Another VW Golf Mk2 16v
Discussion
I did think of the LED upgrade, but I'm quite keen on being as standard as poss... getting the 80s driving experience. 
Not likely to use the car much in the dark to be honest - but I'd like to have everything working... OCD like that!
Today's task, de-fogging the supplementary grille lights. This involved taking the grille out, removing the bulbs and the back plates, then scrubbing with a bottle brush and some window spray before wiping up with some tissue.
Made quite a difference - compare with pics earlier up this page. Funny how some of the simpler jobs are so satisfying.
Cheers,
Drew.
Not likely to use the car much in the dark to be honest - but I'd like to have everything working... OCD like that!Today's task, de-fogging the supplementary grille lights. This involved taking the grille out, removing the bulbs and the back plates, then scrubbing with a bottle brush and some window spray before wiping up with some tissue.
Made quite a difference - compare with pics earlier up this page.
Funny how some of the simpler jobs are so satisfying.Cheers,
Drew.
Edited by drewwa on Friday 24th April 16:11
Thanks to Gallons per mile I received a bunch of OEM bulbs for the Golf - thanks!
Tried to fit them and discovered the holders aren't quite the same as mine... nor are the bulbs.
My Golf has a VDO engined dashpod, perhaps these came from a Motometer variant (which was slightly later on). Either way - not a direct fit. Originals on left, new ones on the right...
Anyway, the bulbs are similar enough to swap, so after a bit of fiddling I managed to extract the bulbs...
And then swap the good bulbs into the old holders...
And plug them into the car. Yes - dash lights work - nice and bright too!
Huge props to Gallons per mile for the help (he sent the bulbs for free) - Fab community.
Cheers,
Drew.
Tried to fit them and discovered the holders aren't quite the same as mine... nor are the bulbs.
My Golf has a VDO engined dashpod, perhaps these came from a Motometer variant (which was slightly later on). Either way - not a direct fit. Originals on left, new ones on the right...
Anyway, the bulbs are similar enough to swap, so after a bit of fiddling I managed to extract the bulbs...
And then swap the good bulbs into the old holders...
And plug them into the car. Yes - dash lights work - nice and bright too!
Huge props to Gallons per mile for the help (he sent the bulbs for free) - Fab community.
Cheers,
Drew.
Edited by drewwa on Thursday 30th April 15:26
martin mrt said:
Great thread and a fantastic write up, really like what your doing with this
Is the exhaust being changed.?
It will be eventually - but it's almost brand new at the moment, so I might drive around with it for a bit - it's got a nice tone actually. Is the exhaust being changed.?
I'm eyeing up a 'trackslag' exhaust which looks OEM (with the angled twin tips) but is actually a bit more freeflowing. Finding a genuine VW exhaust is pretty hard now.
Cheers,
Drew.
Edited by drewwa on Friday 1st May 07:51
Gallons Per Mile said:
Woohoo! Glad the bulbs were ok for you 
Is the leak coming from the sunroof or the door seal? If you take off the door cards and then sit inside the car with the doors shut you'll be able to see how well they're sealing - with the door cards on they hide the seal quite well. In the end my doors needed some brute force adjustment as they weren't sealing at the top and needed bending in a bit.
Thanks for the bulbs - awesome stuff even if a bit fiddly - got there in the end! Is the leak coming from the sunroof or the door seal? If you take off the door cards and then sit inside the car with the doors shut you'll be able to see how well they're sealing - with the door cards on they hide the seal quite well. In the end my doors needed some brute force adjustment as they weren't sealing at the top and needed bending in a bit.
I think the leak is from the passenger door - the bottom of the door card is damp. There is no membrane in either door at the moment (wasn't there when I dismantled) so will have to improvise something soon.
Weather better for the next few days, so will investigate further!
Just received new discs in the post, so that's another job to line up. Then it's getting close to being MOT-able.
Cheers,
Drew.
Dermot O'Logical said:
Mk2 and Mk1 factory sunroofs share the same problem, in that the drain tubes become blocked with dirt and debris.
The tubes are quite long, and pass down the A-pillars into the front wheel wells. The best way to clear them out is with a length of net curtain wire, which is a long, flexible spring wrapped in a plastic coating. If the car is in regular use, it's worth doing every couple of months, it's an easy job which can save you a whole mountain of grief.
Yep - good call. The tubes are quite long, and pass down the A-pillars into the front wheel wells. The best way to clear them out is with a length of net curtain wire, which is a long, flexible spring wrapped in a plastic coating. If the car is in regular use, it's worth doing every couple of months, it's an easy job which can save you a whole mountain of grief.
I'm used to this from my mk1 mx5 - Drain holes from the sunroof are clear and running good - both drip out into the front wheel wells ok. Definitely the door membranes. I'll check the alignment of the doors too, draining over a litre of water out of the car with the vax. Standing in the sun to dry now.
Cheers,
Drew.
Bri957 said:
For the exhaust, have a look at the Novus Classic Line from Germany.
They are stainless replicas of the OEM exhaust, and pretty good value (£250ish) for a full system.
Thanks. Will do. They are stainless replicas of the OEM exhaust, and pretty good value (£250ish) for a full system.
Been working on water ingress prevention today. Both doors now fitted with a membrane. I'm going to let it dry for 24 hours and then cut necessary gaps to fit.
Cheers,
Drew.
Trimmed all the plastic and reassembled slowly and carefully. Makes a surprising amount of difference to the 'sound' of the door when in place - more of that 'VW' thump when the door closes. Hopefully water ingress problem solved!
I'll get around to cleaning the inside of the car soon, I promise!
Cheers,
Drew.
I'll get around to cleaning the inside of the car soon, I promise!
Cheers,
Drew.
We think we're getting down to the last few jobs on the 16v to get it roadworthy.
1. Brake discs all round
2. Tracking - comedy negative toe at the moment
3. Reset timing - Will stick to the stock 6 degrees for the time being and then advance later on.
Other things on the list to make it 'nice' are:
4. New seat runner linings to stop 'wobble'
5. Headliner reseating (not looking forward to that) - It's hanging on by four plastic pins in the roof.
6. Run in engine and replace oil (then we can go above 3k rpms!)
7. Proper detailing inside and out (it's horrible at the moment)
6 is very much C-19 dependent. The car had done 130 miles on the new engine and it needs to do 500 before we can change the oil and up the rpms. Currently that stands at 136. We have driven a mere 6 miles since acquiring the car in November last year!
Cheers,
Drew.
1. Brake discs all round
2. Tracking - comedy negative toe at the moment
3. Reset timing - Will stick to the stock 6 degrees for the time being and then advance later on.
Other things on the list to make it 'nice' are:
4. New seat runner linings to stop 'wobble'
5. Headliner reseating (not looking forward to that) - It's hanging on by four plastic pins in the roof.
6. Run in engine and replace oil (then we can go above 3k rpms!)
7. Proper detailing inside and out (it's horrible at the moment)
6 is very much C-19 dependent. The car had done 130 miles on the new engine and it needs to do 500 before we can change the oil and up the rpms. Currently that stands at 136. We have driven a mere 6 miles since acquiring the car in November last year!
Cheers,
Drew.
Fired the old girl up and moved her around today and fixed a few more minor things - replacement seat runners and adjusted the toe visually.
Exhaust alignment and replacement discs still to be done and bumpers need some cosmetic attention, but she's now getting close to an 'honest' example of small bumper Mk2 Golf GTI 16v. I'll get a really proper clean in at some point too.
Cheers,
Drew.
Exhaust alignment and replacement discs still to be done and bumpers need some cosmetic attention, but she's now getting close to an 'honest' example of small bumper Mk2 Golf GTI 16v.
I'll get a really proper clean in at some point too.Cheers,
Drew.
Edited by drewwa on Thursday 7th May 12:44
Gallons Per Mile said:
Look really smart! Are you keeping those wheels or changing them for original ones?
I'm going to source a set of the original 14" bottlecap alloys, but I'll probably keep these BBS reps as they are 15" and far easier to get half decent rubber for nowadays!Cheers,
Drew.
Short but satisfying upgrade today. Replacing the original rear speakers with some Alpine slot in replacements.
The originals were still working, but as you can see were both past their best and rather surpassed by modern equivalents. No idea what wattage they were but "not many" seems to be about right, they were buzzing and vibrating badly.
The Alpines aren't the last word in audio fidelity, but they are a very easy drop in replacement for the stock locations and (for some reason) the front speakers in the dash had already been replaced with similar items from the Alpine range, so these were a match.
The Blaupunkt headunit definitely sounds better through them and it's now the limiting factor in the system. I'm looking into wiring in a separate modern mp3 player somewhere (perhaps in the glovebox) to give me the option of some additional music in the car. Not sure at the moment. Not much point in trying to make an 80s car a paragon of audio quality given the limitations.
However, the rear speakers in particular use the empty boot to good effect. There's a surprising amount of bass for such a small driver, and it sounds good. Pretty happy thus far.
Cheers,
Drew.
The originals were still working, but as you can see were both past their best and rather surpassed by modern equivalents. No idea what wattage they were but "not many" seems to be about right, they were buzzing and vibrating badly.
The Alpines aren't the last word in audio fidelity, but they are a very easy drop in replacement for the stock locations and (for some reason) the front speakers in the dash had already been replaced with similar items from the Alpine range, so these were a match.
The Blaupunkt headunit definitely sounds better through them and it's now the limiting factor in the system. I'm looking into wiring in a separate modern mp3 player somewhere (perhaps in the glovebox) to give me the option of some additional music in the car. Not sure at the moment. Not much point in trying to make an 80s car a paragon of audio quality given the limitations.
However, the rear speakers in particular use the empty boot to good effect. There's a surprising amount of bass for such a small driver, and it sounds good. Pretty happy thus far.
Cheers,
Drew.
Paul S4 said:
Really interesting read.
Re the audio system, it's amazing how poor OEM speakers are....
I have had a couple of Alfa 156s, which came with the OEM sound system. I read a thread on an Alfa forum, and so via that bought a full set of JBL co-axial speakers which were a very good price.
They swapped over easily, and after disabling the OEM tweeters in the car, I found that the difference in sound was amazing !
The OEM cones were, as your VW ones seem to be, made of 'paper' and the magnets were so light compared to the JBLs ( part of Harmon Kardon IIRC)
Fortunately, my current car, a Volvo C30, has a really decent sound system, so not requiring an upgrade.
I have had a couple of Passats ( an 86 and a 96 )....your sterling work on the dash reminded me of those cars !!
Your Golf looks great.... but not a fan of the current wheels ....but that's IMHO of course !
I didn't like the wheels much to start with, but they have grown on me since. I'm undecided at the moment. The standard and correct 'bottle cap' alloys for the car are a bit dull...Re the audio system, it's amazing how poor OEM speakers are....
I have had a couple of Alfa 156s, which came with the OEM sound system. I read a thread on an Alfa forum, and so via that bought a full set of JBL co-axial speakers which were a very good price.
They swapped over easily, and after disabling the OEM tweeters in the car, I found that the difference in sound was amazing !
The OEM cones were, as your VW ones seem to be, made of 'paper' and the magnets were so light compared to the JBLs ( part of Harmon Kardon IIRC)
Fortunately, my current car, a Volvo C30, has a really decent sound system, so not requiring an upgrade.
I have had a couple of Passats ( an 86 and a 96 )....your sterling work on the dash reminded me of those cars !!
Your Golf looks great.... but not a fan of the current wheels ....but that's IMHO of course !
...and my son already has my favourite BBS RAs on his, so I can't steal his thunder.
Cheers,
Drew.
So... an interesting day on the car today.
First off, we were troubled by a clonk from the rear suspension. Close investigation eventually revealed that the top rubber strut mountings had been put in upside down... Easy fix, but another for our list of bodges we've unpicked!
Today's job was supposed to be the brakes. Parts ordered in advance. The mk2 Golf 16v is fitted with 256mm front discs as standard, so we'd got everything ready...
Only to find that ours wasn't.
It is running the smaller 239mm discs for some reason which isn't immediately obvious. Some really early 16vs apparently had 239mm (standard 8v GTI size), but by late 1988 all 16v should have had the larger discs... I believe anyway!
This gave us a problem. Bigger discs won't fit. Worse, it's not a case of replacing carriers as on this 8v setup the carrier is part of the hub, which means we'd need to take the whole lot off (and replace calipers too) to swap to the 'standard' 256mm setup.
So... quite how our 16v ended up with 8v brakes is a mystery. Question is now... what to do about it.
Kettle is boiling.
Cheers,
Drew.
First off, we were troubled by a clonk from the rear suspension. Close investigation eventually revealed that the top rubber strut mountings had been put in upside down...
Easy fix, but another for our list of bodges we've unpicked!Today's job was supposed to be the brakes. Parts ordered in advance. The mk2 Golf 16v is fitted with 256mm front discs as standard, so we'd got everything ready...
Only to find that ours wasn't.
It is running the smaller 239mm discs for some reason which isn't immediately obvious. Some really early 16vs apparently had 239mm (standard 8v GTI size), but by late 1988 all 16v should have had the larger discs... I believe anyway!
This gave us a problem. Bigger discs won't fit. Worse, it's not a case of replacing carriers as on this 8v setup the carrier is part of the hub, which means we'd need to take the whole lot off (and replace calipers too) to swap to the 'standard' 256mm setup.
So... quite how our 16v ended up with 8v brakes is a mystery. Question is now... what to do about it.
Kettle is boiling.
Cheers,
Drew.
Gallons Per Mile said:
pistolpedro said:
280’s are great but you won’t get 14” Bottle tops over them. Cars coming on nicely
That's a good point actually, my car had 15" aftermarket wheels and the brakes were a bit of a squeeze. I bought some 15" BBS RA, original wheels for a 16v Golf, and I think they would have been ok but I never got around to fitting them before I sold the car.Cheers,
Drew.
Thanks for the tip on the headlining - it's on the list to do.
Last few bits for prepping. Decided to keep the brakes as they are for now (whilst rusty they are serviceable) and I'll see what they feel like on the move before assembling bits to make a change for something a bit better.
Reset the timing today - leaving it at a standard 6 degrees of advance for now.
And then did a rough tune of the Co2 until the engine started to hunt and then wound it back out again. Seems happy, we'll see what the emissions are come MOT time.
Idling really happily (950rpm) now that the wiring, sensors and a basic tune have been completed.
First proper run time looms! I'm going to tax and extend the insurance to cover it on the road from June (assuming lockdown doesn't come back) and give it some light daily driver duties to get the run-in mileage on the rebuilt engine complete, then it's time for a complete service and open her up a little.
Can't wait!
Cheers,
Drew.
Last few bits for prepping. Decided to keep the brakes as they are for now (whilst rusty they are serviceable) and I'll see what they feel like on the move before assembling bits to make a change for something a bit better.
Reset the timing today - leaving it at a standard 6 degrees of advance for now.
And then did a rough tune of the Co2 until the engine started to hunt and then wound it back out again. Seems happy, we'll see what the emissions are come MOT time.
Idling really happily (950rpm) now that the wiring, sensors and a basic tune have been completed.
First proper run time looms! I'm going to tax and extend the insurance to cover it on the road from June (assuming lockdown doesn't come back) and give it some light daily driver duties to get the run-in mileage on the rebuilt engine complete, then it's time for a complete service and open her up a little.
Can't wait!
Cheers,
Drew.
Edited by drewwa on Sunday 17th May 16:04
Thanks for the info. I measured the inlet and it has a small bulge on each inlet adjacent to the spark plugs - measured those to be 50mm external diameter... though I'm not sure if that's what you mean?
With most the mechanicals done for now (until we can drive it and see how it goes) we turned attention to the Florence's bodywork today. Proper wash, clean and decontamination today, with a bit of work on various swirls.
Working to ensure we have a "Tornado Red" car rather than a "Tornado Pink" one as in early pics on this thread! Lots still to do, but she's coming up a treat.
2 weeks until we can drive her!
Cheers,
Drew.
With most the mechanicals done for now (until we can drive it and see how it goes) we turned attention to the Florence's bodywork today. Proper wash, clean and decontamination today, with a bit of work on various swirls.
Working to ensure we have a "Tornado Red" car rather than a "Tornado Pink" one as in early pics on this thread! Lots still to do, but she's coming up a treat.
2 weeks until we can drive her!
Cheers,
Drew.
Edited by drewwa on Monday 18th May 18:31
Edited by drewwa on Monday 18th May 18:32
pistolpedro said:
yes the easiest way to tell is if the runners bulge inwards around the plugs if its a 50mm on the 42mm they are straight, sounds like the your is the 50mm apologies for any confusion. (The picture looked like it had the more pronounced / angled shoulder seen on the 42)
It looks great, red always looked good against the black trim
Yep - they definitely bulge - checked again today. Car now covered up until the 1st of June.. which is GTI launch day!It looks great, red always looked good against the black trim
Cheers,
Drew.
One small tidbit of info. Found out that my 16v is supposed to have 239mm brakes as standard. The early 16vs had, but internet wisdom suggested that they were almost immediately replaced with the bigger 256mm version.
Turns out it wasn't quite "immediate".
Not until chassis number 1G 240000 onwards from November 1988 . Mine is 98k on the chassis and dated about September. Mystery solved!
All set for a drive on Monday. Looking forward to it!
Cheers,
Drew.
Turns out it wasn't quite "immediate".
Not until chassis number 1G 240000 onwards from November 1988 . Mine is 98k on the chassis and dated about September. Mystery solved!
All set for a drive on Monday. Looking forward to it!
Cheers,
Drew.
Edited by drewwa on Saturday 30th May 12:33
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