Mk2 Golf Revival - Blog just coz
Discussion
Things are really starting to shape up - the end is in sight. My replacement bumpers went on last night, and they've made it start to look like a real car again. £75 for front, £50 for rear. Decided to try and source ones with the silver/chrome strip just because I fancy a change. (I know this goes against my "back to stock" philosophy, but it was a factory option, right, so its fine....right?!)
The simplicity of these old things is so refereshing, four bolts and job done.
The keen eyed among you may also notice front spoiler waiting to go on (£20 second hand - BARGAIN), which is a GTI front spoiler, not a mk2 Driver front spoiler. Well, my excuse is that my old one was knackered and I actually couldnt find a Driver spoiler for love nor money, so I got a GTi one. - still looks completely stock right?! :/
I also had a realisation that, when I first bought the car in 2005 it had a dent in the bumper, which has always been there, so yesterday was the first time in 13 years of ownership that I've seen it without a dent in the rear bumper. LOOK AT THAT DENT!
The simplicity of these old things is so refereshing, four bolts and job done.
The keen eyed among you may also notice front spoiler waiting to go on (£20 second hand - BARGAIN), which is a GTI front spoiler, not a mk2 Driver front spoiler. Well, my excuse is that my old one was knackered and I actually couldnt find a Driver spoiler for love nor money, so I got a GTi one. - still looks completely stock right?! :/
I also had a realisation that, when I first bought the car in 2005 it had a dent in the bumper, which has always been there, so yesterday was the first time in 13 years of ownership that I've seen it without a dent in the rear bumper. LOOK AT THAT DENT!
darkyoung1000 said:
Just caught up with the updates, really good to see how quickly it's coming along. The paint looks lovely.
As to keeping it standard vs. tweaking, as you say, if it was a factory fit option, that's standard in my eyes even if it wasn't on your car when it rolled out of the factory!
Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the encouragement! its much appreciated - it's getting tantalisingly close to being on the road soonAs to keeping it standard vs. tweaking, as you say, if it was a factory fit option, that's standard in my eyes even if it wasn't on your car when it rolled out of the factory!
Keep up the good work!
So lots of updates.....most are a bit minor, but from this point on, its a bit nickel and dime, the big things are done 
So decided the plastic trim needed a refurb, and my extensive research of one passing comment from a friend made me choose a product called Forever Black Bumper and trim restorer. And it really works! check it out! should last a few years in good condition if I keep him clean
BEFORE
AFTER - a good clean up and two coats of the black stuff
So decided the plastic trim needed a refurb, and my extensive research of one passing comment from a friend made me choose a product called Forever Black Bumper and trim restorer. And it really works! check it out! should last a few years in good condition if I keep him clean
BEFORE
AFTER - a good clean up and two coats of the black stuff
Rear arches needed undersealing since they were new and so decided to get the whole underside done while there, so its got a new beautiful thick black protective underseal ready to keep him in good nick for a few more years - i forgot to take a picture of it, so here a picture of him in the air instead
Wheels and tyres - Decided to go back on my previous commitment and now am getting them powdercoated instead of painted.
Tyres - £180 - Goodyear something or other (who cares its not a performance car)
Wheel refurb - £150 for 5 wheels including prep, powercoat and fitting the new tyres - Shout out to City Wheel Refurbishment in Birmingham
Found some wheel centre caps second hand on eBay for £20 including postage, and I couldnt help but give myself a preview of what it might look like when finished. Surprisingly tidy caps, considering they came off a C reg car
Wheels and tyres - Decided to go back on my previous commitment and now am getting them powdercoated instead of painted.
Tyres - £180 - Goodyear something or other (who cares its not a performance car)
Wheel refurb - £150 for 5 wheels including prep, powercoat and fitting the new tyres - Shout out to City Wheel Refurbishment in Birmingham
Found some wheel centre caps second hand on eBay for £20 including postage, and I couldnt help but give myself a preview of what it might look like when finished. Surprisingly tidy caps, considering they came off a C reg car
I cannot believe how many screws and clips and nuts and grommets and bungs I've needed to source - so many of the old ones perished in the stripping process -
My tactic at firsts was to look through ebay to find all the bits and pieces, but in the end I got most things either from Volksmagic in Birmingham or from Volkswagen dealer. - YES THATS RIGHT, AN OEM THAT DOESNT CHARGE THE EARTH FOR REPLACEMENT FIXINGS - most of the screws etc that I ordered direct from VW were between 20p and 50p each, so even after ordering quite a few, I was struggling to hit a tenner.
Trim clips for side mouldings
In Other news - here is that aforementioned product that came highly recommended to me - make sure you get silicon free for these plastic bits
My tactic at firsts was to look through ebay to find all the bits and pieces, but in the end I got most things either from Volksmagic in Birmingham or from Volkswagen dealer. - YES THATS RIGHT, AN OEM THAT DOESNT CHARGE THE EARTH FOR REPLACEMENT FIXINGS - most of the screws etc that I ordered direct from VW were between 20p and 50p each, so even after ordering quite a few, I was struggling to hit a tenner.
Trim clips for side mouldings
In Other news - here is that aforementioned product that came highly recommended to me - make sure you get silicon free for these plastic bits
So overall, starting to look like a car again - Front windscreen has gone in (replacement one, as the original cracked on removal 
)
front spoiler is on, Door handles and door internals on and working. Managed to source a replacement ashtray, which I previously lost like ten years ago.
By the end of this heatwave, should have tailgate and bonnet back on....starting to have sleepless nights too excited to have him back and do some of the mechanical bits.
)front spoiler is on, Door handles and door internals on and working. Managed to source a replacement ashtray, which I previously lost like ten years ago.
By the end of this heatwave, should have tailgate and bonnet back on....starting to have sleepless nights too excited to have him back and do some of the mechanical bits.
Tantislisingly close to have him back on the road. Picutures below sum up the progress
- Door cards and internals on
- Plastic moulding trim on
- tailgate on
- wipers and grill on, tested and everything is working after a few hiccups along the way.
I gave the battery 4 days of trickle charge and fired up the engine just to make sure its still sound mechanically - no issues there, fired up and purred like a kitten. Set a target of one week from today to get back on the road, and having started the engine today, I have high now am not concerned that engine/battery not working preventing me from cruising in my new Headturner Golf Driver.
Bonnet and badges are the last real push before getting driving again - oh and insurance, but i should be able to get that sorted no problem
- Door cards and internals on
- Plastic moulding trim on
- tailgate on
- wipers and grill on, tested and everything is working after a few hiccups along the way.
I gave the battery 4 days of trickle charge and fired up the engine just to make sure its still sound mechanically - no issues there, fired up and purred like a kitten. Set a target of one week from today to get back on the road, and having started the engine today, I have high now am not concerned that engine/battery not working preventing me from cruising in my new Headturner Golf Driver.
Bonnet and badges are the last real push before getting driving again - oh and insurance, but i should be able to get that sorted no problem
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Jobs done since getting him back
- Wash and Wax - IMMENSELY SATISFYING ON New Paint
- Full service
- Rocker cover gasket change
- Gear Linkage rescue kit
Still to do:
-paint exhaust
- Refurb bumpers and front spoiler
- Clean Engine bay
- Detail clean interior
- Seal the paintwork with proper wax sealer
- Acquire replacement gutter trim
- Acquire scuttle panel
- Wash and Wax - IMMENSELY SATISFYING ON New Paint
- Full service
- Rocker cover gasket change
- Gear Linkage rescue kit
Still to do:
-paint exhaust
- Refurb bumpers and front spoiler
- Clean Engine bay
- Detail clean interior
- Seal the paintwork with proper wax sealer
- Acquire replacement gutter trim
- Acquire scuttle panel
To do list continued:
- Badges - "Driver" badge, rear VW badge
- paint front grill
- install bonnet sound deadening
And all this to do while still planning a wedding! Thank God the football and Wimbledon are over.....Just need Love Island to end and I'll have loads of time to crack on with the jobs.
ALSO.....I've asked loads of people and currently Black is leading the race, but I still cannot decide which colour to do the centre caps - I might just leave them silver on one side and black on the other, win-win!
I think the next few posts will likely be in 6 weeks or so on the run up to the wedding.....Thanks for reading, back soon xx
- Badges - "Driver" badge, rear VW badge
- paint front grill
- install bonnet sound deadening
And all this to do while still planning a wedding! Thank God the football and Wimbledon are over.....Just need Love Island to end and I'll have loads of time to crack on with the jobs.
ALSO.....I've asked loads of people and currently Black is leading the race, but I still cannot decide which colour to do the centre caps - I might just leave them silver on one side and black on the other, win-win!
I think the next few posts will likely be in 6 weeks or so on the run up to the wedding.....Thanks for reading, back soon xx
Thanks Folks for kind messages, this whole experience really has been an emotional journey for me.
Ref ride height.....I think what I will do is keep it stock height until suspension needs replacing. It's still on the original springs and dampers from 1989, so they may not have all that much life left in them. Once they need replacing, I think I will see if I can find springs which are 20-30 lower, just to set off the look, non of this Euro-SLAMMED ting! Not sure, but for now, I'll leave it be.
Ref the sils.....I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN!! It seems these aftermarket sils dont quite fit right. I would have wanted it slightly higher to match that lower line on the car, but then the bit inside the door aperture is all wrong. so plan is to just remove the sil decals all together and leave the lush paint .
Taking him out for a long run tomorrow, ~100 miles and looking forward to changing gear with the newly fitted gear linkage!!
Ref ride height.....I think what I will do is keep it stock height until suspension needs replacing. It's still on the original springs and dampers from 1989, so they may not have all that much life left in them. Once they need replacing, I think I will see if I can find springs which are 20-30 lower, just to set off the look, non of this Euro-SLAMMED ting! Not sure, but for now, I'll leave it be.
Ref the sils.....I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN!! It seems these aftermarket sils dont quite fit right. I would have wanted it slightly higher to match that lower line on the car, but then the bit inside the door aperture is all wrong. so plan is to just remove the sil decals all together and leave the lush paint .
Taking him out for a long run tomorrow, ~100 miles and looking forward to changing gear with the newly fitted gear linkage!!
Black caps seem to have the overwhelming majority of votes and who am I to mess with democracy. Black caps it is!
Also, ref earlier comment about it not being a GTi, I’m pretty sure that my car is now far more rare than any variety of GTi! While I know the GTi is more popular for good reason, I do enjoy that fact that mine is more unique, and it deserves the ‘royal’ treatment just as much as any GTi. ( because it’s special to me)
Also, ref earlier comment about it not being a GTi, I’m pretty sure that my car is now far more rare than any variety of GTi! While I know the GTi is more popular for good reason, I do enjoy that fact that mine is more unique, and it deserves the ‘royal’ treatment just as much as any GTi. ( because it’s special to me)
Evening Sports Fans! Bodywork still beautiful but the mechnicals have caused me some gried the last few weeks. Gear linkage wear meant I lost first and second gear, and exhaust was blowing like mad at the manifoldd! A little unnerving when just a few weeks before the wedding and all of this restoration was about it becoming the wedding car.
Two weeks to go until the big day and I am happy to report that it's running peachy (after I gave up and took it to the garage to get exhaust blow fixed - the clamps on the exhaust manifold as a ba****d if you dont have the right tool. The 300mile round trip to Guernsey should go off without a hitch (no pun intended)
work completed in last few weeks:
- gear linkage renewed
- Full service
- repainted front grill
- Steam cleaned interior
- Installed dashcam (which will film the bride on her way to wedding ceremony)
- installed new dash speakers
- painted towing eye and tailpipe
- fixed exhaust
Only job left now is:
- Refurb the bumpers
and the final thing i will do as a symbolic act will be the rear badge.
Two weeks to go until the big day and I am happy to report that it's running peachy (after I gave up and took it to the garage to get exhaust blow fixed - the clamps on the exhaust manifold as a ba****d if you dont have the right tool. The 300mile round trip to Guernsey should go off without a hitch (no pun intended)
work completed in last few weeks:
- gear linkage renewed
- Full service
- repainted front grill
- Steam cleaned interior
- Installed dashcam (which will film the bride on her way to wedding ceremony)
- installed new dash speakers
- painted towing eye and tailpipe
- fixed exhaust
Only job left now is:
- Refurb the bumpers
and the final thing i will do as a symbolic act will be the rear badge.
By the way, If you ever get the chance, you need to wash a car with brand new paint - put it on your bucket list. You havent lived until you glided a cloth over fresh paint - its a smoothness I've never felt before ( and I've had a few brand new cars in my time). I've washed and waxed it but need to seal it properly when I get a spare day.
So here's the lastest pics on the run to big day.....few little touches make a difference - painted grill, new Golf badge, new number plates, both gutter rails(lol - had to drive to harrogate from B'ham to find a good one)
So here's the lastest pics on the run to big day.....few little touches make a difference - painted grill, new Golf badge, new number plates, both gutter rails(lol - had to drive to harrogate from B'ham to find a good one)
And so finally, my thread begins to conclude....The story of the last 13 years and the last 6 months of work has climaxed and all the stars have aligned. But first, the last few bits leading to that peak.
last few jobs before the 180mile drive (+80mile ferry ride) to Guernsey for the wedding.
Smartened up the "Driver" badges - Not a GTI and proud
gave the exhaust a lick of paint
And the grill
New scuttle panel (costly but wayyyy better then my scruffy one in bits
Got lots of nice touches on the inside too, to make it a bit nicer: new gearstick gator, ashtray, door knobs, pedal rubber, floor mats, etc etc
AND LAST THING TO FINISH IT OFF, the Rear badge - and I gave the honour to my beautiful wife to be:
last few jobs before the 180mile drive (+80mile ferry ride) to Guernsey for the wedding.
Smartened up the "Driver" badges - Not a GTI and proud
gave the exhaust a lick of paint
And the grill
New scuttle panel (costly but wayyyy better then my scruffy one in bits
Got lots of nice touches on the inside too, to make it a bit nicer: new gearstick gator, ashtray, door knobs, pedal rubber, floor mats, etc etc
AND LAST THING TO FINISH IT OFF, the Rear badge - and I gave the honour to my beautiful wife to be:
And so Off I went, Car packed to the high heavens with wedding merch. Battery died a couple of days before I left so invested in a new one
AND I MADE IT TO GUERNSEY.....thanks Pete for spending a long dark evening til the early hours getting the gear linkage changed so I could actually get first and second gear! The boss lady preferred the silver centre caps, and I know my place, so silver it is!
AND I MADE IT TO GUERNSEY.....thanks Pete for spending a long dark evening til the early hours getting the gear linkage changed so I could actually get first and second gear! The boss lady preferred the silver centre caps, and I know my place, so silver it is!
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