The one that tried to get away ....

Discussion in 'Members Gallery' started by Nicko, Apr 1, 2016.

  1. Nicko Forum Member

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    Hey all..

    The story for this begins about 6 years ago when i first the bought the car from a family friend that was immigrating.
    Dropped them off at the airport and drove back in the new purchase

    This is the first week of ownership with a thorough clean

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    Decided to personalise the headliner

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    After this it was driven around standard until a friend had some parts available. Off to his place to collect the coilovers and BBS RAs

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    A few more months passed and unfortunately developed an engine problem. After deciding that it was more cost effective to do a conversion instead of sorting the engine, work began on stripping and tidying (to the best of my ability)

    I just want to add that this was never meant to a be a project. I already had a vauxhall chevette that i was planning a CA18DET conversion as a drifty sleeper however the pull of the VW was still strong so out with the chevette and in with the golf

    The temporary garage

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    And onto the engine with a limited tool set and no crane

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    Once this was out it was onto tidying up the engine bay (had a lot of weird ideas on colours back then)

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    Always preferring the early doors with the 1/4 lights, the doors where the next parts swapped over

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    (wish the whole car was this colour)
    Sorted out the front running gear, either powdercoated or painted and polybushed

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    Next up, the new engine. An ABF with limited history but came with 80% or what i needed

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    And tidied up with the majority of gaskets, water pump, thermostat etc replaced

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    At this point with the engine roughly in place, getting hassled about the canopy being up and wanting the car useable again, i made the decision to send the car off to be finished off and ready for the show season

    So after many chats and many trips she started to take shape

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    After getting messed around by a painter she unfortunately sat like this for quite a while until i made the decision to send her to a friend that owns Classic and Custom Works to finish the body work

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    The strip down did reveal some nasties, so was chopped and put right. While there i decided on removing the third wiper hole and smoothing the side trim along with the aerial hole. (the usual suspects)

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    And all shiny in fresh paint for the rebuild

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    This was one of the many wheel options

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    As well as these which i wish i never sold

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    Anyways, back to Studio In Car for the final stages and a boot buld

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    I was contemplating putting air on this but never happened

    Managed to source a brown dash and carpet so in that went

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    After a lot of running issues and a crank seal giving out, nearly ruining the brand new clutch, she was then sent off to J-tech

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    And the day of collection

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    WOW!! That's how she should have been from the start. Everything felt tight and precise as it should

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    Now, after this point because i was working abroad and couldn't devote the time to her i sold her.
    As soon as that happened, instantly regretted it and constantly checked DVLA sites, forums, eBay, instagram just to see if she was still around.

    While on holiday last year i got a message headed 'Isn't this your old car' Yup, that's the one
    Instantly messaged the guy, sent a deposit and when i got back went straight down to collect

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    With some god awful Retrostars (should have bought the RM's as well)and a few other bits that i wanted to do when i owned her, such as:
    Miltek 4 to 1 manifold
    Kent fast road cams
    Porsche tombstone seats

    Luckily a few other bits were still there, the headliner being one of them (Didn't think that would have survived)
    The boot build was in pieces so set about fixing that up

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    Still needs some tweaking before fibre glass and covering but it's getting there. After looking around though all of this might be up for sale soon and going to build another one that's a bit more subtle

    The drive back from somerset showed the brakes were pretty spongy, so bought some upgrades that now just need the 280mm brackets and some discs

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    The retrostars have now gone and picked up a set of G60 steels for now. Still deciding on the wheel side of things however plans for the rest of the car:

    GTI side stripes and early arch trims
    Fit the porsche brakes
    Replace the tailgate with a standard one (Frenched will be up for sale)
    Fit the full green tint glass i've acquired
    Tidy the engine bay and change the gold colour
    Re-trim the interior
    Thinking about swapping the suspension over from coilovers to a fixed height fully adjustable set up

    oh and wheels
    Hopefully parts will be ordered so there'll be some updates before it's first outing (Dubs at the park)
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
    notenoughtime, G28OPN, blis and 3 others like this.
  2. Gup16v Forum Member

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    Good Work! Looks Ace
     
  3. fasteddie

    fasteddie Banned

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    I like this :thumbup:

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  4. Nicko Forum Member

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    Thanks guys

    While i was at it thought i may as well post up the other one as well

    Now this one i bought back in 2010 while this one was being built. Probably not the best idea and was definitely a buy on a whim sort of purchase but it came up locally at such a good price i couldn't refuse
    So here it is.. a series 1 3 door non sunroof mk1

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    This poor old girl was in a bit of a bad way. The bodykit had been lined with expanding foam to reduce noise however acted like a sponge and rotted pretty much every panel
    So off came the bodykit and already looked so much better

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    Next up was collecting all the parts needed to repair the bodywork. It also needed a new rear valance but that was purchased later

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    And in the bodyshop (Classic and Custom Works in Penn Street)

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    Now because this build has been going on for so long my decisions on which way to go with this has changed way too many times.
    When i first bought it she came with a 1.6 carb engine that had definitely seen better days so that was removed and long gone.
    While scouring through eBay i came across a KR that i thought would be great with a set of bike carbs so bought for the outrageous sum of 99p
    This didn't last long and was sold to a friend that's building a 16vT to go in his mk2 rocco

    Engine choice number2

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    That ended up looking like this

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    After a fair few issues, mostly sourcing parts etc i traded this for an AGU that ended up looking like this

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    After much internal debate about wanting to keep the engine sort of period, this was then sold and an ABF was purchased instead
    For the AGU, after talking to the bodyshop a decision was made to go for side mount intercoolers from a seat to allow better cooling for the rad which then turned the bay into this

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    Needing some stoppers a set of vauxhalls come up for grabs

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    I wanted to see what the bay would look like with the floor mounted pedal box, the speaker pods and a TT front seat

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    ABF test fit

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    And the colour choice for the brakes and a couple of other bits

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    I will update on the mk1 as and when something happens, the mk2 is drivable so going to be concentrating on that one for now

    The intercooler holes are going to be filled and detailed to match the rest of the lines in the bay and finished off in VW brilliant orange to contrast with the florida blue choice for the body
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
  5. Joe16v Forum Member

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    Do you know what that steering wheel is in the pile of bits? Really want one.
     
  6. Nicko Forum Member

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    That's a wolfsburg mk1 steering wheel
    It's crazy the prices they're going for now
     
  7. Joe16v Forum Member

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    Cheers. Good work with the golfs btw!
     
  8. Nicko Forum Member

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    Thanks Joe

    After a very quick scrub yesterday to start formulating a list of immediate things that need doing before shows

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    I've noticed so many little bits and pieces that need some attention but for now it's going to have to wait till the end of the year, so:
    Battery
    Bulkhead grommets
    Battery cover
    Secure air filter
    Fit lower grille
    Trim doorcards
    Arch trims
    GTi side stripes
    Parcel shelf supports
    Door speaker pods


     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
  9. Toyotec

    Toyotec CGTI Committee - Happy helper at large Admin

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    Should be renamed, "the one that tired to get away"!

    Good story!
     
  10. Nicko Forum Member

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    Great suggestion
    and changed :)

    Charged up the old battery to see if it's still useable
    Ordered the arch trims
    Made some door speaker pods years ago so going to fish those out, see if they work and try and finish them off

    This is how i left them

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    Just need to find them now
     
  11. MUSHY 16V

    MUSHY 16V Moderator Staff Member Moderator

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    Nice work bud
     
  12. Nicko Forum Member

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    Thanks buddy

    Bit of an update -
    Early arches arrived - pretty good quality for repros but will need a bit of work before fitting. In the meantime this happened

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    Offered them up to the guy to see how they'd look and ... I don't know why i didn't do this before.
    Completely changes the look and absolutely love it. Can't wait to get them on now

    Now comes to the fitting part - my arches were rolled completely so there is no metal for the rivets to attach to. I've read various options of attaching these with adhesive however there are so many contradicting posts on which one is the most appropriate.

    What are people's experiences with this?
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
  13. Nicko Forum Member

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    Right guys, i'm in a bit of a dilemma...

    A friend has offered me a 2.0 8v G60 conversion with diesel box (95% complete conversion) and i'm deciding whether or not to swap out the ABF
    I'd love to hear some pros and cons for this as i do have a soft spot for a supercharger after blitzing around in my old JCW Cooper S

    I wouldn't be selling the ABF but keeping to swap back as an option
    Thanks in advance
     
  14. sports racer Forum Member

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    Get the supercharger checked professionally by a company that know what they are doing. They are getting old and have a habit of breaking which can turn a cheap purchase into an expensive rebuild.

    Other than that, go for it. There's lots of old Golfs out there running an ABF, not many with the G60 and you have more options for making big horsepower.
     
  15. Nicko Forum Member

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    It's been a while since last posting but some bits and pieces have happened

    The arches are now on (what an absolute ball ache and tiger seal is frustrating as hell)
    Rear 15mm spacers have gone on for now which has improved the rear end
    Finally made it to her first ever show with the group BPC Retro
    Started stripping out the back to tidy and false floor ready for Stonor
    Picked up some Cobra seats to replace the tombstones up front - will be for sale if anyone is interested

    Anyways, here's some pictures :)

    Morning of Dubs At The Park

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    One side of the line up

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    Stolen shot of the ABF

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    Another stolen shot

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    And finished with 'Best Club Award' :)

    Since the sunday i had a mk1 false floor laying around so thought i'd see what the mk2 looked like with a clean back end

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    I like it

    So started building a frame

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    Going with, sub at the back and centred, then amp and eventually the air tank
    The sub needs replacing, unfortunately ended up damaged by the guy i sold it to
    The amp, i'm thinking of putting under plexi to keep clean and then the area where the rear lower seat base usually sits will be the housing for the air system


    While at DATP i got a chance to raid the auto jumble and came away with
    GTI repeater badges
    Rear upper strut brace
    Rubber gear surround
    Under bonnet grille trim
    7 slat grille

    So on with the grille

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    Just need to finish off building the box for the sub, get the sheet for the top and carpet it all in.
    Also thinking of making a trim piece to smooth of where the parcel shelf supports attach - should be a fun weekend :)
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
    Toyotec likes this.
  16. Toyotec

    Toyotec CGTI Committee - Happy helper at large Admin

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    Thanks for taking time to report on the car.
     
  17. Nicko Forum Member

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    Thanks for taking time to comment :)
     
  18. notenoughtime

    notenoughtime Moderator Moderator

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    What about supercharging the abf?

    Nice write up, nice looking RED mk2
     
  19. Nicko Forum Member

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    That was the really tempting part but still undecided about just staying n/a
    Could always build it up as a long term project sort of things - i'm seeing the guy soon because the old girl needs an MOT so i'll ask him then :)

    Thanks for the comment
     
  20. sports racer Forum Member

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    Good write-up and great to see you're constantly using and improving your car. Not so sure about the group shot of all those unsavoury people but who am I to talk, I've got friends in low places too. ;)
     

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