Project Sleeper - Mk1 Golf 20vT AEB... Now Runs :)

Hi all, im fairly knew to the website and forums in general so please be patient

I bought this 1983 Mk1 Gti from a friend for £800. After failing an MOT in August 2010 and looking at the problems i thought i would buy it just laughs if nothing else. I dont pretend to know my way around cars, but i am picking up things  especailly after reading through the Mk1 forums.


So here she is……





The person who previously owned the car was a real fan of the mk1 but i think was more intrested in speed that actually restoring her. Atm she has many problems which include

1. Rear Left Braking sticking
2. Wipers working only on one speed (slow)
3. Mileage Clock has stopped working
4. Brakes very poor when using
5. Barely Legal tyres
6. Rust under the sills (Requires Welding)
7. Exhaust runs under fuel tank (heat issue)
8. Gear slection is very loose
9. Leaking Sunroof
10. Flat Battery
11. Loose Front seats

However with all these bad points there alot of good ones.

1. 50k 2.0L 16v ABF engine
2. Full custom Exhuast System
3. running ZX6R carbs
4. Front Suspension koni top mounts
5. Rear Suspension Koni dampers and shocks (all poly bushed)
6. Recaro Front Seats
6. Rear Seats, Spare Wheel and alot of interior removed for weight loss.

More updates to follow,

Gaz

Looks like 1 hell of a bargain for £800. Good luck with getting it sorted and let me know how you get on with the odometer as mines dead aswell and I just keep putting off looking at it.

Probably snapped speedo cable!Undo it from the back of the dial cluster and try to pull the inner cable out by hand,if it comes then thats your problem,came accross it on mk1`s a couple of times!

g60go said

Probably snapped speedo cable!Undo it from the back of the dial cluster and try to pull the inner cable out by hand,if it comes then thats your problem,came accross it on mk1`s a couple of times!

Cheers pal, ill have a good look when i get the dash out, although im unsure if the speedo would work if the cable had broke? My Dad had an old vw polo a similair age and said he had to change the clock, so will be intresting to check this one out

Anyways, finally for the first time i have a few Pictures of the Golf Today







Not the best pictures, but as i only have my mobile atm to work from ill try get some better ones soon…




After reading alot in the forums and checking the projects out, i think im going to try a similar track day car, at the same time restoring her. I have a small budget to work from and thinking becuase there is no grip on the tyres (torque Steer) and no brakes (yikes) , i will look at these key areas first.

On order 4 x 195/50/15 Yokohama tyres - Fitted £200




Stripping out the door cards, old carpets and dash.



Just before setting of home, i thought id check everything was still ok. I have never really give the car much beans before as it feels rather loose.

However i thought sod it this once and see what happens. within 4 seconds my drivers seat was in boot of the car and myself followed with it.    Seems the pin under the seat had fell out and the sheer kickback of the car left me and the seat wondering what had happened.

I love this car already…..

Hello Guys

Sorry ive been away for such a while. Been a busy few months with getting married and changing jobs so things have been a little hectic.

Updates.

Since driving the car back in november the mars red baby was suffuring from some real lack of grip. At first i thought it was the power with what appeared to be alot of torque steer.

So ive took it down to a local garage near by and had some Yokohama's Paradas Fitted all around - £200 well spent.

Taking the car for a spin feels alot more solid however it still feels a little loose. So off to ebay again to buy some OMP Struts. Bought Front and Rear strut braces for £80 all in red hopefully they will arrive soon. 8)

Lastly the car was lacking some serious colour aswell, so had her buffed up and cleaned properly to give her some well deserved restoration.

Last week, ive started to dismantle the sunroof as it appears there is a leak coming from what was a very poor silicone seal job from the previous owner. I think there used to be a drip hose from the sunroof running through the car to the tailgate.   Seems this has been taken out and foamed up leaving me a horrible rusty mess on my hands.

If that wasnt enough the rear left wheel has been making a real horrible grinidng noise to which i assumed it would be the tyre or drum. It now appears this could be a handbrake issue as when i click it up one notch, the sound is almost gone and on 2 clicks disspeared all together. Any ideas on this would be gratefully appreciated



Ill hopefully get some more pictures up this weekend

Cant quite see from the pics, is it factory steel sunroof? If so you've got two drain holes at the front and two at the rear. If one has been filled it will need sorting to sort the leak.

It can be safely 'bodged' if the metal pipe is rusty you can even glue in some pipe - I've done this before as a temp fix. Back ones though you wont get to, think you'd have to take headlining down

Ref the noise at rear wheel, is it wheel bearing?

Just checked it before work and your right i can see the four drain holes.

The Two nearest the front windscreen are sealed with expanding foam :/ The remaining two drains to the rear appear to be working fine, just no hoses to allow it too drain.

The interior is currently stripped out already, so i might rig up some temp hoses at least for now to help it dry out.  

Re the sunroof - it is a metal/steel sunroof (no glass) and was screwed into place with custom (awful) brackets . Thinking about taking the sunroof rack out complelety and supporting it by packing around the underside.

I'll try and get the wheels off this weekend aswell and take a few photos, see if it is the bearing which i hope it isnt

Cheers pal

Yep you'd have to have those front holes working too. Chudd on here did a conversion on his MK1, cut out the steel sunroof and fitted a Webasto roof from a Fiat Cinquecento. Do a search, it was a cracking job

Just checked that one out. I have never seen a roof like that in my life. Definately a bit different.

Today i have refitted the steel roof back in after drying it out this weekend and clearing all the rust and moisture out. Refitted with custom brackets and resealed with black sealant.

Living in england it shouldnt be far away before it rains so i can monitor and see if there is any water resting around the new seal.

Also this weekend. i have re-aligned the steering wheel back to its correct position and checked the rear drum issue. Even though i havent drove the car since, the functions seemed fine and was suprising clean inside (bearings ok aswell). However the handbrake cables were very loose at it different lengths completely. Im hoping this will stop the sticking…

Just got to get the beauty running now, shes being stuborn and not working. Sounds like the misses

GaryGTi83 said

Hi all, im fairly knew to the website and forums in general so please be patient

I bought this 1983 Mk1 Gti from a friend for £800. After failing an MOT in August 2010 and looking at the problems i thought i would buy it just laughs if nothing else. I dont pretend to know my way around cars, but i am picking up things  especailly after reading through the Mk1 forums.


So here she is……







Gaz

Good deal!  What kind of wheels are those?  They look great on there. :punk:

laying in the back of your car looking at the roof after a flat out launch,loose seats and valver lumps you cant bet it,been there done it lol

I can say one thing this car really makes me smile alot more these days. There isnt one thing that works in the way that it should but i love it more for this reason

Not too much work on the car since except that seal on the sunroof is looking alot better than it did a few weeks back.

Ive currently got the spark plugs out and recharging the car battery. Hopefully once she fires back into life i can really get stuck into her

New Photos added













Suprisingly this car 'does' run  

sometimes…..

what an absolute bargain, alot of car for your money there and doesnt look bad condition at all

looking good mate

Cheers guys.

Have had some joy with the car today. Got the battery and spark plugs back in last night and eventually got her running…. WOOHOO  

Timing appears out so going to check the dizzy cap and get a brakct to fix it back properly.

Also noticed
1. Earth Connection on Alternator has broke off  
2. The Squealing noise appears to be from the Water pump. It whines harder as you put the accelarator down but appears gone once the pump is running  :dontknow:
3. The Radiator Fan didn't come on during the 10mins it was running stand still so will probably have to look into this aswell.

Any help gratefully appreciated  :mrgreen:

:mrgreen: Thought id update this seeing as ive been away from the forums a little…  :redfaced:

My Trusty red golf, is finally back on the road and working (courtsey off a old starter motor from blrh93)

I took her too the local vdub garage, so could be throughly examined before i decided to spend anymore on her, once again coming back with a list longer than my misses shopping receipt.  

With some borrowed axle stand and a new jack, i'll be taking the everything out completey and rebuilding her from the ground up. Im taking her today to the old TVR garage in blackpool, which is now a new paintspray and restore centre.     

Options on colour are :
1. Mars Red - Keep it original – Similar to the Red GTI on abf with webbers on youtube
2. White - dubing it - chrome finishing with bbs wheels
3. Black - keeping it Old School with powdercoated parts and old style black numberplates
4. Something different…  :mrgreen:

Open to any ideas or pictures if you guys have any….

I love white but I would keep it red.  Red GTI's look good too.

Did u get this golf off the housing estate on Church Road ?

Dubwanabe said

Did u get this golf off the housing estate on Church Road ?

Quite possibly yes. Its based in bispham now just off Ashfield road mate.