Mk1 Caddy Pickup aka Patches

I'd just like to introduce Patches the latest addition  .



Its a 1990 pickup and was used as a workhorse on a farm. It has some battle wounds and patches here and there but has solid bones and the underside looks good.

It's going to need extensive body work to get it looking pretty again. Unfortunately a previous owner decided to start stripping the paint to bare metal in the engine bay but not cover it up which has led to surface rust. Today started to strip it back to bare metal and will get the blaster fired up to remove hard to reach places.

Unfortunately the front panel was quite bashed about with a large dent on the inside lower cross member and also the lower valance was dented heavily. Surface rust under the top panel and flaky metal round the edges.

So started by ordering a complete front panel and then measuring the engine bay dimensions before removing the existing one to ensure everything is straight on reassembly.




Its appears the chassis leg had a previous repair, there is rust behind the engine mount,  and has some holes in it. What do you guys think? Should I patch in new metal or replace the leg?



These are the other significant repairs required.


 

The rain tray area is solid

The floors underneath and in the cabin look good. A few previous patch repairs that need redoing. We will strip the floors down to bare metal to ascertain whether new floor panels are required. A few patches in places that need further investigation.



The pickup bed doesn't look too bad. Need to give it further investigation on the top to see whether any new sections need welding in.

The tail gate is a bit bowed but understand this is common. I've seen a youtube video of someone correcting it so shouldn't be too bad.



It's early days but should have bi weekly updates.  

I like it...

I dont,  but if its anything to do with your wanted ad (i think its yours ) i suppose it hasnt got a sunroof…

abfmk1 said

I dont,  but if its anything to do with your wanted ad (i think its yours ) i suppose it hasnt got a sunroof…

Don't hold back, say what you feel  .

I understand it's not for everyone but it's different and a good winter project to get our teeth in to but now there is a nation lock down it's going to be just me for a month.

I'm still looking for a Gti but that is for dad. My aversion to sunroof's is from my previous Gti project. It's just not worth the agro if you can get a non sunroof model. 

I really dislike sunroofs, rust being just one issue, but found it difficult to find a gti without one.. either factory or aftermarket glass rubbish.. As for the caddy,    mk1 gti,s seem to have gone out of my price range. At the moment i am running a small 2 seater and i did for about 15 minutes wonder if i could live with one..caddy that is… Actually when i saw the title patchs, the name clarence carter sprung to mind, a name i havent heard of for about 50 years..Possibly a distorted memory..

abfmk1 said

I really dislike sunroofs, rust being just one issue, but found it difficult to find a gti without one.. either factory or aftermarket glass rubbish.. As for the caddy,    mk1 gti,s seem to have gone out of my price range. At the moment i am running a small 2 seater and i did for about 15 minutes wonder if i could live with one..caddy that is… Actually when i saw the title patchs, the name clarence carter sprung to mind, a name i havent heard of for about 50 years..Possibly a distorted memory..

Yes finding a Gti without a sunroof and something worthy of a restoration is getting harder and harder at a decent price.

The caddy isn't riddled with patches but has it's fair share to redo. I guess as a farm vehicle it wasn't done to look pretty, just get through the next MOT.

I blame Hef355 for the new project .

Rich mate! Pics look great my friend and no, you wont be alone for the next month as i’ll be on the other side of the blower to help all i can!

I’ll happily take the blame for this great project!

Caddy’s are fab and more than worthy of their place on here! I own a silver gti campaign, lsaha green gti and a 1978 5 door LD … and in my opinion, both my Manilla green and Cherry red Caddy’s are equally as respected as my Golfs as great iconic classics in my book!

Great buy this Rich. and will be stunning given your attention to fine detail


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Hef355 said

Rich mate! Pics look great my friend and no, you wont be alone for the next month as i’ll be on the other side of the blower to help all i can!

I’ll happily take the blame for this great project!

Caddy’s are fab and more than worthy of their place on here! I own a silver gti campaign, lsaha green gti and a 1978 5 door LD … and in my opinion, both my Manilla green and Cherry red Caddy’s are equally as respected as my Golfs as great iconic classics in my book!

Great buy this Rich. and will be stunning given your attention to fine detail


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Cheers Hef355
I really do need your expertise and experience on Caddy's as it's new ground for me.

Looking forward to when you start getting your 24 valver  ready to go in  

This morning I removed the remaining metal from the lower arms and will start to strip everything back to clean metal  

Rich. Caddy coming on well buddy and its my pleasure to help as you have helped and I know will continue to help me with the 24V engine swap! It’s going to be an interesting and far from boring winter for sure!


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Last week I removed 99% of the rust and really pleased. There is some pitting in places but will spot media blast and then for belts and braces use Bilt Hamber Deox Gel before epoxy priming it.



Floor panels arrived as well and front panel due from Germany on Tuesday.



Today I investigated the rust behind the gearbox mount.



Cut the rust out:



Welded new stuff in



Cleaned the mount up and welded it back on using the drilled out spot weld marks for reference:



Will get plenty of seam sealer around that when ready to paint to stop that ever rusting again.

Next need to repair the end of the leg and the holes before I can think about attaching the front panel.





 

Great job so far


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Rich. said

I'd just like to introduce Patches the latest addition  .

Good luck with your new project.   

Looks like that could be a lot of work!

Rear arches are the same as front wing ones. Just the other sides. Ie front left does rear right.

My brother in law split open the tailgate and installed some box section it to take out the bow, then welded it back up again. He's currently trying to figure out a way to stop them from being stolen as they come off really easily.

Rain tray looks good, but I'm guessing it's not to stay for long due to an engine conversion?

B pillars always go apparently so nothing unusual there!

I think it's 'just caddys' that do an original style bed with the correct drops at the ends.

Brake compensator is another nightmare as they don't do them anymore, so I hope that's OK.

Ian

Hi Ian!

Do you have a link for the original bed panel, I could only find one from retrofication and of course without the end drop profiles which i had to make. Be good to know for future! Thanks mate


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borednow said

Rear arches are the same as front wing ones. Just the other sides. Ie front left does rear right.

My brother in law split open the tailgate and installed some box section it to take out the bow, then welded it back up again. He's currently trying to figure out a way to stop them from being stolen as they come off really easily.

Rain tray looks good, but I'm guessing it's not to stay for long due to an engine conversion?

B pillars always go apparently so nothing unusual there!

I think it's 'just caddys' that do an original style bed with the correct drops at the ends.

Brake compensator is another nightmare as they don't do them anymore, so I hope that's OK.

Ian

Thanks for that Ian,

I've seen a guide on how to correct the tailgate bow. Going to cut it open, hammer, dolly and reinforce.

Interesting you should mention about them going walkies. I'll have a think about that

The bed I will sort at just caddy's as well 👍

The rain tray is staying like my Golf. No need to remove and in great condition.

Plan is to restore, bit of a drop, I have a couple sets of wheels I could put on and thinking 20v turbo or tfsi if I can pick one up at a decent price.

I have a brand new rear disc conversion for it. When you say brake compensator how does this work on a Caddy? I guess I could get some more 205 GTi ones as they have correct split for rear discs.

 I also have a brand new MK1 brake compensator but guess this wouldn't work the same as the axle is completely different.

Cheers for the advice

Today started the repairs on the lower support arm.



Then I found a hole lower down so more  cut off.



Then on to the repair.

Had to make it in 2 pieces due to the complex curves.



So need to weld it together, weld the flare edge to create a curve, drill the holes for the bumper mount and give it a general tidy up and should be ready to tack on and test with the front panel that arrived from Germany this week.



 

Top job Rich well done indeed


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This is great Rich! Cant believe you are on to another project straight away, madness  

Looking good Rich, will watch progress with great interest.

I'd like a Caddy as a future project - mainly so I can 'scratch the itch' of a proper engine swap this time, without ruining originality, but with a platform I'm now familiar with.  

If you decide to sell the new brake compensator please let me know.