the first car, still a shell nearly 10yrs later

Well, firstly hello all!

I have been hiding and looking for too many years and with the 10yr ownership looming next month, want to try and show some sort of guide/ help converting an ahu (with many references to really helpful guys on here, that search tab is good!)

So, here is my first car, mk1 golf 1.1 C 82,000miles and 3 previous owners. This is as I got it, 10 years ago next month.
 I had some money saved up and as it was my 18th, the family gave me some money towards a first car, sharing my mums zafira was pretty cool as a 17yr with tonnes of mates, well more like a school bus, but anyways, came back with the golf.

Sadly the reason for it ending up in a sorry state/ shell was previous to buying it, got caught by the police for a few things, non I must add were for drink or drug related charges or not having tax/mot/insurance, just being a 17yr old thinking the police couldn't keep up.

So after having my court date on my 18th birthday and getting both my car and bike licence revoked, sort after building a track car… 18yr old style!

cutting through a lot of waffle I changed the engine from a 1.1 to a 1.3 ready for when I got my licence back and, couldn't afford the insurance So to do what every real man does, I took it apart…. completely to shell! I then decided I wanted a massive sound system and started on the doors, chopped apart from my older brother Mitsubishi colt.. I managed to have a 'watch this guys' moment in… anyways looked like this

not to my taste now but at the time spent many evenings sat in my shed inhaling filler and fiberglass dust, to throw them in the bin a few years later Then was the task of, ive been to college and I can weld, so I thought I was chuck fuse and started smoothing the engine bay.. and regret to this day before anyone adds
did at least weld, then grind back, then weld and so on
the fibre glass was covering the welds, seam welded it because I saw something in a glossy magazine..



took the sealer off, glad I did back then, more keep for getting burnt by dripping sealant

Then sadly it sat, took the rear beam off to do bushes over a Christmas

looking sorry for itself on the driveway

now a little time past and once again the golf sat on the cba list, having many mk1's and 2's inbetween this was the car I wasn't going to rush anymore, so I left and went to Australia for a year, well cut short due to another one of those 'incidents' this time I managed to fall off a bike in shorts and t-shirt whilst being, yup you guessed it, a nearing 21yr old!

Time to grow up, so headed to swansea to study motorsport and started to get back to thinking about the golf, most of my time was taken up by a couple of caddys and getting though the drifting phase a chevette and 3 Volvos and an mx5, all used as 'project work' and a giggle at the time!


homemade debadged grill, golf hiding in the background





I must say the neighbours say a lot to my parents about me…
anyway, back to uni… of course as motorsport lads we always found a technician who wanted a pay roll so when we did some scatter rallys, my polo needed a late night garage, which also was where I started playing with my 1.6 8v engine (engine no.3)




and fuel tank, still thinking I owned a #racecar

so straying back on track the golf… finally got motivated to getting something done, so after finding that because I had made an attempt on the smoothing myself, ment that the cheapest quote I could get for the bay alone was £575! which was also going to be a quick job…. looking back and the recent hours upon hours of sanding the reacted paint off, see you pay for what you get, but of course I didn't want to pay back then, well or now. If I think I can do it, safely that it, I will try, you have to pay if you do or don't anyway plus its the first car, a piece of moving art to which all bodges cannot be blamed on anyone else!
so, a few pics before it reacted…. again




then came the 1.8 16v, have pics of the previous 1.8 8v, meaning the kr was engine no.5 for those keeping up

there was a mk2 stage also, just to show the golf was well, looked at

anyone born in the early 80's remember this craze?

Now I got the opportunity to buy a jetta mk2 gtd, it was the time when I had the caddy and thought the car was £250, an hour and a half drive with only a weeks left mot, on an air base by kings lynn….. not a problem with a mere 265000 on the clock as the fine and honourable raf lads had just got back from doing the home to rome rally!! I drove 5 miles down the road and the coolant light started flashing…. only coolant pipe leak, out came the thermostat and tow rope on stand by.

bought some interior…. sold the interior…


and a final one of another of my mk1's, notice I hid it from the every so happy parents, with a hedge..


now shall we move to this year, 2015?

After a few things happening, I needed to finish this golf. So diving head first I took on a unit, left my job, with the idea of it being done within a month, getting by on selling stuff mainly and nearly six months on, poor and gave in to having one last crack at the engine bay!
so starting with when it got here to this very second I type, sat in front of it waiting for the paint to dry/ not react again, thanks for looking and sorry if I have wasted a lot of your time waffling on!

Chris

That's a real life story,enjoyed reading that good luck with the car  

I think everyone like a little story every now and again, cheers fella A few life events like painting and getting the car in and stripped, could call it chapter one?







yea about that yellow…



over the years grew up a tad and swapped the height adjustable coilovers for damper adjustable spax, nearly 30 an excuse? also sometimes favour radio 2??
then got the heat gun out and was surprised to see the welds from many moons ago hadn't rusted there way through which was a good start


and then the fun part, the bit with all the reacted paint/ lacquer

woudnt sand because it clogged the da up too quickly/ expensively so got the scraper and heat gun plus a pick, no easy way I found
then gave it a prime to see how much more sanding and scraping was ahead

a lot!
got the urge to fill some more holes I gave up ages ago with, this one is an ornament in the unit and as an ornament bad things happen when used otherwise





Well its been a busy few weeks finding where I lost everything, loosing a read disc, then buying another pair, that sort of fun. Some pictures… of this week, and where I am asking for any help or guidance or not to do's swapping to an ahu most of al keeping it tdi, meaning which fuse box to use, have the car complete minus all the dash etc ready to get the loom out. I want to use a mk2 caddy rod change box which I have instead of the mk3 cable simple due to not having the money for mounts. I understand I need to do something with the pedal box to run flyby wire, but want to get the engine labelled up tomorrow hoping to remove tomorrow night? main thing I don't want to have the donor car hanging round with odds left in I need.
There is an aftermarket alarm on it, also the immobiliser halo and ecu, but I was under the impression you needed to keep the clocks, I have unplugged them and still starts etc? anyways picture time!
As dribbled on already, past few weeks have been painting primer on, sanding off and starting again pretty much, not a painter but trying to stick to the paying for part not labour rule until I need something I don't know or safety wise before you think of a cowboy… worst case I thought I would have to pay someone to do it anyway, so the late nights looked like this..

and most recent high build on, opened the doors up after a while to give it a chance in setting, for those that may be like me and want to try cellulose using a gun, I found that there is a magic cup with measurements that help with the ratios, and just went to Halfords for the paint. Without a trade card is £22 for 500ml, I got a litre but askt to have it in two containers, which I am now taking the left over 300ml or so put into an aerosol so I know its as good match for the possible touch ups needed
I stone chipped over the bottom first

then gave it two coats on Wednesday arfternoon, followed by 3 coats yesterday. I must admit how quickly it set on just about everything in the unit, a chap in the next unit is a paint finisher, so obvious person to ask and also blame if stuff reacted… it didn't as I listened he also made a remark how the tinge of white over everything in his unit was ideal but think he feels sorry for me, and also doesn't believe it will drive again! Anyways, less waffle more pictures?

Apparently the little dimples you see is only 'dirt' and can be flatted and polished out, like the run I managed to get, on a spot where there wasn't an excuse for, but easier to get out…. try and spot it!


and further bit the beaut of a donor mk3!


thanks for looking and any info on what to take off the donor and what not to bother with would be gratefully appreciated!


 

As above, a nice read!!

Thanks for joining and sharing. Well done for getting stuck back in and look forward to your updates  

cheers hairyarse what a name ha wouldn't be still doing this if it wasn't for all the other guys in their sheds posting how easy they make things look!
hoping to get a couple of simple things like rack and brake linkage brackets painted tonight but on a tidy up and will have a game to play… will get glossy pics shortly

Great read nice to see you've not lost the love for it good luck with this

Amusing and a good build. Strong work  

Thanks chaps!

My aim is to actually build this thing and hopefully show you don't have to pay a garage for everything, (running joke that will unfold) show some positive things and skip negative things, filling in with comedy value……. oh and one day get to a golf gathering to meet some of you of course! So the past couple of days have been mainly cleaning and painting, most of the bits I accumulated over the time have perished so taking what I can off the scirrocco which for small grommets and the brake linkage, has been worth the aggro from the landlord of 'scrap cars in the yard arnt allowed' well its a rolling mk2 scirocco gtx…… usually starts shaking his head and walking away at this point…….

And this is what ive been painting back to it, had a bit of flinger flicking fun whn trying to get the spring back onto the brake servo to which a lovely guy goes by the name of Jonathon, think he's amongst us here, told me to keep flicking it off my fingers basically and got it all on. Only rattle canned the servo and chap in the next unit has a shot blast cabinet he let me do the brackets with, and happy enough with the way they are….. not rusty!
The spring and excuse the rivet, just found it easier and its been raining for such a long time hasn't it?!

I cut off the boots as found some in stock/ cardboard box in the shed, cleaned out the old minging grease, re-greased and gave it a paint inc arms

Also thought id pop the headlights on to start on hiding and routing the wires, which I don't have a clue what loom to use, will I have to cut and join the mk3 golf fuse box, ce2 if I have read rightly, and also i'm in the dash dilemma, I have a series 1 but due to the climbing frame don't want to cut it, I have a series 2 but is again too nice to cut, but I have a 6n2 polo and polo saloon dash's as well as a black dimple 3.5 golf one…. so it goes on and one, the idea im having is the golf as the clocks will fit? problem is then I have to solve the heater matrix and pipework?! anyway pictures keep us going!

The climbing frame, like everything has been painted pink/ green/ blue silver/ black and havnt had a chance to get to it yet mainly put it in to make sure the rear loom wouldn't get snagged but if the weather stays like thing will get the floor plates in, otherwise I will get outside and label up and pull out the loom from the mk3


Hopefully will be more entertaining as the month goes on, few idiots/ best mates are heading over tomorrow, talked me into doing other things than the golf, but were productive doing some good ole stress analysis (yes I was not only annoyed but also deeply disgusted when I saw the window, sorry if it offends if someone could photoshop it…)








So that's about all the on and off topic things I have to say, good night and any help about the dash board stuff, if you can remember that far back, would be… as always, gratefully appreciated  

Well it's gone a bit quiet have you been beavering away on the Golf much ???