richie's mars red '83 gti

richievr said

welsh-mk1 said

liking the mini more than the big one  :wink:

ooooyyyyyy…             






me too at the mo.. it's so much easier and won't go rusty either…

Have you waxoyld it…. the mini me one?  :y:

Spudfingers said

Have you waxoyld it…. the mini me one?  :y:

   

no….. it's plastic, fortunately doesn't need it  

time for a small update..

have removed the bbs spoiler from the rear of the car, as i hated it:-

was held on with 2 bolts and about 3 rolls of double sided tape

unfortunately undermeath was hidden some nasty rustyness  :evil:  particularly around the lock: -

there was also some in the corners where the spoiler curved down toward the bottom lip too..grrrrr:-


rather than try to rid it of the rust and weld up the holes from the bolts i decided to get another one and get it all ready off the car then just swap them over when ready.. Thought my luck was in when i luckily managed to source another in mars red    which was totally rust free, but the paint was scratched to bits and there were some small dents in it too. so i  stripped it and started the prep for painting…


quick coat of primer to hopefully stop any surface rust over night


not looking too bad so far, just need to order the black vinyl for around the window - any tips on how to fit this as i bet it is a bit of a nightmare?!!
i know the bottom section goes on first, then the 2 sides and last the top bit, but how do you align them properly?? and get the creases out too??

then we finally had a nice weekend so i took a cruise to the beach and took some photos and just sat in the sun looking at how much better it is without the spoiler on the back..   thought i'd better enjoy it whilst i can as soon she'll be tucked up for the winter months and most of the engine bay will be emptied, cleaned and painted and refitted all nice and shiny again..




love it! roll on next summer!

a couple of new bits have arrived.



unfortunately the steering wheel has a brown boss and the wrong centre logo. if any one has a black one for sale let me know???
also want the side vents in the dash with the red stripe too..

Do the red stripe yourself,easy peasy :wink: use th paint yuo do the tailgate with

i did think about it but i'll probably mess it up….  8O

Looking good, what's next on the agenda?

get the tailgate painted. red stripe vents. fit them. and the wheel. clean engine bay. repaint rad surround, cam belt cover, rocker cover.

refurb and rebuild my bbs splits for the vr6.

lower the girlfriends cabrio we bought today, get wheels for it, stereo, lights…..

not too much goin on?? . . . . .

so we have this


this


and now this…


sweet!!    

Vr6 looks mint, plenty to do over the holidays then.

Good work with the MK1! I agree, that rear spoiler literally spoiled it! Looks spot-on now. By the way, where did you get the 'mini me' from? I didn't realise it was quite so small until you showed it next to a Biro!  8O

cheers peeps.

it's sooooooo much better without the spoiler!!
plenty left to do on all cars still though

and the "mini me" came from ebay.. was only about ?15 posted to me.
took a while to glue together and paint though.

started the engine bay strip, clean and rebuild today.

took the rad, battery, lights, grille, bumper, airbox, water hoses and most of the vac hoses out. moved the wiring loom for lights, starter horns etc out of the way for maximum room….

this is why i am doing it…




 8O  :evil: yuck!
has obviously had a leak for quite a while….hmm this is gonna take some cleaning….. time to break out the degreaser….



so far i have done the chassis legs, front panel and have started on the top of the gearbox and the front of the block..
this could take a while?!!

richievr said

started the engine bay strip, clean and rebuild today.

took the rad, battery, lights, grille, bumper, airbox, water hoses and most of the vac hoses out. moved the wiring loom for lights, starter horns etc out of the way for maximum room….

this is why i am doing it…




 8O  :evil: yuck!
has obviously had a leak for quite a while….hmm this is gonna take some cleaning….. time to break out the degreaser….



so far i have done the chassis legs, front panel and have started on the top of the gearbox and the front of the block..
this could take a while?!!

What degreaser are you using? Mine could do with some of the same!!

auto glym at the mo.

but it's about to run out. :cry:  so then probably gunk, have used that before - was pretty good…..

lookin good rich 8)

cheers jimbo!!!!!!

i'm definately getting somewhere with this….  







still quite a way to go yet, and a few bits to get painted also. but it's definately showing signs of improvement!!!
i'm not taking the engine or box out, or really going to town on it - it's just getting cleaned and a few rusty black tinware pieces painted. my budget for the whole bay is ?100, so it's all gotta be as cheap as poss - so far i'm on ?10 for the degreaser and about a fiver on bolts, washers, clips i have ordered for the rebuild!!!!!!!!!!!

not a bad xmas eve?!?!?!?!?!?

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

mini update..

as it was this morning.



haven't done much due to it being feckin freezing but did a bit more today.

deageased, dried, prepped and painted the water pipe, water hose to head joiners, water pump and the horn bracket (still hanging to dry on the key rack… ooops..)



all the wax and oil is now gone from the chassis legs and bottom of the front panel, needs polishing up still though..

more to come tomorrow hopefully………

done a bit more today whilst dressed like michelin man!!!! soooooooo damn cold!! check out the pond, about an inch of ice!! the screenwash bottle contents look like blue slush puppie at the mo    it's almost frozen, despite being in the garage overnight!!

stiil, once you get going it's not too bad with tracky bottoms, jeans, 2 tee shirts, a jumper, a fleece, a beanie hat and some gloves..

yesterday i painted the servo and master cyl, and the fuel filter bracket and clamp, and the ecu holder and the metering head too. made a start on cleaning up the wiring looms and clips after that also.


(and i said i wasn't gonna go overboard!! doh!)

haven't done a lot more today due to a bit of a late night yesterday, but managed to paint the clutch arm and the coil and it's bracket.
started to clean the braided injector hoses with wire wool, but they need loads more yet…

tomorrow i think i will be cleaning the bits of bulkhead i can get to and as much of the lower inner wings as i can too (down to where the wishbones mount to). and then i will be off to the local meet in the afternoon!!! roll on summer!

fair play son…lookin well for it, get the misses supplying you with tea an ya just cant go wrong!

keep us posted!