`85 Postal Service Golf Restoration: 16V ITBs etc.

The first covers are out of the mold, second try already looks quite neat, but will do some more to get better:



Also the header takes shape slowly. It is quite a time-consuming task, but the first step with 4-2 is almost finished:



I also took some barrels to make a testmule to check the wheel offset, this is now a 8,5x16 with 2,5" outer barrels:

 

Awesome work.
Are you vacuum infusing them? Or pre preg?

 

Tristan: It`s vacuum but with conventinal laminating technique. I am considering switching to infusion since it is of higher quality and easier to handle/ less manual labour.

In the meanwhile i also managed to get some things done on the Golf.

The heater box was installed with fresh zinc`d hardware, new heater core and resistance regulator plate:



Then there was the problem with the colour of the throttle bodies and its hardware: I want the engine to look OEM, so black painted throttle bodies are a no-go as well as the blue zinc plated hardware. But the thought of disassembling new throttle bodies and potentially damaging something or putting them back together in the wrong way made my stomach turn. It took some time to bulild up the courage but now it is done.

The sanding was dreadful and literally made my fingers bleed:


Paint in RAL9006:


I have no picturss of the final assemby yet but they are back together in one piece and seem to work again - victory.

I also managed to finish the first stage of the header (4-2). It is only spot welded since I want to check the fitment once the engine is in the car. Also a small test fit to confirm that the colour change of the throttle bodies was definetely the right choice!


I also replaced the new timing belt with a new blue timing belt and also replaced the camshaft sprocket with a better one:


And since the engine is easily acessible at the moment the opportunity was taken to build a heat shield for the driveshaft, as base the original part of the ABF was used. Welds are not very nice but I`ll sand them down anyway to better fit a heat shield mat.




There`s more to update but I don`t want to spoil you too much

 

Spoil us, spoil us!

 

I simply couldn't do what you did to the throttle bodies... unbelievable

 

We`ll see how the throttle bodies will play out when I try to fire up the engine the first time and it runs like a `31 Ford

But for now I tended other things that need attention. My clutch assembly is still not sent to me, so I had to find other things to do:

The battery needs to go in the trunk, more specific into the spare wheel well. Normally in a MK2 this only works either if you buy a stupidly expensive battery that fits under the trunk floor or you raise the trunk floor to accept the battery. Luckily, postal sercive golfs have a raised trunk floor from factory. After some measurement I discovered that a battery with a height of 175mm should fit snugly under said floor. I took the battery tray from my Mk3 parts car, shaved it so it would take up as little space as possible and test fitted it. It works! Now, one thing that I completely missed while taking care of the underfloor - I did not take into account that I probably need to weld something in place in order to hold the battery in place. Also the fuel tank is already in place.

A good friend of mine who has a body shop had a genuis idea. "Why not just glue it?"

I had some Sikaflex 4720 2k Epoxy glue left from when I fitted the rear panel, and after some rough calculations I realized it should work. The adhesive connection should be able to hold at least 250kg; additionally the battery tray is held by the standard central rod which used to hold the spare wheel in place. So roughly I need a force of >25g to rip the battery out of place, which I think is good enough, considering that probably many other, standard things fail at that g-force, too. These numbers already include generous safety calculations.

Anyway, here is what I came up with. The mounting point at the center thread of the wheel well is reinforced with 2,5mm steel, I also added some more material on the left to also accept the bracket for the air compressor which will also be mounted in the wheel well.


Then the air tank also needs a place to stay and something to bolt on. I want to hide the complete charade of the airride as good as possible, so I also want to mount the air tank under the trunk floor that reaches just to the edge of the rear seat frame. The air tank will most probably reach a bit above the floor, but I can live with that. Mostly I want to keep the trunk fully functional for road trips etc.

Also the rule "Use factory hole options if possible" was to be followed, and after some grotesque measuring and making templates (this is a weird position in the car where it is very hard to come by) I made something:



Also I started with the bracket for the air compressor. The bracket will be made of two pieces with some vibratino dampers in between.



Updates to come, had some family business, birthdays etc.
But apparently my clutch assembly is on the way and if everything works out I may be able to install the engine on the weekend

 

In stead of mounting a normal 16 kg battery, is a motorsport battery which is not only smaller but also about 7 kg not an option?

 

I know that talking about being sensible with money while building something like this seems to be a bit laughable at best, but spending 500,- on a battery which needs special chargers, has issues with being jump started by another car etc. I don`t really see the upside beside 7kg of weight saving. Also since I have the airride setup which will needs higher battery capacity to start with, this just adds to potential problems in using the car.

Thanks for the suggestion anyway, highly appreciated

 

Simply epic Steffen. I love your welding too

 

I use a smaller, lighter "dry" battery in my 90s rallycar. Approx half the weight and size of a standard one, twice the "kick" of a normal one, can be left idle for a year and the car still starts fine. And it doesn't always fire straightaway, as it's on throttle bodies and performance cams.

Car has a bog standard (Ford) alternator.
Battery can be charged from a normal workshop charger.

My battery is smaller than this one.
https://group-d.ie/collections/varlet-red-top/products/red-top-40

About 250 euro.

 

Well, I wanted to type about the same as Tony above.

Red tops aren't that expensive (a normal battery is really expensive these days), much lighter and don't need special chargers.
I have the Red top 25.

 

The price of these Red Tops is actually pretty good,and they seem to offer good usability. The 25 model is definitely not an option since it only has 25Ah, and the Red Top 40 has 40Ah and weighs 14.9kg, setting me back at least 350€.

A Bosch 72Ah costs 100€ and weighs 17.2kg - sorry guys, I'll have to go with the Bosch. But the battery is something that can easily be upgraded in the future, I'll definitely keep the Red Tops in the back of my head

 

Holy damn, you're right, the batteries have become really expensive
Looking back at the price I paid, I think it was with the distributor discount.

 

Those cam-belt covers are something else.

 

@Quiksilver, thanks a lot

I am currently moving so I didn`t have much time lately, but finally my clutch assembly came and I was able to chuck the engine in for the first time.

Before that a friend of mine wanted to test out his new 3D Scanner, so why not, could come in handy:


And the lump inside. I made the lower bushing of the front engine mount out of PU in hope that the engine will not tip as much and still have decent damping quality.


Test fitted the header, turns out I was quite conervative with the measurements as I have lots of space left everywhere:



And also test fitted the prototype trumpet which as expected fits horribly



Thats it for now

 

The solitary inlet runner looks a bit.... pornographic..lol

 

And it's going to need a hole in the hood, right?

 

@Tristan: After struggling for many years, finally I can impress the girls with a long trumpet

@daNpy: Cutting the hood would make a good laugh for sure, but ideally it should look something like this when finished:

 

Some exceptional work going on here!.

Hopefully you've not made it too clean to drive, I know I'd be a bit weary about taking it out for a run!.

 

@keith: I 100% share your fears. This car will mostly serve as weekend cruiser in the black forest and from time to time I`d like to do some tours through the alps and to Italy, I hope it will handle that The wheel wells are coated and the rest is powdercoated and/or painted and I am not afraid of some paint chips

My belief is that you have to be careful after the winter and be patient for the salt to wash off the streets, otherwise surely a car doesn`t mind some summer rain. We have wash parks with lifts here where you can also pressure wash the car by hand from underneath, doing that also helps a ton preserving the car.

With moving almost finished, I can move on with the car:

I brushed the pipes of the header and started welding, 3/4 finished, will continue this weekend:


Also bought in on the Dash thing, because Racecar?!? Never mind the colours, they will be anodized in another colour anyway:


We scanned the engine bay with the engine in it andmade a rough mockup on how the radiator and intake will sit:


Also I got a car for free! The owner wanted to get rid of it, it has 119k miles, but most impoirtantly, the engine bay houses a mighty 20VT. It may have a slight rod knocking and a bent rear axle, but don`t look a gift horse in the mouth Since I bought another MK2 this comes in handy (will update you on the other MK2 asap)