Glad it got sorted - looks super clean now, too Thanks for the pointers on the dinitrol, I think we've got a gun so will look to buy some liquid stuff. Off to peruse the site now..
Have been quite busy on the mk2 recently. Feeling a little worse for wear from last night so thought I'd update the thread a little. Popping on downshifts seems to have settled down after changing the plugs and leads, which needed doing anyway. Put a fair few miles on the new head and the car is running quite nicely after fettling with ignition timing. Having a few issues with slightly high oil temp still though, which I can't work out if the MFA is at fault. I had to break into the car the other day thanks to my one and only lock packing up! One of the handle screws had worked loose meaning the lock would not engage or activate the central locking. Some muppet of a previous owner decided in their infinite wisdom, to just change the drivers door lock, meaning that was the only lock the key I had would work in grr. To add insult to injury they hadn't bothered connecting up the drivers door pin either Fortunately I'd prepared for this by sourcing a new lockset but typically hadn't got around to fitting it. I now have a nice genuine 16v style key which works in every lock As lame as that sounds I don't think I've ever had a car that has one key Rather happy with what arrived last Friday. Even though I'm still paying off the cylinder head, I fell victim to the 'ebay bargain' . I've picked up the wheels I've always wanted for the mk2, even before I got one. You can keep your RS's; I think these are like RZ's on steroids! Enough dish without being silly, look factory which is very important to me, and are a fraction of the daft cost of RS's. I couldn't afford them, they are a bit ropey and could do with a refurb, but were an absolute STEAL. The question is what to do with them? Straight forward refurb in silver, maybe anthracite grey? I think polished might be too 'bling', plus sod cleaning them and waxing them every 5 minutes as this car is definitely no show queen! What do you think? To be put on the back burner for now but I couldn't resist a trial fit at my grandads house (he has a nice level drive) Smaller tyres are definitely going to be needed with these - rubbage will be an issue with the 50 profile. Quite a bit more width than the Sebrings! 6" Sebring on the left, 7.5" LS on the right. Should really do something about that wonky bumper! Properly on the p***! Be good to get peoples opinions on the wheel colour. I'm swaying towards just a straight forward silver to be honest but thinking it may be a bit bland. Some quick ps mockups: Anthracite Silver Anthracite with a polished lip Anthracite with a polished lip and cap All the interior will be coming out this week as I have a black carpet to go in, so will be cleaning everything inside at the same time. Hoping I find nothing nasty under the soundproofing! Now I am off to work my ass off to repair the dent in my overdraft and savings
That key looks familiar Glad you got everything fitted OK, and it does genuinely make me feel a bit warm and fuzzy inside that my old Mk2 wasn't completely wasted, and that its death has helped keep another Mk2 alive Very jealous of the LS's - would love a set myself. I'd stick with silver every time; looks mint!
Love LS's for all the reasons you mentioned. Great wheel for a mk2. If you aren't sure on the colour and they need a refurb anyway, you could just roughly paint one or two of them with an aerosol to see what you think. It'll cost about 5 and 30 minutes. I did this with my wheels and it made my mind up instantly. You won't go far wrong with silver/diamond cut LS' but the black and red is a great look at the moment and one i'd be keen to try out on the new wheels.
Thanks for the comments Well you know how long they've been sat in my toolbox, typically didn't change them until it was too late . Quick and easy job that's made a world of difference; shouldn't need to break in again should a lock fail! I'm amazed no one called the coppers as I gained entry in broad daylight. Shame about what happened to the grey one Mike, but it's donation is appreciated Good plan, I have various rattle cans kicking around. I'm going to keep the Sebrings too I think, more as winter wheels once the LS's are refurbed. They aren't really worth selling and only owe me what the powder coating cost. They don't show the dirt as much either I do love antha wheels. I'm maybe thinking now perhaps having the innerspokes done antha, similar to how BBS RJ's come out of the factory with a silver face and lip. Would be subtle but perhaps set them off slightly. I'm keen to keep them subtle and factory looking. They certainly won't be bright pink or flocked etc!
In between avoiding showers and clearing my grandad's garage, I made a start on fitting the new carpets today. Picked them up last night from a chap literally 5 mins down the road, which was nice. I've been dreading doing this for a while in case I stumbled upon anything nasty underneath. However, I'm pleased to report it all seems solid despite containing 20 odd years of crap. I've never really understood why the car had grey carpets. As has been discussed on the first page of this thread, GTI's supposedly have black ones. However, the carpet looked to have been factory fitted and undisturbed, complete with it being stitched in each side of the dash. Anyhow, they are rather grubby, stained and it was time for them to go. Love the interior of MK2's; it's so simple to take apart. Everything inside was out within half an hour but the carpet was a bit more stubborn. Cue the game, 'hunt the random hidden fixing'. Everything out Lovely 'rock' feature. Classy Underlay, which I presume is factory? All nice and dry. Was expecting a soggy mess. Factory soundproofing? Goodbye grey, I'll see you on the bonfire Obligatory 'look what I found' shot Disappointing really - a '97 Premier league sticker, 2p and a key. Garage key to a barn find Quattro maybe? New carpets are definitely schwarz then Got the 'race' look on the go at the moment with just a drivers seat in there . Thought the thing was going to rattle itself to bits when I drove home! Part two tomorrow. Time for a beer.
Finished the carpet swap on Thursday but no more process pics as I forgot the camera. Doh! I just have a few finished ones that I took yesterday, after conditioning the leather and a quick whip round with some interior cleaner. The sill covers were a barstool to fit back in, trying to guess where the screw hole was through a cover and the carpet. Got there in the end though. I don't have a pic but where the two halves of the carpet meet, there is a really poor fitting gap. My grey ones were like it too - is this the norm with mk2 carpets? Spent a while mucking around but to no avail. Slight tangent on a couple of bits I found kicking around my grandads garage - 25+ year old vag paint anyone? Also found a pair of these - they are stamped with VW/Audi markings but I forgot to write the numbers down. They could be from a Beetle but I don't think so, and the only other vag cars he's had were a few Audi 80's back in the late 1970's. Any ideas? Look brand new in the wrapper. And a quick pic of how it stands at the moment (well will, once I sort the LS's out properly). Hope it's satisfactory to be wearing the clubgti sticker in the window. And that's pretty much it for now. Got a couple of months away working, and my dissertation to write (ugh).
Looks lovely Dont worry about the carpet fitment where they join, they are all like that. luckily its hidden!
Looking nice mate yer as said mk2 carpets are all like that and I don't think it's lucky it's covered I imagine it's exactly how Vw intended it to be
Good to know about the carpets, cheers guys Its been a while since I updated this thread. Mainly because its been ages since I've seen or driven the car! Have been super busy with uni and just not had the time to do anything but work. 3rd year dominates your life completely. Anyhow I thought as I had to pop home for the weekend I'd open up the shutters and make sure it was still there Nothing too exciting but have done a few odds and ends. Back tracking a little, towards the end of the summer I got a crack in the windscreen. Had this fixed and then less than a week later on the same stretch of road I got a bigger crack Fortunately National Windscreens sorted me out for 70 with a Pilkington screen. Bargain if anyone else needs a mk2 green tint screen. I replaced all of the electrical ignition components, vacuum hoses and put Redline MTL in the gearbox. I then parked the car up and this is how its been sat for the past few months A mate of mine pointed me in the direction of a bargain G60 leather wheel he spotted for 15. It was in reasonable nick with no rips and good stitching, however required attention in some places as the leather was worn and discolored. Set about yesterday re-colouring it using a kit from the Furniture Clinic. Rather pleased with the results. Piece of cake to apply, just takes a while to dry - I had it propped up on some orange juice cartoons in front of the radiator Half way through The finished article And in the car Lastly a pic just because I like it with my grandads awesome 68' in the background from back in the summer. Got a list of odds and ends to do but I have no idea when I'm going to find the time to sort them! - Fit new tailgate & replace GTI rear decal - Fit uprated headlight loom - Fit replacement oil cooler, mounts and plumb in - Service - Polybush the rear beam and refurb the beam - Rehang the exhaust - Wire up VDO's properly - Repair/replace the starter motor () - Replace the shocks all round (again ) - Wishbone bushes
Steering wheel looks mint - good job Considered refinishing my Audi wheel but never got round to it. Where did you get the kit from?
Thanks Mike. Kit was from the 'Furniture Clinic'. I bought the touch up kit but there was plenty in there to do a whole steering wheel, with some left over. You can buy a kit like this for about 20 which comes with various tints, sponges and sheen finishes or just the dye for considerably less. I found the black dye straight from the bottle matched fine so didn't need the tints. Have a gander through their site; haven't read a bad word about them. http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk Hope this helps.
No worries Mike. Thought I'd update this thread a little. Not really had a lot of time to work on the car since before Christmas due to uni commitments but I've managed to throw the odd day in here and then. MOT A month of so back the car had an MOT and surprise surprise it failed. Nothing too major though, rear discs and pads (my own fault as I knew they were bad ), insufficient handbrake, and a split front flexi hose. No pics I'm afraid but after replacing all of that plus a new caliper (one was well an truly seized but managed to free the other one up). Green sheet of paper later, happy days. I NEVER want to have to undo another carrier bolt again, what a swine those buggers are! Engine If you've seen any of my other threads you'll know my continuing battle with with the cars emissions. It's never been right since the head was replaced with a high Hydrocarbon reading present at MOT. Well, after finally getting around to compression testing it the results were not good: When warm: Cylinder 1: 170psi Cylinder 2: 170 psi Cylinder 4 170 psi Cylinder 3: 70 psi It points towards the HG going again as a sniff test revealed coolant in the combustion process. Back to square one and considerably out of pocket, I've decided to try and strip it down myself this time so if it goes wrong I only have myself to blame. Despite the problems the car still pulls like a train suprisingly, just has a lumpy idle and honks of fumes. I'm angry about the situation but just want to know whats happened really and whether it's a fault with the labour or the head itself. I think an ABF conversion is a little too much for me to undertake (and too ) however I'm considering sourcing a 2.0 AGG bottom end as this looks to be a reasonably cheap way to go. It all depends on cash flow. Some brighter news - new additions After spending 3 hours on the train yesterday I brought back a little 1.4 Lupo for my girlfriend. We've been looking for the perfect one for a year or so and after seeing some overpriced rubbish this one was worth a pop. 28k on the clock with 1 elderly owner. It didn't miss a beat on the way back home and is quite nippy for a 1.4 as well! Bonus is I get to borrow this for a few months as she hasn't passed her test yet That's all for now, sorry for the boring update.
Hmm, the head gasket trouble sounds a bit like a slightly warped head. Should see about getting it skimmed before fitting it. Might be worth giving it a retorque first though, see if that helps.
Thanks for the advice, Yeah it's got to be the head really because it's never been right since the day I got it. I'd be surprised if there was a problem with the head when it was fitted as I bought it off someone on here who seemed a genuine guy. Wondering if it was a problem with the fitting when it was torqued initially. I fell out with the garage who did the work as they kept feeding me bulls*it stories - if I go back now they'll tell me to do one as I supplied the head. I was under the impression re-torqueing of heads is not a good idea? When the head comes off I'll get it sent away again to have it checked over. I'm researching 2.0 bottom ends heavily at the moment and that seems a viable route skill wise and cost wise. If I'm doing all of this work again I want a little extra from the engine for the time and hassle
Right then, a small update that hopefully will develop into a larger one shortly. Since the HG issue, I've left it on my mates drive and sulked, fuming that after all the cash spent on it before, the same thing had happened again! Roll on to now and I've calmed down a bit. After thinking about what I was going to do, a decision was made to replace the engine. New bottom end and get the head checked to see what's going on. Really want to find out what has happened to make it go again but we'll find that out when it's all dismantled. I have help but this time I'm doing the work myself to try and keep costs down and learn something in the process. Plan is a 2E lump with the PB head so should provide a little more torque and a lower mileage, newer block. A particular thank you to a few forum members that have helped with advice and hunted down parts for me Have spent the past couple of weeks sourcing all the parts I need which includes a lot of mk3 parts. Whilst trying to do this as cheaply as possible without cutting corners, it's truly shocking how much the costs spiral with new bolts, engine mounts, clutch, gaskets etc! (thankyou mr Natwest ) A trip to Oxford saw me come home with the oily mess that is my 2E block: Looks a state but the bores are smooth and it turns over nicely. After a few hours cleaning, a thorough degrease and a link of paint we have this: Whoops! And this: Need to use compressed air to get a little dirt out of the cylinder bores but it's come up quite well. Still got the mk3 flywheel and clutch on there but that will all be coming off when everything from the PB block goes on. Whilst waiting for the remainder of the parts to arrive I've been cleaning up the mk3 rocker cover over a few evenings. The mk3 I got this off of wouldn't give up it's parts lightly - seized bolts, having to rest the bonnet on my head due to a car being on top of it (couldn't open it fully), and only being equipped with the most basic sh*t socket set, I won in the end. Take one grotty mk3 cover: and turn it into this: Early christmas? Can't believe how much this little lot has cost but hopefully worth it in the end! Hopefully make a start next week. Watch this space.
