Saving A Full Spec 3 Door VR6

Started by LouieP, December 19, 2019, 11:20:54 PM

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LouieP

#80
Got the car back from the mechanic...yes, you heard right...the mechanic. My back has had enough of this thing. To sum it up, this is what was in the boxes in the previous post.

Rear end
Rear beam bushings - Lemforder
Handbrake cables x2 - Dorman

Front end
LCA bushing replacement - Front R32 Solid bushings / rear standard replacements - Lemforder/Rein
Complete Tie Rods with new boots - Delphi Technologies / Beck/Arnley
Ball Joints - Mevotech
Front Anti Roll Bar endlinks -  Vaico
Front Anti Roll Bar bushings - Delphi Technologies
Steering Rack Bushing - Febi Bilstein
Both Inner and Out CV Boot replacement - Rein

Engine Mounts
Black Forest Industries Stage 0.5 mounts w/ G60 transmission mount

Fluids
Brake fluid completely replaced
Coolant flush and replaced with G13
Power Steering Fluid replacement

Fresh warrant after nearly 2 years  :police:

Unfortunately when the mechanic took apart the drivers side inner CV boot the whole thing came apart so a new inner CV was put in.

I was a little skeptical on getting poly engine mounts at first but after joining a few Australian Mk3 groups on facebook, it turns out a lot of them were running them in their vr and they said it was super smooth and the perfect match. I somewhat agree with them. They are amazing

First stop after picking her up. A natural habitat for a vr6


Day 2: Found an excuse to go to the gym  :angel:


Spring Jamboree was approaching that weekend so Saturday was spent pampering her. The paintwork on her has still not been touched as I had other priorities. I gave her a wash, clay and threw on an oily concourse show wax.


We made it and I was quite shocked but stoked that she took out second place in the MK3 category. There were many other cars out there that were in pristine shape however it certainly feels good to be rewarded for all the work that has gone into this car in the past few months

Spring Jamboree








A photo with two other winners. Mitch Cowies OEM+ MK4 R32 and Sam Hamilton's stunning ED30 both of which took first place in their category respectively.


My car was definitely one of the few older golfs that were stock and the drive to the show with sunroof open was music to my ears. Also have noticed that there are very few vr6's with sunroofs left in NZ

This car is still not close to where I want to have it in the next couple of months. Till next time.
NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

LouieP

I've been daily driving this since getting it back and its been fantastic. A little expensive to run with current fuel prices and the lack of self control on the loud pedal.

The engine bay was filthy and I am very sure its never been washed before. Now that everything is sorted out mechanically, there was no reason to put the engine detail off any further

I started off by completely stripping out the engine bay meaning the battery was removed, all engine covers, the airbox and intake boot.

This is what we were left with, lots of sludge, dirt and grime:







All electric connectors were covered up with tin foil, plastic bags and a rubber glove. I placed an order with Volkswagen Classic Parts.de couple months ago for some bits that were not readily available and one of them was the screws that hold that hold one of the covers over the coil pack on.



Multiple degreasers and brushes were used to get the result needed and a total of around 4-5 hours. The engine bay was a a lot dirtier than I expected.

Bay put back together. Engine cover painted VHT Wrinkle black, some Bremi US spec MK4 12V leads and a new NGK coil pack since my current one had a crack that was causing some low speed misfires. Also threw on a hot air intake for the noise. If anyone has a heatshield or something similar please let me know.



Quite happy with the car at this stage however can definitely tell the shocks/springs are definitely tired. If anyone has a mild drop spring shock combo, I could be very interested.

Thanks for reading.
NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

brian

Quite a transformation and well worth the effort
Škoda Fabia 1.0 TSI Race Blue

Poonmobile

Well done mate, car looked great at Spring Jambo and congrats on the award.
Current:
06 NZ B7 RS4 Avus Silver, 01 NZ B5 RS4 Avus Silver, 93 NZ VR6 Tornado Red 3dr, Renault Clio 172 & Renault Clio 197
Past:
MK2 VR6, MK5 GTI, 2 x MK5 R32, 8L S3 Imola, MK4 Golf V6 4MO, Polo GTI, 2x MK3 VR6, D2 S8, B5 S4 Avant, 03 NZ R32 Deep Blue Pearl, Renault Megane R26 liquid yello

superfueler

Your VR6 looks great sir, well done so far.  8)
Current: 2010 Audi A4 2.7 TDI silver, 2007 Audi A4 2.0T DTM sprint blue, 2007 VW Golf V 2.0 TDI BKD 4motion manual white.
Past: 2004 Golf R32 black pearlescent, 2009 Audi S3 white, 2004 Audi A4 B6 1.8T blue, 99 Golf mk4 GTI black, 2005 Audi A4 B7 2.0T black.

Period_Correct_

lovely car mate. less is so much more!
1971 Porsche 911T | 1990 Audi Quattro Turbo | 2003 Audi RS6 Avant | 2009 Renault Megane R26

LouieP

Cheers fella's. She's definitely come a long way since the beginning of the thread. Still a couple more bits to finish off in 2023 and she will all be set.

I remembered I had a Borla muffler sitting in my shed for a few years after picking it up from an older chap with a corvette. I popped by mastermind Dean at Mister Muffler in Pakuranga and had him fab up a full 2.5" off the factory downpipe back to some double walled tips.

Car sounds phenomenal! Its not loud, its super deep, there's zero drone at motorway speed and the perfect gentleman setup for this gentleman's hot hatch.







If anyone needs exhaust work, I highly recommend him. His pricing is very reasonable too
NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

LouieP

#87
Quick little update on this. I still have the car and its been put to good use since the last post.

I sold my MK7 and reluctant to find a car that could replace that, this became my daily drive. An expensive task if I say so myself!

I thought I would try to see what was under the those swirls marks. Did a light one stage on the rear quarter only and it was decent. Only about 60% corrected in this photo. Will need to redo it again at some stage and possibly wet sand some deeper marks. Still plenty of other stuff on the list that are priority



Found some nice strut tower caps on Aliexpress and they fit great!






I had a little star chip in my passenger side headlight lens, lucky for me I pulled a genuine hella one off a car from zebra about 3 years ago and lost it somewhere in the shed. It was found recently





New VR6 badge grill sourced to replace the old one!



Some compulsory 3 door full spec goodness  :laugh:




It was time for a new WOF so I stopped by a friends shop. If you are into Honda's you will know who they are. No issues apart from the sump leaking oil through the gasket. I can only imagine they softened after the replacement. Went back home and tightened up. Not a single drip underneath since.



With the cold winter approaching she was getting a little harder to start. Photo of the 11 year old battery. What a champ. Replaced it with a Neuton DIN55



Now comes daily duties. At the office car park



Joined a couple members at Volkswagen Day at Meguiar's Coffee and Cars



Fun times in traffic. Did get a few odd looks with people wondering what this old clapper is



Some 12v VR noise since its a sound that is never heard these days. Plenty of R32's about though!

https://imgur.com/tGSb1iB

My factory windscreen scuttle panel was destroyed from the NZ sun and its very much hens teeth finding a nice one with the rubber intact, VW Classic Parts also discontinued it. I was lucky enough to find a very tidy one when I swung by Pick A Part with another member. I cleaned it up quite nice and threw some solution finish on it



Got the windscreen replaced as I was not happy with the gazillion chip repairs on the current screen




Now for the good stuff  :police:

My factory knob was starting to look a bit tired and I wanted to preserve as much as I could of it in case I sold the car. Turns out in the months I was using the car on a regular basis, it was getting worn out quicker than normal. I was looking high and low for an Anniversary Jubi knob in Europe however mk3 part prices are out the gate. I was looking at 200 euro plus for a genuine one that would still require a new leather piece etc.



Wanted to cut the shifter rod down a bit but was only going to work with half an inch or something since the new knob was quite tall. I made the decision to leave it untouched. Sneak peak of the DieselGeek bushing's



A leather shift boot was ordered from Italy and the rest is history. Introducing the BFI weighted GSB knob with a period correct VR6 5 speed gel coin. So good  :-*



Till next time!
NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

superfueler

Current: 2010 Audi A4 2.7 TDI silver, 2007 Audi A4 2.0T DTM sprint blue, 2007 VW Golf V 2.0 TDI BKD 4motion manual white.
Past: 2004 Golf R32 black pearlescent, 2009 Audi S3 white, 2004 Audi A4 B6 1.8T blue, 99 Golf mk4 GTI black, 2005 Audi A4 B7 2.0T black.

coons

Looking good Louie! Is that a genuine shifter you got in the end?

LouieP

Not a genuine jubi knob, a BFI one. IMO a lot nicer, it has a nice weight to make shifting feel damn good with the refreshed O2a bushings
NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

LouieP

Spring Jamboree time again!? Came around soon this year. Looking forward to seeing all the old cars out.

NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

coons


LouieP

NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

coons


LouieP

Small little update before the weekend

- Fender liner screws which were visible if you looked at the wheel were a bit rusty. Removed them, sprayed some rust converter and zinc coated it.

- My front caliper's were a little tired and I never painted them when I did the back. I also realised the retaining clip was missing on one side and it was the damn rattling I kept on hearing since I got the car. New retainer clip ordered from the EMD. Calipers painted and looking sweet

- Shocks were a little tired and squishy. Some new ones were added (will add more in a future post)

- HVAC bulb was old and only realised this recently when I tried to turn the AC on one night (never use it) and wondered why I could not see anything. Put a new one in. 

NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

LouieP

Spring Jamboree amazing as usual. Huge turnout

Car is now lowered on a Vogtland 35mm Club Kit
NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

rambo_005

Looks great! How does it ride after lowering?

LouieP

Rides just like stock, maybe 15% firmer. The springs and shocks are well paired to each other. Not bouncy or crashy and absorbs any imperfections in the road. Second time buying Vogtland and do not think I will buy anything else in future.
NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

superfueler

Was that Scott Wood's VR6 parked next to yours? TR232
Current: 2010 Audi A4 2.7 TDI silver, 2007 Audi A4 2.0T DTM sprint blue, 2007 VW Golf V 2.0 TDI BKD 4motion manual white.
Past: 2004 Golf R32 black pearlescent, 2009 Audi S3 white, 2004 Audi A4 B6 1.8T blue, 99 Golf mk4 GTI black, 2005 Audi A4 B7 2.0T black.