1991 cabrio recommission

So I’ve enjoyed reading all the builds here and thought I would add one of my own…

Here she is being collected, I did a trade swap for a Mk2 golf

Looks like it’s been off road for a number of years, number not known!


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First job I decided to sort out the rust holes in the scuttle panel


So it’s out with the windscreen and the dashboard…


What a nasty mess!





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I am really in need of a decent bootlid if anyone can help?



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The next job was to call the lovely Chortle down to sort out the soft top.
Although the car was sold to me having a new top, it wasn’t fitted, kind of less than half fitted, badly, with half the bits missing, and here it is after Chortle has worked his magic


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It’s a power hood, although I’ve been raising and lowering it by hand , due to a no go unless I put a direct 12V to the hood motor, but I recently got a click out of the motor when pressing the switch, so there’s hope - when I get round to it.,,


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Last MOT expired in March 2009.




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Next up - brakes.

Someone had half fitted rear brake callipers.
The callipers looked daffodil, and the handbrake cables were wrong.
I know these mk1’S are famous for poor brakes, but they are not that bad.., I did run a GTi tintop for about 8 years as a daily driver back in the 90’s, and I only remember scaring myself once with inadequate brakes.

So I decided to go back to standard.
I bought a complete rear axle £20 from a nice chap on EBay, which gave me hubs, and I already had some new wheel cylinders from another project a couple of years ago, so they went on, with new flex’s and wheel bearings.

Up front the callipers were also daffodil so I replaced them with new ones, plus flex’s , and while I am at it, new track rod ends and rack gaiters went on. I changed the fixed track rod on the left side as well, so both sides are now adjustable.




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Will be watching this. Nice to see someone saving one of these rather than part it out for spares for tin tops.

Looks like you have your work cut out. I’m glad mine wasn’t this bad as mine sat for 5 years in a field of cars


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Thanks Wilko…

So next up I started on the engine.

The engine ran ok, on tickover, there was no response from the throttle pedal - there was a spring and clip missing from the throttle cable to carb. A quick post on this forum and steve1973 came through with some really clear images of how it should look/what was missing… then he kindly sent me one, thanks man!!

So after a bit of poking around, there was work to do…

I replaced the radiator, I ended up with a radiator which was bigger than what was there, for a diesel or a GTi or a mk2, not really sure, but it fitted ok anyway, there are optional places in the front crossmember so it slipped into the next position along, luckily I had a spare fan shroud which was laying around from another project waiting for a handy skip to find itself in. So that got a coat of paint and went in, happy days!

I don't replace anything that doesn't need it but, I spent £££ in this department, and replaced:
Spark plugs
Leads
Dizzy cap & rotor arm … all looking old

Coil …. when the sparks went AWOL

Coolant flange …. was cracked and leaking

Water pump & thermostat … overheating

Timing belt & tensioner …. precaution as it's at least 10yrs old

Intermediate shaft & crankshaft oil seals … leaking

Sump gasket … leaking for a decade by looks of it

Alternator belt…. cracking up

So that improved the spark and the cooling system and the car now starts up almost if you Go near it with the ignition key!
And it runs up to temp without any coolant leaks or getting a bit warm and spitting it's coolant out!

Engine is still a bit hesitant to rev -  but Ticks over and revs up nicely, gets to temp and the fan cuts in, I am hoping it's a Pierburg  auto choke issue needs tuning out, and nothing more sinister….

So I was told this little Cabrio had a new wing fitted on the driver side. I undid 3 self tapping screws and the supposedly new wing, , ,  fell off!
Splash shield was absent…
All the front Of the wing hidden by the bumper was a big splodge of fibreglass and filler , over crumbly rust.
Great!
OE Golf mk1 wings require a mortgage, and pattern ones fit where they touch….

…. fortunately, eBay to the rescue, I found a OE wing with damage for £10. It took me about 6 hours to repair it, but it's solid, and now primed and fitted. It's from an earlier golf so needs the hole for the side repeater which I will come back to.

Why are the wings so expensive?

Underneath is unwelded and solid.

The only bit I can find is the little brace which connects back panel to boot floor on the spare wheel well. So I fabbed up a couple of pieces to fix that.

You might have noticed the drivers door has its dents marked up.
I had the door off to make the dash / seats removal and scuttle welding Easier.
When refitting the door , on my own, as I started the top bolt in (so I thought) I relaxed my grip and the door got away, bounced about and crash landed on the floor. Ouch!

So next job is the strip down for paint and dent repairs.

And , does anybody have a boot lid going spare? I really don't want to spend a day welding this one up…

And woohoo!!
Got replacement rims, with brand new tyres!



So that's you lot up to date for now…

I'll post again after the next bit of significant progress….

Really does look good. Good job your handy with a welder.

Out of interest how will you go about fixing the dents in the door. I have a couple on mine and not sure whether to try to tap out with a small hammer or get it professionally done when they use those welded on pull spike things


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Looks like you've been having fun  

Shame about the door  

Wings are expensive cos they rot out, if they didn't they wouldn't be needed and would be cheap  

Good luck with the next bits  

Ian

Cheers guys!

Wilko, I can do you a little tutorial if you like… I teach body & paint for a job and I have to say it’s one of the most difficult of skills to learn how to do, but as with most things, some people pick it up quicker than others….



The dents are only small and I don’t have either the patience nor the skills to ease them out from behind with some rods. That’s amazing what those guys can do, and there are some great videos on YouTube if you’re interested.
The glue puller thingys are also really good. I am painting this golf anyway so no need for Paintless dent removal (PDR)


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So years ago body filler was designed to be applied to bare metal, these days you should just sand the (good) paint for a key - P80.

Much better for a repair as you don’t remove the factory primers, phosphate layer and zinc coating.

If you have a panel which has been repainted in the past then it’s a different story. I’m fortunate here, this little puppy is in its OE paint.

Oh, and I did get out my favourite pdr rod and ease most of the bigger dents out first.
Filler manufacturers advice max depth of filler 3mm.


A quick degrease and on with the filler….


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And found another rust through



Little poke with a screwdriver and…


Ggggrrrrrr, our with the welder again.

They are weird these golfs, they are so well built they only rust in isolated places, not everywhere like most cars.


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So a block down with P80 - most difficult part is knowing when to stop


The way I see it, P80 to shape, P180 to finish. This is after P180, basically ready for primer



Apart from this bit



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