Sorry for the late reply! Its a Clarke 135te. Lovely little welder!! Just about to update this thread after a year! Uploading pictures as we speak
So, It's been over a year since I updated this! Lots has changed, lots has happened. I'm out of my parents now in a little house with the missus, bonus is we have a garage, its tiny but a garage non the less! It didnt have power so I've put that in. I didnt like running loads of power tools through a 25m extension. We will start with the exhaust. the mid box on my Miltek classic system started to rattle. I contacted Milltek and they send me out a new one. I decided to make a straight through to back box system using the old box as a template. This was a fun little project, but ultimately the car was awful! it was loud, really loud. It had lost all its rasp and was all drone. So that idea went out the bag! Seats I did a trackday at Croft in Nov 2019, which was brilliant. But one thing was letting the experince down -the seats... Although mk2 Recaros are a lovely seat, for track use the just aren’t stable enough. Originally I swapped these for a set of Recaro Pole Positions – perfect, just was I was after! After trying them out, they were the wider ABE versions. Being a slim Jim they weren’t suitable for me so I sold them. I was then on the hunt for some SPG’s or the narrower FIA versions. After some searching and being a bloody tight Yorkshireman, I just couldn’t justify £1200 on a set of seats –Reading this thread, you will all probably know already, I’m fussy. Things have to be just right or I won’t do It and this was no different. After some research I found out that the older style Corbeau Clubsports were apparently discontinued because they had used the same/similar mould as the Recaro Pole Position. The price was much more suitable for me too, at around £130-£150.a seat used. That’ll do nicely. Now onto the next issue. I’d got hold of some mk2 golf bucket seat subframes which bolt into the factory runners. There were 3 immediate problems. Firstly the weight – despite the car being more track orientated I’m not chasing weight saving, but these were a joke. Easily as heavy as the standard mk2 recaro if not heavier. Secondly, due to the design of the factory sliders and the way the subframe bolts into the car there was 3/4mm plug up and down. Thirdly, they sat SO high up. I’m 5’7” – a short arse by any stretch and even I felt like Donkey Kong on Mario Kart. You can see below how high the seat sat in the car. So a rethink was in order. The only real way I was going to be happy was chop out the original factory mounts and weld in tubular rails. So I got a set ordered up and set to the rails with a spot drill. Not a fun job! I used chocks of wood to get the seat where I wanted to. It’s a long process but it’s the only way to get it 100% correct. Trying to make diagrams, take measurement throughout. Not only must you get the back and forward position right, left and right but you also have to make sure its square, a pain on a mk2 floorpan! With the seat fitting in progress, another issues raised its ugly head! This time the steering wheel angle and position. I wanted to be sat as low down in the car as possible with my eye line just above the top of the wheel. I ended up making some spacers for the steering column to bring it down around 2.5 inches (the top of the wheel is now inline with the top of the dashboard) I’ve also spaced the wheel out closer to me by 70mm. The driving position is now perfect for me! With the clutch in my leg is just off from straight and the wheel is perfectly inline with me shoulders - well chuffed! While sorting the seats out I was on the look out for some harnesses. I’d decided on 6 point for the most safety I could. I spoke to a nice chap on fb marketplace who was selling a Schroth harness for £100. I messaged him to ask if he had 2, he said he didn’t – I snapped it up regardless. To my amazement when the parcel arrived there were 2 sets in the box! I messaged the bloke and he just sent me back a smile! I quickly fired him some beer money over paypal, as a small thankyou. Got very lucky there! While this was all going on, the diesel Honda daily was still going strong, but I wanted a change, I’m a “car guy” why do I want a diesel Honda Accord?! It had done its duty, carting me and my stuff back up from London. I’ve always fancied an E36, and when one came up locally for a very good price I snapped it up. So here she is the “new” daily. Shes a 323 se – Straight 6, manual, dove grey leather, and not much rust. (I've welded 2 jacking points in and welded in some new ARB mounts, but other than that shes clean) It’s a proper cruiser and silky smooth, I’ve had it a year now and its been very reliable. Had the water pump/viscous fan shit itself but that’s all so far. I’m really loving learning RWD even though this is a soft 323 I can totally see how front engine RWD is the way to go for a proper driver’s car. Going sideways is also very very fun. J With daily duties sorted, back to the seats. I can’t leave anything alone... So I decided I’d spruce the seats up. I wanted to retrim the centres in GTI tartan but the more I looked at all the VW tartan range I didn’t like any of them. I started by wrapping some of my check shirts around the fabric to give me some idea. With my MOMO steering wheel being signed by Jackie Stewart I thought it might be nice to do a little homage to the Stewart Clan, using Black Stewart tartan. Something different but a nice touch in my hunt for “clubsport” perfection Yes, I trimmed them all by hand – took bloody hours. Pricked my fingers more times than I can tell you. Turns out I’m a dab hand with a sewing needle! Must get that tartan lined up! Then Sh*t just went too far! Very very pleased with the outcome! Those beady eyed among you may have also noticed the gearstick… Yet another of my “great” ideas – as always it was a pain to make but well worth the effort. With the seating position sorted I wanted to bring the “shifter” closer to me also. With my 020 box being a rod shift this poses more problems. The main one being that even with my short shifter and the shiter raised up in the cabin the throw was HUGE, felt like a truck. Back to the drawing board. I started by rebuilding the shifter box with new bushes to give me half a chance I then focused my attention on the selector shaft, I’d only ever heard of this being able to be done but hadn’t physically seen it done. I had a spare shaft so used that to chop up. This had enabled me to raise the shifter inside the cabin by quite a lot and keep the short throw on the lever. It’s no CAE shifter and it might not do my synchro’s any good, but only time will tell! .................... Much more to follow, but it's getting late I'll get this more upto date over the coming nights
Yep the ATH box has been sold. I sourced a new 020 box with the shortest ratios, same as my old ACD box. The old ACD is still sat in the back garden... Haven't stripped it to have a look. For now I'm using it for spares
What? of the gearbox in my back garden I wont be uploading any, I've done a fair bit of gearbox posting earlier on in the thread It was nothing spectacular, old box came out, new box went in. Cheers
With the seats and harnesses sorted Next up on the list was the exhaust. For years I’ve had the same issue with exhausts, in that they never sit or hang right even with new hangers. Plus I could never stop the rubbers melting and/or falling off. So, I decided to cut all the brackets and hangers off the car and off the exhaust and start again with a new more modern design. I started by getting the exhaust where I wanted it on some industry spec materials. A washing basket, drill box, coolant container and some wood…. I then started to mock the new hangers up using some stainless rod. (I’ve already replaced the silicon hanger for a stock rubber part, with the same dimensions) I designed them so all the hangers on the exhaust and the car face away from each other, meaning the rubbers should never fall off… Substantial… With the exhaust in place, sat up nicely in the tunnel and plenty of clearance over the rear beam, the backbox would tilt upwards and cause the back end of the box to hit the floor pan. I made a few cuts and slight tweaks before welding it back up With the exhaust done and in place the car sat like this for a while to sort some..ermm.. you guessed it more rust repairs.. I’d noticed the last few time I’d driven the car some oily residue on the passenger side front wheel. I took the coilovers off to make sure they were okay. I’ve had waterproof coilover socks on them since new, so its nice they still look that way! Best £20 I’ve spent Although they looked fine I noticed the dampers weren’t keen to expand back to normal, so I sent them back off to KW to see if they could dyno test them for hairline cracks. They came back and said there was a slight imbalance, so they gave them a refresh but they had tested them and didn’t find any leaks. So something to keep an eye on! With the coilovers back on and the car built back up, I decided to booked on to The Mk2 Golf Owners Sprint day at Curborough Sprint Course. Before that I needed a test run, so took him out for a good old raz around the dales J Got some nice pictures on the way About a mile from home the car wasn’t happy, stuttering and died at idle. I had a look under the bonnet and couldn’t see anything obvious, wiggles some wires and got the car going again. When I got home I found that the hall sender on the dizzy had a really loose connection. I fixed the connector by taking the metal pin out and bending it so it has a strong bite. I didn’t want any more issues so hunted down a new Bosch dizzy at GSF. A pretty penny at over £400… yes you read that correctly… lucky for me they had a 60% sale and a surcharge back for your old one. So it ended up costing me £75. – all things considered I couldn’t grumble! Quickly got that on and realised I don’t have any way to set the timing up… a ring around a few local garages and one place had one in the bottom of his tool box. Champion! I had a look on the forums to understand what I’d actually have to do and how to use a timing light. Turns out its dead easy and I made it to Curborough the next day. Conclusion after the drive This was the first time driving anything with a proper fixed bucket seat and harness. One that has been totally tailored to me in every respect – From the seat position, to the seat height, to the steering column height, to the steering wheel spacing and the gear stick position. After all the hard graft and countless hours overthinking every detail, I have to say it’s been well worth it. On the road the car felt fantastic. No more play in the seats, no more having to keep yourself in the seat by gripping the wheel tightly and pushing your thighs into the seat bolsters – Just totally solid and confidence inspiring. Perfect! Next update will be Curborough Sprint Day Stay tuned…
Great work. I've watched your youtube vids and just come across your thread now I've picked up an '88 GTI like yours (but in Helios Blue). Needs welding work and having been in two minds whether to learn and do myself I think I will do it now I've seen what you've learnt.
Thanks for the kind words, and sorry for not updating this sooner! So Back to Curborough and what seems like a century ago! This was organised by the Mk2 golf owners club, its was a fanatically organised day and so good to see so many old faces and meet some new ones! Lots of mk2s to see, from championship winning 16v’s to converted 20v turbos to vr6’s they had it all! The Golf was going well all day, as I was learning the track and lines better each run. The only thing I wasn’t happy with was the short shifter I made still wasn’t quiet there, 2nd was really hard to find, which proved a pain on track. But that was a job for when I got home. After the day came to a close I joined the group gathered for the awards. Unbelievably to me I’d actually won “fastest track car” of the day, I bet my face was a picture, never ever did I think I’d be picking a trophy up!! What a result after all the hard work! Loaded the car up and drove all the way home with the biggest grin! You can see a video of the lap below, with some commentary over the top… everyone hates the sound of their own voice right.. I've loads more to update! stay tuned!
Thanks guys! The 2nd gear issue at Curborough was rectified with modifying the input shaft again. Many iterations, finally landed with the most ideal solution. The shifts now feels silky! In the process of all this I’ve moved into a little house, has a decent driveway although its tight and a little garage which is really tight! But its somewhere dry which I really appreciate! Finally got all my tools organised which feels great and my mate put some leccy in the garage which is a huge improvement!! You might notice my nice shiny compressor sat at the back, that’s new! I’ve decided I’m going to give this painting lark a proper go. Cans have been fine for me for years but the finish soon dulls and it always needs redoing every year or so… I’ve bitten the bullet with the Birsch 90l Belt driven compressor. They do a spray kit on ebay with all the lines, water trap, GT Air gun etc for a reasonable price. I decided to start with the tailgate, some rust was starting to come through under the boot lock and I wanted rid of the rear wiper, for 2 reasons: 1. I never use it and 2. The wiper sits at a different angle to the X in the cage, which bugs me. I also have a pretty strong hatred for de-wipered cars with rubber bungs, if I was going to do this it had to be properly. I’d sourced the black vinyl boot trim without the wiper/washer holes, so I set about welding up the holes. Made myself a spray booth… Got fist coat of primer on At this stage you are probably thinking… no way, don’t paint in there, the space, the dust, the bugs etc etc… and you would be completely right. But whats the worst that could happen!? Yep the worst happened… You’ve got to laugh.. or cry. Now what I’ve learnt here is I’ve banged on too much base too quickly so the solvents couldn’t escape. I’ve been watching a guy on Youtube called the Gunman, he’s from Australia and paints in a booth set to 35 degrees… ahhh that’s where I went wrong! So back to the drawing board. 2 days later I had the boot lid sanded back to where I first started, at that point you’d think I’d just get it painted and be done with it, right? Wrong… I decided I may as well give the full rear end a refresh. In for a penny in for a pound! This time I went easy on the base coat. The clear went on really nice, it’s the most exciting and stressful point of painting, if anything goes wrong at this stage, its back to the drawing board. This is out of the gun, ready for wet flatting Wet flatted with 3M 3000 Trizact disc by hand, then used G3 compound and 2 different Menzerna finishing polishes. I have to say I’ve surprised myself with the outcome! The only unavoidable thing was dust settling in the clear coat, it wasn’t a huge issue because you can wet sand them out but its more hassle and you end up with less clearcoat! Got the vinyl trim on, very happy with the factory look of this! With the rear of the paint done, attention shifted to finding a passenger seat, trimming it and welding in the seat frame for that side. More to follow
