Beige Mk1 golf 1.8t 20v The Rebuild!

[higher1]

Hi ive just joined the forum and thought i would share my build thread well rebuild thread all comments welcome

I bought the car last october (2012) a 1980 series one mk1 golf and although the car looked great it wasnt to my standard and there were a few things i wanted to change, so much to my friends horror after driving it for just 2 weeks i stripped the car and so began the rebuild.

My aim was to have it show ready by the following march 2013 under 5 months away!


The spec is as follows when i bought the car

Body
Painted original Mexico Beige
Scuttle panel smoothed
Arches rolled all round
Exhaust recess removed
Chromed bumpers
Chrome side trim
Chrome Flag mirrors
Chrome Porsche door handles
Removed rear wiper and rear badges
Sanded and Tinted red rear lights
All original glass (except front screen changed to laminate)
Chrome audi TT filler cap with trim ring

Engine
1.8T four cylinder 20v (AGU code) - 226 bhp
QPEng MBE Plug and play management with switchable high low boost
Custom downpipe, stainless exhaust (with down turned tail pipe)
Custom engine mounts (engine sits square rather than at the usual slight angle)
Custom boost pipe and water to header hose.
Bailey dump valve
Front mount intercooler
Top fill radiator (removed header tank)
Altenator and MK4 2.0 litre cross flow gearbox painted body colour
G60 Flywheel and VR6 clutch.
Raintray removed with Servo and mechanism
Smoothed bay with removed scuttle panel
Removed heater fan / matrix
Tilton pedal box fitted under dash
Relocated Battery and fuel pump to boot

Suspension
FK Konigsport stainless coilovers
Polybushed throughout
Rear strut brace

Wheels
15" G60 steel wheels (keeping it looking like a total sleeper)
195x45x15 Falken Tyres
12mm spacers on the front, custom made spacers with camber shims on the rear

Brakes
4 pot Wilwood midi lite calipers
Wilwood 280mm discs and pads

Interior
Porsche 944 Tombstones
Gti rear seat
"Euro cluster" series 1 dash
VDO boost gauge fitted to dash window vent
VDO flat fronted Voltage, oil pressure, and oil temp fitted in radio recess
Momo 280mm hand polished steering wheel with Porsche horn push
Mooneyes gear knob

And some photos






The car is an absolute animal traction is the main problem and will be addressed in the future the sound is just amazing its like a go kart only alot faster

[higher1]

Ok so a bit of an update

The car had a few places of rust and a couple of things i wasn't happy with so ive decided to strip it and respray it the only catch is the 1st show is now 17 weeks away!

Heres the process to date

The god aweful aero style fuel cap had to go 1 it didn't fit well and 2 its just not in keeping with the retro feel pics of the bad fitting cap and fuel pipe




so out it was all stripped new filler neck has been bought



Then i attacked the lower rear panel as the corners were suffering from the good old rust




new corner section welded in



then the cut out for the exhaust was filled in as it has a down swept tail pipe



stripped the sill back to bare metal and all is good



next up is the drivers side front wing, its a aftermarket part non genuine and i hate the fit the profile is all wrong so ive bought a new genuine vw wing





also the non genuine wing is missing the little reinforcing tabs -



the genuine wing -

[higher1]

Then the strip down started



in the process of this i found some rust in the drivers door so ive bought a new genuine door skin




engine out was the next step so i can work on the bulkhead

[higher1]

I sanded every last mark or imperfections in the bay as this needs to be perfect just like the rest of the car as its such a feature of the car

[higher1]

My wheels arrived today fresh from the polishers although as you will see these didnt stay for very long !

[higher1]

I was really getting involved by this time and spending every spare bit of time i had next was the tailgate i had to cut out a little bit of rust in the tailgate and formed a panel to weld in place keeping it with all the original seams etc

the black part is the new panel


and it welded and ground back


etch primed


started to take the nsr quater panel back to bare metal as i know they suffer from rust around the rear windows


took the scuttle panel back to bare metal as its showed signs of rust im going to replace it at a later date


nsr quarter back to bare metal


started on the ns door and along the drip rail


test fit of the new genuine wing

[higher1]

cut the scuttle panel out


removing the last bits along the windscreen edge


old and new


popped the bonnet on to measure


spotting the new one in place


all welded in place

[higher1]

built a wheel up to test fit i cant run a very wide wheel on the front as it has huge 4 pot calipers and need a spacer to clear them


new drivers door skin arrived so i ground the old one off



test fit of the new one


then spotted it in a couple of places before a trial fit on the car


popped it on with the wing for gapping etc and finished spot welding the door skin on


now the scuttle panel was for a LHD its all that was available so i welded the wiper holes up


also welded the aerial hole up on the wing

[higher1]

the new wing needed the arch lip cutting down to help reduce any tyre rub

before standard large return edge



after edge cut back



the bonnet is a complete mess the previous paint prep was bad, the paint just flakes off with a chisel


as you can see the top was just a build up of paint and high build


a close up to show you how thick it was it totally ruined the defining lnes of the bonnet etc


out come the sander


im not running rear arch spats so i welded the holes up



still going on the bonnet lol


started to take the ns door back to


back to bare metal


the bonnet was a nightmare so out came the paint stripper


and it back to bare metal

[higher1]

stripped the ns wing back to bare metal



and the same with the tailgate


so at last it was time to etch prime all the bare metal although theres a long way to go its a turning point for me as at last things arent being stripped or taken off

i would like to say im not a bodyshop guy or a sprayer im a mechanic and i work on motor caravans, this is the 1st time ive ever really done body work even though ive modified cars for many years.

panels ready for etch primer i borrowed some panel stands from a neighbour



made good use of the 2 poster lift and hung the rest from it





and primed







at this stage it was still far from ready for paint but with the etch primer on i could see the shape of all the panels etc and see what needed attention

[higher1]

a quick build up of the car to check panel gaps etc alls good im very pleased with the car so far

[Magoo]

Coming along nicely

[higher1]

so there were a few places on the car needing attention these were done and the car was sprayed in high build this was done just before christmas 2012!

so today i painted the whole car in high build primer im soooooo happy with it all it really is a turning point and i now know it will be ready for painting in january

just a few spots need very fine attention

[higher1]

Next up was the engine and gearbox it was running a really low ratio box so i sourced another box so i can hopefully get some more power down so i found a gearbox with the code i wanted ENJ this has a higher ratio than the current gearbox and will allow a better cruising speed

gave it a quick clean

[higher1]

so ive removed the gearbox and checked the clutch it has hardly any wear but does have a little bit of movement in the centre drive so il replace it






carrying on with the colour coded parts theme the paint on the oil filter housing is looking shabby to so ive removed it ready to treat and paint