Back in the Diesel game

[gldgti]

hey mate...

i see no need to change the oil pump if you have a 1.6 engine already... it is the same (or should i say, equivalent).

i think your best bet for oil lines will be somewhere like pirtek - you might have to settle for flexible lines.

i suppose you're already read up on the turbo/non turbo differences, but the main one is the piston cooling oil jets, which you're engine wont have.... this is not too much of a big deal given its going in a mk1, but don't expect to make more than about 110-120hp and keep you're engine for a long time. as long as the exhaust is pretty free flowing and you run a nice big intercooler, i reckon you'll be right as far as EGT's go.

if you're doing bushings, the big ones are the lower control arms and the rear suspension beam...

PS - why do you need a coolant tank with level sensor???

[hiho]

Thanks for your words of wisdom Ayden, I think that I will be calling on you for many more on this project.

The coolant level? well, ive been hurt and i dont want to be hurt again.

I had re-ringed a 1.5 motor with a rebuilt head, all hoses replaced except one, the one that split open and dumped all the coolant. Motor overheated without registering on the temp gauge, blowing the head gasket and severely warping the head. It wasnt until i had another replacement head built that i discovered that the block had cracked.

The tan car now has king springs and new dampers fitted, It sits a bit higher in the rear, and lower in the front, which is good. Before it was ready for takeoff with the ass squatted and the nose in the air.
I still have to adjust the shift linkages, diagnose a nasty rattle in the exhaust at idle, adjust the drum brakes, change oil and filters, fix some minor rust, replace the windscreen and its done!!

Heres some photos of the progress, scrubbed up ok huh!



And with wheels and suspension

I took it for a spin and from the few roundabouts near my place i can say that it is a vast improvement! Thrilled to bits

[hiho]

The front and rear screens are out for some rust repairs. The front screen is going to be replaced.

Theres a nasty rattle/banging from under the car when idling. I think its the exhaust pipe hitting the tunnel somewhere. The exhaust mounts are all good so it may be a dud engine mount. A very slight increase in idle speed fixes it so i think thats what I'll do.

I suspect that the thermo fan switch is a dud. THe fan works when the switch is bypassed. I'm going to add a relay, a manual switch and an indicator light for the fan. I have wired up the rear wiper and washer using a pair of relays.

So with that there will be 5 aftermarket relays. I can think of another 2 at least. A glow relay relay to protect the expensive glow relay and and a starter relay. I love relays.

New windscreen goes in tomorrow, RWC inspection wednesday and Vicroads inspection booked for next monday!!

Wish me luck!

[Jarred]

geez, you arent mucking about. good luck!

[hiho]

Thanks Jarred,

hows your car going? Love to see some more photos

[Jarred]

Thanks Jarred,

hows your car going? Love to see some more photos

well it's getting rego tomorrow. there should be a bit of an update tomorrow in the thread. lots of soon though, that's for sure!

[hiho]

Roadworthy test conducted today and it failed!!!!
Its not bad news though just the following:

A park light (intermittent)
Left front brake hose twisted (in the grommet on the strut i assume, easy fix)
Secure Rear mudflaps
fit spare
replace four tyres

The last is a mystery as they are not down to the wear indicators and they are evenly worn. I may have to wave VSI26 in his face.

I'm surprised that the exhaust passed, it sounds like a race car atm!

Tonight I fix, tomorrow reassess and then into vicroads on Monday for registering the sucker!

[Jarred]

Maybe the tyres have cracks in teh side walls, or are generally just old and worn out?

Interesting that you need a spare. my spare wasn't secure, and they said i could just take it out, and that would fix it.

secure rear mud flaps... interesting...

where did you go, just out of curiosity?

[hiho]

It was at a place in west brunswick.

It really should have failed on exhaust, the thing sounds raw!

the tyres are fine, evenly worn yoki a539's on the front and bridgestone somethingorothers on the back. all are 185/60's. They look awesome!

I have a set of std wheels with cheesecutter tyres that should pass. Then I'll just swap them back.

Oh, he wants a spare too......

anyway, I'd like to say AWWYEAH!

My project motor arrived this morning. Its a 1.6 diesel from america via Andrews workshop in Tassie. I'm going to pull it to bits this weekend and have the head and block crack tested and the bores measured.

[GoLfMan]

well done for getting cracking on this project matey, thats a pretty small list and easily fixed, well done!

a spare isnt legally required so Im not sure why he is asking for one!

best of luck, would be great to have another mk1 on the road. Love your work

[hiho]

Thanks golfman,

I had a new muffler fitted. It was beyond reasonable how loud it was. I'm a bit sad as the car pulled really well and revved nicely, better than any other diesel golf I've driven.

The cheesecutters are back on. They look terrible, you know how 30yo std rims look when they've been sprayed silver to cover the rust. I have a bnib set of 13" polo wheels that I'll have the tires shifted onto if the rwc man passes them as roadworthy. Then its all friggin done!

I do think that theres a problem with the engine or the engine mounts. The car shakes excessively at idle, things bang and rattle and its generally awful.
Is there any way to easily check the mounts?

Thanks guys and girls!

[gldgti]

nice you've got it goin mate...

if you have the (awesome) A539's, thats probably why you were failed. Those tyres have been out of production for atleast 3-4 years... he probly figured they were old and hard.

[hiho]

the creamy tan coloured car passed its roadworthy on friday and vicroads inspection on monday!! woohoo!

I also found out that the motor is a low kms transplant with only 180k! sweet!

so if you see a beige golf tearing around in a cloud of black smoke, then it could be me or leah in our new toy!

Next is the TD motor build........... Its in the garage just waiting for us to pull it to bits!!

[hiho]

the rough idle is getting very annoying, could it be because one inlet valve clearance is way too big? what else can cause rough idle on a 1.5 diesel?

Otherwise, the car is going fab. Its amazing how a car deteriorates when it isnt driven, and how it starts to look better again when its back on the road!

[Jarred]

congrats on getting it roadworthy!