The story of Greg(Grzesiek) the mk1

[powerd_by_polska]

So heres the story .
I bought this car of a guy who bought it off a mate who bought it off a guy who got it from somewhere.
his latest transformation before he came to me was done here: http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/foru...-69350-14.html

and right now he looks like ziss.

2012-08-16 08.13.58 by pyro92, on Flickr


2012-08-16 08.14.07 by pyro92, on Flickr


2012-08-16 08.14.26 by pyro92, on Flickr

so as you can see fairly rough around the edges (hopefully you can see and i did not stuff this part up with the whole link thing)
at the moment Grzesiek is running a 1.9 8v with 5 speed close ratio box, thats about all i know from what the other threads say but they seem quite accurate. body is very rough and not show stopping but rust is minimal from the surface. I will be investigating over the next couple of years the whole story behind the car during my modification processes. Be warned this thread will not be quick what so ever and most work i will try and do at home my automotive background is weak and i have only the basic knowledge about cars which is why i got this car to learn and grow from the experience of Greg.

From the drive home a number of issues whilst driving have risen and will need to be addressed quickly (you will soon realise why)
Firstly the clutch is in no way smooth and it might just be that ive been out of the manual game for a while but i think it will need to be lubed up or replaced.
next the brakes are in need of some adjusting/ fixing/replacing/rebuilding but they work so its not the end of the world.
and final urgent issue is the carburettor because I drove it home from another members house 5 minute drive plus about another 5 to warm it up and parked it had a look around the car, looked underneath saw some leaking fluid?, obviously concerned i poped the bonnet and had a peek around and there it was leaking fuel straight onto the exhaust

so I played around with the throttle cable cause it seemed to not be fastened at all, screwed it up and waited for it to stop leaking. which was the last thing that I did so on the list of things to buy will now be a fire extinguisher.

now list of things that will happen over the next couple of months....
1 new bumpers as these ones look like they have been thrown up onto the car.
1.1 replaced by chrome or blacked out chrome bumpers
2 either new grill or no grill depending on how the lights will look and whether I like them or not .. opinions on this invited..
3 rear wheel arches removed as the front ones have gone missing and the colour match is not my style
4 make mechanicals more reliable and run smooth
5 fix Rear tail lights as they do not work and will be needed for rego
6 find all/most rust and do quick repairs
7 eventually new wheels and coilovers down the track

now so no one is confused i will be driving this car around as much as possible and i would like to have it running until i finish my Uni degree after that once i have saved some more money it will get a more exclusive treatment with things along the lines of respray and possibly roll cage for some track fun. only if life allows for it to happen but this is a long way down the track.

for now that is all and I hope I don't run into too many problems even tho they are bound to come up.

[HuH]

Good stuff, Krystian. All the best with it. I really didn't spend much time on that car at all as it was just an engine donor for my yellow one. It needed things sorted out when I got it. The bloke who picked it up off me (the guy you bought it from) is a friend of mine, and he was intending to sort all the issues out with his old man who is a mechanic.

That's kind of why I let it go in the state it's in. For whatever reason the two of them weren't able to get time and Andrew is now looking to move and doesn't need a car. Hopefully you won't have too much trouble getting it sorted.

[Domel]

Bo wszystkie Grzeski to fajne chlopaki! Sounds like a good project - have fun with it!

[powerd_by_polska]

Good stuff, Krystian. All the best with it. I really didn't spend much time on that car at all as it was just an engine donor for my yellow one. It needed things sorted out when I got it. The bloke who picked it up off me (the guy you bought it from) is a friend of mine, and he was intending to sort all the issues out with his old man who is a mechanic.

That's kind of why I let it go in the state it's in. For whatever reason the two of them weren't able to get time and Andrew is now looking to move and doesn't need a car. Hopefully you won't have too much trouble getting it sorted.

ahh ok well thats cool at least i have a challenge ahead (sort of part of the reason I wanted it aswell) and yeah i had a bit more of a detailed glance around the car and tried to figure out what was working and what wasnt so that i knew what i should start with first and what i should search up to figure out how to fix it. bassically from my seccond glance inspection found that the left indicator front and rear dont work haha, even with the hazzards they dont work,only the right hand side works, so im guessing either a relay or something of the sort has failed. all over the wires have been chomped up and destroyed the front grille is probably the funniest part of it all since theres no globes in the center headlights so they are pretty pointless. also the headlights dont work on low beam/high beam only parkers. tried to find the engine number aswell but couldnt find that any ideas on where it could be?? and the only other real problems that i would say bother me would be the clutch not being very smooth, filthy cable maybe? oh and the brakes will need some serious tuning/adjustment.

Bo wszystkie Grzeski to fajne chlopaki! Sounds like a good project - have fun with it!

yes they are and this car is heaps fun to drive so i will definitely be having fun with it and making sure to keep it on the road


I'm no mechanic so most of these things will be challenging and new for me but the whole point of getting this car is to learn i guess and any help will be appreciated. probably would need an electrical diagram for the whole car if anyone knows where i could get one would be great ...

also going to order this if anyone sugests something better let me know
Volkswagen Golf, Jetta & Scirocco Mk 1 Haynes Part No. 726

[mikinoz]

The Haynes should be cheap if you hunt for it. For wiring a Bentley manual is in my mind better. Google Mk1 rabbit Bentley in eBay.

Good luck and happy learning!

[powerd_by_polska]

Update

So Its been a couple of weeks now and I am slowly learning more and more about little greg here. So to start i thought i would tackle the obvious problem which was the electrical mess. to recap it was the headlights, stop lights, reverse lights that didnt work at all and the indicators would intermittently work. So I went about fixing this by testing a couple of things and came to the conclusion that it was way too messy for me anyway so I started by taking out the dash loom and cleaning it up and checking all the connections and wires.


2012-08-22 17.25.53 by pyro92, on Flickr
Before:

2012-08-22 17.51.52 by pyro92, on Flickr
and After :

2012-08-23 22.11.16 by pyro92, on Flickr
also noticed that around the fuses for the headlights there was a lot of melted plastic and figured that it might be the problem so I pulled the fuse box apart and had a peek.

2012-08-23 22.22.10 by pyro92, on Flickr


2012-08-23 22.22.39 by pyro92, on Flickr

it all seemed intact just a bit dirty and grimy so I cleaned it up and put it back together

2012-08-25 11.08.02 by pyro92, on Flickr

2012-08-25 11.27.48 by pyro92, on Flickr

can anyone confirm that this fuse box part code is from this model? cause I found a thread on the fuse box connections and the wires but some of them don't match up since the part code on the example was different.

2012-08-23 22.17.45 by pyro92, on Flickr

also took off the bumpers and the grille so if anyone wants these, am open to offers.

2012-08-25 10.55.26 by pyro92, on Flickr

I also cleaned up the wiring in the back but I would love to get the connector that goes underneath the tail light cluster if anyone knows what im on about and where I could get a pair would be great.

[Water Boy]

Good work mate. I wouldnt have a clue about wiring. Looking forward to your next update!

[roccodingo]

Hiya Krystian, car looks to be a reasonable base to start with.

Check the VIN number under the hood and see what year model the car actually is.

Large rear lamps appeared in/after 82 so going by that you should be running a slightly "newer" version of the bullet fuse box ( B or C after the part number ) If the fuse block/relay plate is the original then the car is likely to be a 76 or earlier and the rear body hacked to fit the later model tails.

The fuse meltdown is likely to have been caused by fitting higher wattage headlamps, ingress of water ( rust underneath the windscreen seal the usual culprit ) Do the windscreen wipers also run erratic ?? that and dogy indicators is a sign of a rooted fuse plate. You can change up to the later series fuse box however some of the wiring positions between A version and B/C version are different.

OK, just had a peek at your interior shot and your using the early indicators ( thin stalks ) so I do think its a 76. New fuse box's are available from VW classic parts / vwheratige altho there around the 100 Euro mark ( from memory) quite likely you can source one here also. If your going used check for water damage first. I would have a good look around the rear tails as the bodywork will likely be a bit butchered and likely leak. the big tails have a different base profile to the early smaller lamps, leaving gaps when fitted.

Terminals for the rear lamps you will prob need to get odf a wreck that had the large units fitted originally ( US big lamps use a different plug also )

Good luck man, keep us posted.

[powerd_by_polska]

Good work mate. I wouldnt have a clue about wiring. Looking forward to your next update!

Thanks Mate with this golf wiring is not actually that bad since its so old everything is very simple and heaps easy to follow, Haynes manual def helped although at parts its a bit unclear. next update should be fixing up the gearbox but I am not brave enough to do this myself so I might need someone to do it for me. Was hoping Camden Gti would be able to do it for a reasonable enough price but I haven't been able to get it over to them so i sent them an email just waiting for a reply.

Hiya Krystian, car looks to be a reasonable base to start with.

Check the VIN number under the hood and see what year model the car actually is.

Large rear lamps appeared in/after 82 so going by that you should be running a slightly "newer" version of the bullet fuse box ( B or C after the part number ) If the fuse block/relay plate is the original then the car is likely to be a 76 or earlier and the rear body hacked to fit the later model tails.

The fuse meltdown is likely to have been caused by fitting higher wattage headlamps, ingress of water ( rust underneath the windscreen seal the usual culprit ) Do the windscreen wipers also run erratic ?? that and dogy indicators is a sign of a rooted fuse plate. You can change up to the later series fuse box however some of the wiring positions between A version and B/C version are different.

OK, just had a peek at your interior shot and your using the early indicators ( thin stalks ) so I do think its a 76. New fuse box's are available from VW classic parts / vwheratige altho there around the 100 Euro mark ( from memory) quite likely you can source one here also. If your going used check for water damage first. I would have a good look around the rear tails as the bodywork will likely be a bit butchered and likely leak. the big tails have a different base profile to the early smaller lamps, leaving gaps when fitted.

Terminals for the rear lamps you will prob need to get odf a wreck that had the large units fitted originally ( US big lamps use a different plug also )

Good luck man, keep us posted.

Well I had a look around the back of the car and couldn't see any obvious signs of it being chopped up and replaced this could be because it has been resprayed so anything is possible. the Fuse box is an A series box and i would assume it was rooted and dirty causing the indicators to work from time to time but i cleaned it up and all seems to be working sweet now. the wipers run fine as well and there is no rust under the windscreen that is visible although I did notice that the windscreen sits out further on one side don't know how that's possible ??
for now all electrical things work so next on the list is mechanical and since engaging gears such as reverse, first and fifth isn't working very well I'm thinking whether I should get a new gearbox or if it would be worth fixing? or if its just the shift linkages ??

[HuH]

The gearbox in that car is definitely worth fixing. It's an ACD 020 box which is a close ratio five-speed from a Mk2 GTI. Quite a desirable gearbox, and worth holding on to.

It had new carrier bearings put into it by Craft Differentials in Granville a few months ago. After I got the box back it didn't seem to be engaging properly. Are you experiencing the same clunking into gear when taking off after letting the clutch almost all the way out? This was one of the main things Andrew's dad was going to sort out.

I suspect that Craft didn't put it back together properly. The job was somewhat rushed because I needed it back before I went overseas. I have a feeling it's related to the preload on the hubs, but I can't be sure. It needs attention from someone who understands those gearboxes. Matt at Camden is worth a go.

Hopefully that helps.

[powerd_by_polska]

The gearbox in that car is definitely worth fixing. It's an ACD 020 box which is a close ratio five-speed from a Mk2 GTI. Quite a desirable gearbox, and worth holding on to.

It had new carrier bearings put into it by Craft Differentials in Granville a few months ago. After I got the box back it didn't seem to be engaging properly. Are you experiencing the same clunking into gear when taking off after letting the clutch almost all the way out? This was one of the main things Andrew's dad was going to sort out.

I suspect that Craft didn't put it back together properly. The job was somewhat rushed because I needed it back before I went overseas. I have a feeling it's related to the preload on the hubs, but I can't be sure. It needs attention from someone who understands those gearboxes. Matt at Camden is worth a go.

Hopefully that helps.

I remember reading about that but thought that it wouldn't be that bad and yeah I haven't been driving it much since I have no license till November but "a friend" took it around the block and yeah it doesn't seem to engage properly and when it does it just jumps in like you said, along with the reverse gear hard to select and then even harder to keep in gear as it just pops out like pop corn also noticed it doesn't roll when the clutch is in ??? not sure exactly as I haven't been able to test it out properly but would love to get this box going nice and smooth just thinking of advice on what I should do, engine wise will probably just give it a good service since it runs well might get a tune after I replace some gaskets.

[HuH]

The 1.9 8V that's in there is a good motor. Just look after it and you'll be fine.

I didn't drive the car very much at all so I don't know much about the 'box issue. What I did find was that all I had to do to get it working well was: clutch in and select first when rolling to a stop, then put it in neutral and let the clutch out. When I needed to take off I'd clutch in, select first and it would take off perfectly normal. Can't actually remember using reverse or fifth so I don't know about them.

[powerd_by_polska]

Ok so I emailed camden gti but they haven't got back to me so I'm not too sure on what I should do with this gearbox issue since im guessing it will cause issues when getting it registered again. Another question I have is what sort of paperwork I need before I go to get a blue slip to note the new engine number, Do I need to have some sort of receipts or something of the engine the car was in before or does it not matter? is it just a write in the new number sort of thing. Also I was just wondering what sort of things mechanics will look for when registering so that I know what I should prioritise first, I know that brakes horn wipers tyre tread depth are some of the things they look for but I've only ever had one car which is fairly new and me and my dad usually just do the servicing like brake pads tyres oil and filter and what not. So basically what sort of things should be done on such an old car to make sure its roadworthy?

Also got Smoked indicators anyone want to help me out with getting bumpers??

indicators by pyro92, on Flickr
any help is great help Thanks

[Water Boy]

Just give CamdenGTI a call and speak to Matt. Better than emailing him.

[powerd_by_polska]

Just give CamdenGTI a call and speak to Matt. Better than emailing him.

Thanks will probably call up tomorrow