Golf C Formel E aka Oreo!

Be prepared for a very boring, short and slow build thread - I'm a woman and most of my time is spent in the kitchen so be grateful that there is some progress  :wink:

On the 29th June my ol' boy was born (well, kinda). Almost exactly to the day, 26 years on, my boyfriend and I drove to Manchester, 2+ hours in a Smart car, to have a look and hopefully bring him home.

And bring him home we did. It was the best car journey, ever.

These are the pictures from the advert.





84k miles.
Lots of history and MOT's.
Perfect.

Once home, we nipped straight to MVC (it's like GSF) and picked up a set of brake pads and discs, along with oil, air filter etc to give him a service.



I say we, my boyfriend and brother got stuck into it.

However, being a domestic engineer by trade I did this:



Shiny black plastic to the max!

And, of course, eventually this:





Along came July and the MK1 Golf meet was just up the road from me at Coombe Abbey - we just had to go!

We had a great day and met lots of people full of knowledge and nice words such as these…

"That's a Formel E isn't it?"
"Yes"
"What engine conversion have you done?"
"I haven't"
"You mean it's all original?"
"Yes"
"Crikey that's a bit rare"

 :mrgreen:

At the meet my lovely boyfriend bought me the chrome surround for the grill from Crazy Quiffs stall.



It's the little things that make a difference.

The next 6 months were enjoying him until MOT time came round. Luckily for little ol' me, he passed and his only advisory was the exhaust.



Sorted.

Unfortunately, mayonnaise made an appearance in the filter housing and the air filter itself was becoming saturated in oil.



Knowing that you all know a lot more than me, I came to the forum for advice.

After posting, searching and getting the advice I needed, the air feed was investigated. It turned out to be completely blocked, had a bodged job done to it already and rotten.

Locating the same pipe wasn't easy but eventually it was sorted and back on the road we were.

He ran as sweet as a nut for the next 5 months, averaging 140 miles a week. We then moved in together and he sat in the garage until August. On the way down to a camping trip with friends, I approached a roundabout and he cut out. He just wouldn't idle and I had to keep the choke slightly out to keep him from stalling. Not cool.

With a carb engine it could have been anything and as a consequence he sat in the garage for another 6 months until it was MOT time again.  :redfaced:  You can't MOT a car that won't idle so it was down to a process of elimination, the forum and asking Dad. We found that the carb was faulty along with the mount. We fixed the carb and it ran well for the MOT and eventually passed after it failed on a gaiter gasket.

On the way back from the MOT centre it decided it didn't want to idle anymore so the next thing to do was change the mount.

The mount was sourced and Dad, loving engines, happily fitted it. A few tweaks were made and he now runs perfectly. A very happy m00 indeed!

A couple of pictures from a meet:



Please try and ignore the road salt!



Yes that's me. It was absolutely freezing that night.

After a long and tiresome search for original door cards that didn't have speakers butchered into them, a fellow member got in touch and they became mine!

I also bought a very old Blaupunkt radio to replace the ugly modern Pioneer one but we're having issues with it.

However, the door cards were changed (and it was a relief to see that the doors were in as good as condition on the inside too) and the old radio and speakers removed.

What to do next?

I don't know. I have a set of the original steelies in the garage which will need a refurb and the radio needs sorting but apart from that it looks like I'm done!

I could go for the full respray and engine refurb but that's a lot of effort  :wink:

Well done for getting this far.

Great to see another formal-e . Looks like a very tidy car. Kepp the updates coming
Dave

Great to see another formal-e . Looks like a very tidy car. Kepp the updates coming
Dave

Thanks for the reply, Dave.

I never thought I'd get one!

One day it will need a full resto but until then, things will be slow.  

car looks great!
the picture of the underside of the bonnet proves what a bit of elbow grease can do!
also its good to see someone keeping the original engine or at least a low litre engine.

Good luck and keep the good work up. its looking good

jake

Thank you, Jake.

I actually love the 1.1. Yeah it's slow but it's really revvy and once up to speed quite nippy. You wouldn't want it any quicker with the brake pads it's got - they're the size of a Pepsi can pull ring!

Slow 'n' low. Gives me a chance to take in all the sites  

thats the way low n slow!
although i have to admit my golf is a 1.3, but ill b putting a 1.3 GT engine in, purely just for the 5 speed gear box, cos i live up north in huddersfield and is quite hilly. ahaha

hope to see more pictures of your golf.

& enjoy taking in all the sites, aha

jake

I agree low and slow! If you hit a bump fast it hurts more .
Although a bigger engine is always funner
Dave