Dubstars Mk2 - Stock as a Rock

Started by dubstar, July 14, 2023, 01:21:34 PM

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dubstar

It seems there are a few of us 'of a certain age' who are buying up MK2 Golfs....... reliving our youth or something......

This is my 1989 GTI 16v that I have owned since October 2020.





A bit of history.  I have been working from home for the past 7 years and my daily (3dr 9N3 Polo GTI) was sitting in the driveway 99% of the time.  In Australia, Rego is $800 per year and insurance is roughly $1k, so that is a lot of cash to be spending on a car that just sits, so I sold it 2 weeks before the first lockdown.

Because I didn't need a car every day, I was starting to look at getting another 'classic', as we have a Club Permit scheme which allows for classic cars to be used for 90 days a year, tracked via a logbook, for a much-reduced rego cost.  It is about $200 per year for the permit and insurance is also reduced to about $200 per year. Fast forward to October 2020 (Bathurst weekend to be exact) and a facebook ad came up for a 16v GTI.  And best of all, it was a 3 door!!!  For those that don't know, Australia only got a limited number of 5-door 8v GTI Mk2s in 1991/1992 and missed out on all the other Mk2 variants, so a 3 door 16v GTI is rocking horse poo.

I basically paid full asking price over the phone and got the car picked up from NSW and delivered to VIC (that was a mission in lockdown!). 
How it arrived















Safe in the garage



The previous owner was an ex-mechanic and had said the only issues were a slight oil leak from the sump gasket, a slight fuel leak from the pump housing and a sloppy gear linkage.  However, he neglected to mention that the car had basically sat for 5-6 years and there were quite a few other issues that needed addressing:
-   The fuel pump housing was pissing fuel, not a slight leak
-   Every so often the brake pedal would go straight to the floor, still slowing the car, but definitely puckering
-   The strut tops were marshmallow
-   There are two spots of rust (one under the rear pass side window and another just at the bottom of the rear apron)
-   Two wheels are heavily curbed
Not too bad, but needed some work to get back on the road. 

ProAlloy Fuel Pump Housing. I opted for the proalloy fuel pump housing, as plastic ones are getting harder and harder to find.



Master cylinder



Ouch....





With the car on the road, time for executing the master plan. 

I want to get the car as stock as possible, so there were a few things that needed changing:
-   Rear taillights were half smoked items (matched with some cheap looking smoked side repeaters)
-   Front spoiler had been swapped to a small CL-type spoiler, so I needed to hunt down the deep 16v spoiler and matching brake ducts
-   Get rid of the mid-2000s Pioneer headunit and put in a Blaupunkt Bremen
-   Remove the Milltek exhaust and put in an OEM style exhaust
-   Swap out the Polo steering wheel for the proper GTI one
-   New Bridgestones all around

Interior after



New Exhaust





With all the updates made, I got asked to be in the local VW Magazine Australia and so in December 2021 I had a photoshoot.....pics below.







After driving the car for 18 months I had a list of things I wanted to improve. New shocks, springs and a switch to the mk3 type strut tops was an easy fix.  New Engine mounts was a bit of a pain, I got the wrong rear mount, so need to still track that down and replace.  But the big issue was a random cutting out issue when it was hot outside and I was running the air con.........queue a journey down one of those rabbit holes.

Goodies



Mk3 Strut Tops



Interestingly (for the Golf anoraks out there), this car was equipped with an engine stabiliser, which was only on 16v GTIs for one model year.  Its basically a strut at the back of the engine to help reduce rotation.  Pretty pointless I would say, but interesting.



This cutting out issue came to a head when one hot day (it was 48degC), I was out driving with the AC on.  Every stop it would cut out and it got harder and harder to start.  Its not pleasant being stuck on a sweltering hot day in the middle of a 4 lane main road!!  After 10 minutes of cool down the starter kicked in and I drove home without AC.

I originally thought this car had factory AC which really would have made it a rare gem, but I have since found out that the 2nd Australian owner fitted it (who also happened to be the Aus Milltek dealer, hence the Milltek exhaust the car had on it).  He actually did a nice job and used the genuine AC kit from an Australian delivered Mk2 (including the full AC loom), combined with genuine 16v AC parts (like the top rad hose, block mount, etc), so it looked OEM.

However, when investigating this cutting out fault I found that the alternator was sometimes not pumping out full voltage.  In addition, sometimes the AC would run hot, like the compressor was seizing. 
I decided to replace the alternator and compressor.  When the alternator arrived, it had the wrong pulley, not a major, but it got me thinking.  I eventually discovered that when installing the AC,  the previous owner had just run the waterpump, AC and alternator off a single belt.  This meant that the contact patch with the compressor was minimal and also probably meant it was unbalanced.
I found out that it should run two belts (plus a third for the Power Steering).  Per this picture.  So I switched it out and also found that the bottom pivot bolts on the compressor were missing......who knows for how long?




New set up






I also started looking at the electrical schematics for a 16v with AC and found that there should be a trigger wire from the AC to the Idle Control Module.  Because the AC kit was from an 8v where there is only Idle boost valve, I thought that maybe this was missing......and it was.  The wring is already there in the loom, it just needed to be plugged into the right junction.

That brings us up to date and hopefully this summer will be completely fault free!!
The only things left to do for the moment are:
-   Have the 2 replacement BBS RAs I found blasted and powder coated so I can get rid of the curbed wheels.
-   Track down an 020 gearbox with the proper 2Y code.  The car currently has a Mk3 box in it after a previous owner replaced the clutch but forgot to refill the gear oil.  If anyone has a 2Y box or knows of one, please help!!!!

I also still have the Mk1, but I am thinking of a new project. I would love to build a 3dr Mk2 retro track car, but that would mean finding a 3door Mk2, so my current thoughts are to build a 356 Coupe Replica....





"I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying."

RobClubley

1985 ur quattro
1992 Ford Courier - the sensible daily

rambo_005


LouieP

NZ New MK3 Golf VR6 3 Door

le mans

Such a clean car and lovely to see it being brought back to such a high standard. Those wheels though  :o ...must have had a significant impact with a curb at some point.

coons

Bloody awesome! Looks pretty mint too! Didn?t realise the limited run that Oz got. So this one is UK import? How many Mk2 16v?s over there? Bugger all by the sounds of it.

AC I think will be on my list as well. Let me see how how sweaty it gets next summer?

So any more plans for it, or pretty much just enjoy it?

dubstar

I have been told that there are 5 16v GTIs in Australia

Mine arrived here in 1996 and I am the 6th Australian owner.

No massive plans, just keep ticking off little jobs here and there.  The biggest plan is to find and rebuild a 2Y 020 gearbox......anyone?!?!?

I drive it at least once a week and its really nice to use
"I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying."

ranton-inc

Nice Bryce looks slick.

From what I know from Pierre in Sydney, 16Vs are rare, 3 Doors are Almost just as rare.


dubstar

Quote from: ranton-inc on July 19, 2023, 09:05:33 AM
Nice Bryce looks slick.

From what I know from Pierre in Sydney, 16Vs are rare, 3 Doors are Almost just as rare.



3 doors are rare.  I am actually contemplating finding a CL/GLI/Golf 3door in NZ and bringing it across to then build my retro track car. 
"I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying."

Period_Correct_

Quote from: dubstar on July 19, 2023, 01:02:36 PM
3 doors are rare.  I am actually contemplating finding a CL/GLI/Golf 3door in NZ and bringing it across to then build my retro track car.

awesome!
1971 Porsche 911T | 1990 Audi Quattro Turbo | 2003 Audi RS6 Avant | 2009 Renault Megane R26