Mk2 Golf Revival - Blog just coz
Discussion
Hello PHer's
I have never done anything like this before, so I have no idea if anyone will read or find it interesting but here goes nothing!! Lots of posts to come, I would love to hear comments thoughts, advice as I go along
From age Zero, I have always been obsessed/inlove cars and I was fortunate enought to buy my dream car before my 17th birthday. Yes believe it or not, my dream car was indeed a mk2 Golf. i grew up in Zimbabwe where these cars were incredibly rare, particularly in GTI form, and I just always loved that super square boxy iconic design of this shape Golf. I bought a mk2 Golf off a friends parents in early 2006. I can still vivdly remember taking it out for a test drive and being shocked at the engine sound that sounded so raw as well as the heavy steering (no PAS), which was unlike any more modern car I'd driven at the time. I also recall the autochoke doing its thing revving the nuts of the engine when its cold before the waxstat put things into check. I struggle to describe the sheer magnitude of joy of the purchase, because up until that point it really was a lifetime goal to own a mk2 Golf....And yes it wasn't a GTI, but who cares, I had my freedom and the iconic car I'd always sought after.
So I decided to kick of this thread because finally after near 13years of ownership through my teens and twenties, I have finally decide to put car back to its former glory!
I have never done anything like this before, so I have no idea if anyone will read or find it interesting but here goes nothing!! Lots of posts to come, I would love to hear comments thoughts, advice as I go along
From age Zero, I have always been obsessed/inlove cars and I was fortunate enought to buy my dream car before my 17th birthday. Yes believe it or not, my dream car was indeed a mk2 Golf. i grew up in Zimbabwe where these cars were incredibly rare, particularly in GTI form, and I just always loved that super square boxy iconic design of this shape Golf. I bought a mk2 Golf off a friends parents in early 2006. I can still vivdly remember taking it out for a test drive and being shocked at the engine sound that sounded so raw as well as the heavy steering (no PAS), which was unlike any more modern car I'd driven at the time. I also recall the autochoke doing its thing revving the nuts of the engine when its cold before the waxstat put things into check. I struggle to describe the sheer magnitude of joy of the purchase, because up until that point it really was a lifetime goal to own a mk2 Golf....And yes it wasn't a GTI, but who cares, I had my freedom and the iconic car I'd always sought after.
So I decided to kick of this thread because finally after near 13years of ownership through my teens and twenties, I have finally decide to put car back to its former glory!
So how did it get from lovely mint condition Golf Driver to, slightly embarrassing Banger-esque Golf Driver.....
The answer is simple.....I was a fairly typical teenager let loose with a car and after age of 18, the freedom of leaving home and going to uni.....so here's some memorries of him over the years. (Promise I wont stay too long on the sentimental stuff, I think the transformation will be more interesting, but I've got to build up the full picture of history first)
Handbrake turns in the Gravel in Sheffield 2008:
No self respecting teenager didnt regularly practice their handbrake turns....But in hindsight, its this sort of thing that ruined the bodywork.
Drove to Cornwall and my hilarious mates sprayed a power Fire extinguisher all over it - 2007
Tried to change the rear wheel bearings and learned the importance of checking the axle stand position before lowering the jack (this was incredibly hard to lift the car off the ground as couldnt get anything under it!
Countrywide roadtrip, nicknamed the "Rave Tour" 2008 - different city every night and a digusting volume of alcoholic beverages
Visiting my old high school as part of the rave tour - not the smartest idea in hindsight - 2008
My Arty phase - 2008
Home Service 2009
Storage While I love abroad for a year - Thanks mom for the garage space, despite it only being marginally better than leaving it outside -2009
Parked up in the work Carpark (found a buddy) - 2011
Back in Moms garage, - 2012
Got him back on the road and gave him a good treatment - 2012
The answer is simple.....I was a fairly typical teenager let loose with a car and after age of 18, the freedom of leaving home and going to uni.....so here's some memorries of him over the years. (Promise I wont stay too long on the sentimental stuff, I think the transformation will be more interesting, but I've got to build up the full picture of history first)
Handbrake turns in the Gravel in Sheffield 2008:
No self respecting teenager didnt regularly practice their handbrake turns....But in hindsight, its this sort of thing that ruined the bodywork.
Drove to Cornwall and my hilarious mates sprayed a power Fire extinguisher all over it - 2007
Tried to change the rear wheel bearings and learned the importance of checking the axle stand position before lowering the jack (this was incredibly hard to lift the car off the ground as couldnt get anything under it!
Countrywide roadtrip, nicknamed the "Rave Tour" 2008 - different city every night and a digusting volume of alcoholic beverages
Visiting my old high school as part of the rave tour - not the smartest idea in hindsight - 2008
My Arty phase - 2008
Home Service 2009
Storage While I love abroad for a year - Thanks mom for the garage space, despite it only being marginally better than leaving it outside -2009
Parked up in the work Carpark (found a buddy) - 2011
Back in Moms garage, - 2012
Got him back on the road and gave him a good treatment - 2012
Okay so....I've been meaning to get the bodywork sorted out on him for years and years but I kept getting side tracked by buying a different car or bike and so never had the money saved up to do it. UNTIL NOW......I am planning to get married in 2018, and managed to convince the boss lady that there was no better wedding car to have than my beloved Golf. To my amazement she was 100% onboard with the idea, which will no doubt be the only thing I get to decide for the entire wedding planning process! what more could a man ask for.
So here he is in Feb of 2018, having just covered 7,000miles over the winter months - I was doing ~70miles a day round trip commute and was AMAZED how many broken down cars I saw on the hard shoulder while zoomed past carefree in my 30year old "banger"
These are the before shots.....I'm hoping by June I might be able to publish some 'after' photos.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/ld6PYZ5Z[/url][url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/VGn4Eklv[/url]
So here he is in Feb of 2018, having just covered 7,000miles over the winter months - I was doing ~70miles a day round trip commute and was AMAZED how many broken down cars I saw on the hard shoulder while zoomed past carefree in my 30year old "banger"
These are the before shots.....I'm hoping by June I might be able to publish some 'after' photos.
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/ld6PYZ5Z[/url][url]|https://thumbsnap.com/VGn4Eklv[/url]So....the one thing that I really struggled with prior to taking on a fulll body respray was there was a widely varying cost that people seemed to be paying, so I found it hard to budget for before going and speaking to bodyshops. Forums seemed to have some people saying they could get it done for £1k, and others saying you need to spend minimum £3-4k for the job. It was difficult to get quotes done with the car in storage, so in October 2017 I made the Golf my daily car for the first time in a few years and started doing legwork with some professionals to do the work.
I toyed with the idea of taking on a lot of the work myself. I am a competent DIY mechanics and will give most jobs a go, but when I looked into it, it seems getting a good finish really does require skill and the right eye. If I had more time, I think I would have bought a wreck of a car, and practices doing all the prep work such as sanding, filler, welding etc. However, given my time scale and desire to do justice to my most prized possession, i decided to find a pro.
- I took the car to Volks magic in Oldbury, Birmingham for a quote for exterior respray only, including door/railgate/bonnet shuts they wanted £3500 and earliest they could fit me in was November 2018 (no good for my September wedding)
- I then got a quote from SH Autos in Bromsgrove - £2700+VAT = £3300.
VAT is an enormous pain in the backside. And people always quote you and say "plus VAT" as if its some meanigless insignificant additional cost - its 20%!!!! and when you are into the thousands for a job, 20% aint insignificant.
I toyed with the idea of taking on a lot of the work myself. I am a competent DIY mechanics and will give most jobs a go, but when I looked into it, it seems getting a good finish really does require skill and the right eye. If I had more time, I think I would have bought a wreck of a car, and practices doing all the prep work such as sanding, filler, welding etc. However, given my time scale and desire to do justice to my most prized possession, i decided to find a pro.
- I took the car to Volks magic in Oldbury, Birmingham for a quote for exterior respray only, including door/railgate/bonnet shuts they wanted £3500 and earliest they could fit me in was November 2018 (no good for my September wedding)
- I then got a quote from SH Autos in Bromsgrove - £2700+VAT = £3300.
VAT is an enormous pain in the backside. And people always quote you and say "plus VAT" as if its some meanigless insignificant additional cost - its 20%!!!! and when you are into the thousands for a job, 20% aint insignificant.
aka_kerrly said:
Bargain motoring!
That should be worth more than £500 now ( with a good clean!) given that there are considerably less MK2s on the road especially those being used as daily drivers these days than there were in 2005.
Long live the mk2!!!! Youve got a good one there, Driver spec in a good colour plus 3 door is desirable.
Thanks! And thanks to you all for your encouraging and warm words. Tis a little scary posting on a forum for the first time!!That should be worth more than £500 now ( with a good clean!) given that there are considerably less MK2s on the road especially those being used as daily drivers these days than there were in 2005.
Long live the mk2!!!! Youve got a good one there, Driver spec in a good colour plus 3 door is desirable.
So in the end I opted for a friend's Uncle who came highly recommended and he was going to take on the job in his spare time, and this gets me round the whole business of VAT. So, for the respray including all prep work and welding, we agreed on a price on £2400.
I have meticulously documented every cost of the work being done and I'm happy to share my spreadsheet with anyone who is interested or wants to get an idea of overall cost of a similar project.
Car was dropped of on the 23rd of March to my man and the magical transformation process began. Note that I opted for an exterior respray only because the inside is still in pretty good condition, and my aim with this work is more to keep the car alive as opposed to a nut and bolt restoration. My intention is to keep for the rest of my life, so I needed to do something to make sure it stops rotting (for a few more years).
Pics of work started to follow......
I have meticulously documented every cost of the work being done and I'm happy to share my spreadsheet with anyone who is interested or wants to get an idea of overall cost of a similar project.
Car was dropped of on the 23rd of March to my man and the magical transformation process began. Note that I opted for an exterior respray only because the inside is still in pretty good condition, and my aim with this work is more to keep the car alive as opposed to a nut and bolt restoration. My intention is to keep for the rest of my life, so I needed to do something to make sure it stops rotting (for a few more years).
Pics of work started to follow......
|https://thumbsnap.com/epg8RrzB[/url]So as you can see, I got the dreaded phone call to tell me there is some unexpected rot. those cheeky grey plastic arch trims have been keeping the moisture and the salt it. After I got over the inflated sense of worry after the phone call with my man at the bodyshop, I went down there to have a closer look. Considering the car is almost 30 years old, I now consider myself quite lucky to have so little rot, especially when I think back to the many winter months the car saw salty roads. Its only the rear arches and its not all the way round.
I breifly considered cheaping out and not doing it properly but remembered that I want to keep this car for life, so whats a few extra quid to do it right!
There is however a hole coming up from the sill into the rear arch - Turns out it was caused by the palstic clip that holds the arch trim to the sill being missing. clearly water and all sorts of gunk got up there and caused problems - My advise to anyone with a mk2, just have a quick look at the front of the arch trim where it joins the sill (under the car) and make sure your plastic clip is there - if it isnt, stuff will go up the hole and start to rot the floor and the wheel arch from inside the car! When I took of the rear door card I could see a hole through the floor and another hole into the rear wheel arch area - BEWARE!
Plan is to cut the bad bits out and weld some plates in the floor and inside the arch - Feels very strange cutting into my baby, but I know it's for the greater good!
Front arches seem pretty good under the trim:
I breifly considered cheaping out and not doing it properly but remembered that I want to keep this car for life, so whats a few extra quid to do it right!
There is however a hole coming up from the sill into the rear arch - Turns out it was caused by the palstic clip that holds the arch trim to the sill being missing. clearly water and all sorts of gunk got up there and caused problems - My advise to anyone with a mk2, just have a quick look at the front of the arch trim where it joins the sill (under the car) and make sure your plastic clip is there - if it isnt, stuff will go up the hole and start to rot the floor and the wheel arch from inside the car! When I took of the rear door card I could see a hole through the floor and another hole into the rear wheel arch area - BEWARE!
Plan is to cut the bad bits out and weld some plates in the floor and inside the arch - Feels very strange cutting into my baby, but I know it's for the greater good!
Front arches seem pretty good under the trim:
So the great thing about these cars is that parts are so reasonable priced - Left and right repair panels for the rear arches are £23 each delivered. (see link below).
Rear arch Repair panels
https://www.vwheritage.com/191809834-rear-wheel-ar...
Rear arch Repair panels
https://www.vwheritage.com/191809834-rear-wheel-ar...
Replacement front bumper arrived yesterday!! My old bumper has got "the sag", as the sliders have broken on both sides (thanks to some Parisian parking when I left him overnight in the centre of Paris - clearly the locals make use of their bumpers to get into tight spots)
I've decided to go for a replacement one with the chrome trim.....But not sure now if that was a good idea....Will it work on my car? Have I lost its original factory look, which is what I was going for?
£70 on ebay Delivered, proper OEM part
I've decided to go for a replacement one with the chrome trim.....But not sure now if that was a good idea....Will it work on my car? Have I lost its original factory look, which is what I was going for?
£70 on ebay Delivered, proper OEM part
Msportman said:
Here’s another pic
Car was featured in VW Driver many years ago when I built its current spec at Tim Stiles Racing.
I was going to sell although I can’t part with it!
It's so great to see other people holding on to them! you must be pretty attached to yours after 22 years!!Car was featured in VW Driver many years ago when I built its current spec at Tim Stiles Racing.
I was going to sell although I can’t part with it!
Things are progressing nicely.....the cancerous rust has been chopped out or ground away in prep for the repair panels. I'm in awe of how "simple" it is to just cut out and put back in. My man doesnt seem phased by it in the slightness whereas I have all these questions running thorough my head - how do you get the cuts accurate,what if you mess it up, how do you get it to look good after there are weld line, what will it look like afterwards?! Maybe I worry too much.....the results are impressive (well at least to me as a newbie to bodywork)
Here's what it looked like after the cutting out/grinding....
Here's what it looked like after the cutting out/grinding....
Now for the roof:
This was possible the most obviously poor bit of bodywork on the car - it was creased and dented like mad. this means that it needed BARE filler (bare is slang for s
tloads of). Im told this is huge amount of filler spread across the whole surface is needed to prevent "pooling" of the filler in the various dents etc
This was a whole day's work to get right. Its hard to tell from photos, but believe you me, it is an enormous improvement
And the final product, ready for Primer
This was possible the most obviously poor bit of bodywork on the car - it was creased and dented like mad. this means that it needed BARE filler (bare is slang for s
tloads of). Im told this is huge amount of filler spread across the whole surface is needed to prevent "pooling" of the filler in the various dents etcThis was a whole day's work to get right. Its hard to tell from photos, but believe you me, it is an enormous improvement
And the final product, ready for Primer
So the rear Window is out.....
The good news is, I had already bought replacement windows and seals for the rear because back in 2009 some scumbag scratched grafitti into it! O well, this window wont have the original etching of the number plate, but such is life.
I managed to get two rear windows (second hand OEM parts) and seals for £25 on ebay, delivered to the door a couple of years ago. BARGAIN
The good news is, I had already bought replacement windows and seals for the rear because back in 2009 some scumbag scratched grafitti into it! O well, this window wont have the original etching of the number plate, but such is life.
I managed to get two rear windows (second hand OEM parts) and seals for £25 on ebay, delivered to the door a couple of years ago. BARGAIN
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