Thanks for the comments as always. Fitted a HEL braided clutch line. When replacing the downpipes last weekend, I leant on the copper clutch line and snapped it . Also picked up some 5x100 17x8 Azev A's. They need a refurb but I don't know if they suit the car as much as I thought they would. Thinking of selling them on and holding out for some 17" LMs. Quick test fit:
So, I have had this over 2 years now! How time flies! It is the longest I have ever had a car. AmericanDan pointed out some LM's to me - they ended up being the perfect specs 17x7, et35, 5x100. I have been looking for a set like this for the past 2 years, so very chuffed to have found a set with the correct fitment. They have been sealed with Carbon Collective Platinum Coating and came with a new set of 205/40/17 Pirelli PZero Nero. Best of all, no kerbing etc either. Plans for this winter include: 1. Sorting out a sound system 2. Find a Votex centre console 3. Retrim the headlining 4. Fit leather door cards/retrim doorcards 5. Fit adjustable top mounts 6. Full paint correction as I was lazy this year.
Since it was a fine day, I thought I would take the mk2 out. First time it has turned a wheel since about October, started first time with no issues. Sam came round with his mk5 gti, so gave that a clean and took some photos. I also bought some bits and bobs (yet to fit): 1. A mint black parcel shelf 2. Leather door cards (needs some TLC but not rotten) 3. Mk2 heated seat switch 4. Generic carbon heat pads and look (plan to retrofit these with the mk2 switch) 5. Black tweed for doing the headlining
Stunning car pal, very tastefully restored. Been wanting an Oaky for years, this thread has inspired me to get looking!
I haven't done as much as I hope to this year on the car - work, life and anytime I have been out the road I have been assisting my Dad at fitting up a workshop. The headlining was always letting the interior down. The rear of it had sagged, so I had cut it off. I removed all the existing material and ended up with the lovely cracked number below: I repaired this with some fibreglass, in about 6/7 areas and retrimmed it in a dark grey/black tweed: The door cards were installed, rears are almost mint. Fronts are a bit scabby, but I plan to drop these with my friend Andrew to tidy up and redye. He is currently dying is spare M3 Kiwi Interior Cinnamon and has done a fantastic job so far: The car also had its MOT last week, where it has completed a whole 250 miles since June last year . I treated it to some early style plates - I got them from 'Fancy Plates' - ordered Monday and delivered Tuesday - winner! I have made some changes to the suspension set up - the rear has been raised 5mm and the front dampers have been made slightly softer, which has made it an absolute treat on the road. At the weekend, I gave it a quick once over with the DA, as this was really needing done since last year: I then took it to V8 Breakfast at Fennel for the 'Drive for June' charity event. It was the first outing I took the mk2 to last year, so I was keen to take it along. My Father's day gift to my Dad was letting him take the RS4 (I just wanted photos of them together ): The day was finished up with a wee drive with Andrew, Sam, Sofa and Martin where we got photos of the Mk2, Sam's Mk5 and Martin's new Mk7 GTI TCR. Overall I am happy with where the mk2 is now at, and it is probably where it should have been this time last year. It has definitely been a learning curve! The plans for the summer are to use it more really and find the next list of items to work on for this winter . Thanks for reading and apologies for the long update.
So this is more of an unexpected update, as come June time, I was planning on using this heaps! The car passed its MOT in the June time and I realised I had done about 250 miles in it between MOTs. This year, I planned to use it on all the good days, so started using it going back and forth to work in July which was awesome . Then it was meant to rain for a good week or so and I decided to drop it back off to my parents and cycle back in (cause I am trying to road cycle this year too). On the way home however, the coolant light came on - odd I thought. I always keep coolant in the car, so pulled in and open the bonnet, to find water everywhere . The radiator (a new one I bought last year too) had sh*t itself. I managed to coax it back to the garage. The plan then was to replace the radiator with a new large aluminium one, with slimline fans. I thought, while the car was apart, I would also purchase a TSR/Milltek manifold, as I always thought there was a slight blow on the downpipe. And since I would have to remove engine mounts etc to get to the downpipe, I thought I would replace the gearbox with a 3.94 FD - so I purchased a mk4 golf 2.0 GTI 5 speed box with an EMR code . This should mount up fine, and as I have the mk4 shifter in the mk2 already should be an easy swap with potentially just the drive shaft cups needing swapped between the boxes. However, not everything went to plan removing the gearbox, with about 2 solid days attempting, with double checks from Andrew and my mechanic friend Peter (for all the work I can't be arsed/am not skilled enough to do). I was doing everything correctly, but we think I might have a twisted input shaft which is causing the problem - so out with the engine . This put me in a huff and I didn't touch the car for a couple of months until this weekend: The silver lining to this, is that the engine bay has always let down the car. The car was never meant to go to the level or expense (paint, retrimmed interior and LM's) that it has, and I pretty much left the bay as it was. The plan over the next few months is now to respray the bay, paint the engine, get Andrew to powder coat a heap of stuff and make it all pretty, including the earlier improvements noted above. Sorry for the long winded post - have a picture of my exhaust manifold for good measure
Hi Greigzy, I’ve been following your thread from a far for a couple of years and finally acquired a Helios Blue ‘89 3 door 16v in solid condition (showing its 30 years in places). My project will be similar to yours and I’m wondering what kind of budget I should be expecting. A range will be fine as I know so much depends on the car and specifics. Thanks for sharing this story with us - your car is amazing. Truth be told, I’m really happy with the latest wheels, they set the car off much better for my taste!
Hi Grant, Thanks for the message. I would say £6-7k excluding the wheels is where I am at with it. Paint and interior costing the most. The paint was done by my friend who is a painter as a homer at his work, which will have saved some money too. There’s then all the additional parts like poly bushes, coil overs and brakes and exhaust which could be done at varying costs depending on style and budget you have. With my car being someone’s existing project there were a lot of pieces missing which took time and money to find (roof gutters being a prime example!). That and the fact that once you improve one thing, the part next to it might look shabby and will require a refurb or replacement too! Good luck for your build and I look forward to reading about it. If you have any questions or queries, give me a shout.
So, an almost non-existent update, but I am bored . This should be a lot further ahead, but I spent too much time mucking about with a red Mk5 GTI and the Lupo, that this is a little behind. With the current lockdown in place, and the car being out the road at my parents, I am unsure if the car will be on the road for this summer, or even this year - I'll just have to wait and see. The engine is still out the car, but I have taken off the gearbox and exhaust manifold. The block has been degreased and painted black. Engine bay is being prepped to be painted. I bought a lightened flywheel I have a new clutch kit from ECP for the car - on the day I went to collect this, there was an error on their system and I got it for £28! I have a new Schrick 268 Inlet cam to go on - according to Ess Three's thread on club GTI - this was the most effective cam for the car. Allegedly the exhaust cam is not required. All the metal work is with my friend Andrew for blasting and coating I got Tarox 6 pot brakes from a local Mk3 that was being broken - completely unnecessary, but for the money I couldnt say no. I have also bought Happich replica rear windows for the car. Some pics to make it more interesting:
So, a year without an update. After the above post last year, I got everything buttoned back up, but was having issues. Crazy revs, it being really lumpy and a few look ends to tidy up - brake balancer to be sorted, mounts for the new radiator etc. This and trying to get the beetle ready for paint was just too much. In October 2020, the beetle came back from paint, and the golf got shipped to Peter's, but essentially was laid up in Alz shed until about April this year. The plan was for Peter to get the car ready for an MOT to allow me to use it over summer. It ended up that Peter was quite busy with other cars so this kept slipping down the pile. As such, I ended up getting involved and doing a lot of the work required to get it ready. This included: New ICV - the chinese one fitted the year previous failed. New brake balancer spring - managed to modify a new Mk1 version from crazy quifes. Bled the brakes after fitting the Tarox Welded in brackets for the new radiator Wired in the new dual fan set up. Bolt tightening/check after me putting it together and leaving it for months. Weld exhaust section there the downpipe spacer where a cat could go, ties in with the rest of the exhaust. Thankfully, after all the work done, it passed its mot with flying colours on the 15th July. However, taking it home, it decided to have an accident in the car park. The chinesium (see a theme here) AGG coolant pipe had snapped at the mount. From there, with the car vibrations, the sheared mount rubbed through the pipe causing a leak. To add to the fun, the bonnet would open, hence no grill. Mykulz on here kindly had a spare OEM ABF item, so I popped up to Stuartfield on the Sunday to collect it. Fitted, did a 20 mile drive around town to ensure it wouldnt overheat - winner. I took it to work the next day and there was more pain . Doing a u-turn into Petrofac, the clutch pedal went. and by went I mean flat to the floor. I managed to find second and get it parked. Weridly, the clutch pedal bushing had failed. This had caused strain on the circlip which bent it and caused the pedal to come away. I managed to coax it home and Alz was quick with the info of new OEM clips and bushes. I managed to get these next day from VW Heritage. The car has now done about 240 fault free miles and I now have faith in it. After sitting for almost 2 years and being in sheds and all sorts, the car was looking a little sorry for itself. As such, I got to work giving it a good deep clean. A polish will occur in the near future. With the new downpipe fitted with the trackslag exhaust, I have realised the car is now very loud - perhaps I am just getting old. Great on a run, but around town and to work, a bit bouley basher. To counteract this (for me at least). I have added some sound deadening to: Under the rear seats Boot area Into the doors This has created a marked difference to the inside of the car. Other things I have done are: Aligned the steering wheel Sorted loose or unitdy trim Added new rubber pedal covers Added covers to the seat belt mounts Replaced the wiper blank (seemed to have gone missing over the past 2 years) And finally, one of the things I carried out last week, was tidying up the door cards. As you will be aware, leather doors cards for a mk2 are quite a premium now, and to obtain some, I ended up buying a set in poorer condition than I would have liked. These looked as if they had been scratched by a dog, and had additional speaker holes cut on the inside. After a few nights of sanding, filing and redying, I got an improvement, to this:
So onto the fun stuff. What is it like to drive now? Its amazing how much the modfications have made a difference in terms of performance and driveability. The 3.94fd mk4 gearbox (replacing the abf 3.6 f.d) gives the impression of another 20/30 horsepower. This tied in with the lightened flywheel means it flies through the revs. From a performance perspective it is definitely quicker, and the change in inlet cam to the schrick 268, almost makes it feel VTEC like. Overall a big fan and finally feel after 5-6 years that it has all come together. The plan now is for me to part ways with the car later in the year. Having 3 cars (2 of which are fun ones) just isnt feasible anymore, especially considering this has driven about 500 miles in 3 years. There are a few loose ends I want to tidy up and make sure it is running ok, before I advertise it in the autumn. To keep things up to date and in one place, a run through of the current spec is as follows: Exterior: 2 new wings (Passenger OEM, Driver Repro) Boot and driver door rust free from other cars Resprayed in oak green G60 arches all round New clear glass on the front. Heckblende Single Wiper Conversion Interior: Mk3 recaros and rear bench - retrimmed in half leather and recaro fabric Leather door cars Non-OEM electric windows (using OEM switches) OEM electric mirrors Mk3 GTI clocks Replica BBS Steering Wheel OEM mk2 GTI mats Uncut parcel shelf US style mk2 rear light cover - newton commercial Headlining retrimmed in tweed Duplex Indicator Battery Gauge Chassis Mk3 Wide track with 5x100 Fully polybushed Mk4 rear brakes (new discs/pads/calipers as part of refresh) Tarox 6 pot Braided hoses - brakes and clutch New brakes lines throughout Spax RSX Coilovers Genuine BBS LM - 17x7 et35, 5x100 205/40/17 - Pirelli P Zero Nero Engine: 2.0 16v ABF with service history. Approximate 120k miles KR polished head Schrick 268 inlet cam Golf GTD inlet Lightened flywheel 3.94 f.d mk4 golf gearbox Trackslag Exhuast Miltek/TSR downpipe New clutch, timing belt and OEM head gasket fitted in June 2020. I have taken some rather terrible photos after cleaning it up, however I should have some better photos appearing in the next week or so from my pal Sean. And a couple with the beetle I restored this past year/my Up GTI daily:
Do love this car! Shame to hear you're selling up but understand you can't keep them all! You get your TSR ABF manifold to seal up correctly? Having a mare with the one on mine, conical joint is absolute dogsh*te! Beetle looks rather nice too
Just read from start to finish and what a complete and utter transformation - literally saved it! The car looks stunning especially in that colour, interior and wheel combo
It’s been great to own for the 5+ years, however there are many other cars I would like to try and own. I also have so much time and money invested in it I almost feel bad enjoying it. I’m hoping whoever does buy it drives it like it should! It’s sealed up now but was a pain in the backside. I also had issues getting a good seat the trackslag and the cat section. Ended up having it welded up so be safe.
