JoeB's '79 Golf Gl

Thanks Ross  
The damping is fixed on them, and its just a case of inflate/deflate. I suppose adjusting the pressure will be possible, just a case of trail and error i think.
I got the foglight from here
http://www.holden.co.uk/displayproducts.asp?sg=1&pgCode=010&sgName=Electrical&pgName=Lighting&agCode=0024&agName=Spot+%2FDriving%2FFog+Lamps
probably should have looked on ebay or something, because it was quite expensive.

Sweet mk1 8)

Would like to see it running that low, chassis notch, what!

Cheers man! I'm caught in 2 minds about whether or not to notch the chassis. I'll never get the front that low without it, but I don't really want to cut the chassis  :?

That thing is looking sweet nice work.

JoeB said

Cheers man! I'm caught in 2 minds about whether or not to notch the chassis. I'll never get the front that low without it, but I don't really want to cut the chassis  :?

Im on 14's, and ive cut the return lip bit out of the chassis leg, this free'd up 10mm , but it still knocks, the longer driveshaft is the one that is the closest. I want to go about 10-15mm lower so I will cut a notch out about a 1 inch deep. Not looking forward to this either

Pete

Love the Wheels mate the minilets :wink:

Thanks for the comments

redpetemk1 said

JoeB said

Cheers man! I'm caught in 2 minds about whether or not to notch the chassis. I'll never get the front that low without it, but I don't really want to cut the chassis  :?

Im on 14's, and ive cut the return lip bit out of the chassis leg, this free'd up 10mm , but it still knocks, the longer driveshaft is the one that is the closest. I want to go about 10-15mm lower so I will cut a notch out about a 1 inch deep. Not looking forward to this either

Pete

Mines had the same done. Mine was dropped 80mm and realised the thicker offside driveshaft was 5mm from the chassis 8O  so I raised it about 15mm. There was no groove in the driveshaft from it hitting so it shows you how stiff coilovers are.

Not a lot has happened since the last update, but its now inside, and ready to start work

Started taking the left front wing off today, unsurprisingly theres a fair bit of rot along the top of the inner wings. It also looks like the car's had a minor accident at some point as there is some buckling at the bottom of the inner wing.

Front of inner wing



Rear



Bottom at the front, showing the rot and buckling



I kinda knew about this, as there is a dent on the front panel, didn't realise it had affected the inner wing though. Anyway, split seam sealer = more rot there to deal with.

I'm expecting more of the same for the other side, but fingers crossed, thats it for rot. Famous last words?
Front panel looks ok from what I can see of it, will need a bit of reshaping from the accident though.

This is all standard practice on a series 1 though, as they didnt have plastic arch liners. Easy enough to fix so no worries here

well, I havent updated for ages, but then again I havent really done much  

It currently sits like this



waiting for the engine to be removed.

I've decided not to bother with the bags and colour change and all that. I'm going to restore it basically, but it will be lowered of course  :wink:
 
In the meantime, I've bought another one, a 1983 GX.



I put my coilovers and minilites on it today, but didnt get any decent pics before it got dark

More pics of the gx please  I bet it looks good with the minilites on since they have the grey centres.

Im going to guess that your duckbill will last about 3 minutes !   Looks really good though.

Hehe I will get some more pics soon, its not as low is i'd like though. Bit lower than the other one was though, i guess the engine is heavier being a 1.5. I havent adjusted the coilies yet.

The downside of which is the flippin huuge sump. Bit of 1/4" plate should cure that problem though

I only took it for a spin down the road, and the splitter scraped loads… it was great

Whats it like compared to the GL?

Nice one mate, plz post us some pics.

Cheers

not much different really, doesnt seem any quicker, but i think it has a vac leak so doesnt advance when you floor it.

Definately doesn't feel as old school to drive though, mainly because of the interior. It creaks and rattles a lot more than the GL though. Its done 180000 miles compared to 40000 so thats understandable i guess.

From my little spin down the road, the coilies seem to ride a bit better, probably due to the heavier engine stopping them bouncing so much.

Definately better than what i have been driving though *cough* clio *cough*

Parts parts parts i'm such a nerd



Everything to rebuild the rear beam + brakes, plus one of the last radiator cards in the world

Finally got the engine out



One diddy little engine up on the stand



Pile of bits to be powdercoated, along with rear beam and other bits



But…





Whoopsie

It'll be fun trying to find another carb  

Removed the head.

Now, I'm a complete novice when it comes to taking engines apart, so advice is welcome.



The 2 combustion chambers on the left look wet, does this mean oil is getting past the rings, or is it more likely the valve seals?
Theyre also all really black so I guess its been running rich?



I cant see any marks in the bores, and theres no ridge where the rings stop.

So, what do you people think I should do?

Rebuild the bottom end with new piston rings and bearings? Or just rebuild the head with new stem seals and grind the valves. New oils seals all round, and give everything a good clean, and job done?

And a pic of the other one

Got round to degreasing and painting the block today

Dropped the ball a bit though, as I have to remove the flywheel to remove the sump + oil pump housing, so going to have to borrow an impact gun for that.





I know i've painted the core plugs, but as I'm not stripping the block, I cant replace them.

Painted a few other bits too, everything else will be powdercoated, when I actually get roung to oranising it  :roll:



little here, little there, but its progress I suppose.

nice work man, liking the blinds in your new one.  were they made for the car, do you know if they're still available?  im thinking about doing a bit of a homebase bodge job for mine but i'd prefer a propper one.

Thanks,

The blind is a period Gradulux one, pretty sure they're not available anymore. Its a case of finding one for sale, or diy i think.