MK4 Golf R32 Restoration
Discussion
Like most of my car purchases, my 2003 Mk4 Golf R32 was bought compulsively with little rational thinking, and received disapproval from my wife. I attribute the purchase to needing to address an itch since when they first appeared in 2003, seeing if VW had righted the many shortfalls of a Mk4 Golf Gti I briefly owned, and wanting to buy an analogue hot hatch with a big thumping V6.
Contrary to common view, I find the R32 to be more exciting than my wife's MK5 Golf Gti, albeit the Gti is more usable and sharper handling.
I live in New Zealand. The car was sourced from Japan with 150,000km (100,000 miles) and literally has zero rust, which having grown up in the UK was a revelation. Although the car has been well cared for, I've just spent the last year restoring and preserving it, and in doing so spent unjustifiable amounts of money.
Here's an overview of the issues and work done to date, most of which is a consequence of age related issues. I have to credit my local VW Dealership here in Auckland who are genuine car enthusiasts, and who go above and beyond to help me source hard to find parts and keep it running.
1. Repair the disintegrating HVAC, which necessitated me to remove the entire dashboard and deal with 15 year old brittle plastics.
2. I incorrectly placed the car on a lift and bent the two front jacking rails (damn!), which had to be repaired to avoid an NZ MOT failure:
3.Replaced damaged wiring looms, including the very poorly built xenon headlight wires
4. The third gear synchromesh and hub failed, damaging fourth gear with it. At this point I considered scraping the car to avoid a divorce. However, having come this far, I chose to persevere with the car and purchased an entire new gearbox from VW Germany. At the same time I had the timing chain replaced, a new clutch installed, and replaced the gear linkage bushes (thanks YouTube Humble Mechanic). These new items have transformed the driving experience.
5. Other jobs have included replacing:
- perished fuel and brake lines
- various interior plastics that had gone soft, and rejuvenating the leather
- worn suspension mounts and subframe bushes
The next jobs are to refurbish the alloys and replace the very cheap and nasty tyres (fitted by the previous owner), to stop it being so twitchy in the wet. I then intend to enjoy driving it and listening to the engine.
Contrary to common view, I find the R32 to be more exciting than my wife's MK5 Golf Gti, albeit the Gti is more usable and sharper handling.
I live in New Zealand. The car was sourced from Japan with 150,000km (100,000 miles) and literally has zero rust, which having grown up in the UK was a revelation. Although the car has been well cared for, I've just spent the last year restoring and preserving it, and in doing so spent unjustifiable amounts of money.
Here's an overview of the issues and work done to date, most of which is a consequence of age related issues. I have to credit my local VW Dealership here in Auckland who are genuine car enthusiasts, and who go above and beyond to help me source hard to find parts and keep it running.
1. Repair the disintegrating HVAC, which necessitated me to remove the entire dashboard and deal with 15 year old brittle plastics.
2. I incorrectly placed the car on a lift and bent the two front jacking rails (damn!), which had to be repaired to avoid an NZ MOT failure:
3.Replaced damaged wiring looms, including the very poorly built xenon headlight wires
4. The third gear synchromesh and hub failed, damaging fourth gear with it. At this point I considered scraping the car to avoid a divorce. However, having come this far, I chose to persevere with the car and purchased an entire new gearbox from VW Germany. At the same time I had the timing chain replaced, a new clutch installed, and replaced the gear linkage bushes (thanks YouTube Humble Mechanic). These new items have transformed the driving experience.
5. Other jobs have included replacing:
- perished fuel and brake lines
- various interior plastics that had gone soft, and rejuvenating the leather
- worn suspension mounts and subframe bushes
The next jobs are to refurbish the alloys and replace the very cheap and nasty tyres (fitted by the previous owner), to stop it being so twitchy in the wet. I then intend to enjoy driving it and listening to the engine.
NateWM said:
I would say that gearbox cost a pretty penny! Could you not have had it refurbished?
I got various quotes for repairing the box and importing a reconditioned box, which ranged from GBP 1,000 to 3,000. Replacement internal components are very expensive.The new gearbox was NZD 8,000 (GBP 4,000) and included the rear transfer box. The rrp is GBP 6,000. Having committed to keep the car indefinitely and learning the boxes are weak on higher mileage cars, I decided to go for a new box.
I still cannot justify why I've spent that much money on the car though.
Richlee180 said:
I still cannot justify why I've spent that much money on the car though.
...because these cars are fabulous both in concept and execution?I always thought the looks of this generation much better than the Mk5 that followed, really suited the character of the car.
Nice example, more updates please!
You might like to have a read of this thread , my sons R32. lots of information
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=83...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=83...
MXRod said:
You might like to have a read of this thread , my sons R32. lots of information
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=83...
Thanks for the heads-up. I've just read your son's thread and I'm very impressed with his car. There's a lot of useful pointers for me.https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=83...
Richlee180 said:
Thanks for the heads-up. I've just read your son's thread and I'm very impressed with his car. There's a lot of useful pointers for me.
Glad it helped.Good luck with getting your back into shape. It's unfortunate a lot of the parts for these cars are now obsolete. Things like interior trim pieces are now almost impossible to get. Fortunately all the oily bits are really strong so mechanically the car will last along time.
Blue32 said:
Glad it helped.
Good luck with getting your back into shape. It's unfortunate a lot of the parts for these cars are now obsolete. Things like interior trim pieces are now almost impossible to get. Fortunately all the oily bits are really strong so mechanically the car will last along time.
Indeed, the unique R32 parts are becoming very hard to source. VW officially imported 25 cars to NZ and 200 to Aus, so no chance finding used parts here. I've sourced quite a few standard Mk4 parts from breakers, but as those parts are also 15+ years old they tend to be knackered. The Mk4 R32 is falling into a gap between too old for VW to supply new parts and too new to be a recognised classic. Brittle plastic parts are the biggest issue; I avoid dismantling any interior parts now.Good luck with getting your back into shape. It's unfortunate a lot of the parts for these cars are now obsolete. Things like interior trim pieces are now almost impossible to get. Fortunately all the oily bits are really strong so mechanically the car will last along time.
I discovered some rust on the passenger door frame, beneath the rubber wind strip. As it was on the inside of the door, I attempted to treat the rust myself and respray it. Unfortunately my efforts were in vain, as the damn cancer returned. I have since had it professionally repaired and the entire door resprayed.
I cannot complain too much though, as I've not found any other rust yet. It's generally got less rust than all my previous UK cars had and they were far younger. They don't salt the roads here in NZ. The harsh sun (depleted ozone layer) is a big risk to cars left outside.
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I cannot complain too much though, as I've not found any other rust yet. It's generally got less rust than all my previous UK cars had and they were far younger. They don't salt the roads here in NZ. The harsh sun (depleted ozone layer) is a big risk to cars left outside.
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