My cabrio weekend build!!

Mk1 Cabrio 1.8t project build from  2001 to present.



By all means this is no show car but my go car..
Well as you can see this build as been a steady progress from 2001 mainly due to only being able to work on her during the weekends here and there. So here's the history along with some pictures and the spec later. Also I will try at some stage go into detail on how I overcame some problems with help from here and a far…

History

2001 :  Bought a standardish Mk1 cabrio with a Carb engine cheap. The engine was fine but the Golf had the normal issue of rust in the tank so the owner sold it. At the time the golf would run for 12 miles approx then cut out, this was due to the fuel filter clogging up rust and what not. Coming from running a mk1 golf with a 9a 2.0ltr 16v i found that the 1.8 carb engine was well under powered and decide it was time for an upgrade, at first i was looking down the lines of g60 and 16v lines again but i had thoughts of bigger plans.

 
2002 : Source a very low mileage 1.8t AUM engine .. 2048 miles.. Hehe Good find and a cheap buy, but no ecu,clocks,key,loom or know how!!. At the time 1.8t conversion were rare and far between so there was much info out there and sourcing parts was not as easy as it is now.
 
2003 : Engine was fitted and running with a DTA ecu and other bits and bobs.. I tried to use it as my daily runner but way to thirsty for doing 90 miles a day but was fun to drive. The DTA was running perfect and was really drivable and very much a wolf in sheep's clothing.




2004 : New job with the Red Arrows which meant I didn't have much time on my hands… So I put her into storage and for some more mods.  hehe
 
2005 :  I had modified Golf G60 hubs to fit so that I had ABS pickups for use with the launch control from the DTA which worked well.. Also managed to get my hands on a cheap audi TT dash through ebay.
 

2006 to 2008 :  Dash fitted with working clocks to a point but still not much time available to much more.


 
2009 :  New job with more miles and the occasional afghan trip so still kept as a weekend car!! Still managed to upgrade the brakes from g60 280 callipers to some nice Porsche ones.
 


2010 :  Decided to get some money back into my pocket so i sold the DTA ECU and nitrous kit  and started to source cheap parts for OEM setup.
 
2011 : OEM fitted and running with great help from Rubjonny, just ironing out some codes before I get Revo stage 2 upgrade map. I going for Revo because I have a SP3 control from the one of my previous VW's



CURRENT SPEC:

Engine:

 1.8t AUM with some internal changes ;-), K03s, 4 bar FPR, Neuspeed intake, Quaife Diff and modified Clutch, 3" Stainless exhaust to Audi tt rear box, mk5 Intercooler.
K03s soon to be hybrid!! Just looking at whos best!



Chassis:

Strengthened chassis with uprated k-mac ARBS, Koni fully Adj suspension, G60 front hubs, TSR Power Steering, Porsche 928 Rims, Isometric top mounts, Front upper and lower strut braces.



Brakes:

Bias Pedal box, Porsche front brakes on 288mm and rear mk4 callipers.


Electrical:

Full mk4 Engine loom convert to mk1. Uprated head lights with integrated TT parts (Xenon HID), Alpine head unit, JL12" sub Rock Amps.

Nice cabby buddy done some nice work bet u spent a pretty penny on them front callipers

Nice cabby buddy done some nice work bet u spent a pretty penny on them front callipers

lots of work there!  Whats the scuttle shake like with all those mods?

lots of work there!  Whats the scuttle shake like with all those mods?

oscar300 said

lots of work there!  Whats the scuttle shake like with all those mods?

To be fair it's a hard ride but not to bad the last golf running bilstiens was much harder! Scuttle shake fine!

Vdubchris said

Nice cabby buddy done some nice work bet u spent a pretty penny on them front callipers

Cheap off eBay then made adapters at work!
The only problem I have is going over 140 with roof up! Roof lifts and bends quite a bit!!

lol love it mate great looking car ;-)

oscar300 said

lol love it mate great looking car ;-)

Cheers!!1   i'll try and get some better pictures soon…  Just after ideas for front and rear seats which would compliment the Audi TT dash??

great car , shows you if your patient it can still happen :-)

Some more Engine Pic's with a bit of PS5 on the dirty bits… I should of cleaned it first!!

awsome mate, looks great, love that engine bay, nice and full

chris

good to see a build thread for this, nice work

Wow great looking engine bay there... Well done! :wink:

Shughy said

Wow great looking engine bay there… Well done! :wink:

cheers!!! Still not quite there yet!! I need to sort out the gearbox paint and other bits and bobs…

Ummm Wups time to change the interior again… Just bought some Alfa GTV seats in perfect condition…  Should be quite easy to fit as well…  I'll get some pictures up once done..

90% fitted just got to tidy up….really easy to fit compared to the previous mk3 setup..  Mk3 seats are now for sale… cheap..

So the question is headrest or no headrests??

Cars looking good mate.

I prefer the rear seats without the headrest.

looks good.

Personally I think it looks better without the headrests, they look like balloons stuck on the back of the seat..

BigNormRivage said

Cars looking good mate.

I prefer the rear seats without the headrest.

cabby18t said

looks good.

Personally I think it looks better without the headrests, they look like balloons stuck on the back of the seat..

Cheers guys..I think you both right… Now its time to retro fit 3 point seat belts in the rear… Any ideas??