My daily MK3 - 1000 ks every week

[sports racer]

Those who know my history will wonder why I've gone from a MK2 GTI to a MK3 CL but this came up on Gumtree and I couldn't pass it up.



A bit of history - I sold the MK2 last year because I still have the MK1 and Bora 4 motion and the MK2 went to someone who was keen to get it (he's since put another $5000 into it). Since then I've been driving an old Mercedes 180 but ran up the back of someone a couple of weeks ago so needed a cheap replacement. By chance 30 min after the accident I got a text from the MK2 owner saying there's a non-running but rego'd MK3 in Braidwood (my hometown) on Gumtree. It was bought that weekend and running a few days later.

It needs a few bits of trim inside but overall is in pretty good condition. First drive to work (Canberra) and I wasn't happy. It struggled to get over 90 ks going up the big hills between Braidwood and Canberra but in the past 2 weeks I've been playing with the ignition and now it holds 110 in 5th all the way.

One of the advantages in having MK2's is I have lots of spares including a couple of Seat Ibiza's (Cupra and GTI) so the GTI seats went into the MK3 and it got the suspension from the MK2.



Add some nice Audi wheels and it's turned the MK3 into a really nice highway cruiser, perfect for the 200 k round trip to Canberra and back every day.

Looks good too.



Paul

[Shadow_Rusty]

Looks good too.

But it's not a Mk2 is it...






ps. Nice find, and congrats.

[HaydEn]

Mk3 > Mk2

Just need to put a 16v in it now Paul!


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[sports racer]

16v is going into the MK1. I don't even want to upgrade this to a 2.0, the little 1.8 has so much torque and it has max at 2500 which makes it a great little hill climber in 5th. Even with me and 2 teenagers it doesn't slow down on big hills.

Michael, it's not a MK2 but it is the car I should have bought years ago. It's really nice to drive and now that it sits low and has decent rubber it's fun through the corners. I need to do something about the brakes though, it needs to stop better. I thought the MK3 2.0 has better brakes than my 1.8 so I pulled the 256 mm disks and calipers off the Seat GTI only to find my 1.8 MK3 has the same size front brakes. It has the big drums on the back so I'll check they are working properly before I go putting disks on.

[hahne]

My first car is a 97 CL. That thing is quite wild 0-60. For a stock 1.8, I honestly think this SPI ADZ engine > Digifant even if it make less horses. No AFM and 3 less injectors, just spin tyres all day long.

Mod your 5th gear to 0.75 you can save 1L/100k. Drums are good, keeps you rims clean.

[feenix74]

Excellent, I saw that one go up on gumtree and was considering grabbing it to as a parts donor for my white Vento. However, I am glad to read that you picked it up and got it running again.

The ADZ is a great reliable engine, however a few things that go wrong with it:
- throttle body/throttle body seal can go on it (mine has been replaced twice)
- there is a rubber "y" shaped hose that I believe rebreathes exhaust gas back into the intake and it has a tendency to perish
- there is a black plastic coolant hose flange on the engine block (low on the passenger side) that can crack and needs periodic replacement

Otherwise the engine is bulletproof and I wish new VWs were built with the same levels of simplicity and reliability. It is why I am not willing to let go of my CL (we fired it up for a couple of months last year when we needed an extra car, and it started first go after having been in storage for almost 12 month).

The Mk3 CL is not the fastest car out there anymore but it will keep up with traffic. It was always built to cruise on German autobahns (I can neither confirm or deny having driven my CL at 110+kph), so cruising through the southern highlands and into Canberra is relatively effortless. Enjoy and hope to see you around the roundabouts if you come into Canberra!

[sports racer]

I read your posts about the CL and it was one of the things that helped me buy mine. One day we need to get together and compare notes. This MK3 thing is new to me but I'm liking it and I can't believe a car with only 90hp can go so well.

I'm in Canberra every day so watch out for a white MK3 zipping past everyone through the roundabouts between Civic and the airport. I still need to fit a rear sway bar to get it to handle as good as my old MK2 so I'll check the wreckers for the front bar off some other car that I can adapt to fit.

120 ks up the hill coming out of Bungendore is easy in 5th with me and 2 teenagers on board. There's even a rumour my car was seen doing 160 ks going home late last night (so I've been told, honest officer). Felt very stable at that speed too (allegedly).

Cheers

Paul

[feenix74]

I have some great memories with my CL and would be happy to share any knowledge that can be off assistance to you.

Get yourself a Haynes Mk3 Golf workshop manual (you can usually pick them up off ebay for a reasonable price) if you are planning to do your own servicing and repairs. My one is stock, so I cannot really help you with any upgrade tips. I keep eyeing off the cheap coilovers that are on ebay but I find that my CL scrapes the front spoiler at stock height so while firmer suspension would be nice but I do not really want to lower the vehicle any further.

Hypothetically, I might agree with you about the stability of the Mk3 at 160kph and how it gets up to that speed without too much straining.

I find the Mk3 to be a good compromise between old school VW reliability and some of the mod-cons that you get in a modern VW. The only thing that the Mk3 is really missing is cupholders and cruise control.

[sports racer]

We're on the same page when it comes to the only things missing from the MK3.

I've got a few sets of aftermarket shocks and springs if you want to go firmer suspension but I recommend standard shocks (they soak up the bumps better) with HD springs. That's what I have and the car is good on the Kings highway. Don't go the cheap coilover route, so not worth it.

I'll hit eBay for the manual, there's an electrical gremlin with the starter motor that I need to track down. At the moment I've doubled up the starter solenoid wiring and running a separate push on switch (hidden) to start the car but I need to find out why the key doesn't do it. Normally I'd track down the problem starting from the back of the fusebox but it's not very accessible - the one in the MK2 was easy to get to.

Does this make my car twin engined? This is going into my MK1 and will do while I get my ABF 16v rebuilt.



Love the carrying abilities of the Golf.

[feenix74]

I think that is a close as you are going to get but I think that it may actually slow you down not speed you up

I always loved how much you could get into the Mk3 with the back seats folded down. See if you can get yourself a set of the Thule roof racks (no longer in production) that clip into the roof gutter. Really handy for carrying longer loads upto 100 kgs.

Thanks for the advice on the coilovers (I have been reluctant to stump up my hard earned cash for the same reason). Unfortunately, the red Vento is chewing up all my free cash as the moment as we try to get it into a reliable condition. It has been off the road for the last 4 weeks awaiting a new throttle body and I will get CVWC to install the new fuel sender at the same time. Have to work on fixing the gremlin in the ABS and airbag is also playing up at the moment. Bloody 90s VW electrics . . .

[sports racer]

My favourite picture on the carrying capability of the Golf.



Let me know if you need any help with the Vento. Any excuse to come over and check out your cars.

[feenix74]

Not sure I would want to be following that Golf through the streets of Sydney but that is a good effort.

You are welcome to come over for a look and a chat next time I am working on them (need to do an oil and filter change on the white Vento as soon as I can find some time on a weekend). Might be difficult to get you a look at the red Vento because Daughter No. 1 can be hard to catch her between her work and social commitments.

[Hodgey GTI]

After all those years of ragging on my MK3, you get one and love it, you know what they say...Don't damn well mock it till you try it.

Good to see you enjoying it,

Rohan.