My little red Golf Clipper (suspension bodges revealed)...

Here are a few pictures of my Clipper, which as yet hasn't earned a name (though the only car I've had where the name has stuck lately is my 500SL, called Maximillian and dark metallic red - my C6's official name is Osiris, but I started calling it Binky after my old black XM Turbo, and then my girlfriend called it Shamu due to the whale-like colour and proportions…).

Anyway. It's a 1991 Clipper with 113,000 miles on the clock and hasn't been on the road for two years judging by the tax - so far I've had to replace a few cooling system parts, need a new roof, have found a broken suspension mount and have lots of dirt in the fuel system to clean out.

The front with the roof down…



And top up, rear view - you can see it needs work on the roof right away.



I'm thinking of putting my old private plate on it…

The inner wings/engine bay look clean. I'm putting a new water pump on and replacing the hoses/thermostat as part of the "getting it back on the road" process… Should the fuel line go under, or over the air intake there?



And I found an issue at the back with the suspension…



Though I'm fairly sure it's not serious issues with the body…







So hopefully some replacement struts will solve this:



Interestingly, I am sure the top on the nearside is a white component. And I see an edge of white on that rusty one - so maybe one has been replaced already.



Some other shots:



Legroom! I know the Golf used to be criticised, but this compares well with the New Beetle Cabrio I had in 2004, and is much better than cars like the 206cc/Astra etc.

I want a mint driver's seat in this trim and a parcel shelf to match it eventually.

good luck with the suspension mate. hope it comes off ok. just be persistent and it'll give in.

lovely looking car though.

 :wink:

Mine goes under the air intake, not sure which ways correct. Dont think it matters to be honest

You are missing a whasher below the black rubber, It is so posted to be a whasher just like on top.

This allway happened to my e36 when I bought new HR suspension, I forgot to but he whasher under the rubber

Still haven't got the suspension done, but will try re-routing the fuel line to see if it looks tidier and indeed, maybe doesn't cut out so often! Have now ordered a new rear window rubber and will order a stainless frame soon, then look into booking the roof work.

(And just had a call - rear window rubbers are no longer available!)

One side of the suspension done - it was such a horrific job due to the bolt being stuck in the bush, and my lack of tools/experience, that I've only done one side!

Next job is cleaning out the fuel system, shame GSF don't do the separators anymore apparently.

More pictures to come, but in the meantime, having found the car scrabbling for grip in the wet…

Front tyres were "General XP2000", rears were "Kingpin". Now it has four lovely Pirelli P6s and handles considerably better.

The process of getting them revealed that a: I need to do my front suspension, and b: there's CV grease leaking from the hub end of the boot. Not a job I've ever enjoyed, replacing CV boots :/

Fuel system has been done by using a bicycle pump to blow the fuel lines clear for now! It seems to have done the trick and I'm carrying the pump and spare filter in the car.



The top mount from the suspension strut I removed, beside the brand new part…



Just… why!

In lieu of further updates (though thanks to this awesome club, I have now got suspension and trim parts arranged to really tidy up my car prior to the new roof - and stop leaving my lights on ) - I am collecting a model of every car I have owned, slowly. I have a lot of gaps (VW wise I need a Mk III Passat saloon, a Mk 2 Polo, some examples of Beetles (at least a red 1200L and a dark blue 1302 Cabriolet plus ideally a black New Beetle Cabrio) and a Mk II Jetta in silver and Golf GTi in red 5dr, oak green or silver 3dr) but on the appearance of my current Clipper, my girlfriend bought me a surprise toy for my collection!





And the collection as it stands…



There's a LONG way to go; I've also finally found a model Sera which means I should be able to get every Toyota I've owned in there (whoops, forgot the 1978 Celica Sunchaser…)

Nice motor - looking at the pics your filler neck is shot to bits. This will give you no end of fueling problems. best way to check is take the filler cap off and shine a torch in - you need to look at the top of the neck, so get on your knees and look up, not down the pipe if that makes any sense. Another way is to jack up the osr and remove the wheel and gently run you hand up the pipe to feel for corrosion. The worst bit is usually the first few inches from the filler opening, mud sits on top and turns it to Weetabix!

What ever you do just have a gentle feel, because if you prod your finger through the rust into the pipe like i did the rust goes straight into your tank.

Love the colour though - same as mine!

i thought the filler neck looked okay, a bit cruddy near the top, but generally not too bad! It'll get a stainless one sometime; until then I have my trusty bicycle pump for unexpected stops. Might need new engine mounts soon, though!

Car has been given a lights-on beeper and a new tailgate lock seal this weekend, and I think I'm off to put the private plate on it soon (I've had the plate since passing my test but stuck it on retention when I sold the last car it was on). Having thoughts about doing valve stem seals and pre-emptive headgasket - I figure it's a lot easier to do it BEFORE it goes, and then the car will hopefully be set up to be reliable for a long time.

Did the Mk 1 Clipper have a "proper" option for front foglights - with wiring in place, etc. - and where would they attach? I notice there are spaces in the front bumper that look appropriate, but haven't seen any late MK 1 Cabrios with them fitted.

i did say that the top spring plate will have rotted away  :wink:
Bert

Yep, I was pretty sure it had - I just couldn't work out why I'd have new looking springs, a new spring plate on the ns, yet an absolute bodge on the offside. It makes no sense at all, particularly since the hole they made in the repair was too big (hence the failure, I reckon).

The bottom bolt was SUCH a hassle that at the moment I've got one shock from Chris, and the one that was on the car on the ns. They seem to be the same, the handling is fine, but ultimately it'll get done right.

I've got two lovely new plates now, plus the struts from Chris which had very good plates on, plus some more struts coming when I pay for a set of suspension I'm getting for the front struts (suggestion being I might as well fit that entire set). Certainly won't be short of solutions!

Front's going to be a set of jobs done at once, I reckon - if anyone did such a thing I'd buy recon hub carriers with new bearings pre-pressed in, then replace wishbones, hub carriers, balljoints, camber bolts and struts, have the whole lot aligned properly, and replace my weeping CV boot at the same time.



The new tailgate lock seal, and another change…

Today, it's been given a new water pump, new seals on the sensors/switches on the water flange, new coolant and thermostat (obviously), and has mangled my thumb. Have suspension for the front on the way, and should be getting a top-tint windscreen when I get myself in gear.

Oh, and fitted some new bushes to the gear linkage - not all of them, just the ones reachable from the engine bay, already made some improvement.

Poor running hasn't shown up again and it's now had a full tank of fuel through running about Birmingham - need to get the front sorted as some roads around here are awful!

Not work done, but have got a USA-spec tailgate for it - now to get it painted to match! Apparently the pressing is different for the brake light (I was hoping I could just drill holes in the existing one and fit it).

Hopefully will have a new temp sensor to fit today, as well.

Any recommendations for painters in West Midlands that could do a good job of matching the Golf's non-metallic paintwork?

I've still had no time to do any work, so at present the Clipper needs:

Valve stem seals (I'm pretty sure about this)
Secondhand gearbox fitting with new clutch, mounts and end seal.
New roof (this is going to be expensive)
Secondhand suspension I bought last year actually fitting!

However, we've moved house, so the Clipper is enjoying a new garage to lurk in:

I think you need to extend the garage, you can't quite squeeze round the car to work on it!!!  :wink:

It is a little cramped, but I'll cope I think!

This weather makes me want to get the Golf out and running; I'm tempted to drive it with a broken gearbox it's so nice

I've given in and taken the car to DGAutoTech, who are just down the road from me and seem like excellent, enthusiastic VW guys. They had a turbocharged, smoothed-bay VR6 Corrado in there they're building, so I'm fairly sure they can handle putting my gearbox and suspension on!

Overall it's getting the gearbox from Mark fitted (they commented on that feeling like there's no play when it was on the bench, so yeay), the rest of the gearbox linkages, engine mounts if needed, new clutch and cable (GSF sent me the wrong one), valve stem seals, rocker gasket (obviously), top mounts, suspension all round and some tweaking to the brakes and rear wheelbearings.

Hopefully all it'll need after that is a new roof (going for grey mohair) and possibly a new exhaust, and the USA-spec tailgate prepped, painted and fitted. And new seats. And speakers. And a top-tint windscreen. And better wheels than the "Fondmetal" alloys currently on it. And scrapers. Okay, this is still just the beginning, clearly…

Quick wash - months in the garage left it dusty…



Off it goes - bike in the back to cycle home!



In the absence of a real one, I've been playing with the toy one.

D3S, 180mm Sigma macro, D-Lite 4 it with Rotalux, Elinchrom SL-Table-II.



D3S, 180mm Sigma, etc, plus the tin from a Mr. Kipling Neopolitan Bakewell



(All it does is make me wish I'd cleaned the model really well first, and I need a shorter macro).

You not fitted that box yet, tu tut tut its only been 6 months lol just got the wife a paprika clipper,


i agree with the change the wheels, they dont do the car any favors. did you sell the tow bar in the end? if not i might have it back from you. looking at a trailor tent haha

Love the garage, wish i had a garage :-(

I was moving house, then setting up the new studio - the box has been dutifully carried from place to place whilst I weighed up buying some tools to do it vs. paying a garage (most garages refused to fit it!).

The garage is lovely, but has to be kept pristine as it's my studio. The cars can live in it, but being repaired in there is another matter…

(Lovely Clipper! I think Paprika or Capri Green are the best colours).

I do still have the towbar, though there are two people who have asked about it and I've been rubbish at getting back to them - logging in slips my mind as there's that irritating Captcha-type thing. I'm not going to fit it having bought the Xantia