"TAG" - 1983 Campaign restoration blog

I thought I would share with you some pics of my restoration.Story so far……..Learnt to drive in Mk1 1100's - could never afford a GTi!  Decided last year to take on a new project so chose to find a good GTi "Campaign".  Found a good example in Dublin (!) which meant a 24hr round trip to collect involving flying from Bristol>Dublin - bus across Dublin - collected car - drove to Rosslare - ferry to Fishguard - drive home to Chepstow near Bristol!  Epic day and thoroughly exhausting.  Considering I had bought the car unseen I was hugely lucky and a minor miracle it got me home safely!  Very next day it needed a UK MOT so that I could register the car here.  Failed due to a list of items - all quickly sorted.Drove the car on and off but one day it "died" due to fuel issues.  That was the moment I decided to take it off the road and restore…………



 

 

First job was to tackle the rear end to get the fuel tank and associated pipes/pump/filler neck off and inspect/clean.  The underside was covered in a VERY thick layer of black Shutz - who knows what that was hiding………

Looks like you've got yourself a cracking GTI there, well done mate!  

Started scraping…………………..

Time to remove the axle and tank…….

I did some electro-plating on nuts and bolts - replaced those to bad to re-use…..

The axle was wire bushed/cleaned - then POR15 degreaser, metal prep, 2x coats POR 15, topcoated with black "hardcote" spray.   Drums were treated with Bilt Hamber Deox, then high temp paint - baked in oven (I was popular!).

New wheel bearings, wheel cylinders, drum fittings, anti roll bar bushes/clamps

.

Looking good, touch of Déjà vu for me!

P.S. Buy yourself a cheap second hand in built oven put it on a bench in the garage.

I also find the dishwasher useful fro a deep clean, I get a few comments with that.

I have thought of the oven - but what about the power supply required??????? more than just 13A 3 pin plug required.

Many simple single ovens can be powered by a 13 amp plug.

I had two of them before I got rid on them years ago.

Still sell them brand new. Just had a look at ebay.

What other parts did you use the oven for???

Thanks for the link, nice looking car and a nice find! It made me laugh to read your comment about the oven baking, I painted my rocker cover and timing belt cover at the weekend and baked them in the oven which didn't impress my wife too much either!What was the fueling issue? Was it the dreaded filler neck rust?

Saulty, no the neck appears very sound.  The car cut out a few times on a journey - eventually not wanting to start again.  Very strong spark so I am sure it is fuel starvation.  I thought probably "muck" in the tank but that looks good - probably the fuel filter.  I am going right through the fuel system to make sure.

Compressed air supply, is required to blow the lines out backwards, i.e. from engine to tank.

Use a Magnet on a flexible to removed any debris from the tank.

The fuel filler might have been replaced previously and the system not cleared out.

Compressed air supply, is required to blow the lines out backwards, i.e. from engine to tank, pump, filter, etc.

Use a Magnet on a flexible to remove any debris from the tank.

The fuel filler might have been replaced previously and the system not cleared out.

Agreed Malcolm.  Looking at the receipts over the years there are plenty of "fuel related" issues including a new set of injectors.  I am certain the pipe is a replacement but the rest of the system has not been thoroughly cleaned.  Do you any photos of the gravity fuel valve, high up in the rear wing over the fuel filler???  As mentioned mine was "stuck" to the wing due to the bracket rusting away!

I does sound possibly like you have the same issues that I had. I bought mine as a none runner, the previous owner bought it in December 2008 with a slight misfire. He never fixed it and parked it in his parents garage, where it stayed until I bought it in January this year! I believe the filler neck had rotted and been replaced but not cleaned through! Water was left in the tank which then rusted the tank from the inside and rusty particles and water had been pumped through the fuel system. This had caused the fuel pump to fail and blocked up the fuel distributor. I cleaned my lines out with carb cleaner and then blew them out with an airline and I did it several times to be sure and this included all the braided lines from the FD. I also blew out the WUR and the FD and I had 2 failed injectors. I ended up replacing all four and the FD. I also fitted a new fuel filter before I started up the first time and then fitted another new one when I fitted the new FD. I made a pressure testing kit from bits I bought off eBay and used baby bottles to do quantative tests. It was like opening a can of worms, and I went through the whole system and annoyed my neighbours with the constant starting and revving and the fumes were blowing into their garden !
Good luck.

I forgot to mention, I fitted a new tank as well. It was a GTI tank from VWH and so far I don't seem to have fuel starvation issues when cornering. I filled up on Saturday and it took over 36 litres so I must have been very low!

Apart from the finished photos on page 4 of my project, I only have this from Etka.

You can work it out and see how it all goes together. The issue is that this area gets wet and traps muck.

When I did mine, item 23 was corroded badly, you might be able to recover item 22. And fabricate a new bracket.

I was able to purchase a new gravity valve mounting (13A) from VW, basically a polystyrene type moulding. This could be fabricated out of something similar if unavailable. Your Gravity valve (40) probably just needs a clean and test. Turn it upside down to see that the valve works.

I replaced my attachment nut and bolt with plastic number plate nut and bolt, with a large load spreader washer to keep it all in place.

cdgthreesalmons said

Agreed Malcolm.  Looking at the receipts over the years there are plenty of "fuel related" issues including a new set of injectors.  I am certain the pipe is a replacement but the rest of the system has not been thoroughly cleaned.  Do you any photos of the gravity fuel valve, high up in the rear wing over the fuel filler???  As mentioned mine was "stuck" to the wing due to the bracket rusting away!

New standard spec rear axle bushes fitted.  As recommended I warmed the bushes in boiling water for a few minutes to soften, then used plenty of silicone lube.  Using a large bench vise it was surprisingly easy to do !