My Mars Red 1.3 C 1983 Jetta

Finally stopped driving her for long enough to clean her up a bit and get some shots!

Here's a few of how she was when I got her home, these are just snapshots really.




Dirty under the old bonnet!

old rad bless her!


She's in pretty good shape, will need a bit of bodywork when the weather picks up again, but she's all sealed up underneath so I'm not worried at the moment. Engine wise she's pretty tidy, got a small leak coming from somewhere on the left hand side of the block that will be sorted eventually, its not even a noticeable amount to be honest. Rocker cover gasket is slightly "sweaty" around a few of the bolts, so that will be done when I do the belt (soon!) I've never seen the wheels before so if anyone has any idea what they are I'm all ears! Theyre 14 x 6j and Et38 and stamped VW Audi. a search for Vw turbines on google brings up a picture of my car lol.

Coilovers are pretty new and ride quite nice, the lad I bought it off said they were Supersport, but they've got blue springs and I thought supersports were red. Oh well, not fussy. I wouldn't usually buy a car thats been tinkered with but I love what has been done to this, and with so few of them knocking about in decent shape, beggers can't be choosers anyway!

Plans are:

"show wheels" in the new year to make her mine a bit more, but the VW wheels will be on the rest of the time!
An oldschool-y upswept tailpipe to give the rear of the car a bit more style.
New radiator
New pressed plates
Rocker gasket
Rear left door seal (missing-lol)
Rear left door rubstrip (missing)
a good service, and then bodywork next year!

All in all, im in love, I had a TT before this and it was nowhere near as fun to drive, going from 225bhp to 60bhp at a push hasn't bothered me at all! I get people stopping to talk to me about it, a bloke today said "I haven't seen one of these for a while!" and remarked on how clean it was. Even my mates who take the piss admit knowing why I bought it when I take them for a drive. The word "character" gets said a lot, when things squeak and knock haha.

Here's some proper photo's after a good clean, after 2 shampoo's I used Dodo Juice Lime Prime Pre wax cleanser to clean it up, then Natty's Paste wax to protect it. For the engine bay I used Autoglym Engine and Machine Cleaner and Aerospace Protectant (engine bay is an ongoing thing really, just did a bit) Then for the trim/tyres/grille I used Autoglym bumper care, and Aerospace Protectant.










Thanks for looking!

Sam

Apologies for saying daffodil!, oh daffodil thats gonna come out as daffodil!

Spilz said

Apologies for saying daffodil!, oh daffodil thats gonna come out as daffodil!

         

Looks nice and clean mate.  8)  8)

Cheers mate!!

Looks good, thought it might have been one that used to be down my way.

cheers, nah I got this from Yorkshire. That one looks the same bar the wheels though!

Nice to see another Jetta :-)

DubPartz said

Nice to see another Jetta :-)

Yea mate we'll have to stick together haha.

really love jettas! more pics

Rubbadubdub said

really love jettas! more pics

Cheers! Will post more pics at the weekend, gonna do a night shoot if the rain holds off.

Spilz said

DubPartz said

Nice to see another Jetta :-)

Yea mate we'll have to stick together haha.

:dance:  :punk:

Just ordered a full set of Chrome side trims, got to hand them over to Santa but they're mine none the less!

Love it looks cracking!

Thanks mate!

Update to keep my thread going,

about two days after the above photoshoot I had some trouble with with soggy footwells, and also I have an underlying electrical issue, I think its the battery as it wont charge.

So I haven't really driven the Jetta much, just been working on it over the weekends.

The interior has been stripped, carpets have dried out nicely! Dashboard was fun to get out…

its leaking through the bulkhead by the clutch cable



Its not sealed so it runs under the repair plate!




I bought some Chrome side trims but one was bent so I never got round to even fitting them! Shame as I wanted to do as much as I could before I got it back on the road.

Plans over Christmas are, in this order.

Sort the leaks!
CHECK the leaks!
Get the interior back in
Get as much as I can powder coated!
Get it running again, it wont take much I dont think!
Fit the new radiator and cap, coolant flange and air filter that I've bought for her!
GO FOR A LONG DRIVE!
Christen it… Standard. :evil:

I've started a blog, like a saddo! Just my way of keeping track of what I've done!

That list will get longer and longer mate the more you look on the internet

Give that engine bay a wipe down

Haha, it was spotless, thats from a weeks driving! the road I go down to work is proper mucky!

Not gonna let that list get any longer till the weather picks up haha. Really missing driving it

NicE ONE MATE

Fixed my leak! (rain water etc)

Hi guys, not been on here since before Crimbo, been rediccy busy as I've started my own photography and design company and its all systems go.

DEFINITELY still found time for the Jetta though!

The whole car was stripped interior wise and thoroughly checked for rust and water, she's all solid, not even slightly rusting anywhere floorpan wise (touch wood)

The old repair plate was removed, and I bought a new one, I immediately took the adhesive padding off it and hammered it into a better shape (they are slightly out on the top left corner).

My old man was a welder so we fixed the crack in the bulkhead by knocking it flush and welding it.



Then primed the patch, and dried and added some bitumen underneath the seam as it had come away

Then added bitumen to the area that was going to be covered and bolted the newly painted plate on!



and hey presto!

It still leaked!

It was inevitable really, the scuttle panel seal was daffodil'd and the rubber seal that goes through the repair plate isn't quite watertight…

So we checked all along the seam, and luckily the only place it was visibly gone was above the repair plate, so this was ripped out with a wire brush drill bit, and replaced with Chemical Metal from Halfrauds (I was being impatient)
Thats not rust inside the scuttle panel, its where the paint has come away from the black sound deadening stuff they put in there. The only rust in the whole bay really is on the lip of the scuttle panel.




Once this was done I went all along with Grey Stripe Seam sealer and sealed the whole seam for the scuttle panel, so now the only place it drains is the holes each side, great stuffs!

As the car had been sat for a couple of months I was keen to get it started, so I got an old shoelace and tied it to the carb where the choke cable goes on (that was in the boot with the dashboard lol)

Pulled it open, and it fired up first go as if it had been driven the day before!

Love this car.

I definitely didn't take it for a spin like this, that would have been stupid, and really fun!



So far the car has had…

A new door seal as mine was completely missing
a new radiator and coolant flange which I have yet to fit
air filter
chrome handle trims
new gearstick gaiter from a mk1 golf

Plans are,

Primarily get the Cam belt and maybe the head gasket done, its leaking slightly from above the alternator
fit radiator and coolant flange
figure out why there are a few drips of water on the floor below the heater matrix housing every so often

and then!

a nice upswept old school style exhaust, just a backbox with loads of baffle as I don't want it loud!
and powder coating and probably a load more
Then hit a few shows with my mates and enjoy the summer.

Cheers,
Spilz

Hey guys, just a quick update, still haven't tested the alternator, but fingers crossed there will be no more soggy footwells!

Trying to figure out why the temp gauge etc dies when i turn the lights on, and why the dash doesnt light up anymore.

Nevermind! Went out for a quick shoot to test some new camera equipment I bought for my business.

Here's a pic.
Let me know what you think! Sorry for the poor quality (Photobucket resized it)