I definitely won’t be polishing it regularly as it will be in a bay full of rough and ready 30 year old parts! The sooner they blend into their surroundings the better haha.
The improvement comes from all three linkages not just the weighted shift rod. The adjustability in them allows you to take out any slack, and the ball joints replace the flexible rubber bushes. So it’s a benefit from a lot of little things that add up.
Another small update. Managed to grab a MK3 (VR6 I believe) fuel tank and lines for a decent price. Everything is working perfectly on the car at the moment, but the pump under the car is rumbling quite loud. Not sure if its normal or not, but as this tank popped up at a bargain price I decided to jump on it even if I sit on it for a while. Arrived looking every bit its age! haha. But I gave it a quick blast off with the hose just to clean it up before I store it away. After cleaning it turns out everything is actually in really nice shape. The only frustration is that the metal "crimp" that joins the rule line to the rubber hoses on the fuel filter are pretty much gone. Given that they look like they are "crimped" at the factory I fear I might be searching for a new fuel line... That is a bit disappointing but other than that Im really pleased. Another item taking up more space in the garage.... Will try get it fitted over winter.
Did a bit more digging and on removing the fuel filter its clear the lines are properly crusty. I literally just picked at it and the "crimped" area around the hose literally came away. That said, the join still looks fairly tight, so I might try just put a new clamp over it and see if that does the trick. I don't really want to take chances with fuel lines but will see if I can get a sturdy enough clamp over it when it comes to fitting the tank (whenever that might be).
Don’t do that. Get a new rubber section, clean up the plastic and do it properly. As you say it’s not worth messing with fuel lines.
Yes I will sort it out properly. Was also interesting to discover that the alloy fuel filter had started to corrode inside the ripper hoses, resulting in them being filled with white oxidisation residue. Who know how long that had been running through the donor cars engine for. Will definitely refresh everything so that it is spot on before I fit it to my car.
There was a small local pre 2000's car meet in Durham last night. Stole a few snaps of the Golf off of Facebook that were taken by folks who attended.
So its been quite on the GTI front for the last 2 months as work has been the priority, however winter is here and its time to get stuck in over the Christmas break. I have been slowly collecting bits and pieces for the engine bay refresh, and have got to the point now where I just need to pull the motor out and get stuck in. I managed to pick up a G60 rocker cover, and will be swapping out the old steel one for this once the motor is out and its cleaned up. To be honest there is noting wrong with the old steel one, but it does have a tendency to weep from the back onto the manifold, and my hope is that the alloy G60 one will have a tighter seal given it won't flex like the steel one. I do need to figure at a way to plumb the breather and ISV a bit more neatly. The breather on the G60 exits to the right instead of the left, so I will need to find a way to get it looking OEM. I did find a few pics of people who have done it by just using the PB parts (see below), but Id like to try and use the G60 breather. Will cross that bridge when I get there. I also managed to pick up a set of BBS RA254 wheels. They are the same as the original ones but are 7J and ET25. I have always felt the original wheels tuck a little too much, especially on the big bumper cars, so hopefully these look stock but fill the arches nicely. The wheels were available to VW and BMW, and I actually got the paperwork that lists the VW and BMW models they were approved for. I have however never seen any VW brochures that list the wheels as an option, only BMW ones. They were mostly found on BMW 325I cars like the below. Anyway, its time to start pulling the car apart and seeing what troubles await me... Its now backed up in the garage ready for me to start tomorrow. Plus I am adding a pic of the bay as it currently stands as Im sure I will need to come back to this page and remind myself where all the parts go. More updates as I get going.
if you want it to look neat the 2.0 8v rocker cover dis an option, breather is on the opposite side so no ugly pipe across the top. the ISV bracket wont fit right, you either make your own or do what I did and just have it bolted on one side. then you switch the ISV and breather connections on the inlet, use the 2.0 8v breather pipe but cut it in half (you'll see what I mean) if you use the 2.0 pcv valve just cap off the front hole jobs a goodun. Oh! and replace the studs and nuts with bolts. the rocker wont fit past the inlet otherwise https://clubgti.com/forums/index.ph...-then-abf-now-abf-management-widetrack.85893/
Thanks for the info (as always it’s exactly what I was after). Will seem if I can get this one to plumb in neatly but if not I will try the MK3 version. interesting to hear that the studs cause issues. Will try track down some low profile bolts. Will see if my local fastener place has som domed torx bolts or something like that.
So while everyone else is getting their cars out for the start of spring, I finally found the time to start to pull mine apart... Getting the engine bay and engine cleaned up finally got under way, and now that its all coming out Im glad I started. Plenty of boys under the hood are looking pretty shabby, so once done the car will be much better for it. On getting the grill and bumper off I was glad to see that the wings weren't complete rotted out. There is some surface rust and scabbing right in the bottoms of the wings but they are salvageable. The rad support is shot though, and so weak in places that you can break it with your hands! Good thing I decided to get stuck in and not drive it for another summer. The front cross member is much more solid, but still has holes in it that shouldn't be there. I was really hoping I could reuse all of the radiator assembly and after removing it I still had high hopes. Unfortunately after getting it all separated that proved to be wishful thinking. The Shroud had rusted though in 2 spots right at the bottom, and once sand blasted would have been in bits. Sadly the fan its self was also too far gone. Bolts snapped when I removed it, and the corrosion was really bad behind the shroud. Will have to find some replacements before it goes back together. I salvaged what I could and gave it a quick clean up. Hopefully I can still use the original white fan as I noticed all of the replacement ones are black. Will try and buy a new motor and swap the original fan onto it. I need to keep disconnecting the motor in preparation for pulling it out, as well as start to source a few more of these bits I now need. A friend of mine who I haven't seen in years sent me a surprise message out of the blue asking if I wanted a bunch of old parts that were at his parents house. I went over to pick them up and there were some nice exterior parts in the lot. Will save them for when the car finally get s painted. Hopefully get to the point I can pull the motor next weekend so will update on the progress.
