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The convertible Convertible

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This is gonna be a long read by the time i'm finished  :P had to start somewhere… got over 2 1/2 years off stuff to go through…. so here we go.
It must have started off about 20 years ago, i had the chance of a Golf GTI cabrio… at that age anything with GTI on it was pretty hot.. especially the golf.. the looks of it & the speed.. white hood with the Mauritius Blue interior… mmm i bought it, that's when my love for the dubs started… the rest is pretty much history!



So about May 2014 i had an epiphany!  :lol: i really wanted a Golf cabby… So scrolling about, searching away, some pigs about that were rough as old boots, modded ones, sprayed ones, i tried to get an original one with a bit of TLC to do.. you know the drill.. i stumbled on one in Chelmsford…… so i missed bidding on it, gutted in a way as it looked a straight, original car but needed TLC, an old woman owner coming up to retirement & felt it too heavy to drive.. understandable  :thumbs: so i said if the winning bidder doesn't pay, let me know… that was the case! arranged a view, agreed  :thumbs: with this i had an email a day or 2 later, the car had to go in to have the fuel filler neck & hose replaced - £155. Glad it was done, anyway, the car - Golf GTI cabby, white, white hood, white interior & 6 spoke alloys with old cracked tyres, the 'original' alloys were being sold with the car.. so a good mate of mine drove up, early hours on a Sunday morning for a 4 hour trip - one way… when i got there, car looked ok, garaged, bit dirty & feeling sorry for itself.. Had usual spiel about the car - the engine was warm, bit of a telltale sign… a  few rubbers dry, seat bolster & upright worn, MFA no bleed, with 119k on it, roof folded ok, straight & original… Original Number Plates on the car & dealership window sticker!! 2 sets of keys, original VW Mats, some VAGSH, Blaupunkt Stereo, Original First Aid Kit!! Complete spare wheel & Jack/Wrench & a new MOT. Took it for a drive, felt flat, not very responsive & braking was a bit on the slow side… obviously there's always more to things than you know, but had a gut feeling as you do.. love cars & always played with as such…

So i bought it for the agreed amount, Avus/Snowflakes in the back (needing a refurb) & drove it back to Wales for 4 hours!! taking my time, excited that i got it, the mpg reading about 24 which i thought was low!! but it was getting me home  :$So booked it into a garage a week later for them to give it a once over… £373 later i had it back!! Basically the wrong spark plugs were in it, Brake Caliper seized, both Front brake hoses corroded/crimping, Front Pads, Rear Wheel Cylinder, Bleed brakes… A good start!! advised the NS Shock was leaking too!!

So had a look through the paperwork of the car… Got the original PDI sheet, brochure, Stereo manuals & Service book, receipts of work done, loads of MOT's too…









Had to have a clean meantime… had the old rims on there too - with Targa tyres which Kwik Fit said they haven't seen for about 10years!!! & i drove over 200 miles on these..













And before i sorted the old wires out that were not needed!!!




to be continued…


 

Last edit: by Deandubya

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 :thumbs:  :offtopic:  WOW, I had some good buddys that worked for Kennings, VW had a stealership on that site for years. Took over by Nigel Grogans if memory serves!  :thumbs:

Do it once and do it right! ok, we've identified the problem, lets not make it worse by guessing……… Identifying the sympton is not the same as understanding the cause :)

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so.. knew i had a project on my hands… so looking over the car there were rubbers cracked, dried, vanity light seals cracked, door striker pins with no rubbers on, door seals with corner pieces shot, header seal with 2 slight splits each side, door trim covers cracked, outer window scrapers dried, Passenger B pillar seal too… Fuel flip cap with a piece missing… rear speakers buzzing too. Also had a cold start issue which you'll see about later.. along with this the garage advised on the NS shock leaking too… mmmmm
Ok, it was trying to prioritize things, safety first i thought… did plenty of searching & SPENDING!! quite a few websites, UK based, German, French & even US!! amazing how it sticks  :cool:Purchases & receipt, not listed cleaning stuff i've bought & a few other little things, they mount up no doubt!! kept every receipt.. so i'll do some pics & detail as we go…
here goes..
130614 Seat covers - bought before i got the car lol.
180614 Gearbox Inspection Plug & Cap
                 CV Boot kit
                 Brake Discs
                 Dynamat (for rear speakers)
070814 Bosch Battery
090814 Conti tyres x2
100814 Front Shock absorber/dampers x2
220814 Fuel Filler cap surround
               Door striker Pins x2
020914 Trim Fixing Clips x10
040914 Grille fixing clip x6
               Bonnet Stay Clip x1
               Camber Bolt Set x2
070914 Accelerator pedal grommet
300914 Flip top Fuel Cap
011214 Vanity Seal rubber x2
               Upholstery seat plier
               Trim moulding front& rear window
               Connecting sleeve - Windscreen Rubber
090115 Front wishbone arm kit x2
               Track rod/tie rod complete x2
               Suspension shock top mount x2
120115 Heater Motor Blower
300115 Cold start Valve (5th Injector)
030215 Windscreen Seal
               Wing Mirror Gasket x2
               Suspension Top Covers x2
               Double Grommet for heater feed return pipes
090215 Air Filter
110515 Rear Speaker MAC Audio
               Sump Gasket
               Oil Filter
               CV Boot Kit Inner & Outer
180515 Sump Plug & Washer
240515 Fuel Filter
               Seat Material - Lasky White
090615 Water Deflector Clip x3
               Accelerator pedal Rubber cover
               Floor press cover stud
270615 4 Wheel alignment
100715 Conti tyres x2
170915 Collar for door lock knob, Arch spat decals, clip for rear plinth
150715 Fitting of new parts, brake lines & service £500 in total  :'(
not sure where my receipt is for the bump stops, think it's part of the suspension mounts..
211015 Coolant Flange Seal Gasket
021115 Engine Coolant Flange Outlet - from the States Genuine VW part $81 +£25 import tax!!!

121115 Temperature sensor
               VW G13 Coolant Anifreeze
241115 Speedflush - water
021215 Top Radiator Cooling Hose, Water sensor
281215 Bosch Rotor Arm
050116 Bosch Distributor Cap
140116 Gear Linkage Kit & Boot selector cover
140116 316 SS M10 x1 Blanking Plug - Coolant Flange
090316 Bosch HT Ignition Cables/Spark Leads, Spotlight securing Clip
170316 Rocker Cam Gasket Rubber Set
               Wheel Bolt/Nut plastic Caps
               Nitrile 'O' Rings
230316 Fitting of rubber rocker cover gasket
200416 Fuel Metering Head to Air-box Gasket
               Fuel valve & air flow meter 'O' ring
290416 Viton rubber strip 300x3x2 for WUR
250416 steel shim pack for fuel pressure regulator
130516 Tailgate Gas Strut for the boot.
270516 Expansion Bottle Cap - Blue
               Radiator hose, expansion tank to radiator
010616 Door Window Felt guide x2
030616 Fitting of Gear Linkage Kit & Rubber Boot Cover
130616 VW Classic Parts - German ummm Radiator Card, Waste Trim Clips, Door rubber seal clips - Various..

170716 Glass Scraper Seals Outers x4
               Glass Scraper Seals Inners x4
120916 Door Card trim panel clip x3
               Glove Box Stop Buffer - told you i was fussy  :lol:301116 Camshaft Seal fitted
               Gearbox Oil Change
060217 Exhaust Rubbers
150616 Header Seal
080816 Glovebox Catch
180816 Fischer C Cassette Holder
091116 VW Dust Caps
not sure of date - 2 x Door trim covers
not sure of date - 2 x Door seal rubbers
Mudflaps - from the US
Pretty much every clip has been renewed & most of the rubbers - door seals, door trim covers, 1/4 window seals, header seal, window scrapers in & out, windscreen seal, B pillar seal
220517 Sachs Rear Shocks
050617 Radiator
230617 OSR Wheel Cylinder
               Drive Shaft Seal

 

Last edit: by Deandubya

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had a bit fun with the seats.. took them out & bought something called Starbrite which is used on Marines for boat vinyl /Sails & stuff.. diluted in water & scrubbed!! rinsed off with a Karcher came up pretty good.. i originally tried with rug doctor - not good at all, used a wet & dry hoover & the shizzle that came out was beyond..







the material from Werk34.de to get the bolsters retrimmed



& this was the drivers seat after a clean - didn't do the bolster.. what a difference!!!


& this is the seat after clean & retrim..:thumbs:
 

Last edit: by Deandubya

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Nice write up… im pretty certain I've got most of shopping list… but not the paperwork.. lol nowhere near as organised.
Seats cleaned up well. I'm as you know looking at seats. And due to my washing machine due to die soon..it's 8yrs old..I think I may bang them in there for few spins.

On the drive
T25 Diesel…sameoldblueshi£ (currently under resto)
Rocco gt2….1990 secret 2…(currently under resto)
Mk4 99 1.8t indigo blue Gti with 43k miles
Caster 93 clipper JH Green cabby
Snowy 91 GTi White cabby( sat waiting for inspiration)
Myvalver 89 GTi Grey mk2 16v
Yuppy Flu 91 GTi Flash Red Sportline


 Golf mk1 owner's club on Spotify

Mk1 golf owners club playlist: Golf mk1 owner's club playlist - YouTube

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This a picture after cleaning… also cleaned the floor carpet.. i did do that with rug doctor & the wet & dry vac along with the 'original' VW Mats..







After having the running gear renewed this is how it looked..







& then getting the 4 wheel alignment sorted.. especially after camber bolt sets fitted.. didn't want the rat look on my tyres :lol:

 

Last edit: by Deandubya

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Beautiful cabby Dean, you must be proud of what you've done with it  :cool:  :thumbs:

Andy

LINCOLNSHIRE REGION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/467122313360002/

1983 MK1 Golf GTI Campaign Model - Under (looooong) resto!
1962 Rover P4 80
2002 BMW 745i
2008 BMW Z4 2.5Si

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Since i had the car it was a pain starting, not a pain but would be stuttering for 20 - 30 seconds then it was fine.. bugged the hell outta me!!!! O_o After that time it was fine, on a run on the Dual, now & again, it would have the slightest miss!!! thinking of tuning etc & other things… in the meantime i undid the engine rubbers & cleaned out with Injection Spray, surprising the carbon that comes out of them!! good idea to do it… Idle valve, sprayed cotton buds & cleaned, throttle body, took off the casing from this to the meter box, & spray cleaned/washed… Even replaced the 5th injector, tested on cranking - fine!!! Got a Haynes manual (Bentley on PDF too) Reading up about the k-Jet system, probables & stuff, how what works with what with the effects of one thing which relates to another.

The coolant flange leaking :'( that when the fishing started…


So i took it to 2 garages for them to check the timing & the try & look for the reason for the cold start issue… i had the 'timing is spot on must be the cold start valve' when you read up on this it has a different purpose to just the cold start…

They didn't even pick up on this:

that's why i bought new Bosch Rotor Arm, Dist. Cap & Leads.. :thumbs:that seemed to be it… i wasn't happy at all… frustrated more than anything. I renewed Gaskets in the Air Flow meter as it looked cracked - had it been changed in the past? i doubt it. When i separated the FD from the Air box sensor the 'o' ring stayed on the sensor block - time for a new one! Also cleaned around the Sensor Plate with CRC spray as it doesn't leave any kind of residue at all, fitted the 'o' ring to the plunger :thumbs:




Have a look on this link…

https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=big-block-injection_2%2Fcold-start-splutter-for&kfs76=30

So as the link above, i read into things about the WUR & how it operates on cold start with the bi-metallic strip telling the sensor plate, 5th injector, TTS, fuel pressure etc & though i've pretty much done everything else so there could be minimal things to do..
When i renewed the coolant flange (rocking horse poo i may add from the FCP Euro in the good ol' US of A) due to the splitting of the old one & where it had been sealed with WINDOW SEALER or something! this had leaked into the WUR! so i took this off.. got it unscrewed, took it apart & WOW!!!!



this is the main reason for the cold start blurring..

so ordered some bespoke Viton rubber sealer as the old one was brittle,  took it apart & gave it a damn good clean with injection spray & cotton clothes (so no bits are left)
also done the gauzes at the front…






 

Last edit: by Deandubya

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when i got the WUR sorted, it was starting up a whole lot better!!! straight revs no hesitation! result.  i wanted to check the Pressure reading up on another topic by LeeO  i decided to look at my PPR on top of the FD. Renewed the 'o' ring & shims by .3 mm! barely anything but these K-Jets are sensitive.
Happy days! the final thing was to get it tuned as when i pulled up at lights or junction it would idle low then high & so on...
 so on the suggestion, whiffs of fuel & thought of a tune - i did get it booked in.. as in a post, when i pulled up to the tuners the guy smelt petrol straight away.. did his thing & afterwards said to give it a good drive to get the soot of the plugs as it's been running rich... so i did!! 



didn't miss a beat, responsive & a pleasure drive!   

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Pictures after the Header Seal & Windscreen Rubber/Chrome fitted…
also the Radiator card..





Speaker changing, Vanity Seals






Renewed a glove box clip as the other one was broke.. also cleaned the ashtray out, took apart, made sure the light was working too… attention to detail :lol:



the ashtray after cleaning - can you imagine the stuff that came out of my seats







 

Last edit: by Deandubya

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A Pillar seal renewed.. bit of a difference





My spare wheel well. At the AGM last year the 'judge' said it could do with a clean.. had a sniggle to myself as it is mint, been waxed too, felt you could eat your dinner of it :lol: also said about my engine dirty? i was like what? it's an original car.. the engine's clean, did he mean not painted or old bolts/nuts??  i ain' painting it up… :|

Took the waist trim/moulding of & clay barred them to get the grime off.. bit of a scrub too!!







& how it looked after with new Clips all around!! bit of elbow grease does the world of good :thumbs: also notice new the Wing mirror gaskets, did underneath these too - while ya at it :lol:




 

Last edit: by Deandubya

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Wing Mirror Gaskets changed, cleaned the door, replacing the door trim cards with 1 new clip (another one :lol:) Window scrapers in & out, door knob grommets & seals.. 2 doors sorted!! boom..





 

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The latter stages of what i wanted to be done or priorities was to have the wheels refurbed… bit of an issue with this as chortle knows & a few others but them done finally!!




These have been treated to poorboys wheel sealant twice & will be every 2-3 months along with washing :lol:Really pleased with how the car has turned out, as i said at the start, looked for a genuine, straight car which needed TLC. & i got a 5 prev. Owner. Mk1 Golf GTI Quartet with only 123k miles, it's 30 years old in a few months time, with original paint & plates. It is original, which some peoples definitions of standard is different - resprayed yet original? how does that work.. not in my book. Can't be many about like this.

I have literally 1 or 2 things to do before it is complete, how i want it - rear shocks & steering rack then pretty much the whole running gear has been renewed… front speakers too.. may even get the stereo looked at as it's not holding memory for the radio stations when switched off… minor detail.

Got mud flaps too from the US, small adjustments & i got them fitted… it is now looking sweet…

Under the arches:





This is how she's looking now… :thumbs:






I would personally like to thank rubjonny Briano1234 mark1gls LeeO chortle  & others for the help & advice on here.. also to the MK1 Owners Club Forum for having an awesome site that give invaluable information… Thank you :thumbs: 

Last edit: by Deandubya

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I will be getting a service done at VW in June, even though i've only dont 3-4k since i've had it. :PWhen i asked a question on the 'Insurance' part of the forum, Lancaster said they don't have a valuation set for classics… they rely on people on here, the Forum.. my Insurance is due for renewal in June.. what would i value my car at???? i've got a figure in mind… what would you guys say given the detail of it??? no postcard answers, on here's good :lol:

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The manuals etc, receipts (lots of - looks are deceiving :$) & MOT's back to 99'/'00








 

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The convertible Convertible

Fantastic work! This looks really impressive.

In some respects it's similar to mine - which is pretty much an original car that was being sold by a woman who couldn't handle the steering - but I think mine could do with a similar level of tlc. Getting it running nicely took ages. Sorting out the WUR is one of the jobs I want to do.

Where'd you get the mud flaps from?

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Managed to change the OS mirror… finally.. bought the car with a cracked mirror… got what i thought was a replacement for a mk1 Golf… but it didn't fit exact, different shape - different types of glass as i've found out along the way.. had a new one for a few months, just not got around to changing it.. today was the day :thumbs:off with the old



on with the new…


 

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Nice write up, not sure how I missed this before.

If I see you again at any shows this year you need to lock those floor mats in the boot as I could find a very nice place for them in my car! Been searching for years!

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

image.jpeg
 

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Dean if you ever find yourself in Vienna for a week or so with time on your hands I've got a little project for you?  ;)

Beer and schnitzel included!   :lol:

Lederhosen not mandatory.  :thumbs:

Sent by a smartphone and not a smartperson!

Play Guess the Asking Price 'SEASON 4' as of Sunday the 29th of October 2017.
https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=chat%2Fmk1-golf-chat_2%2Fguess-the-asking-price_2

OLD.
https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=chat%2Fmk1-golf-chat_2%2Fold-guess-the-asking

Ever wondered who's behind the scenes of this forum?
https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/index.php?page=committee


Mike

There's me building mine 28 years ago, almost finished!        
  
001.JPG       
                                 
Be proud of your VW Golf Mk1, it's very special!

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The convertible Convertible

RichardHall said

Nice write up, not sure how I missed this before.

If I see you again at any shows this year you need to lock those floor mats in the boot as I could find a very nice place for them in my car! Been searching for years!
Lol Cheers Richard.. I'll find those mats if somebody's hands got attached to them.. the sticky bandits got them microchipped


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