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Regrettably now for sale, Stanley the 83' Golf C - Bare Metal restoration (with an ABF on twin 45's) - Pic Happy

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Stanley's build thread

Hello all,

So i'm relatively new to the forum and havent really posted much but thought i'd give it my best shot after reading many different build threads and give my own a go.

Any advice along the way will always be greatly appreciated.

I'm looking to do most of the work myself on my mk1 and as it stands will have alot to learn along the way.

It has started off its life as a 1.1 Golf C My only preference when i bought was i wanted a 3 door tin top. I wasnt too fussed about some of the spec as i've always had intention to upgrade to an Abf from day 1.

I bought the little beauty like this and ran it as a daily for a couple of months.





Before i did too much i took him to his first show, The Chilli Farm Festival, and somehow won my first ever trophy with a car for Best Watercooled.

I put it down to a quiet turnout and the odds were in my favour. *Three guys, me and 2 others that i went with in the ThanetClassics group won*



Managed to test fit a buddy's Bullet Steels at this point and it looked bloody awesome! so i think i know what i want in the long run! 15x8 and 15x9



Done a couple of little bits along these 2 months *i cant resist playing about* managed to get him a little lower and bought some new shoes, *picked up some genuine g60's for £50 plus tyres* then once he looked good, then took him to grill'n'chill which was a pretty good weekend camping.



And then recently got myself a nice blue Bora for pennies *£400 plus a water pump problem* but once sorted has worked wonders as a daily although after my mk2 gti i had before not the most exciting car!!

So then i thought right its time to get started on work on the little babe. i managed to sell the G60's i had originally bought for it (making a profit along the way) and the AP's that were on it as i have plans for change.



And with the help of a couple of mates after 4 hours of hard work *minus the hour i spent another day taking off the bumper, lights, draining the coolant and removing the rad* i was left with this.





Now my next plans will be to get the bottom half stripped *ready for some desperate welding work* along with the engine bay and around the windows.

So my first question to all you wonderful people, does anyone have any reviews on pro's/cons towards Shot/Media blasting work? (will be avoiding big panels due to distortion fears) but generally think this will be the easiest way to go to find out what needs replacing!! I already know both sills, both rear arches, bit of the rear beam mount and a bit of the drivers footwell floor pan will need refabricating.

If anyone knows any good places within kent that i could get this done. Ideally people who have used a place and can genuinly give a good review, then please let me know. =]

Either way thanks for reading, i will keep updating as the works go on.

Gaz

Last edit: by Gazza_VWmk1


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hello Gazza, welcome aboard!!

nice looking car you have, loved it on the G60's!

i had my doors, boot and wings blasted, no problems there. but did the rest by hand, simply because i couldn't get it to a blasters. very long, boring method  :(

good luck with it  :thumbs:

matt

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pazwaa said

hello Gazza, welcome aboard!!

nice looking car you have, loved it on the G60's!

i had my doors, boot and wings blasted, no problems there. but did the rest by hand, simply because i couldn't get it to a blasters. very long, boring method  :(

good luck with it  :thumbs:

matt

Cheers Matt, thanks

unfortunetaly i dont have your skill with welding, never welded in my life. just been through alot of your build thread. i have my work cut out for me thats for sure! but time is no issue so i will take plenty of it so its done to the best of my ability!

anxious to get going though, especially after the last weekend stripping so much back!

found a place not to far from me that will do all i want blasted for £400 and left in primer so that will probably be my next route early next year some time. =]

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My welding skills are a little dubious  :lol:  if you can, try it, after a bit of practice it's not so bad. good thing with metal is no matter what you get wrong, you can always redo it  :thumbs:

£400 for blasting and priming sounds good, will save you a load of horribleness. also get yourself a rotating jig, a wonderful thing  :thumbs:

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pazwaa said

My welding skills are a little dubious  :lol:  if you can, try it, after a bit of practice it's not so bad. good thing with metal is no matter what you get wrong, you can always redo it  :thumbs:

£400 for blasting and priming sounds good, will save you a load of horribleness. also get yourself a rotating jig, a wonderful thing  :thumbs:

hah thats a good way to look at it.

i dont have any of the gear which is the first hurdle. that and most of the bits that need welding will be visible and i'm not confident with the potential to warp panels etc. (Sills, rear arches)

if i can get the majority of the underseal off i recon i could knock a hundred or so off the bill. and i'm happy to get my hands dirty where poss. deffo need to get a spit made up. providing this wont put the car too high in my little garage. (roof issues) haha

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I done all the welding on mine myself first time doing it aswell it wasn't to hard tbh long as you weld in sections so as not to heat the panel up to much and if there is any distortion nothing a skim of filler wont fix :)
Will be looking out for updates ;)

Jamie

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great looking car bud. are you getting the whole thing blasted? also you going to keep the same colour.

my advice would be.. try and replace as little as possible (metal wise) as the repro stuff fits awfully :shake:

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mk1 Jamie said

I done all the welding on mine myself first time doing it aswell it wasn't to hard tbh long as you weld in sections so as not to heat the panel up to much and if there is any distortion nothing a skim of filler wont fix :)
Will be looking out for updates ;)

Jamie

yeah i'm not that confident, deffinetely not for a first time test, considering most of the welding needed will be on show, arches, sills etc. (that and i dont own a welder haha)


browner01 said

great looking car bud. are you getting the whole thing blasted? also you going to keep the same colour.

my advice would be.. try and replace as little as possible (metal wise) as the repro stuff fits awfully :shake:

100% agree dude. the less the better, not only keeps the cost down but minimise the use of heritage replacement parts. i will source what i can original vw bits but i know i'm unlikely to find much without being ripped off!!

i think my replacements will be limited to rear arches, (inner and outer), sills (inner and outer) and wings, besides a couple lil bits here and there around the windows etc!

it will by no means be a quick resto tho! but patience will provail! =]

Hope to get rear beam and fuel tank/filler neck out within the next few weeks then gonna make up a Wooden Spit/rollover jig. (anyone ever made them before and got designs? =]


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You are off to a flying start with all the work done so far, my advice would be take lots of photos, bag and label up parts and store in boxes with simular parts, put nuts, bolts and washers back onto things you take off if you can.
There is nothing more anoying than not being able to find that little bit of plastic trim you took off and stored somewhere safe, I know it happened to me and took 2 days to find it!
A car in bits will take up the same amount space as a complete car so make sure you have room to store the parts.
 

1988 Mk1 Golf GTi Cabriolet 1.8cc DX, K-jet. Daily drive. 317,000 miles and counting
1978 Mk1 Scirocco GLS 1.6cc FR, Webber carb. Weekend toy.

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mark1gls said

You are off to a flying start with all the work done so far, my advice would be take lots of photos, bag and label up parts and store in boxes with simular parts, put nuts, bolts and washers back onto things you take off if you can.
There is nothing more anoying than not being able to find that little bit of plastic trim you took off and stored somewhere safe, I know it happened to me and took 2 days to find it!
A car in bits will take up the same amount space as a complete car so make sure you have room to store the parts.
 

haha yeah so i have found out! I have tryed where possible to tape bolts to the things they have come off of or at least keep them together.

will be fun in about a year/2 when i have to start putting it back together and finding bits! all fun and games haha

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Gazza_VWmk1 said


browner01 said

great looking car bud. are you getting the whole thing blasted? also you going to keep the same colour.

my advice would be.. try and replace as little as possible (metal wise) as the repro stuff fits awfully :shake:

100% agree dude. the less the better, not only keeps the cost down but minimise the use of heritage replacement parts. i will source what i can original vw bits but i know i'm unlikely to find much without being ripped off!!

i think my replacements will be limited to rear arches, (inner and outer), sills (inner and outer) and wings, besides a couple lil bits here and there around the windows etc!

it will by no means be a quick resto tho! but patience will provail! =]

Hope to get rear beam and fuel tank/filler neck out within the next few weeks then gonna make up a Wooden Spit/rollover jig. (anyone ever made them before and got designs? =]



here is a guide for a spit… however the pivot is in the wrong place… something to work from though.

get stuck in and stick at it  :thumbs: look forward to seing updates

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browner01 said

Gazza_VWmk1 said


browner01 said

great looking car bud. are you getting the whole thing blasted? also you going to keep the same colour.

my advice would be.. try and replace as little as possible (metal wise) as the repro stuff fits awfully :shake:

100% agree dude. the less the better, not only keeps the cost down but minimise the use of heritage replacement parts. i will source what i can original vw bits but i know i'm unlikely to find much without being ripped off!!

i think my replacements will be limited to rear arches, (inner and outer), sills (inner and outer) and wings, besides a couple lil bits here and there around the windows etc!

it will by no means be a quick resto tho! but patience will provail! =]

Hope to get rear beam and fuel tank/filler neck out within the next few weeks then gonna make up a Wooden Spit/rollover jig. (anyone ever made them before and got designs? =]



here is a guide for a spit… however the pivot is in the wrong place… something to work from though.

get stuck in and stick at it  :thumbs: look forward to seing updates

where's that dude?

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Been a while since i've done anything,

Christmas and all that Jazz so i decided something more needs to happen, (saving and planning for Worthersee this year has put this at the back of the list for the time being)

Spent one evening browsing online through build threads and really got me back in the mood to get cracking!! so… i pulled my finger out and with the help from a buddie we have stripped the ream beam off, removed the fuel tank and got her up onto a pallet on some big old caster wheels! now i can move it in and out on my own to do bits!!

I'd like to think this beaut is part of the reason i got cracking as this is along the finishing lines i am looking. (to an extent) courtesy of browner01 (dont know how to tag, that may well work!)



Here he is before i got started today, not moved since the last lot i done before christmas!!

 

And here he is now!







Its amazing how clean above the fuel tank area is !!  never seen the light of day, or even any underseal!!



and whats a day working on a 32 year old car without finding more rust!!

although i cant complain i knew it needed doing anyway.



Next day i get free i shall be removing the windows from the doors the roof lining (as careful as possible as it is imaculate at the moment) anyone know how expensive replacements are for a 3door non sunroof?  and then remove the doors and boot, then nothing left to take off apart from underseal!! =]

For now just a little update until next time… (Y)

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im glad my build has given you inspiration mate. keep at it and it will be done in no time  :cool:

in the above post are you talking about a replacement headlining? if so…

http://www.newtoncomm.co.uk/cars/vw-golf/model-134/roof-accessories/2532-vw-golf-mk1-two-door-saloon-headlining-kit/

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browner01 said

im glad my build has given you inspiration mate. keep at it and it will be done in no time  :cool:

in the above post are you talking about a replacement headlining? if so…

http://www.newtoncomm.co.uk/cars/vw-golf/model-134/roof-accessories/2532-vw-golf-mk1-two-door-saloon-headlining-kit/

Haha your car is ace!

The only thing i want different is small metal powdercoated matt black bumpers and black trim, (not fond of the chrome)

The black rooflining would actually look pretty sweet to, i currently have white and although we gave it a good clean when i got it, fresh black would look alot better i feel.

We shall see how well i can get it out. (original would be preferred)

I need to look to find a new engine soon after Worthersee. =] Find myself a crappy but running ABF so i can strip and rebuild the engine, sell the rest! (scrap what i cant sell)

Thats the dream anyway haha

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Looks good so far mate, love the colour, personal favourite of mine  :$

Flick r - Flickr: ErosUK's Photostream Insta g r a m - @MK1_TOBY

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Had another little go this weekend and got the doors and boot off, rooflining has had a little start but didnt want to get too involved with mucky hands, although some bits being as careful as possible did start to tear, 32 year old brittle material! haha

anyway another pic for the update. (sorry this one's crappy, forgot to save it but put it up on snapchat story so had to screenshot it to grab a picture!!)



Next i shall be removing the remainder of the roof lining, getting the handbrake off, and then start taking apart the old bumpers and cleaning up and using the mounting brackets to make up a rollover jig to get started on the underside! fun and games!!

A long way from finished but also a long way from where it started! as shown below in my sig.

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So now i'm back from Wörthersee this year it will be time to truly crack on with the project.

I have been offered a 2nd spare shell and a KR engine for a pretty good price so currently considering whether to go for the KR route instead of ABF.

From my understanding the KR is only 10hp less but the main perks of the ABF, besides the little more torque, are generated by the fuel management, For which i will be doing away with and taking the Twin Weber route.

Hopefully soon there will be some real progress. =]

Anyone had any experiance with both to offer good pro's and cons to either?

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reluctantly due to personal circumstances i am ccurrently considering selling this on as a project.

is currently a shell with nothing left attached, all parts besides windscreen and engine, have gearbox but engine had pretty much had it.

pair of new wings ready to go on, (heritage ones)

ideal project ready for someone to build on, needs new rear arches and sills but otherwise is solid.

half of the scuttle tray has been cut out, i intend to finish this at least before passing it on. Really dont have the funds at the moment to be getting into something so deep.

what would people say a project like this was worth.

I have a set of opening quarters i have purchased that need new seals but otherwise are really good condition for age. (old style with stick on tabs)

like i said sale option would be very reluctant as i know its not now worth the £1800 i paid for it, but for what i want to do to it i just dont have the funds and dont want to half ass the job. :(

if anyone is interested, pm me and i can give more info if needed.

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