Tom's 1981 GTI 'Greta'

Hello, i thought i should write a thread on this as my new project is heading towards a full blown resto rather than a simple summer tidy up!
I'm not very good at writing this sort of thing, so you'll have to bear with me

my new project has been with me less than a week now, and to be honest, i was'nt sure where to start with it, so heres a run done of good and bad points,

The good,
Really good paint, has clearly had a blowover or respray at some point, will require some touching though.

vEry little body rust, rear arches have been welded in, even the area around the sun roof has'nt holed!!!

Looks to have a hard life(not a good bit i know), but has had a lot of work done, plenty of welding here and there(saves me a job!).

Found a full set of vdo gauges in the spare wheel well(ok so not a good bit, but a bonus!)

Interior not bad, will have tp replace doorcards, possibly dash, and either repair or replace drivers seat.

Its a GTI!, And its Mars red!, and its my first GTI, so i'm really exceited!!!(can you tell? ) Did i mention its a GTI, and i've always wanted one?

The bad,

Engine won't fire, and to be honest i don't want ot fire it up, timing belt is far to loose, i would'nt be suprised if the engine is useless, but my good friend foxy has offered to lend me his engine crane, so if it comes to it.

Wiring loom possibly shot(removed a mass of wiring from the spare wheel well, which truns out to be part of the immense sound system this car once played host to! Headlights work though!

Will have to replace headlining, thought i could maybe replace part of it, but will whole thing i think.

Apart from bumpers and side strips almost every part of gti trim is missing, except front grill and badge,

 The fugly,

The tailgate, de wipered and partly(yes, partly) debadged :? , i think Steve(the chap i bought it off) put it best 'it looks like a blind man has sprayed it with his feet!' which sums it up perfect in my opinion

This is how the car looked when i bought it, minus alloys though;



















Those are the only pics i have for now, so far most of the interior is out and waiting to go into the loft for safe keeping, as is the sunroof, i've taken a few exterior bits off, side strips, badges etc, .

Next job will get the fuel tank and back axle off so i can weld a hole i've found, will keep you posted folks… will rebuild rear axle and rust proof fuel tank while there off, i have written a to do list, but i won't bore you with that

Tom :wink:

blimey tom, from the sounds of that i should have burnt it ha ha.

looking forward to seeing this thread progress - good luck mate!

Stevo

looking good, tom will have to have a nosey at that, if your front bumper goes missing you no who,s got it

Hands off my bumper you! Pop down anytime jase, your more than welcome, I don't mean to make her sound that bad Steve, i'm proper excited about getting cracking, just need to get her stripped down first then i can make a start on her. Aiming to get all welding done in next month or so

Got big plans for her, Weitec 40mm suspension, not to low, just low enough to take full advantage of the chassis, weitec anti roll bars, bugpack bushes all round, just got my hands on a gen. vag filler neck for ?30 so pretty happy about that :mrgreen: Gas flowed head, 4-2-1 manifold, piper exhaust system, piper cam, basically i want all mods to be invisible, i want the exterior and interior to look as they did back in 1981.

I'm aiming to get her back on the road for this time next year, should be plenty of time, but then it is a mk1…. 8O

Tom :wink:

Quick update, did some work on her the other day, killed lots of rust, tidied up a few bits to go back on the car… and decided i really don't have tthe money to do a full blown resto as i was first planning , i'm getting married next year, so most cash is being diverted towards that, not that i'm complainig!

So, my 'resto' has changed from quick summer tidy up, to full blown resto, back to quick summer tidy up in less than a week, the good thing is she is very solid, areas that normally go have'nt gone, or if they have gone thaty've been repaired, my plan is to rebuild in a few years when i have the cash.

I've just bought a new sunroof in mars red which looks like it'll come good with some t-cut, awaiting the arrival of my new filler neck. got my eyes on plenty o bits, and theres still alot to do before theres any chance of getting it back on the road, not least cranking the engine(and hopefully starting it!!!) i did speak to the cars old owner today, who told me had laid the car up for a while and when he went to start it it would'nt, and with the amount of trailing wires all over the place i'd bet money on it being electrical..



I'm not to sure on my alloys either, they looked really good on my old gx, but i don't think they suit the gti, think its the colour.

I reckon a few months work and she'll be ready for a m.o.t, i just hope the engine fires… :? will keep you posted

fingers crossed mate!

so much for only needing a battery then - tosser!!

looks a different car mate - them wheels are proper retro!!!

looking good tom, if you want the grill im of monday, tuesday, will be out polishing mine, will take you for a spin, dont worry about the cash just pay when you can, just my opinoin but not to sure on the wheels. get some g60 steels cheep and cheerfull

Looks pretty solid from the pics. Very retro alloys but dont think they suit imo

Good luck with getting it running 8)

Thanks guys, just doing odd jobs at the mo, completely skinters so using bits i have knocking around in the garage!
Think i will get the gti trim, get it lowered about 40mm as planned then see where i am as regards the alloys, be a shame to sell them as i've yet to have them fitted on a car properly!(plus missus won't be happy as they were a present!)

Jase, sounds good mate, i'd love to see what your valver can do! take you to have a look at the gti if you want, only on the other side of bury.

I keep spending all my time(and money trying to find good trim for it, but i need to get the engine sorted out!!! Not to mention i need a battery!) missus bought me an alternator the other day to replace the one i put on my old one(better than an easter egg!?!)

Getting her properly undersealed tomorrow and sorting a few more jobs out, then some paint and should be good for a good few years yet(hopefully :roll: )

Tom

Took a few more pics today, got a few bits in primer the other day(keep forgetting my camera, Jase gave me a lift down in his very speedy 2.0 16v(like shit off a shovel!!! ))

Sunroof is now derusted(not that there was much to start with, but theres none now, even better :cheer: )

Got the spare wheel well primered up to, was a bit of a mess in here, but the repair plate on it was solid, so wirebrushed it, seam sealed it and primed it, looking much better and ready for paint…

Noticed that an old seat belt mount had been repaired, its a good repair, but had'nt been sealed and had started to rust, so wirebrushed it and sealed, primer next…

Front inner wings are near enough sorted now, depending on what happens with the engine, i may paint them or just leave as is and sort them out later on…

,
Should be getting a few bits in the post this week   , plus just sourced a seat to help patch up the interior, just need some good doorcards now and the interiors done

Tom :wink:

got a bit of work done today/tonight/this morning , took some bits of to clean as missus was off out and i was looking after little un, before i did that though decided to check what fuel tank was like, so cracked off the seal and peered in with my torch, looked good, so took filter(was expecting it to be bad really), and it was as clean as a whistle , obviously been done a few years back, and the tank is nearly full!!!
(my electrics are dead so thought it would be dry!) bonus!!!! 8)  :mrgreen:

so set about taking bits of the enigne to clean up and/or paint, so got busy with this little lot,
Before


Did'nt do the fuel filter in the end, was leaking fuel everywhere! so left it til i'm back in garage and will do it then.

After




My kind of washing up!

Tools of the trade!

Still plenty to do in my process of bueatification of my engine bay, inlet manifold, cam cover, belt cover, the engine itself!…the list goes on.
Thats it for now!
Stay flossy peeps 8)

Tom :wink:

Hope the missus didn't see the kitchen like that!

No she was out, and cleaning old parts from a vw is what i now do with my saturday nights…
Had a good clean this mrning before she came back, was'nt happy when she got in though, house smelt like petrol… 8O    ops:

good work tom :y:

Cheers Jase, saw you this morning heading out in the little black monster. put my window down to take in the forced induction of the valver!

Nat was pleased with how the parts came up, still lots to do yet though.

Bit gutted at the moment to hear about Aarons GX :cry: , weird even though its been gone for 3 weeks now it still kind of feels like its my car. hope he gets it sorted.

keep em coming tom - wanna see it complete now!!!  

she's getting there Steve! new sunroof awaiting fitting(putting a new seal on first, better safe than sorry), body just wants a few bits of painting doing, and finally getting on top of the engine and fuel system, be taking head off(for cleaning mostly) so will do all askets, tidy up of engine bay, clean up brakes, then fit rest of trim and time for an mot methinks.

How'd your olop do in the end? :wink:

Oh dear i think i really have been spending too much time on here, just realised i have already read through your project once before. Looks like your doing a lovely job. Hope the tailgate is spot on for you.  If you need a hand doing things let me know as would love to help out and maybe pick up some tips for the summer valver project.

Alex

Cheers Alex tailgate looks the business, just wants a surround sticker and it'll be getting bolted on, its a lot better than i thought it would be so well happy,  :mrgreen:

Feel free to pop down anytime mate!

Will be down at the car tomorrow so will update where i'm upto…

Tom :wink:

did a few more bits today, decided to repaint car in matt yellow!…

…just kidding , front panel is in lovely matt yellow high build primer, a few more coats and some sanding should see this panel ready for some minty fresh mars red no.2!,
Got the v.a.g fuel filler neck all spruced up and freshly hammerited, looking good now,

Big thanks to Mk1_aaron for kindly donating this front numberplate holder from his GX, gave him a hand to get a few bits and bobs off it the other day, been after one for a while, so thanks again Aaron! Here's a pic, and my out of focus arm  :?

Took the starter off and gave it a good clean up,(well started to anyways).

Got the tailgate off in preparation for the new one to go on,(did'nt fancy doing it single handed!)

Cheers to Alex(vdubber2) for the tailgate its in superb condition and can't wait to get it on the golf!

Finally got the battery tray in primer and some of the inner wings, and put some uinderseal down.


Thats all for now folks!

Tom :wink: