yeah you need to modify the mk4 pump sender before it will work on mk1/2/3 dash otherwise it reads backwards, if you've done that check you have an earth to G1/5 as depending on where you got the rear wiring loom from it can supply earth to the sender. to test this short the middle pins on pump plug and gauge should go to full. if not, short the purple/black to the thicker brown main pump earth see if that does anything
Thanks RJ Good timing - I ran out of fuel at the weekend! I will take the pump out soon and do some checks
Finally finished rebuilding my BBS RMs and fitting them at the weekend. Barrels have been powder coated chrome, new aluminium lips 1.5” front and 2” rear, new polished bolts, new genuine BBS valves, centres cleaned up and sealed with black RTV. Applied some Poorboys sealant and hopefully that's it for now... Photos don’t do them justice really, they look stunning in the flesh
Last year I got hold of some G60 calipers and carriers and had Bigg Red rebuild and powder coat them. Sort of forgot about them over the winter but came across them in their box a few weeks back so ordered some EBC discs and red stuff pads and some red HEL lines. This was the last job I can remember where everything went as it should! No seized or snapped bolts etc. Took less than 1 hour each side! Bled the brakes with some fresh fluid and went for spin. The pads bedding in quick and I am very impressed with the stopping power. Plus they look great! I have managed to get to a few shows this year and none better than Bug Jam at Santa Pod. Unbelieve amount of quality vans/cars! Cheers all
Single skin panel not fit for jacking imho too. I haven't put the dimples on after replacing my corner panels as there's no support above. On topic that's a lovely Mk2!.
Wow not posted for a while on here. Nothing too interesting to report on the Golf... been to many shows this year in either the Golf or T5. Posting 10 photos just for the heck of it! Queen Square Breakfast Club Meet - March: VW GTI Special Volkfest Bristol - June 50th Anniversary of VW Golf Display Painted my garage floor Dubs at the Castle - July Volksfest Wales - August Barryfornia - September It was my 40th this month, my girlfriend got this grill badge for me: (She also got me a helicopter lesson btw!) Looking back on those photos, it's been a great year of shows. Probably done another 15 shows and trips in the campervan too. Anyway, car is running great, nothing to report really which is abit boring. MOT passed with no advisories a few weeks ago, which I think was the first time in 10 years of ownership! Winter plans are to remove the rear beam and refresh underside, new bushes, mk3/4 brakes, polo stub axles etc Cheers all Shep
May as well add some details of the winter update on the mk2… In truth the last couple of years I’ve been spending most of my time and money on my Transporter. Full camper conversion now but my main obsession is the air suspension done in January 23 which is so much fun! I came across Lowdown Transporters a few years back and I’m now addicted to getting the van as low as possible. It’s had just about everything done for maximum lows, subframe and engine raise, major arch cutting, chassis legs notched, strut dropped through hub, ECU raised etc etc So last year I decided I wanted to install air suspension on the mk2. Only problem is that it’s expensive! So I kept an eye on ebay and marketplace and eventually found someone selling the exact kit I wanted – Airlift Slam Series for mk2/mk3 platform as a kit with 3P in as new condition. I was camping in Belgium at the time so convinced the Mrs we should go back to Bristol via Essex! That was August, so I thought the air install would be a nice winter project! Installing the struts is obviously pretty basic and I then started on the arch cutting and rolling. Plastic arches needed to come off and be cut flush for clearance. Front wings are single skin so just mark up and chop and protect. Rears are double skin, so chopped out the outter skin and then bent up the inner bit by bit, trimmed up, protect, seal etc So all cutting done, struts installed and airlines ran into boot. All wiring done. Car now useable and driving. to be continued...
The boot was a mess of wires and air lines etc, so I thought I’d build a false floor and carpet it etc. Tank mounted to floor, compressor and management to the side. Pleased with the results... At this point the car was done and the air suspension working. Now time to chase more lows (I feel this will be ongoing as I am addicted!). First thought which is standard procedure on a Transporter is to fit thinner top mounts but I couldn’t find any for the rear of a mk2. So I just bought a new pair and used an angle grinder to remove the excess rubber at the top, maybe 10mm. Happy with that for now. There isn’t too much info online about getting a mk2 much lower. Some have flipped the track rod ends as the rod fouls the chassis leg. So I put my car on ramps and aired out, the rods just about rest on the leg so I will be doing a flip. Only issue here is that the hole in the hub is tapered so it needs drilling out. Found a company called Noath Engineering that sell quality bits for mk1/mk2 Golfs. Bought the inserts for the hub (once drilling out) and also purchased ball joint extensions, however I have not really looked at this, not sure if it is needed yet. Currently half way through changing the track rods as the ends are seized up so I had to use an angle grinder to cut them off! And my drill doesn’t want to drill out the hub, think I need to remove them and have them machined out. If I do this I will get the hubs powder coated and put some new wheel bearing in. Lower arms and arb are rusty too so I need to do a proper refresh of the front suspension, maybe even fit the balljoint extensions if it gains me anything. Drivers side chassis leg will need a notch at some point. This is definitely needed with standard 8v or 16v as the gearbox is higher as standard so the offside driveshaft fouls before the strut can fully air out. With the 20v engine sitting lower it just touches, so will prevent more lows in future. Especially if the engine and subframe can be raised, we’ll see! Not the case on nearside as the shaft is short as its closer to the gearbox So as it is now... So that’s where I am at the moment. I do not drive it low (unlike my T5) so it rides very well, I still feel convident in the corners anyway! Going to be using it daily for the next 2 weeks which will be a good shakedown More updates to follow, inevitably…
Looks super nice! Can you tell a bit how the ride quality is? Getting a MK2 lower is pretty straighforward. In the back the axle will foul the chassis at the point where the axle goes into the wheel housing. In the front there are the track rods as you already mentioned plus the drive shafts will hit the frame at some point. Mapco Special Parts offers thinner drive shafts for your driver side which will have more clearance. Normally that is enough to lay the floor on the ground. They are also shorter which your drive shaft joints will thank you. Depending on how the 20VT is installed, the oil pan should not be the lowest point. If it is, you can mount a 2-piece USDM oil pan which is about 15mm shorter. Maybe you will have to run the thinner font lip since the wide one is already touching the ground. This is how it will look with around 10mm of ground clearance and 15" (it was on coils so for obvious reasons couldn't go lower):
