Newbie from Bristol! Leaking cabby - please help!

Good afternoon all!

I am a 'newbie' in the motoring world and have decided to purchase a 1985 Mk1 Cabriolet 1.8 GTI as my first car!

I was initially looking at clios and the like with no intention of purchasing a Mk1, however when i stumbled across one online it was love at first site!

The car has been running perfectly well (mechanically), however a few other minor problems have arisen, as expected - these are listed as below, any help/advice will be very much appreciated.

1 - Leaking roof!

There is a constant dripping from the rubber seal in the top left hand corner of the drivers window and top right hand corner of the passengers window (as if you are sat inside the car).

Having looked at how the roof sits on the window and the condition of the seals, i am unsure of why these are leaking? Has anyone experienced this before?

2 - Gauges!

The gauges have been working fine since picking up the car however the speedometer cable has been making some noise.. A few days ago the MPH clock has stopped working, however the RPM clock is still working. Again, any advice/guidance is welcome.

Finally……. 3 - The heaters!

When I initially viewed the car the heaters were working well but when i returned to complete the purchase of the car they weren't working at all.. I believe this is to do with the fuse -  can somebody enlighten me on which fuse I need and where this goes???

Thank you,


Ben.

Hi Ben welcome along mate glad to hear theres another MK1 in Brizzle, quite a few of us on here already Where abouts in Bris you based?

I take it roof is leaking from handle not join in rubber above window?
Your locking handle adjusted and tight enough???

If you need any spares speak to these guys
http://golfbitz.biz/are

Heres info on monthly Meet:
http://www.bristoldublove.weebly.com

Oh and get a few pics up of your motor Scott

Hi Ben,  sorry I couldn't chat earlier, I'm still at work so a bit difficult to spend too much time on the forum.

For the speedo issue, try reaching under the dash to the back of the clocks and give the cable a oush into the cluster, also follow back to the gear bock to see if it is seated correctly.

Can't help on the leak issue, I've the same on mine abnd still can't fix it !!

hi pal I also have cab and my mate does and yep they both leak haha don't think i've spoke to some one who's doesn't leak. you can buy the seals but don't know how hard they are to fit or solve the problem

Hi Scott. I saw a few Mk1's when i didn't own one and none since, where you all hiding?! Based in Horfield, how about you?

I'm almost certain its not the handle as its dripping down the solid rubber block (top left of window). Having read a few blogs on the net I'm still confused of what it could be… I'd rather have it fixed at a cost than a wet ride!

Thanks for the links and help. I'll be attending the monthly meet as i work a stones throw away from the carvery on woodlands lane - what time is it?

Hi Fathammer, thanks for the advice I'll give it a go and let you know how i get on!

Cheers mk1st3, gonna do all i can to fix. If i find a solution i'll keep you posted!

Ben.

Ok cool i bought my old clipper from horfield ATM im in severn beach, theres richyhill who is north bristol. Blans and gasco from the otherside, J@CKO from somewhere in bristol and im a few others around and about

I kninda know the bit of rubber you mean but sold the cabby in august and cant picture what it looks like.

Meet is 19:30ish - first friday of each month Scott

See below

Error with pictures

Good to hear - I guess i'll be meeting most of these at the monthly meet?Here are a few pictures - one of the rubber part and the others which were posted along with the advert of the car when I bought it! Got a little picture happy, sorry!Feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome!Cheers

it looks tidy mate, i really like those seats, was that up for sale locally i think i recognize it.
most of us should be at the meet

Ive added you to the south west bit of the forum keep an eye out for clubstands etc
Also we have the owners club annual gather end of July, theres always a massive convoy up from south west

back to the leak……
once hood is released have a look at these screws they sit ontop of that rubber thing, they screw into a grommet that is in the roof frame.

Hi Mate

WELCOME ALONG  

Scott (arf333) and I are regional hosts for the Southwest, run local shows such as Bristol Volksfest, cruise to the prom (WSM), Berkley VW show etc etc

I am just up the road for you top of Lawrence Weston by blaise castle.

If you are free pop along to the local meet (first fri on the month) from 7.30pm at the Toby Carvery in Bradley Stoke and I will take a look at the cabby for ya.

If you cant make it me and Scott will try and pop to you one weekend or we can meet somewhere

Car looks nice and what a great first car!

Look forward to some shows with you this year mate, we all have a good laugh together down here :-) and the big AGM annual gathering is a must !!

Cheers

Rich

Cheers mate. Was up for sale in Newport on the car and classic website. 

The meets sound good, I will try my best to come to as many as possible! 

Just had a quick look and under the rubber to which the screw goes in to is wet so it seems you've hit the nail on the head! Do I just need to tighten those screws or get new rubbers? 

Hi Rich! 

I'll be at the next meet so look forward to seeing you all there mate. 

Mechanically I know very little about cars so expect a lot of questions (apologies in advance!) - do you know anyone local to us who knows about and works on Mk1's? As you have probably seen, I need to fix the gauge and t

Welcome to the forum Ben. Great first car choice    I recall seeing this online for sale and thought it looked nice.

Hope you get the leaks sorted soon, then make sure everything is dry, such as carpet and floor/underlay underneath

Yea could just need tightening or maybe a new rubber? once screw is out the rubber just pulls out the channel.

These cars a nice to work on you can do most jobs with a basic tool kit and you learn quite fast. Take Rich for example: now he only needs to take 1 day off work to change a brake light  

Theres a place by Yate called VWRestro and i think Volksmania in Hallen do work, not sure what they are like with older cars though.
Thats an old school machanic that looks after my mums T2 he is really good with older cars.

Also have a look at these threads here, will give you an idea what you can expect from our clubstands :]

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fbristol-volksfest-2013_3

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fswdubs-mega-meet-2014

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fbristol-santa-cruz-2013

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fberkeley-vw-show-2013

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fsummer-classics-2013&kfs106=30

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fstanford-hall-some&kfs106=60

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fretrorides-beach-party-7&kfs106=60

Scott

Cheers mate, I am impatient so tend to jump at the first one which pops up and this was it! 

Thanks again Scott, I'll try and tighten it up tomorrow and go from there. Will I have to buy a new set of seals or can I get those individually? 

Haha that sounds a lot like me at the moment.. What's a brake light anyway?…..

I'll have a go at as much as I can myself but I think I'll need to pop to a garage to get the heaters sorted! 

Just about to browse through the threads! 

Cheers


Ben

arf333 said

Yea could just need tightening or maybe a new rubber? once screw is out the rubber just pulls out the channel.

These cars a nice to work on you can do most jobs with a basic tool kit and you learn quite fast. Take Rich for example: now he only needs to take 1 day off work to change a brake light  

Theres a place by Yate called VWRestro and i think Volksmania in Hallen do work, not sure what they are like with older cars though.
Thats an old school machanic that looks after my mums T2 he is really good with older cars.

Also have a look at these threads here, will give you an idea what you can expect from our clubstands :]

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fbristol-volksfest-2013_3

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fswdubs-mega-meet-2014

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fbristol-santa-cruz-2013

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fberkeley-vw-show-2013

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fsummer-classics-2013&kfs106=30

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fstanford-hall-some&kfs106=60

http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=show-meet-pictures-and_2%2Fretrorides-beach-party-7&kfs106=60

Scott

Come off it Scott…….Rich change a brake light, he'd have to get his hands dirty to do that and then he'd only complain about his bad back ! !

Heater is usually resistor pack or can be the blower switch on the dash itself sometimes

Welcome to the club  

Your cabby looks really nice mate! I've got exactly the same problem with my new cab where it's leaking in the corners! Seems to be running off the roof down towards the A post and inbetween the gap between the rubber end of the roof and the windscreen rubber.

If anyone finds a fix for the roof leaks please let me know

   

Take a look here - Cabriolet Hood Replacement - The Mk1 Golf Owners Club

I don't know but there could be something that jumps out at you that's worth checking/tightening/adjusting?

I know nothing about cabby hoods by the way, aside from they're floppy!