My Mk2 ABF Daily - Canny little thing!

Discussion in 'Members Gallery' started by mookie, Feb 6, 2011.

  1. mookie Forum Member

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    Despite being on here quite a lot for help with technical matters, I don't have a build thread. So as it's a quiet Sunday afternoon, I'd thought I'd throw one up :thumbup:

    I'm somewhat... cursed, when it comes to owning Mk2 Golfs. I'm onto my fourth car in around 6yrs with the previous three all having been crashed into and written off in varying ways [xx(] This was my last one >>> Tornado Red GTi.

    Ironically a couple of days after putting it up for sale it was rear ended by a skip lorry at some traffic lights. I had the full intention of using the insurance payout to get a Caddy or a Jetta but couldn't resist the pull of another Mk2 Golf.

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    Totally standard 1989 run out small bumper Golf, in Schwartz Metallic Grey (a beautiful colour). 16v, 120K on the clock, no rust whatsoever, one or two ripples but nothing major. Came on 14inch Bottletops with balloon tyres, sky high and wallowy standard suspension. Interior was full black factory leather in pretty decent condition too! Most importantly, it ran fine with no issues so I could focus fully on ruining it :clap: Engine and gearbox were simply sublime, by the far the smoothest Mk2 I've driven.

    The plan was to transfer most of the choice bits off my red Mk2 including the ABF.

    So I got cracking.

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    Single lamp grill, coilovers, non-16v chin spoiler, makeshift 15inch Azev As in a charming satin black colour, windscreenwipers that actually worked, and a myriad of other bits and bobs you can't see here and there.

    Coilovers highlighted one major issue was that the exhaust was absolutely rusty as **** and banged and bashed over even quite small bumps in the road due to a mean sag around the middle section. So the engine conversion plan was brought forward in time for the first summer shows as my old red car had full custom stainless system sitting doing nothing.

    Before that I ended up losing the Azevs, with the emergency backup needed I got a set of Clio 15inch ET48-ish 6J steels for 20 and a set of plastic Merc hubcaps to conceal the horrors underneath [xx(] I did like this to begin with, but as the weeks drew on I gradually began to hate them more and more. But they were smarter than black steels.

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    Why even bother with them in first place? Well I was in the middle of refurbing these:

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    Well that was the plan anyway...

    Summer drew on in 2010 and so the inevitable engine job had to happen.

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    Braved the British weather and had the ABF out the other car, and running in the new one after 14hrs. Canny chuffed with that :clap: Repainted the whole engine as the old paint job in the red car was horrendous. Nice silver manifold and alternator, lots of high temp black paint everywhere else. Fitted up the Longlife stainless exhaust too, so car was basically running spot on with a nice little power boost.

    So off to the shows it went! VW Fest and Edition were conquered, alas the RMs weren't finished in time as a holiday and other things meant finances didnt allow tyres to be bought in time [:s]

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    After Edition I sold the leather interior. Partly as the seats sat too high, and also they were so uncomfortable when it was hot... they had to go. I ended up with a set of mint 16v seats from I think a Monza coloured Golf? The blue and yellow pin stripes? They were meant as a temporary stop gap til I got a mint late spec interior but they're still in there!

    Biggest decision since then was to sell the RM's. They'd cost me very little, so sold them to finance a set of these:

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    Set of FK Sport Edition Plus coilovers. Height and damping adjustable as the car was being used daily and I HATED the cheap eBay TA Technix ones on already. Amazing quality of product considering they were only 500. Love them.

    Had a fair amount of money left over from the RMs so bought a set of new wheels. Azev A, 16inch, 7.5J. Love these wheels and couldn't resist another set.

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    Refurbed them myself (again) in Volkswagen Sand, and they looked lush. Such a nice colour. Test fits and they looked great and sat well. However once I had tyres on I changed my mind...

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    No idea why, cos I think they look really good. But sold them anyway... again made a profit. But the car ended up back on the horrid steels.

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    Couldn't bare to put the hubcaps back on so put some black G60 centres on instead. But then we had all the snow so they did a good job of putting up with loads of abuse (and started rusting!).

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    Managed to snap the accelerator and speedo cable with a couple of days of each other... which was the start of a variety of niggles. This included full brake failure on a dual carriageway slip road when one of the rear callipers cooked the brake fluid which was quite a horrible experience at 50mph. Starting problems too from bad earths also tested my patience, but it came through it all and is soldiering on as my daily driver in rush hour traffic.

    Brings me up to date really.

    Bought two sets of wheels for the car for peanuts. A set of really rough RA's to cheaply refurb and bang on ASAP with a target of spending less than 30 on paint etc, plus a set of cream Porsche 928s which will get either a mirror polish finish or OEM Porsche shiney silver powdercoat... just undecided.

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    Only done one RA so far but it came out OK

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    More updates to come pre-Summer!
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2012
  2. cometbluecoupe Forum Member

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    Awesome valver matey. Cant help but think it looks close to perfection in the second pic down, and you have somewhat basterdised it with the grille, aftermarket wheels and coilovers but im an originality fiend so would say that! Looks like you do what you do to a tip top standard thou. I need to get on the diy refurb trail on my RA's too..your example has come out well there- how'd you go about it - they look awful fiddly to rub down..

    Cheers

    Dan
     
  3. swaffGTI Forum Member

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    Nice car mookey, a nice example and modded just right. I've been looking for a similar car myself.

    Keep up the good work buddy and don't give up the daily
     
  4. oakgreennewcomer New Member

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    i have your cars brother, no. plate is f993 ryp!
     
  5. mookie Forum Member

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    Bloomin ages since I update this thread!

    Quick catch up time...

    I refurbed the RAs, they were absolutely ****ed under the dirt and mank. Curbing was a lot worse than I thought, and their original bargain status quickly felt a lot less bargaintastic [xx(]

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    But they came up looking really good with a bit of sanding and bog standard wheel silver spray cans :clap:

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    Absolutely loved how the car looked on them too.

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    Bought a NARDI Votex wheel too, for 30. Perfect condition too. Very pleased.

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    Spaced the rears out and ran it like this for ages, loved how they looked and never really felt I wanted anything to replace them unless they were BBS and in lots of pieces :lol:

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    Ignore the ******* horrible aerowipers.... they got binned.

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    Tried it with the four lamp grill for a while, but a couple of broken clips drove me mad so swapped back to two lamps.

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    Front wheel bearings went, so thoroughly (didn't) enjoy replacing them and the hubs etc... I think I broke/split and then replaced just about every single steering and suspension component in the process [:x]

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    Took it to VW Fest last year - didn't make a single other show due to more pressing non-car concerns

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    The got my act together and got a set of RM's for peanuts (sold the stainless dishes you can see as they weren't the size I wanted)

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    Like the RAs the lips were horrid, but they were getting ditched anyway, so wasn't concerned. Price was too good to cry about it.

    I had intended on taking it slow and refurbing them with new lips etc, but decided to whack 'em on anyway. The lips as mentioned were totalled, so sanded the curbing out and painted them a Nimbus-type grey colour. Polishing them would have been a waste of time...

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    A temporary measure for a couple of weeks, turned into 6months... they're still on the car like that. Really like how they look and so easy to keep clean :lol: but they're not staying like this for much longer.

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    New starter motor... total monster compared to the 16v one I had. Not sure why...?

    The next project is to replace the gearbox. It was replaced late last year with a supposed good 'un that is crunchy as hell. So got a 4+e off a low miler

    Drive shafts need new boots
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    Box waiting for a clean and paint
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    Sachs clutch as the one on is slipping [:x]
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    LED dash bulbs look amazing! Uber bright green.
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    The car is a 12month daily, and earlier this year I hit a patch of sheet ice and slid sideways into a curb.

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    Excellent! Touched it up but the lip is a goner. So went into stage 2 of the RM plan

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    2x 2inch dishes (the red ones) and 4x 0.5inch lips (20!) which are just dirty but sound as a pound! :thumbup: PLan is for stainless wheel bolts, and repaint the wheels properly and a bit more neatly this time. Staggered fitment with the 2's on the back.

    So that brings me up to date! Hopefully I can keep this thread a bit more current from now on...
     
  6. mookie Forum Member

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    I finally pulled my finger out and replaced the terrible gearbox I'd been sold as a replacement for the last one where the 5th gear had eaten itself.

    The 4+e box bought and dirty.
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    De-gunked and scrubbed.
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    And finally painted, with shiney new green bits. I also replaced all the bushes.
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    Looks much better!

    However I picked the one week in April when it would lurch from sunshine to snow to do the new box and clutch, so it took a bit longer than expected. But can you tell why the clutch was slipping?
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    And the new box nestling in its new home!
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    New 8v Sachs clutch installed too, so hoping that's the last gearbox this car sees in my time of ownership - this is currently box number 3!

    Love the new box, superb for cruising although it's noticeably less spunky. Still learning the best way to drive the car with it on. Slow cruising is great, but finding the new sweet spot of rapid acceleration is taking some getting used to. However the first full tank of petrol returned 427miles, so I'm rather chuffed right now as it should make the commute much less painful to my wallet! 100mile round trip to Middlesbrough returned an MFA average of 44mpg (my MFA has been pretty accurate...) so happy!

    Only issue has been getting the alignment right with a ***** of a first gear selection issue - goes in fine on the box but is a pain with the stick. All engine bay side bushes are now brand new, plus new rods, so next is the stick ball/cup (bit of in/out play).
     
  7. James_mk2 Forum Member

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    Don't know why but i really like it on the hubcaps :lol:
     
  8. mookie Forum Member

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    I did... at first. But they were such a pain in the bum! :lol: My fingers used to be so sore from rethreading those blooming cable ties back through every time I took a wheel off.
     
  9. mookie Forum Member

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    In other news I bought a brand new lower front valance which needs painted up once I get some suitably matched paint.

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    The current one has seen a few too many stone chips and ice and is worse for wear!

    Also bought a pair of mint poverty spec all black bumpers. The goal is for a more understated, all black trim with shiney splits. We'll see how I get on with them in the long run...
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    Whilst doing the swap over, I decided to do some rust proofing.
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    Waxoyled everything I could get a paint brush to without stripping parts off the car... so most of the front end is now lovely and wet proof However it is very addictive, so more is required to do the whole car next. Considering it's a daily, it's solid as a rock underneath, and looks like it's been well cared for by previous owners in this regard, so happy days! Inside the chassis legs, inside the wings... all totally rust free, so gave a good slap of Waxoyl to keep it that way.

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    Getting EVERYTHING as rust proofed as possible is the goal, so I'm planning on doing a lot more of this in the coming weeks.

    Very pleased with what I found with the back bumper off. Pristine underneath with perfect metal inside the the holes where the bumper iron slots too!
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    I'm expecting mixed responses with the non-GTi bumpers on, but I have a masterplan and I like how it simplifies the looks of the car.
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  10. mookie Forum Member

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    Gave it good clean and spruce up.
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    The 'new' bumpers were pretty faded, so lashed on some Linseed oil. Before and after!
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    Decided to give the grill trim a quick blow over as it was a bit chipped. All was going well, until...

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    Yeah that's the glass off the passenger side headlight. I was just standing looking at the car, and the glass just fell off and shattered. Very weird Thankfully my contacts in the Newcastle Mk2 Network are strong, and so had a replacement (borrowed) light within an hour or two.

    Next day I was supposed to be going to Elsecar, but it was tipping it down so aborted haflfway there and spent the day pottering on the car instead. Lighweight? Me?

    Went out for a quick blast and took some pics with my new DLSR. Very dark and overcast, but kind of suits the car!
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    And after putting it off... and off... finally made a start on the dishes. First job was to remove the red paint. Really annoying job getting into the edges of the dishes...
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    Getting there slowly but surely. No fingerprints is a good thing, right?
     
  11. marmite monster Forum Member

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    looks ace on the nimbus rims love it
     
  12. Matt G Forum Member

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    love it on the black azev's.

    awesome looking car. will deffo keep an eye out for it
     
  13. mookie Forum Member

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    Seriously considering not polishing the wheels now... can't decide what to do.

    Azevs are one of my all time fav wheels. So wish I'd stuck with the 16s I had.


    Right so after the gearbox swap, I was finding the commute a bit of a chore as it was really flakey when it came to going into 1st gear - had to do a rapid 2nd to 1st action as the stick just wouldn't get in gear. So all this week I've been fettling the gearbox and linkages, trying to eliminate the bush or linkage that was causing the issue.

    I'm very grateful to have a garage with an overhanging door, as although I can't fit the whole car in, it lets me atleast work on the bay in the dry
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    So since Monday I've replaced every gearbox bush... I really wish I'd just done this with the box out, but as I had good gears before hand it never occurred to me <_< Catching the odd half and hour after work, I swapped everything for new ones. Also put in a new long and short linkage. All to no avail. 1st was still a total pain.

    As I had a little play, up and down, on the stick I decided to do the ball/socket on the base of the stick this weekend. However the weather decided it would alternate between torrential rain, hail, and sunshine. So it took a while longer than needed.
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    No idea what is going on with my axle stands in that last pic [xx(]

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    Not massively worn - I've taken one off my old car with a hole through the bottom - but compared with the new one, left loads of room for the ball bit to knock about.

    And lo... no difference. A stiffer, tighter feeling stick - which is good - but 1st was still a *******.

    Noticed a lot of slack in the NEW small shift linkage. So had a rummage through my old bits box and found an old one and it was slightly shorter than the new one
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    Random. Upshot? Nice gears again. Needs a slight tweak but otherwise good to go.
     
  14. Matt G Forum Member

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    so whts next after the gear issues are sorted? run as a daily for a bit.
     
  15. dub303 Forum Member

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    Didn't like the quickly painted grey RM's until I saw the stormy pics with all black bumpers and shiny shiny paint... Looks ace! Polished rims will look ruddy awesome though. :thumbup:
     
  16. mookie Forum Member

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    The wheels are defo 2metre jobbies hahaha but considering how shot the wheels were when I got them, I'm just glad to be using them and the grey works really nice against the paintwork imho
     
  17. g_singh Forum Member

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    Really liking all the DIYness on this.

    RA's came out nice, did you nitromors, sand, prime and paint?
     
  18. mookie Forum Member

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    The RA's were absolutely ****ed when I bought them... classic case of just looking really dirty, and not realising how curbed they were until I cleaned them at home [:s] I ended up just getting them acid dipped before doing anything to them as they'd been repainted really badly and when I tried to strip them they were an utter nightmare to get smooth again. Loads of sanding, then etch primer, bog standard cheapo primer, then just the cheapest silver wheel paint I could get (about 3 a tin) and just put loads of paint on them, quick sand, then Halfords lacquer. Came up really really well.
     
  19. mookie Forum Member

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    Changing brakes in the rain is so much fun!

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    Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! Glad I did do them, nowt on the last MOT about them but on one side, the pads were down to about 2mm of friction material But all lovely now.

    However this happened...

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    having to raise the coilovers once a year for the MOT makes me unhappy inside. But I am so glad I have good FKs that never seize... which is one good point.
     

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