Bruce's Mk3 Cabrio

[beej89]

Hi all,

Thought I'd share some pictures of my first foray into Mk3 ownership which if I'm being honest came about by surprise.

You see, I've always been into Mk4's and for me the ultimate Golf is the Mk2, so Mk3's never really did much for me, but since moving to Aus and realising Mk2's were rarer than unicorn poo and Mk4's still commanded quite high dollar all of a sudden Mk3's looked appealing. Plus living in Byron the idea of a convertible seemed appealing so when this appeared I had to have it.




She needs a bit of work, the biggest thing being a new hood, which I've bought an aim to fit in the next week. Also the roof doesn't go up or down with the switch, is it a simple job of topping up the hydraulic fluid?
I'm on the look out to replace some tired looking/broken bits too, namely a steering wheel, interior light and headlight switch, so if you have any bits let me know. Quite keen on changing the wheels to some oem ones too so if anybody wants a swap let me know!

I'll try and keep this updated as and when I do things

[stefcio007]

looks nice

[AKA VR6]

Love the interior man

[KI11Z]

She needs a bit of work, the biggest thing being a new hood, which I've bought an aim to fit in the next week. Also the roof doesn't go up or down with the switch, is it a simple job of topping up the hydraulic fluid?

before you start changing anything, make sure you have the sequence down pat by having the handbrake and ignition on (engine off)...... for my one though for some reason, I had to switch to ignition and then back down to accessories before it'd work; So give either way a go. Obviosly top up the fluid if it's low of non existent but be weary that it might have a leak in the lines or arms.... also there is a "switch" or t-bar toggle on the side of the pump that can be accessed via the little grommet pop out, that is to switch between manual or auto mode (cant remember which way is what)....

if you need another pump, I have one

I'm on the look out to replace some tired looking/broken bits too, namely a steering wheel, interior light and headlight switch, so if you have any bits let me know. Quite keen on changing the wheels to some oem ones too so if anybody wants a swap let me know

I should have a headlight switch and if you want, you can swap those ugly rollers for the ones on my vento......

i'm up in brisbane so hit me up for whatever

btw.... you weren't the one of two guys that stopped outside my house a little while back and asked about my mk2 were you?

[beej89]

I should have a headlight switch and if you want, you can swap those ugly rollers for the ones on my vento......

i'm up in brisbane so hit me up for whatever

btw.... you weren't the one of two guys that stopped outside my house a little while back and asked about my mk2 were you?

Awesome, thanks I'll have a play with the roof mechanism when i'm changing the hood, but no wasn't me who stopped to look at your mk2 though dude.

Seriously, if your vento wheels have legal tyres I will take you up on that offer, I'm really not keen on how my wheels look on the car. I'll have the headlight switch too if you can spare it.

Getting up to Brisbane's no bother for me and my works fairly flexible, when are you free?

Cheers
Bruce

[KI11Z]

Awesome, thanks I'll have a play with the roof mechanism when i'm changing the hood, but no wasn't me who stopped to look at your mk2 though dude.

Seriously, if your vento wheels have legal tyres I will take you up on that offer, I'm really not keen on how my wheels look on the car. I'll have the headlight switch too if you can spare it.

Getting up to Brisbane's no bother for me and my works fairly flexible, when are you free?

Cheers
Bruce

ok then, thought that was a bit far fetched, haha, although i'm pretty sure they were scotts too...

one has a slow leak but would be cheap to grab a 2nd handy for it... i'll check them all tomorrow. And the headlight switch can be yours; what's wrong with yours?

i'm free most days and on the weekends man, pm me whenever you want to make the trip up

[beej89]

The wheels sound spot for what I'm after, I'll pm you. With regards the headlight switch, previous owner had a go at changing the clocks and in the bid to get them out cracked the plactic casing of the switch.

[KI11Z]

too easy, make the trip up whenever you like man I actually have two switches here also I even have some lowered eibach springs if that interests you?

[milan12]

Nice Cabrio. I like it. Any shade of green looks great on these cars. Nice buy.

[beej89]

Figured I would update this as a way to vent my frustrations! So my new hood arrived and the removal and fitting was going swimmingly all week until today. I decided right lets move the car out into the lovely Aussie sun to let it stetch.

Sliped it into reverse, there was a bit of a crunch, thought nothing of it put it into first.... BANG, stall, no more gears. My clutch packed up with no real warning whatsoever, my bargain cabby has suddenly got a lot more expensive. I hoped it was just the clutch cable but on further investigation it's not, gutted.

So the roof and all the other bits I had planned are on hold until the clutch is fixed which I don't have the space to do and the garage is quoting near on $1000 to do! Does anyone have one lying around I could have, haha! and is this the sort of price I should be paying for a Mk3 clutch?


So annoyed, but I've vented now and feel a little better, the car will be back to health soon.

[patmould93]

Just saw this, love that interior man! From what I've heard that sounds about right for a clutch if you pay someone to do it, it's a pretty big job. If you decide you want to have a crack yourself, here's a DIY that might help:

http://www.vaglinks.com/Docs/VW/MKIII/Tiohero_VW_Jetta_Golf_020_Transmission_Clutch_DIY.pdf

[beej89]

Hey, quick update is in order I think and yes I know it would be better with pics so I'll try and take some asap. Anyway clutch is fixed, price was just under the $1000 mark, I didn't have the space or time to do it myself which was annoying as I would have given it a go but hey ho she's running like a dream now.

New roof is fully fitted too, going from cream to black has totally changed the look of the car for the better I think and the cream leather doesn't look out of place at all. For anyone who's thinking of changing their hood themselves I urge you to give it go, it was fiddly at times but reasonably straight forward and really rewarding once you've done it.

Unfortunately though my Mk3 is now suffering from that all too common instrument cluster fault, it no longer backlights, the coolant light flashes and the speedo has hissy fits some times, so if anyone has a working set of Mk3 clocks lying around let me know! I'll post up some picks of how she looks soon.

[browntown42]

I have a cluster on my spare parts car up here in bris for sale, PM me.

[patmould93]

How did you change the roof? Can you point me in the right direction of a DIY or something? And where did you get the parts? Mine currently has a fair amount of duct tape on it!

[beej89]

How did you change the roof? Can you point me in the right direction of a DIY or something? And where did you get the parts? Mine currently has a fair amount of duct tape on it!

I only replaced the outer skin on my car, basically the bit you see, I used these how too's, they detail how to remove and replace the whole top (headlinder, insulation and outer skin) but are really detailed.
DIY: Convertable top removal for MKIII Cabrio - CePAvw.org

DIY: Convertible top install on a MKIII Cabrio - CePAvw.org


I also used this one as it was exactly what I was doing, the outer skin only. VWVortex.com - DIY: MK3 Outer skin top replacement(Topduko Style))


I bought my replacement roof from these guys in Melbourne, Prestige Soft Tops online store - prestigetops.com.au really good product and it arrived in the mail within a week of ordering. If you want me to run through the steps of removal and fitting I'm happy to do so.