91 Mk2 GTI Replica: Work In Progress (LHD, ABF & AC)

Thanks man, much appreciated!

Hope to come to next years GTI International, just have to swim across the pond lol

 

Wow! I was going to say that silver Mk2 was far too nice and original to modify, but reading on it looks like you are doing it justice, to say the least! Love the fact you are adding A/C as I think far too many project cars have it ripped out for weight saving or whatever when it's a great feature

 

Yeah, at first I was in doubt whether or not to modify it. I came to a conclusion that I won't really enjoy a 1.3 4 speed no matter how original and nice it is. I swore to myself that I'm going to make it much nicer than it has ever been, so that's what I'm trying to accomplish

Yeah, I know right. I cringe when I see that somebody has deleted their AC and pass it off as an upgrade. On a track car, okay I get it. But on a street car it's such a nice thing to have. Plus in something as old as a mk2 it adds a certain wow factor.

Thanks Stu!

 

Exactly! I engine-swapped my old Mk2 16v with AC and kept the system in place and working for that reason. Great feature and you can always turn it off when on track if you're worried about it sapping power (I know it weighs a bit, who cares!)

 

This is a great thread ...

Love this


Simple but smart ...I like it

 

Update

Hi there folks, it's time for a little update. I've hella busy, but managed to complete a little bit of work.

Bought a new PAS reservoir off a clubgti member some time ago, but sadly discovered that it won't work with the 02a tranny, as it interferes with the tranny case. I'll modify the bracket so that the reservoir mounts closer to the chassis leg.


As I'm detailing the entire engine bay, decided to clean up and refinish the intake mani. Painted it the same color as the tranny casing.
Before:

Painted:




Got a new coolant overflow reservoir:


Refurbished the valve cover, new gasket too.


Cleaned up the windshield washer bottle. Hot soapy water and rice worked really well:


Modified a mk2 1.8mono air box to suit the ABF. Removed all the unnecessary stuff from the inside, smoothed it out, and fabricated a larger intake velocity stack. Plastic welded in the bung for IAT sensor and bung for PCV:


Started mounting things around the engine bay:


Parts are piling up. Soon it's time for assembly, YAY!


Lots of new OEM bolts and Toledo ECU mounting plate to mount the ABF ECU. Please excuse the mk5 intake part in the pic




New grommets for vac lines going through the firewall. The old ones would have not been up to the task:


Detailing the cooling system hoses. All questionable hoses replaced with new, the good ones cleaned up:


Assembling the engine:








Mounted the subframe and AC lined, gear linkage too:


The front slam panel was fecking mint! All original paint, just cleaned up and transparent Valvoline rust protection applied:




Got some Sachs Advantage shocks and Eibach ProKit 20mm drop springs:


Eibach spring compared to the 1.3CL spring. They do look the business!


Assembled the front struts with all new parts:


Started working on the brake system. Bending the hard lines using a selection of sockets and blocks of wood:


Assembled the front clip. Washed the insides of the headlights, so they look brand new. New horn too.


Steering knuckles assembled with new bearings, spindles and splash shields:




Assembled the front suspension & brakes. Boy do they look big!


Scored a full heated seats kit and VW Activ speaker fader switch. Sweet!


Also scored another gem - cruise control stalk. It will be fun mating this to the ABF


Thanks for looking!

 

If you having trouble with the PAS reservoir on the chassis leg you could use a G60/GTD reservoir that mounts next to the washer reservoir

Part No 191 422 371B

Loving this thread BTW.....

 

Thanks mate, much appreciated!

But, but... I have this new shiny one! Thanks for the suggestion though

Update

The next update bears bad news, found some rust on the otherwise mint shell. I guess, it's not that bad for a 24 years old Volkswagen. Will have to do some welding and painting.

While waiting for some parts to arrive for the engine, I decided to start work on the rear of the car, removing rear beam and fuel tank.

There's still zinc plating on the original wheel bolts. :eek:


The rear beam is absolutely rust free


The precursor of bad news


The boot looks mint. Spare tire has never been used.


Found this poor sucker under the spare:


Looking mint under the fuel pump lid:


Fuel tank strap bracket & bolts still have zinc plating on them, all bolts came out without a hassle:


The straps themselves are pretty rusty. Will be blasted and powdercoated


We have a problem






Some welding to do on the rear arches. Thanks to the stupid mudflaps.




Started looking for more rust. Inspected the rockers from the inside. Feckin mint!







To take my mind off the rust issues, fitted one smoked tail light :laugh: Looking much better than the stock ones.

 

Update

Started work on the front bumper off the white donor. The support is rusty, but nothing too bad. Had to straighten it out, as it had been in a minor fender bender.




Came out pretty good, straight as an arrow! Off to the blasters!


Cleaned up the fogs, ready to be rebuilt using mk3 projectors, as the original ones are toast.


Good morning, sleeping beauty! Time to drop the engine in!


An hour later


Intake & exhaust manifolds fitted, buttoning everything up:




Offered up the grille to drool a little:


Drool time over! For those in interest, please note that the 675mm mk2 radiator doesn't fit an ABF with AC. The lower hose hits the AC pump. Had to offset the radiator half an inch towards the front. I fabbed up a custom mounting point, will post pics later.


Thanks for looking!

 

sensational work, its coming together really nicely,

have you made any more progress?

 

Thanks man! Unfortunately not much progress to this date, busy with work and other stuff. I've gathered lots of parts for the rest of the build, so should be smooth sailing from now on.

I'll post some pics up when some visible progress is made.

There is a pleasant addition to my Golf family. It's a '12 GTD. Of course not as fun to drive as the GTI, but the 50mpg it gets is pretty hard to resist.

Both of them in Baltic VW Festival:





Here are some more pics from the fest, taken by my good friend.

https://onedrive.live.com/?id=e4eda...A7001EBAF346&group=0&authkey=!AAR5MByVxwd8aBs

 

Loving this. Very impressive build

 

Love the hot wax on the battery tray.

Still finding it weird with the brake booster on the wrong side lol

 

Haha, thanks mate! Wait until you see the steering wheel in the glovebox. lol

 

This is a really great thread - thanks for keeping it updated.

Regarding the rust behind the fuel flap, that's an area I just had to repair myself. It's not too bad as long as you have easy access.

 

Will be interested in what results the clocks report on the oil temps at the cooler.
Have you replaces the oil cooler hoses and have you checked the knocks sensors for connection issues and cracked sensor housings. They are a front end removal and with AC there it gets harder to work with. I also had troubles with crank sensors and the Meyle replacement was the pick of the bunch and worth considering changing before it's all back together.

Awesome thread, awesome work!

h

 

Thanks mate! I'll probably continue working on the mk2 later this year. It's about to get even better

I've considered buying a welder and all the tools, but I've come to the conclusion that it's going to cost about the same as getting it done by a professional. Plus the results will be much better

Thanks man! Valid concerns! The engine was running like a champ (it's been recently rebuilt), no problems at all with any of the sensors. I replaced only the hoses that were looking shabby. Yea, the engine bay is pretty much stuffed, working on it when necessary will be pretty annoying lol

 

Any update on this. Im interested in the AC conversion as I've imported a German Mk2. Almost as rust free as yours!

 

Actually not much progress since the last update. Work and home remodel have taken up most of my free time and funds. I've been stockpiling some parts for the next phases of the build. And that's about it. I'm planning on restarting the project some time in this winter, so make sure to check for updates around that time.

 

Oh I will be!