MK1 83 GL 1.5 Cabriolet

Hi All,

So I've decided to start a thread to help me keep track of progress on my recently acquired 1983 MK1 Golf GL 1.5 Cabriolet. I got her on a whim as part of a swap deal so don't know much about them apart from the retro coolness they have so I'm looking forward to getting involved.




Exterior
So to start with shes recently been restored bodywork wise and under sealed however there has been a wee bump on the driver front wing causing a bad scuff to the metal on the wing, scuffed bumper, crack on the light lense and the plastic surround, also a small seam crack underneath as well. There also seems to be a misalignment of the bonnet to the wings as one side has more gap than the other which I need to work out.





Another issue noticed is the wheels seem to be out of alignment, there is 15 " Passat wheels on there I think and the front driver one seems to stick out more than the passenger front, any ideas what could be causing it?



Interior
The interior isn't the best, front seats are ripped and need redone, the roof inside headliner needs a good clean and what looks like old mildew marks removed and also fitted more securely and some rips at the seam sorted. dash has some cracks with a centre section that I don't think came with the car originally. I'm also missing a rear view mirror and have a wee suction cup one that keeps falling off    Anyway in true mod fashion I've already dug out a cheap set of seat covers I got from Argos years ago to protect a previous cars seats from the dogs paws. Think they'll do for now 









Engine
Now the Engine, it's a 1.5 4 speed with auto choke. Issue is it's idling high which doesn't help with noise as it's got an aftermarket exhaust on it so it's bloody loud. I think it may just need accelerator pedal adjustment so looking for a guide on how to do this. The clutch biting point is also really high, hoping it's not a worn clutch. Is there any adjustment I can try to see if I can improve it? It also has a wee manual switch for the engine fan so will need to see how I can sort that and get rid of the switch.




Future Plans:

Initially I want to sort all of the issues then will look to lower on coilovers and get new BBS Style split rim alloys and just enjoy her to start with.
I'm torn between restoring as much originality or modernising the inside with upgraded seats, more modern tech etc so will ponder over it as I go along

Anyway, it will be a long process due to Kids and finance etc though I'll update as much as I can as a go along.

For the bonnent check the location of the upper bonnet catch that locks into the fixed one on the front panel. My brother had a Xreg Golf C that was the same and it was the pin pulling it out of postion, it appeared to have been like that from the factory (car was about 6 or 7 years old at the time). Slacken the two bolts and move the catch. There should also be rubber buffers ontop of the inner wing located between the wing and bonnent.

If £ tight I'd try and glue the the grille back together and T-cut the wing. The bumper doesnt look too bad apart from someones painted it with something that doesnt stick to plastic. Was it originally grey?

I'm surprised a '83 didn't have a 5pd gearbox, or a 4+E. Is the linkage goosed and not selecting 5th? Look under the passenger wheel arch. If the end of the GB has a green pressed metal 'lid' its a 5spd.

For the clutch follow the cable at the GB end and you see a big adjuster 'nut' that winds the arm up or down to adjust the clutch. A good investment would be the brown haynes book of lies

I've got the rubber buffers so will check out the bolts.

Not sure about the bumper original colour but it looks like it could be. The rear one doesn't have the chrome strip so think one has been replaced at some point.

Going by the engine code it's suggests it's a 4 speed, never understood what the 4+E meant when I've seen it mentioned?

I'll check out the adjuster nut for the clutch and report back :thumbsup

Looks like it had grey bumpers originally, very rare these days, and poss poainted to match the new black rear?

4+E was VWs 5pd box, perhaps to advertise the economy of the new gear?

So I checked the gearbox and can't see a green pressed plate?
Here's a pic of it and also a number I found stamped on it as well.


Also checked the clutch cable, is this the nut you were talking about to adjust?


A small update, I removed the centre console as it doesn't seem to fit so assuming its not original. I actually quite like the look without it so wondering is there a trim that will cover the gearstick area only?

Removed console

Under the cr P it will be green and looks like a 5pd, the 4sp has a cast metal cross hatched plate bolted on. The date code is 15 April 1983 which match's the 5 spd FF in the attached table, so it looks like its either goosed and lost a gear or the linkage needs re-bushing and adjusting

Yes that's the big white plastic nut adjuster.

The hatch/cabrio centre consoles are different and it looks like someone's messed about trying to fit a hatch one, like they've f-d up the gear knob. EDIT looking on ebay yours is a cabrio console (I think) so if its not been chopped about further than the 3 holes it just needs refitting?

You can get trim that fits over the gearstick but was only on older basic golfs so will be difficult to find now (and thus expensive)

VW 020 5-Speed Transaxle Ratio Chart

Thanks for that,

I'll check out the gear linkage and report back.

You're right about the console, I'll have to see how it fits correctly as could possibly use it to house a Sat Nav or something similar seeing as it's been hacked up anyway.
I have found early Gear lever only surrounds if I want to keep it removed so I have a decision to make.

Yes that's a 5 speed gearbox so check the linkage or post up a picture and we can see if anything looks wrong or there is a guide on here about re-bushing the linkage and setting it up

You should have 10mm of free play on the clutch pedal so don't adjust it to much or the clutch will drag. I find both my cars the clutch bites fairly high up the pedal travel.

Check the bulkhead where the clutch cables goes through as it's common for them to pull through the bulk head, fit a strengthening plate if you don't have one as it's only a matter of time before the bulk head gives way..
Something like this (lots about so shop around) and you can just stick it on.

https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/uk/171898152-bulkhead-repair-patch-for-the-clutch-cable.html
 

I found 5th gear, think I'm just not used to manual again and the gear stick movement is a little loose. Once I found it it's easy enough to engage so all good there.

Not sure how to adjust that clutch screw so going to found a guide when I've time and read up on it first. Bulkhead is all good so it's not ripped it there here's a pic


Trying to work out where the idle adjust screw is to sort my high idle, is it at the back of the carburettor?

Realised the JVC aftermarket stereo doesn't work, pulled it out and it wasn't even connected to anything.
Here's the cables available, seems I'm missing some speaker cables as well and a speaker in the driver door.


Can anyone tell me which cable is which, there's brown, red and grey?

Also got a small crack at the top off the stereo hole, easy to replace or better to try and repair with glue or something?

Cheers

The bulkhead looks original, the repair plates are much bigger to spread the load.

Is idle higher when hot or just at start up? The pooburg E2E carb (if still running the original carb) is the work of the devil when playing up with 1/2 dozen different devices to regulate starting, warm and running. Dont think you can jsut alter tickover without also adjusting CO in combination. There is a guide somewhere on the site.

Use a multimeter but brown is earth, red +ve and grey/blue dash illumination

A wee update, bought some cheap 15" BBS replica alloys. 7 inch wide with 165/55/15 slightly stretched tyres and an ET20 offset.
Now fitted but definitely showing up the need to be lowered so next on the list will be a cheap set of coilovers which me and my brother will fit ourselves.


Also need to get all alignment checked as the front driver side is showing serious positive camber and the passenger side seems to have negative toe. Hopefully once that's all done it will drive and sit right.

Looks like you've been having fun  

Glad you 'found' fifth eventually  

She does look a bit worn and tired in the first few photo's. I'm sure with a bit more love she'll be doing you pround

Ian

Fit a bulkhead strengthening plate even if your looks ok, it's a 15 minute job to stick the plate on.

Positive camber on the driver adjusted and 20mm spacers on the back so now running ET0.

Lowering next and possibly going to purchase a MK1 TT interior. Seems like I'll not be keeping it OEM

Before


After


Spotted another issue with the boot lid, there's a nice dent running along the bottom of it which for whatever reason I didn't even notice until now 😒

Boot lid dent is prob reason its got a new black rear bumper and the front grey one got painted to match.

Think you're right, doesn't matter about the bumpers as I've decided to go small euro style so they'll be replaced at some point. Will get the dent sorted at the same time as the front driver wing scuff, it's not got any broken paint so should pop out easily.

So it's been over a year since I've updated my thread. Been a wee bit done in that time   Turned out I had a crack in the Engine block so now have a 1.8 MK2 GTi PB engine fitted with a Webber 32/34 Carb. Got the car back and it kept coughing and Spluttering then cutting out, found the issue was something blocking the fuel pick up pipe so an easy fix. Tank seems clean and the fuel filler pipe isn't rusted. There was a flexi pipe that needed replaced so that's been done, think it came from that.

The car is now running great mechanical wise, I'd still like to change the Exhaust for a custom SS system and quite it down a bit as well. Also want to tighten the gear linkage as it seems a bit loose when changing gear.

Car has also been lowered about 30mm on Eibach Springs but I think it can go lower so likely to change that in the future. Also got the Radio working, wiring it up wasn't too bad. Now have Alpine SXE-4625S 4x6's fitted as well.

Interior still needs done and I'm getting my TT seats tidied up before fitting them with a Custom TT base I got from a guy on Ebay for the fronts. Still not sure what to do for the backs yet, either tackle fitting the TT seats or recover the originals.

Plenty still to do but the main thing is I can drive it now, especially in time for the recent good weather up here   I'll update further as I tackle each small job, slow and steady but I'll get there.

Cheers