Mexico Beige Mk1 Golf 1.8t 20v smoothed bay - The rebuild !

I bought this in october as i wanted a winter project to keep me busy some of you may have already seen it as its been featured in pvw.

over the winter months i will get it show ready again as it needs the interior sorting and although the paint looks great its not to my standard

i have loads planned for the coming year with it but to start with il concentrate on the bodywork

ive never done bodywork before so its a new adventure for me i will get it sprayed at a bodyshop though

The spec is as follows

Body
Painted original Mexico Beige
Scuttle panel smoothed
Arches rolled all round
Exhaust recess removed
Chromed bumpers
Chrome side trim
Chrome Flag mirrors
Chrome Porsche door handles
Removed  rear wiper and rear badges
All original glass (except front screen changed to laminate)
Chrome audi TT filler cap with trim ring

Engine
1.8T four cylinder 20v (AGU code) - 226 bhp at the wheels (rolling roaded at Regal Southampton)
QPEng MBE Plug and play management with switchable high low boost
Custom downpipe, stainless exhaust (with down turned tail pipe)
Custom engine mounts (engine sits square rather than at the usual slight angle)
Custom boost pipe and water to header hose.
Bailey dump valve
Front mount intercooler
Top fill radiator (removed header tank)
Altenator and MK4 2.0 litre cross flow gearbox painted body colour
G60 Flywheel and VR6 clutch.
Raintray removed with Servo and mechanism
Smoothed bay with removed scuttle panel
Removed heater fan / matrix
Tilton pedal box fitted under dash
Relocated Battery and fuel pump to boot

Suspension
FK Konigsport stainless coilovers
Polybushed throughout
Rear strut brace

Wheels
15" G60 steel wheels (keeping it looking like a total sleeper)
195x45x15 Falken Tyres
20mm spacers on the front, custom made spacers with camber shims on the rear

Brakes
4 pot Wilwood midi lite calipers
Wilwood 280mm discs and pads

Interior
Porsche 944 Tombstones
Gti rear seat
"Euro cluster" series 1 dash
VDO boost gauge fitted to dash window vent
VDO flat fronted Voltage, oil pressure, and oil temp fitted in radio recess
Momo 280mm hand polished steering wheel with Porsche horn push
Mooneyes gear knob

And some photos






The car is an absolute animal traction is the main problem and will be addressed in the future the sound is just amazing its like a gokart only alot faster

nice toy bud

i managed to get it on the lift for a once over and its in very good condition, a couple of things need attention firstly then drive shafts, these have taken a pounding so out with the old and in with the new, shame because they are already chrome powder coated






And a couple from a local meet i visited

The car had a few places of rust and a couple of things i wasn't happy with so ive decided to strip it and respray it the only catch is the 1st show is now 17 weeks away!

Heres the process to date

The god aweful aero style fuel cap had to go 1 it didn't fit well and 2 its just not in keeping with the retro feel pics of the bad fitting cap and fuel pipe




so out it was all stripped new filler neck has been bought



Then i attacked the lower rear panel as the corners were suffering from the good old rust




new corner section welded in



then the cut out for the exhaust was filled in as it has a down swept tail pipe



stripped the sill back to bare metal and all is good



next up is the drivers side front wing, its a aftermarket part non genuine and i hate the fit the profile is all wrong so ive bought a new genuine vw wing





also the non genuine wing is missing the little reinforcing tabs -



the genuine wing -

Then the strip down started



in the process of this i found some rust in the drivers door so ive bought a new genuine door skin




engine out was the next step so i can work on the bulkhead

ive sanded every last mark or imperfections in the bay as this needs to be perfect just like the rest of the car as its such a feature of the car

aircooled1968 said

nice toy bud

thanks buddy

so while all this was going on the shopping started i now love the postman not sure he feels the same way about me but the list of new parts are -

osf genuine wing
os genuine door skin
lower repair panel
filler neck
filler neck gasket
polished fuel cap
2 window regulators
new door seals
new window scraper seals
chrome joiner trims
stainless bolts
check strap sealing gasket
boot seal
carpet
sound proofing kit
filler hose
seat runner clips
sill chrome trims
genuine chrome grille surround trim
toyo tyres
bbs alloys (refurbed so as new)
throttle pedal rubber

im sure theres more and there is loads to go but christmas has taken over and buying has stopped

the new wheels arrived fresh from the polisher

Nice, one of the best mk1's iv seen and its only getting better, look forward to the progress,
What size are the RM's?

Richard

RICH234GHA said

Nice, one of the best mk1's iv seen and its only getting better, look forward to the progress,
What size are the RM's?

Richard

thanks richard il keep it updated the rm's are 6.5 fronts and 7 rears i dont want to much poke and have to run spacers up front to clear the big calipers

Wow an amazing MK1 that's going to be even better when it's finished. Looking forward to seeing this at the shows next year.

Good luck with the rebuild mate.

smudger1980 said

Wow an amazing MK1 that's going to be even better when it's finished. Looking forward to seeing this at the shows next year.

Good luck with the rebuild mate.

thanks smudger im hoping it will be ready for ultimate dubs the project wont be finished by then as i have lots planned for it but the paintwork should be done

so to update ive cut out a little bit of rust in the tailgate and formed a panel to weld in place keeping it with all the original seams etc

the black part is the new panel


and it welded and ground back


etch primed


started to take the nsr quater panel back to bare metal as i know they suffer from rust around the rear windows


took the scuttle panel back to bare metal as its showed signs of rust im going to replace it at a later date


nsr quarter back to bare metal


started on the ns door and along the drip rail


test fit of the genuine wing

cut the scuttle panel out


removing the last bits along the windscreen edge


old and new


popped the bonnet on to measure


spotting the new one in place


all welded in place


then work stopped for a weekend as i went with my dad to collect his new project a 1969 mk2 lotus cortina it needs a full resto but its a good base



back on the golf i cut a bit of corrosion out of the bulk head and made a plate to weld in


welded a repair section into the corner of the scuttle

built a wheel up to test fit i cant run a very wide wheel on the front as it has huge 4 pot calipers and need a spacer to clear them


new drivers door skin arrived so i ground the old one off



test fit of the new one


then spotted it in a couple of places before a trial fit on the car


popped it on with the wing for gapping etc and finished spot welding the door skin on


now the scuttle panel was for a LHD its all that was available so i welded the wiper holes up


also welded the aerial hole up on the wing

the new wing needed the arch lip cutting down to help reduce any tyre rub

before standard large return edge



after edge cut back



the bonnet is a complete mess the previous paint prep was bad, the paint just flakes off with a chisel


as you can see the top was just a build up of paint and high build


a close up to show you how thick it was it totally ruined the defining lnes of the bonnet etc


out come the sander


im not running rear arch spats so i welded the holes up



still going on the bonnet lol


started to take the ns door back to


back to bare metal


the bonnet was a nightmare so out came the paint stripper


and it back to bare metal

Would be interested what size rims you go for and if you use any spacers. I am using Wilwood calipers and my current wheels rub on the caliper.

bare metal thats how to do it        :mrgreen:

smudger1980 said

Would be interested what size rims you go for and if you use any spacers. I am using Wilwood calipers and my current wheels rub on the caliper.

gonna be running 6.5x15 on the fronts et35 with a 12mm spacer