My first car....Golf Mk1 c for resto - only 33k =)

I bought a golf mk1 c (red ohh no….faded) for a pittence of ?50. It had been sat in the previous owners garden for near 15 years. The day I saw it I instantly wanted some of the action. Its got a serious green issue on ALL of the interior. And the engine isn't completely together althought all I think is missing from the parts I was given is some pipes and the distributor cap. I think I need a new wiring loom. whilst I'm at it I'll list the problems :

- Paint is faded and stained with god knows what. Bonnet/roof and boot lid
- Need completely new interior although I'm thinking of keeping it minimal. LOADS of spiders and creepy crawlies. No rust under carpet anywhere!
- Clutch is shot… the pedal was jammed against the footwell
- didn't get any keys, stupid mate of mine shut the doors and now they are locked only way into the car is through the boot.
- Tyres look corroded as the car has been sat for ages flat although they pumped up for transit well. Nice standard alloys though.
- Brakes (don't have a clue)

I haven't yet fully looked around the car, but the first job is to get the doors undone for stripping of the mouldy green dashboard, rooflining, seats and carpet. I'll post some pics of the car tomorrow when its in situe.
All comments for help are DEEPLY appreciated, this car is my first rebuilt and I want it to go well (although that never happens :roll: )

The engine bay…. well this needs a section all for itself. Where the water from the windscreen collects there is a small garden. Theres enough mud in there to grow some potatoes. easily fixed =)
The engine, I believe to be a 1.3, isn't in too bad condition, just needs bits adding and maybe a quick clean and de-rust (surface, as normal) The distributor cap is missing off the side, through the gap there is still a nice amount of oil in there nice n clean parts too. The cooling system was removed by the previous owner. I've managed to get the radiator from him with the fan and mounting, looks like it needs to be replaced anyway. Not entirely sure what pipes are missing.
Lots of cables are disconnected in the engine bay, but that doesn't matter at the moment as I will check the electrics and replace them because its rather damp or has been inside the car. There is no rust around the bay just scratches and dirt.

 => I'll post some pics when day light arrives =) A lot needs to be done but at the moment I've got the time.

where abouts are  you?

i love these back from the dead projects  

just get it runnuing mate and  drive it as it is  

first things first, stripped the beast of most of the interior, manky as hell. Cleaned some of the mould off to see what inside was like, came up a beauty.
 

heres the rest of the car before I'd done anything







the exhaust…   full of spiders

more… soon you'll see the work we've done

finally after towing it with the ex-owners van from about 3 miles away, its back for the work to begin…
we began with taking out the seats and carpets which was far dirtier and bug infested than we thought…..

well first things first, the images above are the start of this cars rebirth. We took off the window seals because the windows were seazed shut with mould, the door locks are stuck, but we're looking into that tomorrow. We've gotten rid of ALL the interior because of how crispy it was, the material on the dashboard litterally flaked apart when it was pulled on and the glove box was full of wet mud strange really because the drivers window was left open not the passengers side. Theres no rust holes on the floor pan…anywhere!! just needs a real good clean… heres some piccies of what its looking like right now.




the beauty =)

my door locks have seazed, and can't get them undone with keys, not entirely sure what needs to be pushed and pulled to get the door back open. Looked in haines manual but only showed a picture of the lock catch.

Looks like a really nice base for a project - can't grumble at the price either 8O

Good luck with it - if you need any advice there's plenty of people on here who can help…

Rich

good god. that has taken some weathering!

if you peel back the seal in the door, there is a bolt (cross head) which will undo, then prise away the silver/black cover on the outside of the handle, there will be another bolt to undo there as well, then you can remove the lock an asess which bits are seized,

but also a little lever will be just thru the hole left by the door handle which can be popped down with ur finger to unlock the door, i doubt this bit has seized.

i think with a car thats been sat for that long, its probably worth getting all the sound deadening off the floor as water car get underneath it quite badly, heat it up with a blowtorch and peel it off with a paint scraper is the best method because a wire wheel just mushes it all up. then clean excess off with petrol and you can inspect the floorpan properly (the tar matting hides a multitude of problems)

my car set on fire so i had to strip the whole car bare, my resto page might help give you an idea on what to do to strip the whole car,

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=18090&start=0

sorry if thats patronising, but any questions, feel free to PM me
good luck.
JJ

ive just realised how stupid that post about door locks is..if u cant open to door lol! it should open if the door pin is up and you pull it from the inside though?

projectgolf said

ive just realised how stupid that post about door locks is..if u cant open to door lol! it should open if the door pin is up and you pull it from the inside though?

great project. what a find.

if you need some replacemnt bits for the C ive got full seat set the same as yours/ steering wheel and grille with and without fog holes

what a great project, this is very similar to mine, same spec and coulour and been stood for a bit less than mine though lol

and this has just made me wanna go and crack on with mine even more now

keep up the good work