Nige`s Golf MK2 2.0 16V Turbo track car with Aero. www.pinderwagen.com

Wow! It's like reading a Haynes manual, but better

I wish i had the patience and the expertise to tackle something like this, a credit to you mate. Well done!

 

looking good, you might want to also consider putting on a 16V lower front spolier as it has the vent ducts for cooling the brakes.

andy

 

great build up, shell was from a mate of mine wasnt expecting to see it built up on here

 

That tip for fitting new bushes on the front subframe is brilliant....top work Nige

 

I didnt know that, i`ll keep my eyes peeled. You mean the black plastic `chin` spoiler? or the metal part below the bumper, that the chin spoiler bolts to.??

 

the actual plastic chin spoiler. The look a like vents either side in yours can easily be trimmed out to the same effect. all it does is provide a stream of air in the direction of the front brakes. The real ones came with "ducts" which guided the air into the front wheel arches. Hard to come by now though.

Id just cut the holes with a sharp knife.

Keep up the good work mate. top job

 

How insulting!!

Great thread btw

 

A morning of doing lots of little jobs...

Made a bracket to secure the top of the radiator to the slam panel, just a bit of aluminium bent and drilled


As the radiator is different, I needed a new hose from the top of the radiator to the expansion tank (6mm ID x 1m longand 3) Fitted that.



I then fitted the rest of the brake pipes, filled and pressure bled the system, connected up the handbrake cable and now I have working brakes :thumb:

When removing the old brake fittings, I found many of them were very tight and a pig to remove. I did this on my old golf and didnt take photos, so I`ve taken some this time...

Slide the screwed fitting down the pipe


Put copper slip grease on the outside of the pipe MAKING SURE NO grease gets onto the end or inside the pipe.


Now slide the fitting back down the pipe, turning it as you do, this ensures the space between the pipe and fitting is full of grease. Then fil the threads with grease, again, make sure the end is clean with no grease on it.


when fitted, I then applied more grease to the area where the pipe goes into the fitting, so hopefully if they ever need removing, it will be much easier.

Fitting the rear coilovers this afternoon, photos will follow...

After finishing the brakes and fitting the rear exhaust silencer, I moved onto the rear coilovers. Catherine helped remove the wheels


I didnt take any photos of the removal and fitting of the coilovers... This is the new coilover fitted to the wheel hub and rear beam


The topmounts were new and the rubber didnt have much `give`. I couldnt get the top nut to start screwing onto the thread.


I came up with a solution :thumb: Using a 17mm Ring spanner to turn the nut, I used a long socket to rest on the nut, putting some weight onto the T bar pressed the rubber down, allowing me to turn the ring spanner and screw the nut onto the thread.


I replaced both rear wheel bearings (I posted a more detailed giude HERE. I`d changed them when I bought the car, but one had started `rumbling` at Easter, I dont think I`d tightened it enough, so it seemed sensible to change both now, then I`ve got new bearings all round.


Louise then adjusted the coilover springs to a starting mid-point.


Another family affair today, and a successful one :thumb:
Had a couple of issues, the first time I drove down the drive, I couldnt engage reverse and had to push it back . Much to Louises amusement... The linkage needed adjusting, I did that and now I can select reverse, 1st and 2nd. I cant tell if I can get the other gears until I get it on the road. The brakes felt a little spongy, so there must still be some air, I can easily bleed that out. The front is too high and the rear too low, but I can easily adjust that :thumb:

Unfortunately, the temp warning light started flashing, I dont know why, it was OK the other day when I tested the engine, so I`m hoping its a loose connection somewhere. I know the engine isnt overheating, I`d only just started it !

Tomorrow I hope to adjust the coilovers to level the car, re- bleed the brakes and start fitting the cage I`m actually believing that it will be finished by the end of THIS weekend, I am really pleased with how its gone the last few days, tomorrow evening and i`ll have a good feel for how its looking for being ready. :thumb:

 

Nige, you should have waited until the weight of the car was on the suspension before trying to get that nut screwed on the rear top mount, would've helped. If it was on the floor already tho < puzzled >

Temp gauge light, check water level, might have settled down since running the engine some more, it's not really a temp warning, more of a level warning. If level fine change the bottle if problem persists.

Good work tho mate, hopefully you can make your planned trip to the 'ring.

 

Thanks Gary, no the car was still in the air That was probably why it was a pain I`ll know for next time though....

The expansion tank level WAS low, I just topped it up and the light went out

I`m really hoping I`ll make my ring trip too, otherwise all this working until late on a night will have been a waste of time..

 

Costs so far

2,361.91 spent on Old golf, so carry that over. I havent added costs for ferry getting my golf back and tow bar fitting...

350.00 to buy new Golf
80 in Petrol fetching Shell (ish)
27 Windage tray
100 For new wheel bearings, lower ball joints and track rod ends.
20 in misc bits (brake fluid, radiator hose etc)
50 Polybushes
575 Coilovers

Total Spent on NEW Golf
1202.00

Grand combined approximate total.
3563.00

I`ve got the receipts, but havent got them to hand, so the prices are approximate, but accurate to within a few

Fitted the plates to bolt the roll cage to today. Took as long as I expected and had a few issues with the welder where it worked then the gas flow cut out, so I had to grind out and reweld parts, which make it look untidy :angry: Anyway, thats my excuses out of the way ... I only took sequence photos for this one plate, so even though the others look neater, I`ve posted this one so you can see the start > finish on that one plate.

When I`d cut the old door bars off, part was still welded to the cage


Had to grind that off, which seemed to take ages...


All gone


Wedged the cage into position using blocks of wood so I could measure up for the plate


Measured and marked new plate


Cut the plate using a saw I`d borrowed from cjslator, its brilliant, cuts like it was timber :thumb:


Marked where to bend the plate


Bent the plate using a vice and large hammer


Put a 45degree edge on the plate to get a good deep weld


Put the plate in position


However, the edge isnt square, so marked out the profile using a sheet of paper


transferred the profile to the metal and cut to suit, put the plate into position and tack welded it


Started welding along the rear edge, then along all edges, grinding out bad weld and re-welding where necessary (which was a pain...)



Cleaned using wire brush


Sprayed with primer


Sprayed with metallic blue (i`ll spray the whole cage this colour before fitting)


Just to show, I can weld


All 4 plates are in position, cage is bolted in ready to make the door bars tomorrow. I`ll then remove the cage, spray it, refit it and then weld in the door bars, spraying the weld area afterwards.

The camera makes the welding look worse than it is, I admit is isnt the prettiest i`ve ever done, but there is good penetration and I`m happy with the strength.

Today was one of those days where I really could have done with help. The cage had a mind of its own and i`d get one corner in position, move another and the whole lot would move around. I think thats why its taken so bloody long to fit 4 cage base plates today. Another pair of hands would have made it much easier and quicker...

I changed the headlamp switch last night and it fixed the insrument lights not working. Topping up the coolant fixed the level warning light too

 

Quick update.

Gave the cage a final rub with white spirit then wire wool,


sprayed with white primer



Sprayed with topcoat, then forgot to take a photo until it was in the car.. h43r: Ran out of topcoat, so cant finish spraying until tomorrow :angry:


Cut door bar to length then using grinder, matched profile ready for welding


Using the insulation tape to hold it into position


tacked the X bar


Welded the Bars together, then gave a quick wire brush



Ready to weld into position, I can now make the top left part of the X without it wobbling all over the place


Well, today was a day that went far too quickly. The indicators had stoped working for some reason. First thing I did was check the fuse, it looked OK, so on with relay checking, remove cowl on steering column, switch checking, disconnecting indicators to try and find a problem but nothing

Checked fuse again, it was back to basics now


Was just about to refit it when the light caught a hairline crack (i`ve opened it up slightly so you can see it on the photo.


Usually fuses `blow`, they dont crack :angry: That took quite some time to find and seemed to set the tone for the day..

The steering wheel was `catching` on something once a turn, investigation found the problem to be here


Its where the column goes through the bulkhead, it is very close to the pedal box. Actually, so close it was JUST touching once a turn. A long chisel and hammer was called upon


Not pretty, but the metalwork was bent out of the way just enough to clear the steering column and now its fine

 

The rear bumper Nick had donated had no mounting bracket, just 2 coach bolts, so I needed to fabricate new brackets


Had some plate left over, so cut 2 pieces and welded them together


Welded 2 captive nuts onto each bracket


knowing it would upset too many of you if I didnt, I sprayed the new brackets


Fixed the bracket to the bumper


Then fixed the brackets to the car. I think even Karl would admit this one needs some `back to black`


Louise spent the best part of the day removing wheels, adjusting the coilovers, refitting the wheels, then removing them again when I said it was at the wrong height h43r:


I found why the brake pedal was `spongy`, it wasnt air, but a brake union that wasnt quite tight enough and was weeping.. Another 1/2 turn and it was secure and the brakes were firm again :thumb:


Sprayed the rest of the cage and fitted that


Tacked the door bars into position and then my welder overheated. Kind of summed up my day really...


Tomorrow I`m doing the bits I NEED to get done to take the car to germany. I`m leaving the cage door bars until last job, The cage is in, the bars are a nice to have, but they can be done later if necessary, they are tacked but need fully welding / spraying.

I`ve got several jobs that I know will end up taking all day. The front coilovers are not quite right yet... I`m going to get 4 new Parada Spec-2`s fitted on Monday, then hopefully 4-wheel aligned next week. I am hoping that I have managed to get most of the work done tomorrow, so Monday can be spent doing the nice jobs...

 

Fitted the front grille


Still need the strip that goes at the bottom, but steph is sourcing one for me :thumb:

Next job was the Horn. Found this broken wire once I stripped back some of the outer black covering


Fixed that but it still didnt work. Spent about 30 minutes trying to find the break, eentually, I jsut ran a new fused feed from a supply under the engine bay


Tidied up all the wiring and now have working horn :thumb:


Next job was the bloody exhaust :angry: I`ve decided, I hate working on exhausts....

The first silencer and flexible joint was hanging too low. I`m not sure if the downpipe was bent in the crash, but it seems to be pointing downwards instead of towards the back of the car


Removed the exhaust. (sounds so easy when I type it. took about 45 minutes of cursing...)
I know the flexible joint can be moved, but I wanted to angle the pipe slightly too. By using a blunt chisel, I was able to put a crease in half of the pipe which caused a slight bend :thumb:


Crease and a slight bend in the previously straight flexible coupling


There was no exhaust mount near this section, so cut a piece of sheet steel, Bent it and drilled a couple of holes


Then secured it to the underside of the gear lever, used a jubilee clip and exhaust rubber to support the section of exhaust


The refitted system, still not brilliant, but better than it was.. It doesnt look it from the photos, but its now about 7mm higher than before...

 

Sprayed the door bars and roll cage. Didnt have time to fit the top of the X, I`ll do it IF I get time before Friday, but its not looking likely...

Cage and bars look good I think



The window winder was hitting the roll cage, I couldnt lower the window without opening to door..


Removed the handle and drilled out the spinning part


Shortened the `arm


Redrilled and fitted a new handle with locknuts I can now operate the window with the door closed :thumb: ( I did cut off that long bit of thread too...)


I refitted the seats and harnesses.



Louise gave the inside of the car a good wipe down to remove all the dust i`d made when grinding / welding h43r:


Matthew refitted the sunvisors


Started the car and with the bonnet closed, the bonnet was vibrating slightly, opening it and found this wear mark


It is from the throttle cable mount, I can cut out part of the box section on the bonnet, I had to do it on my old golf too. Also had a slight rubbing of the air intake pipe into. Lou & Mat have shown the offending points here



I spent 30 minutes trying to align the gear linkage. Thought I`d sussed it, but when I went for a drive, found I couldnt engage 1st and 2nd was difficult. more adjusting required tomorrow

 

The bonnet got VERY hot, I think that insulation on the bulkhead is helping trap the heat in the engine bay... The fan is working fine.

I think I`m going to get a GTi Radiator and also an oil cooler. 102 Degrees whilst just sat idling is far too hot. When I turned on the fan override, it falls to 96 when sat, previously is was significantly lower, but I thik the GTi rad & oil cooler is best, rather than just the corrado radiator, or that and oil cooler, that would just be overkill..

I too am very worried about no shakedown to speak of, but I jsut cant do one, so a motorway run in 3rd or 4th and hard acceleration is the best I can do :unsure:

Tomorrow we are going to look at fitting the polycarb rear quarter and rear windows. I`m getting the Parada`s fitted and seeing about a 4-wheel align, Was going to do it myself, but I just wont have time.

I should be able to pick up a GTi radiator for 42, then a sandwich plate and oil cooler in the next few days, which appear to be around 100 for a mocal 13-row cooler, sandwich plate and hoses

Didnt get chance to finish the good/bad list before...

Some GOOD Points.
It drives, WELL.
Engine revs to 7200 without oil pressure dropping under 5bar :thumb: Kept it pulling at 5-6k for a good while and pressure held rock solid.
Handles nicely, didnt push, but steering was very responsive.

Some BAD Points
Rear brakes STILL lock, but petrol is very low, so that wont help
It runs much too hot. sat at idle, temp is higher than other ever was and oil temp is 102 !, When driving, both drop a little.
The cabin vibrates at idle, its quite annoying. I think this is due to the stiffer engine mounts and the exhaust front mounting I fitted. I loosened that, the exhaust dropped but the vibration eased a little.
Engine still hesitates and hiccups when accelerating under 2500rpm. I can live with that, its fine over 4000
The engine is rubbing on the underside of the bonnet, I can fix that with an angle grinder

there seems to be more bad than good, but actually, I`m very very happy with it at the moment. Tomorrow to do some more bits, then unfortunately, I`ll have to fit the oil cooler and new radiator when I get up, before going to work

Barring the exhaust breaking or the engine exploding, I think Friday is most definately achievable now :thumb: We are all very pleased about that

Had another go at the gearlinkage adjustment this morning. 1st attempt and I can now select all the gears thumb.gif Fifth requires a little more effort than before, but its nothing major, so i`m leaving well alone.

Ordered a new larger radiator, 62 and it will be here tomorrow. Its a 720mm one, very similar to the previous one I had. I`m going to try and modify another fan / cowl I have so I`ll have 2 fans on it, if not, I`ll see how it runs with the one. Going for new tyres fitting now, then 4-wheel aligning.

Would hate to be sat in traffic with this thing, does your head in if sat at idle for too long, but its fine once moving..

Whilst driving back just now, the MFA display for the oil temp went off , everything else works, just not the oil temp anymore ! All the connections look fine, but as i`ve got the VDO gauge, I`ll live with it for now. Its a job i`ll look at if I get time later in the week...

4x New Paradas fitted, lets see how they go next week. If the forecast rain appears, they will not be doing many laps, thats for certain...


I`ve read many people say you need a bit of string, 2 people and some washing up liquid to change a window / windscreen, but couldnt find a how-to (watch loads of people post links now ), anyway, in true DIY style, I made my own B) I`d never done it before, but it was suprisingly easy..I did the guide for a rear quarter window, its exactly the same principal for the rear screen and windscreen, but as they need 2 hands, I couldnt hold the camera aswell

To remove the old window, simply press firmly on one corner and maintain the pressure,


you will SLOWLY see the rubber start to `unfurl` and loosen its hold on the glass



Maintaining pressure move your hand along the glass and allow the rubber to unfold at its own speen, DO NOT FORCE IT, it will take time.



When the top edge is complete, the screen will `fall out`, have the second person take the weight, allow the rubber to unfurl down the edges and lift out the glass



Lift the glass clear and place to one side

 

REFITTING

Using a length of STRONG twine, press it into the rubber, where the metal will eventually sit, I used a flat bladed screwdriver to push the string to the bottom and to aid fitting, dragging the screwdriver along pressed the string in much faster


Leave 12" lengths overlapping at one corner


Using diluted washing up liquid / water mix, thoroughly lubricate the slot with the string and the inside rubber edge


I`m not sure if this next bit is the correct way, but it seemed to work well for us. I put the bottom corner in place and made sure the rubber sat properly, inside and out


Next, whilst the person outside puts LIGHT pressure on the glass, the person inside pulls the string horizontally away from the glass. This is the bit where the string deforms the rubber and causes it to fit over the metal :thumb:


Slowly work your way along the top edge of the glass


Continue along the top


Now, have a loow from the outside and check the rubber lines up with the marks on the paint from before, I needed to push the whole pane of glass slightly towards one side to make it `sit` properly in the groove, its obvious if not, the string becomes much harder to pull. Continue pulling the string. If you find it difficult, try pulling the other end and working from the opposite direction, by doing that I found it went in easily


And thats it, we did the first window in under 10 minutes Both rear quarters, rear screen AND windscreen in 30 minutes ! That was with us taking our time as it was our first attempt. It was far easier than expected

Windscreen before (it had a small crack in the drivers line of vision)


`new` one fitted (was the 5 week old one from my old car...)


Had to re-adjust the coilovers AGAIN today...The fronts had settled slightly, which I kind of expected, The topmounts settled on the other one once I drove it, but the rears had both dropped, I couldnt understand why.?? I then realised, after lifting them, it was because I`d put 50 Litres of petrol in it DOH!!!

 

Cracking thread Nige, I love the way the whole family pitches in

Louise will soon be a wizzard at setting up collies

 

awesome thread top project

I've Just read through the whole Thing Top to Bottom and an Hour Has Gone .....................................

A Credit to you and your family's comitment to getting it sorted and an amazing read.