1985 Black Edition with 42k

My Google fu is strong today

https://www.clubgti.com/forums/index.php?threads/the-vw-temperature-sender-values-range-and-colours-mix-and-match-guide.228287/

VW Temperature Sender - VAG 170° Oil Temp Gauge

https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/oen/049919563b

 

      

Ian

borednow many thanks, thats that little job lined up

Right just driven the car on full set up and its definitely better.
I've just measured the arches from the ground after a short drive and the kit had made the car around 8-11mm higher at the front and 13-16mm on the rear.

May fit some -40mm springs to the rear and that will probably take 1-2mm down on the front as well

Also like a wally I forgot to put the small sleeves on the rear at the bump stop end so the back is squishing a bit but hopefully can get them just by undoing the top nuts from inside the car  

Just read my own build thread and realised I had a few updated that I didn't put up.

I ordered a short / weighted shifter rod from Missinglinkz which as crude as it is works brilliantly, the feel is so much better



I also fitted my VDO'S and decided to completely remove the entire dash and knee bar to try to eliminate any squeaks and rattles.

Found a couple of screws missing from the metal frame that the clocks fit in as well as the rubber bung on the back of the stereo not being present.

While it was all off I used some sticky backed rubber on any contact surfaces and a new strip of firm foam underneath the windscreen where the large clips are





Dash is now as silent and solid as it is in my 3-series BMW.

Also took the opportunity to put uprated bulbs in the clocks, switches and lighter as it was all out. VDO'S seem to be working without fault as well



Finally swapped out my front speakers for some JBL numbers, took some moding but got them in the original door pockets and sounding really nice but its crying out for a little underseat sub, just to take a bit of strain off the speakers.

I eventually got round to purchasing some new tyres to fit on my lastest set of rims and have trial fitted them on the front at least (the troublesome end)
Havent driven it yet but I'm really praying for no rubbing as I personally think they look awesome.
I gave the centres some Nattys black hole polish and the rims have 2 coats of Nattys wheel sealant.



Also along the way I found a guy on ebay that makes repro tax discs, you give the reg and first registration date and he works out where the car would of been first registered and creates a post office stamp accordingly.
Its pretty geeky but a nice little touch

Nice, liking the wheels.

Glad you got the guages in all ok.

Rattly dashs are a pain! Glad it don't do it no more

Ian

Wheeeey
no rubbing at all which I'm very happy about because I really think these wheels finish the look of the car properly.

So 15x8 can fit as long as the suspension drop isnt to extreme

Look well pal. what suspension you running coilovers or a standard drop gap looks spot on

What about some clear lights on the front. Would tie in with chrome on car and wheel colour nice i think

I had to get rid of my coilovers to accommodate the wheels, its sitting on AP Racing shocks and springs -60 front -30 rear

Its about 12mm higher at the back than I ran it on coils, so I may put some -40 springs on the back at some point but it rides a lot better

After a long fight with my inlet manifold gasket and bolts I finally managed to get my Ashley manifold on the car.

Also fitted an OMP lower brace which I picked up cheap but on fitting I soon realised my wishbones weren't looking their best anymore



In the interest of doing things properly I purchased brand new wishbones and had them blasted back to bare metal, the centre hole was then welded up and the edges were all seam welded closed before fresh black powder coating.

Full set of poly bushes for the wishbones and the anti roll bar which was also blasted and powder coated at the same time





Before I fitted them I did actually put the rear bushes on the right way around



Only issue is now the track rods and driveshafts are letting the inside of the wheel arch down

Next jobs are to fit the underseat subwoofer and swap out the leaky heater matrix before the interior comes back from the trimmers

All fitted but requiring a bit of alignment.
Unfortunately the original track rods looks tired and probably seized so will renew shortly







I also discovered a loss of coolant from the header tank and it seems to be both from a leaky heater matrix and one of the water pipes so guess what I'm doing this weekend yay . . .

Right I am excited!

Having not driven the car since November due to having no interior I was very excited to receive photos of the seats being finished.

While they have been away I've been doing the boring stuff like the track rods (hateful task) wishbones and I've got the underseat sub installed and dialed in with the interior hoovered out waiting for the return of the chairs

Here is the transformation . . .









Just waiting on the doorcards now and then I can collect and put it all together, it almost seems a shame to cover the rears up with the XL windbreaker I picked up locally 2nd hand

The reason it took so long, apart from the fact the trimmer is one man band with a fantastic reputation and a long waiting list was that sourcing the material wasnt easy.

OEM all black material is no longer available, which probably isnt a bad thing because it was itchy and fragile, I've never once seen an all black interior intact and the bits that remain fade to brown.

The new material on mine is exactly the same material used in the Porsche 1984-86 944 S2 turbos but they ran it vertically instead of horizontally, its actually velour and took a while to get hold of from Porsche as they didnt seem to want to part with it.

I collected foams from passenger seats so they are all like new and I picked up an equally knackered set of all black seat covers on ebay for a tenner which meant that between them and the ones already fitted means all the vinyl is original, lets say its OEM+

They look good, should be a lot more comfortable to sit in as well.
Your old seats were well past it.  

Bit worrying as it had only gone 42k when I got it, im guessing the original owner was a very weighty bolster slider

And its fitted . . .









It all looks, feels lovely and is so comfy now, the doorcards look great as well.

I've been able to see how the inphase underseat sub sounds finally with the front speakers wired up and I'm happy with the way it sounds.

I have attempted to fit my windesa XL wind deflector but I got slightly confused as to what the elastic with the poppers is meant to attach to so its not in place quite right.

Only down point is that a ran the car up for a bit and the rev counter has lost its mind and the temp and fuel gauge have lost interest as well.
Going to try Briano's plug "plumming" as I need to fit a new MFA screen anyway but I'm pretty sure its down to low battery

Nice.  

Looking good, must be a very happy chappy  

Ian

Loving it.  Very nice car good job

Finally a fully working LCD screen with all functions working perfectly.

Took Briano1234 advice and put in an extra earth for the clusters as well as a strip of insulation tape around the mylar plug tongue and all the gauges and LED's seem to be more "alert" than before



Next is new sump, windage tray, oil cooler O-ring and housing gasket in an attempt to make the bottom end oil tight

Where does the tape need to go? Did you just remove the current earth and tap the brown wire?

No tapped into the existing ground and kept the original as well.

If you remove your clocks, there is a large socket on the bottom that the big white connecter goes on to.

This has a clipped on black surround, remove that and you can then get to the circuit board connection points which folds over the black plastic of the clocks itself.

I did one lap of black tape around the black plastic and then folder the circuit back over the top to "puff" it up a bit.

Clip the surround back on and Roberts your mothers brother, you can feel there is more resistance when you push the wiring plug back on which means there is a better connection

Cheers pal... still confused but I have no dashboard bit on at moment so easy to lift clock out and have a look see if I can figure it out. Did yours not work before? I just get clock currently