ProjektStuttgart - Series 1 Mk1 Golf

So let's get started  

This is my first Mk1 project, so please chip in and let me know if what I'm doing makes no sense!  I've got 'some' experiencing building some pretty cool BMW's/Audi's in the past, but with this being my very first VW I'll need all the support I can get!  I've always wanted to do a Mk1 and when I stumbled across this s1, I knew this was the one!  The title of the thread probably gives away a lot of my plans, but ultimately I'm hoping to build a pretty cool, minty fresh Mk1  8)

I'm pretty decided on how I want my Mk1 look but I'm sure this will change over time.

So, a little about the car.  It's a 1.6 GTI genuine series 1, last owner has had this car since the mid 90's but it's been sat in a barn for the last 8 years or so.  As such, she needs loads of work!  I'm hoping to be ready before the Spring next year.  Progress before Xmas will probably be quite slow, but things should pick up at the start of the new year - I've already started gathering some bits to get cracking.

So the pics  8)

Here's the day she was finally trailered here a couple of weeks ago





I managed to send a few hours at the bodyshop today to start stripping parts out and sorting the huge pile of parts that had built up over the years





Parts pile starts to build up







Lot's of rubber :/



After ripping the seats, door cards, headlining and carpets out, I was bracing myself for loads of dreaded rust..

Boot well is fine (albeit still dirty!)





As were the rear inner arches



As I tore the carpets out, I was delighted to see that there was no serious rust anywhere so far.. result!









And that was it for today - not much done but pleased to see I have a very solid shell as a base to build on.  Plan on Monday it to rip out the remaining carpet, bag up all the bits and then hope my bodyshop chap can get started this side of Xmas.  I'll also be building up my parts collection so that once the bodywork is complete (sometime in Jan realistically), I can get cracking with the rest.

Thanks for tuning in folks.

Result Dil. Cracking little project you've started. Good news there's no major rot on the car.

Good luck with it and come back with updates

Smudger

Looks like you've got yourself a great shell to start off with mate, well done! I look forward to seeing your progress and to see what you come up with.

Cheers, Andy.

Can't believe I wasn't there to see it being stripped! I'll be getting acquainted with the Mk1 in the coming weeks when I'm back from Uni!

Cracking find will be keeping an eye on this thread

smudger1980 said

Result Dil. Cracking little project you've started. Good news there's no major rot on the car.

Good luck with it and come back with updates

Smudger

Cheers mate - yup I was delighted to find next to no rot on a car older than me

Found a little bit that needs some attention - but nothing too major at all  

Melteddrummer said

Looks like you've got yourself a great shell to start off with mate, well done! I look forward to seeing your progress and to see what you come up with.

Cheers, Andy.

Cheers Andy, not much progress expected before the new year, but that's cool as it gives me time to gather some tasty parts  :wink:

Unsure about what to do engine-wise - I'll probably do some sort of conversion next year but unsure of what.. don't need power so might go down the PD route as much as I hate diesels lol

At present, the original 1.6 GTI will be dropped in to get her back on the road before show season  8)

alimalik said

Can't believe I wasn't there to see it being stripped! I'll be getting acquainted with the Mk1 in the coming weeks when I'm back from Uni!

You ain't going anywhere near it now la bron - you missed all the dirty, smelly bit - ripping out a tired, battered old interior is not nice  :evil:

ScottishMk1 said

Cracking find will be keeping an eye on this thread

Thanks man, little update below!

Right then peeps, had a couple of hours at the garage this afternoon to finish stripping the old thing..

Managed to get the seats, rear door cards, and remaining carpet out, as well as that horrid underlay stuff - yuck!











On a whole I was absolutely delighted to find such a structurally sound shell - real result!  The only bit of the floor pan that needs attention was the bit I discovered below under the drivers seat



Nothing too serious at all!  I'm well impressed, especially considering this car has never been restored, and compared to some of the shells that are rebuilt - real result!

Rear lights are out too, as are grills/light etc.





Next step (for me anyway) is to purchase 5 litres of paint - hopefully dropping that off at the bodyshop might encourage him to get started this side of Xmas    I'll also get the all the glass removed sometime this week too.

I'm also thinking I may as well pull the dashboard out - didn't originally plan to remove this too, but looking at the shell now, I think it makes sense.

Also, Ben kindly messaged me on here as he wasn't sure the car was a genuine series 1 (cheers Ben) as all the interior bits pulled out were s2 items.  So, after exchanging a few PM's, I'm certain this is a real s1 as:

> it has the correct rear end
> it has a 2 gauge centre console
> it has an s1 dash
> it has a 10 digit VIN
> it was built in 1980

To clarify for anyone else who may be curious - the previous owner (who had the car since mid 1990's) also had an s2.  After the s2 was written off, he put a lot of the interior bits into this s1, which is why the seats/steering wheel etc are all s2 items.  He informed me of this when I viewed the car.  In addition, after his s2 was written off almost a decade ago, most of the parts have sat in the rear of this s1 - this is why a lot of the parts in the images above may be s2 items - all these parts came with the s1.  So I have 2 sets of glass, 2 interiors, 4 sets of sun visors,  sets of wing mirrors etc.  But after exchanging a few PM's with Ben (and checking the build date in the log book!), I'm 100% confident this is a genuine s1.. but please correct me if I'm wrong  8)

S1 dash:







S1 centre console:




Thanks for reading peeps - might pull the dash out at the weekend as I'm back at work tomorrow.  Then it's a case of twisting my bodyworker's arm to see if he can get cracking on the prep before the new year!