1.6 Gti resto (keeping it standard)

Well as they say,  "You can lead a horse to water……..".

I can see no amount of advice is going to sway you so I'll wish you the best of luck.

They'll be plenty hints and tips on here but you'd better not take too long to weld the back end up as the front end might have disappeared before you've finished!  

Amazing!! I get moaned at for breaking mk1's
Then I get told the mk1 project I've got is scrap! Or not worth saving! Well I've chosen to save this one,come on people why be so down on someone trying to save a mk1 from the scrappy or even worse my cutter!!

i would love to save all mk1s

thing is you might get it all welded up in a year or 2 but, it'll be riddled with rot still in all the places you can't see and be full of filler

the only way to be sure about all the issues is get it blasted or dip.. each have there up side and down side, doing this will help you out in the long run as it will make welding alot easier

Being able to weld is a good skill to have and what better way to learn than saving a MK1?

However welding is a black art. I can weld two bits of thick shiny metal on a bench but upside down with paper thin rusty old car is a different matter.

Good Luck with it.

sphmk1 said

Amazing!! I get moaned at for breaking mk1's
Then I get told the mk1 project I've got is scrap! Or not worth saving! Well I've chosen to save this one,come on people why be so down on someone trying to save a mk1 from the scrappy or even worse my cutter!!

Don't take it the wrong way - once you mentioned you were 'fresh' to welding we just wanted you to be clear on what job you were taking on - am more than happy that you're willing to commit to saving another MK1  

I speak from experience of being a complete newb to welding and resto's and having a MK1 that needs a lot less work than yours by the looks of things but has still worn me down and had me close to packing it in at times.

If you can get stuck in and get this one back on the road then fair play to you, I'd love to see that  

Fair play to you with taking on this project!        
Worst case scenario, you will learn so much, just take your time and think it all through before taking action mate!    

But then again I guess you know that.  

hi buy a small sander blaster which run off a compressor but blasting does take time with a run one just do the shell  and for the wings, doors, hatch, bonnet and many other things  use electrolysis cheap and simple , cost a few quid i dipped all my removable parts using electrolysis mate, if you are not sure how to do it let me know.

Unless you've got 3 phase electric then don't bother buying a DIY sand blaster you'll never get enough compressed air to power it.

It's cheaper to have it blasted than to buy the equipment to do it properly. Yomp is correct, single phase compressors just aren't going to cut the mustard, 3 phase compressors cost a fortune

Good luck with your project mate, it will be challenging at times but if you've got no time limit, go for it. I know my car was on the verge of scrapping but it's been saved   I've been a fabricator for the past 15 years and it was challenging at times for me.

I'm sure nobody is being negative towards you bud, it's just constructive critisism that's been gained from experience. As your project moves on there will be plenty of advice coming your way

If you do want it sand blasted mate let me know!!!