Dirty Great Big List of "To-Do's" - much advice pl

Hi, in Oct 10 I had a full Vehicle Checkover report done by the guys at Retro Custom in Hertfordshire (www.retrocustom.com) on my 1983 mk1 gti. They did an excellent job, really thorough.

I now have a list on 1.5 A4 pages, of work which needs to be done, from things such as new exhaust and new water pump to new hoses and brake pads etc etc, the list seems huge!

Despite numerous requests the guys at Retro Custom havent come back to me with a quote for the work, soooo, do I as a relative amateur go online and buy all the parts on the list and have a go at fitting myself? I dont have a huge budget so I need to get new but quite inexpensive parts, in bulk!!

I dont want to miss the summer season but I also dont want to spend loads or have my car laying in pieces because I dont know what I'm doing!! :redfaced:

Advice please!!

 :dontknow: Thanks

Larry

Hi, i think when you say you don't have a big budget that answers your question as to wether or not to do it yourself, you could probably source most parts from Mk1OC recomended suppliers and use your OC discount if you are a member. You will feel more satisfaction doing it yourself, go on.

first off i would say become a paid member, the discount you will get will pay for itself on your first order of parts and then its saving all the way from there then without seeing your list i would say pick the jobs that are a priority to get it on the road and driving then pick off the none essentials as money and time allow, as for not knowing what your doing thats fine theres plenty of people on here who do know what there doing so just ask, advice is free and usually very forthcoming

theres only one way to learn mate, pretty quickly you will get these jobs done and then you will know what your doing and you will be the one writing this reply and one of the members giving advice

put the list up mate lets see what your facing

Post up what's on the list…bar welding I'm willing to help with anything, I'm in Derby but we have a unit in Notts if you wanted to pop over for the day.
Most things can be done yourself with a Haynes and some half decent tools. I'm currently rebuilding 2 engines to make 1 good one and it's going well considering I've not gone this deep into engines before!
Euro car parts are very good for getting stuff, cheap too.

there's plenty of people on here will help

get the list up!!

Thanks for your feedback guys, I feel kind of bad exposing my mk1's shortcomings to the world, all for a good cause though! I'm looking forward to having a go myself and opening up more resto possibilities by keeping costs down! I'll be asking for help though so dont go anywhere!

About to reduce my chances of selling her by about 99% now..  (not that I ever would)!

See attached list - lots of easy fixes here I'm sure, any ball park prices and/or websites/suppliers you think I should visit to get the parts will help me make some good choices!

Thanks again.

Mechanical Issues Found:
Camshaft oil seal and cam cover leaking oil.
Engine requires service.
Top 3cm cooling fins of radiator badly damaged.
Water pump leaking coolant.
Cambelt showing signs of wear and is marked.
Cambelt cover missing.
Cambelt tensioner has free play.
Gearstick requires new bush/linkage kit.
Starter motor intermittent/slow.
Top water hose / head bolt missing.
Clutch cable has excessive free play. May need new cable as rubber missing.
Both wheel bearings have play.
Front brake discs worn to near wear limit.
Front brake pad linings low, lining edges chipping off.
N/S/F brake flexible hose ferrules corroded.
O/S/F and N/S/F brake hard lines showing corrosion, May clean up, but ideally need changing.
Brake fluid contaminated - needs changing and system flush.
N/S/F outer CV boot split.
N/S/F disc brake backing plate corroded and split.
N/S/F track rod end boot split.
O/S/F steering rack gaiter split.
Fuel pump to fuel regulator pipe corroded (high pressure side)
.
Exhaust centre box cracked around rear weld.
O/S/R brake flexible hose ferrule corroded.
All four shock springs appear corroded. Need strip, clean/rebuild and lubricating.
Both rear beam mount bushes perished.
No heat shield protection on exhaust downpipes.
Top engine mounts worn/perished.
Recommend replacement of rear brake shoes.


Body/Trim/Interior Issues Found:

N/S/F chassis leg to front panel needs welding repair.
Front valance split at N/S joint to wing.
N/S/F wing corroded at bottom front and middle upper areas.
Tailgate showing corrosion under paint.
Sunroof area showing paint defects and corrosion.
O/S and N/S sills have corrosion.
Missing two side mirror adjusting knobs and surround escutcheons.
O/S door lock missing door pull and plastic clip.
Speedometer needle erratic.
Handbrake light not working.
Dashboard switches not illuminating.
Glovebox door lock missing.

Other than that she is in tip top condition!

out of interest is this MOT fail list

or just a list as some of these things seem a bit odd?

Nope not MOT fail list, simply a list top to bottom of everything that isnt quite what it should be! Car has been used regularly for last 3 years and MOT is due to expire in a couple of weeks. Its garaged throughout the winter so I'm only doing a few thousand miles a year. I got it 4 years ago and have spent quite a bit getting it to where it is now. Would post pic if I could figure that bit out too! :-)

take it for mot first, then obviously do those jobs, hardest things are welding unless of course you can weld or know a welder, then just sort the rest out into things that go together, for instance cam belt and tensioner oil seal, cam cover seal will all be in one operation as you will be stripping it down enough to do the cam belt to get the other stuff done at the same time, then water pump, easy enough job but you have to drain the system so change all the knackered hoses at the same time, then the braking system, buy all the stuff you need then do the lot in one go etc ..

once you work through a few things and start seeing things fixed, the satisfaction of doin it yourself will motivate you to carry on.

So where can I go for a one stop shop for parts? Any recommendations?

Hi mate looks like you have a big list but all fairly straight forward stuff by looks of things. I go on bigboystoys fairly good for vw parts if not just have a look through gfs. Good luck

go for it mate...it may seem like a up hill struggle but it can be done

I would recommend eurocarparts and I can get stuff for trade price from them too. (Registered as a garage with them )

If you want help with the brakes if you can get to Derby I can get the discount and me and my friends will give you a hand, should only take a day.

I would get:

Front Discs and pads
Rear wheel bearings X2
Rear shoes and drums. (recommend VW for the shoes as they normally come built up with all new springs etc..I got Lupo ones which are practically the same for £48 the pair.)
Rear wheel cylinders X2
New Flexi hoses.
New allen bolts/sleeves for the front calipers, again come as a set about a tenner a side I think.
Also the metal slider plates for front brake pads which keeps them seated and stops them squeaking.
Brake fluid.
Copper grease.
Bearing grease which should come with the rear wheel bearing anyway.

Could also do the split boots/gaitors but you'd need to soak it all in plusgas/WD40 before as suspension might not have been undone before.

Anyway the offer's there, call it good deeds being passed on from when someone on let me help them (I was the clueless one for sure!) in fitting a new roof on my car.

Thanks Charlie thats a really generous offer. Sadly the car is SORN at the moment and probably wont run too far, so what I will probably do is start picking up some bits from euro car parts and then have a blummin good go at fixing the bits I dare take on!

If the weather stays good I can perhaps have a stab at the priorities over a few days.

If anyone does fancy a day trip down to help me I will treat them to a swanky lunch in the village pub and as much tea as they can drink! (north Herts).

Dont stray too far as I'm sure I will be on here again soon asking why I have a handful of nuts and bolts that dont belong anywhere! :-)

Photo Storage | Photobucket

Hi all,

it didnt take long! I had a stab today at looking (yeah just looking) at the rear brake pads (first time ive actually done any work ever), managed to take the drum off and figure out what needs to happen when putting on the new brake pads  (haynes) - (getting brake pads et al this week), but now am struggling to get pin back in!!?

Added to that, I just got her started after charging the battery and petrol started spewing from underneath, its on axle stands at the back so im not sure if ive split something? The petrol isnt coming from any hoses, but at the back of the tank and from up and behind?? its running down and along the bottom of the tank! :redfaced:  :roll:

Any thoughts appreciated!

Sigh, first attempt blues!  

You will need to replace the pin as they are pretty much one use only due to them being so soft.

If you buy brake shoes from VW they usually come built up wuth replacement pins as well. Bit extra but well worth it for the hassle saved.

Where did you put the axle stands? On the rear axle is the best place, not the floor or sills if you can help it.

Don't worry, it'll get better, I've had the same feeling with my engine rebuild in the past few weeks but it's getting there and so will you.

This thread is why I love forums…

you will get so much satisfaction from doing all this work, or as much as you can, yourself… It will save you a ton of money being a paid member too

I would add to previous comments by saying that if your radiator is completely knackered then change that when you are changing your water pump.. save yourself money on G12++ (or equivalent) coolant

If this was mine I would concentrate on one section at a time, which it looks like you are doing… ie. braking system, cooling system, steering/suspension, engine/cambelt, electrics, cosmetics. Get one section checked off and then move onto the next. I think its already been said but look at doing the MOT fails (and the cambelt) as a priority.

Good luck… everyone here is very supportive so if you get stuck just ask

Hi mate, Where in North Herts are you? I am in WGC. Might be able to give you a hand if you aren't too far away