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Mk1 Golf Cabriolet Full Restoration

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Learn as I learn, as I take on my first ever rebuild.

I was always that kid in the playground that never quite understood the appeal of super cars and the cliche hot cars that the rest of the 'schoolies' seemed to adore. Instead, my eyes were always set on that of the classics, with my most favoured being the Mk1 Golf. I have memories of  being no more than  12 years of age and trying to insure an array of models. My more  naive  and younger self was definitely  surprised when  I had  received  quotes of more than £15,000; my efforts were quite obviously a little premature and misguided. Ten+ years later, I  unexpectedly  came across a 1983 Cabriolet GL for sale at a friends garage. Sat comfortably on some coilovers with a set of genuine TH Line Schmidt's for shoes… I had to take a closer look. She wasn't perfect, but who wants that? Some rust corrosion, a tatty interior and a %$£! paint job wasn't enough to put me off. She runs pretty well for a car that had been sat for a few years, with only a couple jobs seemingly needing to be done to  have her running spot on.

On 04.07.16 She was purchased & was driven home.


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I began by stripping out the interior in order to uncover any rust/erosion. So far, such rust is none existent other than some very mild surface rust :thumbs:The front seats were simple to remove… as was the rear bench. All was going well until my joy was interrupted, byproduct of a stubborn bolt. This frustration was soon dampened by the sip of a hot cup of tea. Although such a bru appeared a tad too milky, the image I got of my ol' man sitting on the Mk1's recently stripped interior, was delightful.

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Nice looking project  :thumbs:

What's your plans?

Matt

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pazwaa said

Nice looking project  :thumbs:What's your plans?

Matt
Thanks Matt!

My intentions are to strip it down entirely, carry out all of the necessary body work, full respray and then build back up to a show car quality. The original Motor will be getting removed, cleaned up and refitted. I must mention that although the Cab does run, it does tend to cut out sometimes but more on this later.

As I'm sure you're aware, intentions change over time and so I cannot guarantee the future of this Cab, but there are definitely some ideas in the pipeline. Exciting stuff!
 

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I remember seeing a couple of these back in the 80s. Wasn't a popular colour but I really like it. Both the ones I remember came with cream coloured roofs, one had steel wheels and chrome hubcaps, the other tarantula alloys, This was a time when VW changed the specs of their cars on a regular basis, I remember that in 82 they only did Golfs with cream roofs, then a few months later only brown/Gold shades of paint just to confuse matters, then add in the number of personal imports and getting your car back to how it would look new will give you a few options!

Golf GTI Campaign 1983 Mars Red, Ford S-Max 2015, Audi TT 180 quattro 2003, Fiat 500C 2013, Golf GTE MK7.5

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RichardHall said

I remember seeing a couple of these back in the 80s. Wasn't a popular colour but I really like it. Both the ones I remember came with cream coloured roofs, one had steel wheels and chrome hubcaps, the other tarantula alloys, This was a time when VW changed the specs of their cars on a regular basis, I remember that in 82 they only did Golfs with cream roofs, then a few months later only brown/Gold shades of paint just to confuse matters, then add in the number of personal imports and getting your car back to how it would look new will give you a few options!
Thats very interesting Richard. Having a couple colour ways to chose between definitely makes for a more interesting process.  Thanks for your input!   :thumbs:

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Here are some images of the original interior prior to me stripping it out. As the images show, all seals and trims are pretty much shot & the drivers seat is completely @£!%'ed :lol: IMG_0196.jpg

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I finally met my maker; the bolt that had me waiting almost 4 days to strip the Cab was finally removed. I  continued stripping… the rear 'door cards' were removed as were the window winders, seat belts, floor trims, rear carpet, dash centre section and so on until it went dark, putting an end to this evenings fun.

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The condition of the Cab is really solid other than some corrosion on the boot trim and on the lower end of the rear end near the exhaust tip. I will most likely have an entirely new rear end welded on in due course.

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A few hidden clues behind door cards and dashboards leads me to believe that the initial owner of this Cab was a woman with young children at the time. Interesting! I wonder where they are now and to think that the children would be quite a bit older than me is almost surreal. Please note the orange juice being dated 'best before 17.11.90'; four years before my birth!

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Good luck with the restoration!

Keep that Brown interior bits safe - you can't get hold of replacements for love nor money..

I have the same seats and interior in my car.  With my seats, the vinyl is pretty good, so I'm going to send them off to have the material replaced and new foam.  Still got to find someone round my way to do this work (Poole).

One of the biggest problems I found with restoring a car is dealing with all the bits as you strip the car down!!

VW Heritage is great for a lot of replacement components - if you need to replace wings, spend the money and get genuine parts..

Good luck!

Dave

David
Poole, Dorset

Mk1 GL Cabriolet, 1457cc Manual, Papyrus Green:  Long term restoration of a car that's been in the family since new:   Project DEL BOY
Mk1 Golf GLS Cabriolet, 1457cc Auto, Yellow/Light Blue: Breaking for spares (anyone need a shell?): Breaking Mk1 Golf Cabriolet 1457cc, GLS (Dorset)

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Scamparelli said

Good luck with the restoration!

Keep that Brown interior bits safe - you can't get hold of replacements for love nor money..

I have the same seats and interior in my car.  With my seats, the vinyl is pretty good, so I'm going to send them off to have the material replaced and new foam.  Still got to find someone round my way to do this work (Poole).

One of the biggest problems I found with restoring a car is dealing with all the bits as you strip the car down!!

VW Heritage is great for a lot of replacement components - if you need to replace wings, spend the money and get genuine parts..

Good luck!

Dave


I assume by the 'Brown interior bits' you mean the cardboard moulds for the dash and door cards etc?

In regards to your comment about safe-keeping of small bits and pieces when in the midst of restoration, I have been using plastic sealable bags.

Thank you for your comment Dave. Do you have a build thread of your own?


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I have been focusing on my Vauxhall Corsa b C20XE 2.0 as of recently due to It being displayed at the National Rally this weekend. If you are interested in Vauxhalls, especially older models… This show is definitely up your street! Following is some images of my Vauxhall being displayed…

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Now lets get back to the Cab; I managed to successfully remove the dash, exposing all of the wiring behind:

So I began by removing the steering wheel in order to allow for more accessibility; remember to work smart, never hard :thumbs:. I managed to remove the lower dash section relatively easy although some screws were definitely playing hard to get. When removing the upper dash section, I realised the majority of the screws were already removed. My lucky day?


The wiring needs some drastic attention as most of the dash lights didn't work, including the air vents. Exposing the wires and having no experience in the field of auto-election-ing is definitely intimidating. Any help would be fabulous. O_o

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Nice looking corsa. And good job with the strip down  :thumbs:

Matt

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pazwaa said

Nice looking corsa. And good job with the strip down  :thumbs:Matt
Thanks again Matt! I am glad you like the Corsa!  :thumbs:

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And finally, the interior strip is mostly complete!

Please note that before trying to remove the front half of the interior carpet, you will need to detach a series of clips located under/behind the dash. I have taken the time out to indicate where these clips are located in the images below. Please see white circular markings as reference.

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Some good photos and useful info, good job  :thumbs:

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pazwaa said

Some good photos and useful info, good job  :thumbs:
I appreciate the feedback Matt! 

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I began where I left off; stripping. Off came the front & rear bumpers, and the rear wheel arch trims as I was curious to find out how much corrosion was present.

I then took to the interior again… removing everything standing between me and the shell.

I previously mentioned that the car does tend to cut out, especially when the accelerator isn't depressed. My guess is that the carburetor needs replacing. I removed the Peirburg 1b Manual choke which is currently fitted in an attempt to replace it with the Pierburg 2e2 Auto choke. It appears that in order to fit the 2e2, I would also need to replace the manifold and so I have decided to scrap both Pierburgs and go with the highly thought of 'Weber 36 TLP'. If anybody knows where to source one, please do get in touch as I have searched high and low :'(.

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Quick update!

After a few months on the search, I managed to source a new-old stock Weber 36tlp Manual choke carb alllll the way from Italy, to replace the original pierburg 1b auto choke carb.

I am desperately in search for a unit so I can begin removing the remaining panels (i.e doors, boot, bonnet, roof & all other so called 'water retentive' elements) and engine/electrics.

Having a home for my build should also mean more progress will be made at a quicker rate thus more regular build thread updates.

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Hope you find a dry place to work - not much fun as we head into Winter!

Are you thinking of ditching the old bumpers?   If so, I may be interested - could you e-mail me some images of them?

I'm looking for big bumpers with chrome strips with little rust on the metal supports!

See what mine look like on my build (so far) here: https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=your-mk1-golfs_2%2Fproject-del-boy

Just moved house and built a new home for the car (which is still at the paint shop), so back to it over the Winter..

All the best.

David
Poole, Dorset

Mk1 GL Cabriolet, 1457cc Manual, Papyrus Green:  Long term restoration of a car that's been in the family since new:   Project DEL BOY
Mk1 Golf GLS Cabriolet, 1457cc Auto, Yellow/Light Blue: Breaking for spares (anyone need a shell?): Breaking Mk1 Golf Cabriolet 1457cc, GLS (Dorset)

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Scamparelli said

Hope you find a dry place to work - not much fun as we head into Winter!

Are you thinking of ditching the old bumpers?   If so, I may be interested - could you e-mail me some images of them?

I'm looking for big bumpers with chrome strips with little rust on the metal supports!

See what mine look like on my build (so far) here: https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=your-mk1-golfs_2%2Fproject-del-boy

Just moved house and built a new home for the car (which is still at the paint shop), so back to it over the Winter..

All the best.
Hi Scamparelli

It doesnt seem to make much difference which time of year it is up in Manchester as it rains consistently throughout the year lol. My cab is like a swimming pool!

Yes I will be selling the bumpers.

I will take a look at your link now.

Thanks

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Hi, just been looking through your resto I've just bought myself a 1988 cabby and just booked it in to get a new hood fitted also to sort the drivers seat out as there's a rip in the lower bolster and the foam has disappeared haha! I'm also based in Manchester 
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