1989 VW Golf GTI 16v

Thanks razer - all prayers are greatly received ;D

I've got the Haynes welding guide, and i've been reading up on a few sites, i just need to practice on a few things before i dive!

Mate, you're already halfway there aren't you. Don't fret it'll go back fine and if not, there's always help available here.

Welcome by the way!

Cheers for the welcome and the encouraging words.

TBH, the rest of the body is in pretty good condition, with only a few rust blisters and small holes. Certainly, this is easy compared to some of the amazing restorations on this site!!

I'll post some more pics when i finally get around to sorting them.

good luck with the project mate, your not messin about are you lol

top work mate! loks like your certainly getting stuck in! big fan of the mk2's so glad to see one getting the full treatment

Hello again!!
Shamefaced, i notice the other day that i haven't updated this thread in ages. Even more depressingly, i realised that i hadn't really done much in the intervening time!!

So, as a new years resolution to my self, i decided to get at least one proper job done every week.

So, here's a bit of an update on what's been happening.

The old Griling calipers were doing a good job of stopping the car, so whilst they were off, i decide to strip down and refurb them.

Here's how they looked initially:




I was really worried about snapping off the bleed screw or a union, so i soaked them in Rust Buster and Plus Gas for a few days. After stripping of the paint with some nitromorse and popping out the pistons with compressed air, i left everything to soak in some DeoxC for a few days to eat away the rust.

Here's the new seal kit from BiggRed


Before fitting it, i tarted up the brakes with some anti-rust primer and some red hammerite (handily, an aerosol can lid fitted perfectly in the brake piston hole, to keep overspray out!)



I know that red may be a bit chavvy, but i think i can get away with it on a red car!!

After a very frustrating time refitting the seals, here's one caliper rebuilt:



Still need to do the same to the rear calipers, and then fit some braided lines.

After that, i stripped sown the driveshaft to regrease and fit new boots. Unfortunatly, one inner and one outer CV were pitted, and so i had to replace them.

The only other major work that i did was to respray the engine bay. I basically got bored with messing around with CV grease and sorting out wiring looms, so i decided to bust out the spray gun.

Degreasing the bay took ages, since it was covered in a mix of engine oil, mud/clay, rusty bits and the waxy stuff VW use as a seam sealer. There were a few dings and small holes, that i patched with some fibreglass.

Primed and ready


I had already painted the lower section and under the arches with some hammerite.



I was quite chuffed with the results.





Once that was done, i refitted the subframe/suspensio so i could get the car back on 4 wheels just so i could move it around etc.



Fitted old CV joints in the hub to stop the bearings breaking apart.

Current jobs under way are refurbing the distributor and stripping down the engine.

Decided to post a few more pics of what i've been up to!

Found some pics i took during the wiring loom and interior stripdown:





I also removed the heater system and all the thick sound deadening, since water had soaked into it via the rusty windscreen surround. Luckily, the firewall itself was ok, so i'll just give it a quick coat of paint.

The heaters inners were a bit "unhygenic"!





With the interior stripped, i tackled the windscreen surround. As mentioned, i bough a replacement panel from here www.vwheritage.com/bbt/Body/Standard/Front-Body-Section/?templateID=bbt#mk2

Roughly checked the fit:



To remove the old one, i decide to try and retain as much of the interior lip as i could. The plan is to use the lip as a datum when welding the replacement panel in, then, when that's done, cut the interior lip and replace it!!

Used a dremmel and hundreds of thin cutting discs to slice the panel off!



With that off, i found some rust underneath, so traeted it and painted it with anti rust primer. There were a few pinholes in it, so i used some fibreglass sheeting just to seal everything in.

With the panel removed, i have better access to the other rust problem



I think that updates the thread pretty much.

To be continued!....

Snap! retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=readersrides&thread=61319&page=1#832204 ;D

Shocked by the amount of rot yours has; although they are getting on a bit. I hope mine's not that bad - I dare not go looking too hard

Fair play for getting stuck in - will be interested to see the finished article. Any other plans for it? No big bumpers I hope

Cheers - mine's not as minty as it looks when you get close, but it's solid and honest

Glad you're keeping yours stock - there are so few unmolested examples about now. Made any more progress?

I commend your determination - it usually takes me months to sort out the smallest of jobs