Mk1 GTI Blue G60 Conversion

Great work Jimi
You got some skills mate.
Those seats look awesome

Nice welding skills dude. Love the seats too

GeeBee said

Great work Jimi
You got some skills mate.
Those seats look awesome

smudger1980 said

Nice welding skills dude. Love the seats too

Cheers guys

As I plan to use the car for track days I had been looking for a second hand roll cageas I didnt want to pay the price for a new one. I had been looking for one for a while and it was now or never to fit one as I wouldnt be welding in the car after it had been painted. Anyway a second had hand one came up a week ago, I agreed a price with the seller and went to collect it. The seller was a really nice guy and very much into his mk1's, showing me a very special mk1 that he had tucked away in the garage.!

So brought the roll cage home. It is a bolt in type 6 point. 



Firstly I put it in the car and test fitted the dash to get the positioning of the cage. Next I had to decide how I was going to make mounts to bolt the cage onto.

I used 3mm steel and folded it to make the front and middle mounts.





Next I beat the s#*t out of a couple of metal plates until they resembled the shape of the rear arch tubs and welded them on.







I decided to cut the flat feet of the roll cage and weld some new ones on, as the cage looks to have been welded around the plates at some point, and where it had been cut to be removed the bolt holes were very close to the edge of the plate. 

So new plates were made and welded on.

Here are some pics of the roll cage fitted.









The cage has been painted, but I intend on getting it sand blasted and painting it satin black to make it a little more suttle

Very nice welding work there

Looking good Jimi, didn't realise this was going on a track  nice job mate!!

Hairyarse said

Very nice welding work there

Melteddrummer said

Looking good Jimi, didn't realise this was going on a track  nice job mate!!

Cheers lads  

The plan for the car is to have some proper fun in, including track days, 1/4 miles, nurburgring etc. I bought my evo for that purpose but it is just too nice to track.  

Perhaps consider another bar tied into the frame low down on the sills to protect your feet & legs.

Cero said

Perhaps consider another bar tied into the frame low down on the sills to protect your feet & legs.

Yes I was thinking the same, that I need to get hold of some side bars for the cage 

Looks nice buddy, Top work

Did a bit more today.

Here is a pic of extra bracket that I made to mount my golf mk4 gear lever assembly.



Next I set about making a new battery tray.

Firstly cut some steel out.



Then folded it and welded the corners.


Then I made a small raised piece, with the idea to weld inside the tray so that I can put a strap through it and strap the battery down and keep it looking as neat as possible. The battery will sit on two pieces of rubber.





Welded in engine bay.



Lastly, coat of primer and battery in. 

Spot on that Jimi, good idea to keep the battery in a box too!

New wheels!!!

Everyone loves new wheels 

Decided to treat myself even though I wont be needing them for a few months yet 

I saw them for sale and they were fairly local to me so I agreed what I thought was a fair price with the seller and went to collect them.

Bbs rm's 
They have just been refurbished and are yet to have tyres put on them. Fronts are 6.5 rears 7.5

I intend to use them for road use and hopefully the occasional show, and use the g60 steels that came on the car for the track work.





They should finish the car off nicely 

Very nice Jimi, my favourite wheels!!    

Very nice wheels Jimi. Love the battery box too

Melteddrummer said

Very nice Jimi, my favourite wheels!!    

Cheers andy, they are my favs too. They really suit the mk1. They will be living under the spare bed until the car is ready for the m 

smudger1980 said

Very nice wheels Jimi. Love the battery box too

Thanks mate 

Today I have mostly been …… Sanding welds!

My new 50mm sander arrived yesterday so after lunch I started to smooth the welds off. I need to go over all the welds I have done on the car.



Here are a couple of pics of some of the areas I sanded.

Bulkhead clutch cable repair plate



After sanding



Passenger sill



After sanding





The sander worked really well and is just the tool for the job. I bought a selection of various grade grit discs. Started with the course to remove the bulk of the material then moving on to the finer to give a smooth finish.

A few more hours sanding the I need to be thinking about seam sealer and underseal. 

Been looking at those 50mm grinders myself but my compressor isn't man enough  

Good job mate.