water tank was bubbling really not looking forward to telling the missus just to get greeted with I TOLD YOU SO any ideas on what the problem is

Might just be an air lock in the cooling system.

Check if rad fan is kicking in all so check coolant mix is right and maybe pop the thermostat out and make sure its not goosed.

All of the above and who did the head gasket? was the head tested on the new one? Unless it's blowing white smoke out the back I would say a possible air lock. Drain what you have and start from scratch remembering to open the heat controls to full hot and leave the cap off the header tank untill it gets up to temp. this should avoid airlocks. I tend to also as it is warmiing up squeeze all the hoses just to be sure.

Cheers folks appreciated muchley local garage did engine swap and gasket for me will check all of the above out asap cheers

I've had overheating problems (see my previous post) http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=118891&highlight= over the past few months and ended up fitting new temp sensors (all), thermostat, expansion cap radiator and water pump. Also had expansion tank gas and pressure tested which still didn't resolve the problem 8O Anyway went to another mechanic and he adjusted the dizzy cap which released the build up of pressure which was making my car overheat. He ended up resetting the timing (it was 2 teeth out) and overheating as been resolved. I would have never of guessed the timing could do this.
 8)  8)

cheers if all else fails will try this