Mk2 Golf GTi 20v Turbo Soon To Be Daily.....
Discussion
Evening,
A few months ago I started hankering after a Mk2 Scirocco to use as my daily driver. My BMW 530i is wasted for the amount I actually use it and to be honest it’s a really boring car to drive! I went and looked at a couple of Sciroccos that were absolutely hanging so was keeping an eye out for any others that popped up for sale. My friends kept asking why I didn’t fancy a Mk2 Golf instead. My response was that they just didn’t grab me like the Scirocco did. Anyway I kept looking at Sciroccos and kept walking away disappointed with them. A few weeks after I started my search my Brother mentioned that he was going to sell his Mk2 Golf 20v Turbo (that’s been sat in my garden for the last 3ish years!) because he’s never going to get around to sorting it. I enquired as to how much he wanted and couldn’t get the money in his hand quick enough
Anyway, this is the Golf in question.
Now I’m sure you’ll all agree that it looks pretty good in that picture. I think so too. However that picture was taken about 5 years ago when the Golf was still in daily use by my Brother. Since then it’s been parked on gravel in my back garden and hasn’t moved! A couple of people have mentioned it when it’s been spotted in the background of my Caddy Van project thread - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Well that was a couple of months ago, and because my Caddy has been on the driveway and hasn’t been moveable the Golf has just stayed where it’s been sitting, waiting for me to get around to it!
Last week my van went off to have some custom engine mounts made so as soon as I finished work on Saturday I decided it was time to get the Golf onto the driveway and give it a look over. Unfortunately the Golf doesn’t start at the moment. It’s got a knackered Toad alarm and immobiliser which stops it from doing anything and even once you get past that it would appear the fuel pump won’t prime! This meant the Golf would need to be towed onto the driveway. This was a bit of a challenge by myself but armed with my trusty 530i and a tow rope, slowly but surely it made its way back onto the drive
Now unfortunately where it’s been sat for a few years next doors ivy has attached itself to the drivers side, so once it was on the drive this is what it looked like 
I decided the first thing it needed was jet washing off. That took a good 40 minutes to get everything off and it looks surprisingly presentable again While I was at it I removed the knackered badgeless front grill as well.
I’ll chuck some more updates up in a bit
A few months ago I started hankering after a Mk2 Scirocco to use as my daily driver. My BMW 530i is wasted for the amount I actually use it and to be honest it’s a really boring car to drive! I went and looked at a couple of Sciroccos that were absolutely hanging so was keeping an eye out for any others that popped up for sale. My friends kept asking why I didn’t fancy a Mk2 Golf instead. My response was that they just didn’t grab me like the Scirocco did. Anyway I kept looking at Sciroccos and kept walking away disappointed with them. A few weeks after I started my search my Brother mentioned that he was going to sell his Mk2 Golf 20v Turbo (that’s been sat in my garden for the last 3ish years!) because he’s never going to get around to sorting it. I enquired as to how much he wanted and couldn’t get the money in his hand quick enough
Anyway, this is the Golf in question.
Now I’m sure you’ll all agree that it looks pretty good in that picture. I think so too. However that picture was taken about 5 years ago when the Golf was still in daily use by my Brother. Since then it’s been parked on gravel in my back garden and hasn’t moved! A couple of people have mentioned it when it’s been spotted in the background of my Caddy Van project thread - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Well that was a couple of months ago, and because my Caddy has been on the driveway and hasn’t been moveable the Golf has just stayed where it’s been sitting, waiting for me to get around to it!
Last week my van went off to have some custom engine mounts made so as soon as I finished work on Saturday I decided it was time to get the Golf onto the driveway and give it a look over. Unfortunately the Golf doesn’t start at the moment. It’s got a knackered Toad alarm and immobiliser which stops it from doing anything and even once you get past that it would appear the fuel pump won’t prime! This meant the Golf would need to be towed onto the driveway. This was a bit of a challenge by myself but armed with my trusty 530i and a tow rope, slowly but surely it made its way back onto the drive
Now unfortunately where it’s been sat for a few years next doors ivy has attached itself to the drivers side, so once it was on the drive this is what it looked like 
I decided the first thing it needed was jet washing off. That took a good 40 minutes to get everything off and it looks surprisingly presentable again
While I was at it I removed the knackered badgeless front grill as well. 
I’ll chuck some more updates up in a bit
I found this video on my phone. This was about 8 years ago at Santa Pod. My Brother had only recently had the 20v Turbo fitted.
https://vimeo.com/297501690
https://vimeo.com/297501690
The idea of this Golf is to turn the exterior largely back to standard. The way it currently looks is how my brother wanted it. Although it’s nice it’s not really my cup of tea and definitely not daily material.
With that in mind I stuck the Azev wheels up on eBay the other night and by 10am the following day they had sold. Luckily I have already bought a set of 15inch BBS RA’s so I stopped at my lockup on the way home yesterday and collected them. I then spent an hour with a rubber mallet trying to get the Azev’s off the car haha. They had become part of it! Anyway, the guy picked up his new wheels late last night so I took a couple of pics in the dark of the Golf with its new shoes I love them, although the G60 arches make them look ridiculous. Good job I’ve bought a set of standard GTi arches today
I’ll also be replacing the tyres with a slightly higher profile for added comfort (does that make me sound old?) and I’ve got a set of Bilstein shocks and Eibach springs to go on it too
With that in mind I stuck the Azev wheels up on eBay the other night and by 10am the following day they had sold. Luckily I have already bought a set of 15inch BBS RA’s so I stopped at my lockup on the way home yesterday and collected them. I then spent an hour with a rubber mallet trying to get the Azev’s off the car haha. They had become part of it! Anyway, the guy picked up his new wheels late last night so I took a couple of pics in the dark of the Golf with its new shoes
I love them, although the G60 arches make them look ridiculous. Good job I’ve bought a set of standard GTi arches today 
I’ll also be replacing the tyres with a slightly higher profile for added comfort (does that make me sound old?) and I’ve got a set of Bilstein shocks and Eibach springs to go on it too
I took half a days holiday today (got to use it all up!) so after going into town for some bits I headed home and decided to try and figure out why the Golf doesn’t start. When turning the ignition on the fuel pump should prime for a few seconds. It doesn’t do this anymore. I found some evidence of mice living in the car at some stage so figured they’d taken a liking to the wiring and nicked a bit. I figured the best thing to do was to get the car in the air and check what’s going on with the in-line pump under the car.
Once it was as high as I could get it and a couple of axle stands were underneath I squeezed myself under there to find the pump. First thing I did was to connect the pump directly to a battery and see if it burst into life. It made a couple of half arsed noises but didn’t really do much pumping. Looks like it’s the pump then! Just to be sure I checked for a live feed to the wiring plug with the ignition on. Thankfully there is one which means the mice have left the wiring alone
Seeing as my diagnosis powers had worked today I figured I better get the pump off the car so I could get a part number etc. I was dreading this bit. All the fixings looked like they were going to snap off as soon as I showed them the ratchet. I carried on anyway because whatever happened the pump needed to come out! To my surprise nothing snapped and within a few minutes the pump was off and on the bench
Unfortunately the three Philips head screws that hold the pump into the housing were rotten and I had no chance of undoing them like that. I started drilling through them but figured it was going to take me ages. So out came the Dremel to cut some slots into the screw heads instead
It did the trick and within a few minutes the pump was out
The next dilemma is do I replace it with another identical pump or do I upgrade it to something a bit beefier? I don’t know if there is anything bigger that will still fit in the housing. Time to do some research.
Once it was as high as I could get it and a couple of axle stands were underneath I squeezed myself under there to find the pump. First thing I did was to connect the pump directly to a battery and see if it burst into life. It made a couple of half arsed noises but didn’t really do much pumping. Looks like it’s the pump then! Just to be sure I checked for a live feed to the wiring plug with the ignition on. Thankfully there is one which means the mice have left the wiring alone
Seeing as my diagnosis powers had worked today I figured I better get the pump off the car so I could get a part number etc. I was dreading this bit. All the fixings looked like they were going to snap off as soon as I showed them the ratchet. I carried on anyway because whatever happened the pump needed to come out! To my surprise nothing snapped and within a few minutes the pump was off and on the bench
Unfortunately the three Philips head screws that hold the pump into the housing were rotten and I had no chance of undoing them like that. I started drilling through them but figured it was going to take me ages. So out came the Dremel to cut some slots into the screw heads instead
It did the trick and within a few minutes the pump was out
The next dilemma is do I replace it with another identical pump or do I upgrade it to something a bit beefier? I don’t know if there is anything bigger that will still fit in the housing. Time to do some research.
chrismc1977 said:
Will make for a surprisingly fast daily!
What’s the rest of the spec engine/gearbox & brakes wise?
Have owned several tweaked mk2’s myself...
It was originally an 8v GTi. When my brother bought it it had been converted to a G60 with approx 240bhp. It was lightning quick! Unfortunately the supercharger lunched itself a couple of months after he bought it and the engine sucked everything up and was destroyed. That’s when it went 20v. It’s an AGU engine which is from an early Mk4 Golf GTi and has 150bhp. It’s running OEM engine management so has an OBD port (somewhere!) which is handy. It’s running G60 brakes with braided lines on the front and standard GTi discs on the rear. I’m not sure on the gearbox. I need to have a look and try to find the code. What’s the rest of the spec engine/gearbox & brakes wise?
Have owned several tweaked mk2’s myself...
Dr G said:
...however the Club GTI and MK2 Golf 20VT Facebook pages are very active.
Great project and I'd go the same way, MK2s look so good standard(ish) there's little need to mess around much.
The RAs will look great with the standard arches and tyres back on. Looks like they're on 40/45s at the minute. 195/50 looks far better.
Bookmarked.
You’re correct with the tyres. I’ve order some 195/50 to put on instead. Great project and I'd go the same way, MK2s look so good standard(ish) there's little need to mess around much.
The RAs will look great with the standard arches and tyres back on. Looks like they're on 40/45s at the minute. 195/50 looks far better.
Bookmarked.
darkyoung1000 said:
Monsieur, with this and the Caddy project, you are really spoiling us!
Will be lovely to follow this resurrection project, good luck!
Haha well I aim to please. Although hopefully this doesn’t turn into too much of a project. The idea is to get it to a point where it can be used as a daily (I say daily but I walk to work so it’s more a weekend car) and then just sort bits and bobs along the way Will be lovely to follow this resurrection project, good luck!
A couple of bits arrived today The fuel pump is here so I can get the housing cleaned up tomorrow and hopefully get it back on the car this Sunday
My Brother reminded me the other day that most of the bulbs in the instrument cluster don’t work so I ordered a set of LED bulbs to put in
The fuel pump is here so I can get the housing cleaned up tomorrow and hopefully get it back on the car this Sunday 
My Brother reminded me the other day that most of the bulbs in the instrument cluster don’t work so I ordered a set of LED bulbs to put in
Got a bit more done today and very almost had the car running
The new fuel pump arrived during the week and I picked up a new fuel filter as well. I “borrowed” some fuel pipe from work as well seeing as what was on their was quite perished.
Into the shed I went, got the old filter off, secured a couple of snapped rubber mounts and then got the new filter and pump fitted.
Once that was all together I squeezed myself back under the car and bolted the whole assembly back on. I did manage to get myself stuck at one point. I tried to turn over while I was under there and got wedged haha. I’m sure all the spiders were having a good laugh at me!
With the pump fitted and a freshly charged battery in the engine bay it was the moment of truth!
https://vimeo.com/298871770
As you can see it’s trying it’s hardest but can’t quite manage it. I thought maybe it’s because the back end was still jacked up, so I dropped it back on the floor, put some more fuel in and tried again.
https://vimeo.com/298871785
Annoyingly it still wasn’t having it. Although I did suddenly notice the fuel gauge wasn’t working. Hmmmmm I wonder if the lift pump had also packed up. Soooo, I emptied the boot and unbolted the plate for the lift pump.
I had a slight fright when I took the cover off and a false widow spider was nestled under there! A bit of brake cleaner soon saw it off and I continued removing the pump.
It’s not good news. The lift pump is also knackered! Thankfully someone on a Mk2 group on Facebook has just swapped to a Mk3 tank and has a very good condition lift pump which he’s posting to me ASAP
I did look at rebuilding mine but everything is some badly corroded I think it would be too much hassle!
Anyway, I packed everything up and headed back in, but not before taking one last photo
The new fuel pump arrived during the week and I picked up a new fuel filter as well. I “borrowed” some fuel pipe from work as well seeing as what was on their was quite perished.
Into the shed I went, got the old filter off, secured a couple of snapped rubber mounts and then got the new filter and pump fitted.
Once that was all together I squeezed myself back under the car and bolted the whole assembly back on. I did manage to get myself stuck at one point. I tried to turn over while I was under there and got wedged haha. I’m sure all the spiders were having a good laugh at me!
With the pump fitted and a freshly charged battery in the engine bay it was the moment of truth!
https://vimeo.com/298871770
As you can see it’s trying it’s hardest but can’t quite manage it. I thought maybe it’s because the back end was still jacked up, so I dropped it back on the floor, put some more fuel in and tried again.
https://vimeo.com/298871785
Annoyingly it still wasn’t having it. Although I did suddenly notice the fuel gauge wasn’t working. Hmmmmm I wonder if the lift pump had also packed up. Soooo, I emptied the boot and unbolted the plate for the lift pump.
I had a slight fright when I took the cover off and a false widow spider was nestled under there! A bit of brake cleaner soon saw it off and I continued removing the pump.
It’s not good news. The lift pump is also knackered! Thankfully someone on a Mk2 group on Facebook has just swapped to a Mk3 tank and has a very good condition lift pump which he’s posting to me ASAP
I did look at rebuilding mine but everything is some badly corroded I think it would be too much hassle!
Anyway, I packed everything up and headed back in, but not before taking one last photo
An update
After finding the lift pump was absolutely rotten I had to decide what to do next. Do I try and rebuild the knackered pump or see if I can find a used one in good condition. After checking eBay and not finding one I figured I’d try and rebuild mine.
This is what I had to work with!
Out came the Dremel to try and clean up all the furry and rusty connections. I managed to get the green off them but then spotted that most of the connections were only held on by a couple of strands. Out came the soldering iron and some replacement wire and it was soon looking a little more sensible.
Once all that was done I started searching for just a pump, minus the sender unit. I found plenty but while I was checking the dimensions I realised the sender unit was also knackered. It turns out it’s spring loaded at the top, but my one is seized solid. I tried to free it off but it wasn’t budging At this point I got onto one of the Mk2 Golf groups on Facebook to see if I could find a replacement. Thankfully someone appeared with a pump in excellent condition. Some money was exchanged and he headed straight to the Post Office to send it to me
It arrived today and I can safely say it’s a million times better than my knackered pump!
As soon as I got home I headed outside in the rain and dark and got on with getting it fitted. It took a bit of figuring out on how to get it back in the tank but once that was sorted it went in and bolted up nice and easily.
With it fitted, wired up and the top plate screwed back down it was time to get a battery back on there. Out came my van battery and fingers crossed.
https://vimeo.com/299288643
It’s alive Finally!
It runs like a sack of s
t, but it runs! I’ve got some fresh plugs, oil and filter in the shed so I’ll get that lot swapped later this week and hopefully that’ll improve things a little. Then it’s time to refresh the suspension, clean up the brakes and then chuck it through an MOT and see what it fails on
After finding the lift pump was absolutely rotten I had to decide what to do next. Do I try and rebuild the knackered pump or see if I can find a used one in good condition. After checking eBay and not finding one I figured I’d try and rebuild mine.
This is what I had to work with!
Out came the Dremel to try and clean up all the furry and rusty connections. I managed to get the green off them but then spotted that most of the connections were only held on by a couple of strands. Out came the soldering iron and some replacement wire and it was soon looking a little more sensible.
Once all that was done I started searching for just a pump, minus the sender unit. I found plenty but while I was checking the dimensions I realised the sender unit was also knackered. It turns out it’s spring loaded at the top, but my one is seized solid. I tried to free it off but it wasn’t budging
At this point I got onto one of the Mk2 Golf groups on Facebook to see if I could find a replacement. Thankfully someone appeared with a pump in excellent condition. Some money was exchanged and he headed straight to the Post Office to send it to me It arrived today and I can safely say it’s a million times better than my knackered pump!
As soon as I got home I headed outside in the rain and dark and got on with getting it fitted. It took a bit of figuring out on how to get it back in the tank but once that was sorted it went in and bolted up nice and easily.
With it fitted, wired up and the top plate screwed back down it was time to get a battery back on there. Out came my van battery and fingers crossed.
https://vimeo.com/299288643
It’s alive
Finally! It runs like a sack of s
t, but it runs! I’ve got some fresh plugs, oil and filter in the shed so I’ll get that lot swapped later this week and hopefully that’ll improve things a little. Then it’s time to refresh the suspension, clean up the brakes and then chuck it through an MOT and see what it fails on Greendubber said:
Sounds pretty good to me if it's been standing a while. Once it started it seemed to idle OK.
I had the same engine in an A3 so know my way around them, I reckon a new set of plugs, fresh fuel, fresh oil, clean the throttle body and the MAF and it'll be sweet as a nut. The air filter looks a bit small mind.
Yeh everything will be having a clean up. I’ve ordered an air box from a Mk4. I’ve seen people fit them so going to give it a try. I had the same engine in an A3 so know my way around them, I reckon a new set of plugs, fresh fuel, fresh oil, clean the throttle body and the MAF and it'll be sweet as a nut. The air filter looks a bit small mind.
I had a decent haul of bits arrive today
I’ve got all the caps, nuts, washers, bump stops etc to be able to remove the rather knackered coilovers and fit shocks and springs back on the car.
I also ordered a set of centre caps for the BBS RA’s. I wasn’t willing to stretch to almost £50 for a genuine set so these eBay specials for £5.99 plus some BBS decals will do the trick for now. I’m not made of money haha! There was also a replacement aerial hole cap for the front wing and a new oil pump strainer from TPS. These engines are well known for getting a clogged strainer and then starving themselves of oil so it’s getting replaced just in case.
Annoyingly it’s absolutely pissed it down all day today so there’s no chance of getting out there tonight to do anything. It’s probably going to be Sunday now before I get a chance to do any more. It’s getting there though
I’ve got all the caps, nuts, washers, bump stops etc to be able to remove the rather knackered coilovers and fit shocks and springs back on the car.
I also ordered a set of centre caps for the BBS RA’s. I wasn’t willing to stretch to almost £50 for a genuine set so these eBay specials for £5.99 plus some BBS decals will do the trick for now. I’m not made of money haha! There was also a replacement aerial hole cap for the front wing and a new oil pump strainer from TPS. These engines are well known for getting a clogged strainer and then starving themselves of oil so it’s getting replaced just in case.
Annoyingly it’s absolutely pissed it down all day today so there’s no chance of getting out there tonight to do anything. It’s probably going to be Sunday now before I get a chance to do any more. It’s getting there though
Work was absolutely dead today and after a couple of hours of sitting around doing nothing I decided to take the rest of the day off! As soon as I got home I got the Golf up onto axle stands and proceeded to get the front coilovers off. While I was at it I removed both front arch trims as well. They’re G60 trims which are waaaay too wide for standard size wheels.
Once the old ones were off I got to work building up the new ones. It makes a change to be putting something brand new together
Getting them onto the car was a bit of a challenge. Trying to push the lower arm down enough to slot the strut in and then trying to get it all bolted up as well! I managed it though and soon enough the Bilstein shocks and Eibach springs were fitted
Once they were on I cleaned up both front wings where they had been covered in tiger seal for years. It’s a shame the previous owner knackered these wings really, but at least I can fit the GTi arch trims back over to hide the bodgery underneath!
While the car was in the air I decided I wanted to fit my GTi grill. When I first got the car back onto the driveway I threw away the knackered badgeless grill and bought this one.
Once that was on it was time to drop the car back onto the floor and see how much higher the front it.
Personally I think it looks much more presentable and once the back is sorted and I’ve got the right sized tyre fitted it’ll look just right
Seeing as it was still light I decided to have a quick look at why the dash illumination doesn’t work. Initially I thought it was just the speedo that didn’t light up but upon checking it’s actually the whole dash
After removing everything it suddenly got dark haha so that was it for the day. I’ll have a look at the illumination over the weekend.
All in all it’s been a productive day off. I’m still waiting for the rear bump stops to arrive and then I can swap the rear shocks over. Annoyingly the tyre fitter isn’t at work tomorrow so next week I’ll drive the car to work, get him to change the tyres and then do the tracking. Then I guess I’ll put it through an MOT to see what’s required.
Once the old ones were off I got to work building up the new ones. It makes a change to be putting something brand new together
Getting them onto the car was a bit of a challenge. Trying to push the lower arm down enough to slot the strut in and then trying to get it all bolted up as well! I managed it though and soon enough the Bilstein shocks and Eibach springs were fitted
Once they were on I cleaned up both front wings where they had been covered in tiger seal for years. It’s a shame the previous owner knackered these wings really, but at least I can fit the GTi arch trims back over to hide the bodgery underneath!
While the car was in the air I decided I wanted to fit my GTi grill. When I first got the car back onto the driveway I threw away the knackered badgeless grill and bought this one.
Once that was on it was time to drop the car back onto the floor and see how much higher the front it.
Personally I think it looks much more presentable and once the back is sorted and I’ve got the right sized tyre fitted it’ll look just right
Seeing as it was still light I decided to have a quick look at why the dash illumination doesn’t work. Initially I thought it was just the speedo that didn’t light up but upon checking it’s actually the whole dash
After removing everything it suddenly got dark haha so that was it for the day. I’ll have a look at the illumination over the weekend.
All in all it’s been a productive day off. I’m still waiting for the rear bump stops to arrive and then I can swap the rear shocks over. Annoyingly the tyre fitter isn’t at work tomorrow so next week I’ll drive the car to work, get him to change the tyres and then do the tracking. Then I guess I’ll put it through an MOT to see what’s required.
Annoyingly it’s been raining for the majority of today which has ruined any chance of working on the Golf. However it didn’t stop me from picking up a set of original rear light clusters to replace the crystal ones that are currently fitted.
I also removed the headlight switch to get the part number. I know you can’t tell much by just looking at it but it doesn’t look very old. I’ve found a replacement but it’s £25 which is a lot of money if it turns out the switch isn’t the problem.
I also removed the headlight switch to get the part number. I know you can’t tell much by just looking at it but it doesn’t look very old. I’ve found a replacement but it’s £25 which is a lot of money if it turns out the switch isn’t the problem.
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