New MK2 owner!

[choochoo]

Photos of the progress or lack thereof:
http://www.pbase.com/ivannachoo/gti

My history with VW. Long, long time ago, my father had a 1976 Mk1 Rabbit,
bright yellow 4 door automatic. We had it until the late 80's when it totally
crapped out on us.

It looked just like this!

me and said car

I may still have a polished hub cap at my folks place Then in hs, I
dreamed of owning a bug. But, it never came into fruition... Anyways, I've
always had a soft spot for vw's, especially older ones. Long story short, since
I sold my previous stickshift car, I've been driving a auto slushbox for the
past year or so. I've been dying to get a "fun" car. Wanting to get something
different (ie. not a Honda), I picked up 16vU4EA's 1989 Gti 16V couple
weeks ago.

I've been thoroughly enjoying driving it to work each day. It's got some
issues, mostly cosmetic (it ain't no beauty queen), but who doesn't. hahaha.
We'll work through them =D This site has been an invaluable resource and
I'm looking forward to picking your brains and hopefully meeting some of you.

Ivan

Modified by choochoo at 4:56 PM 12-22-2009

[MK2*GTI*GUY]

welcome to the dark side

[mk2eurogirl]

so nice to hear!

[veedubber_kyle]

16v can be the devil!!
or it can be a complete god!
be careful!
and welcome

[jeffs vw]

Cool ride. Now just get a second job so you can afford the mechanic bills

[-camber]

looks good

[choochoo]

Thanks for the warm welcome. Some of you guys are scaring me good thing my wife's not reading this forurm. She explicitly said, "you can get a car as long as it's not going to break down all the time." I said, "okay, sure "

I don't think I'm going to put any more performance parts on. It's got enough grunt & spunk for me. The priority now is to get rid of the rust and the water leaks. That's the biggest issue right now. I've been scouring the DIY section for solutions. Any recommendations? I've been reading that POR 15 is the way to go. There's no interior except for the seats and dash. So, it's easy to get to the problem areas.

Plan of attack:
1) fix rear shock (shoots through the strut tower) & passenger door handle
2) find and fix the water leak(s) (this should be fun... )
3) clean up all the rust spots interior and exterior (this should be fun... X2)
4) install interior carpet and headliner
5) Alignment
6) drive and enjoy the car

How does that sound?

Any recommendations on good mechanics or shops? I've been reading that VW Specialties is good. He's not close, but not too far. I used to drive out to Torrance to get my Saab worked on.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Ivan


Modified by choochoo at 12:04 PM 12-5-2008

[_pineapplegti_]

That car was on craigslist for awhile. good luck on your purchase .

[choochoo]

Doesn't look it, but it's loud WOT. Drones at 70mph. I think I'll need another resonator to quiet things down.

Interior mess

compfy seats

more interior mess



Modified by choochoo at 12:55 PM 4-29-2009

[a4b5guy28]

hey nice car i have an 85 gti they are very fun cars. my interior is mint i would be willing to sell it to you if your interested.

[GTIcrazy]

Quote, originally posted by _pineapplegti_ »

That car was on craigslist for awhile. good luck on your purchase .

Haha...that's what I was going to say...

I have a Bentley that is pretty much new for that car for sale.

[choochoo]

anyone know where I can get Por-15 locally?

I think i'm going to try to work on the vapor barriers this weekend.


Modified by choochoo at 5:13 PM 12-9-2008

[Seax_Smith]

Quote, originally posted by choochoo »

... She explicitly said, "you can get a car as long as it's not going to break down all the time." I said, "okay, sure "

Sounds like a good plan. Look into some stuff called Rust Bullet.... seems to work really well form the 2 qt.s I put into double and triple coats my GTi.s rust issues.

Mark II's can be very reliable cars... all depends on how you treat them and what you do to them and how.

Suggestion:

1) go through and trace your electrical system looking for bad splices and "quick-fixes".

2) go through and re-seat all the ground connections in the bay. will save you a lot of hard to figure out hassle later.

3) get it completely solid, then start thinking about where you want to end up with it, and go after that goal one step ate a time. get the suspension you want in in. then the brakes, then start thinking about power increases. If you can't control and stop the power, you'll end up being one of those people who spent way too much money on an engine that had in a car a month before they crashed it.

[choochoo]

[QUOTE=Seax_Smith]
Thanks for the suggestions. That's pretty much my plan. To get the car as solid, mechanically, as possible. Then work on the body, mainly rust prevention. I've got the rear suspension pretty much where I want it to be, but the front could use some new shocks. Power wise, I pretty content with where it's at right now. Just changed the transfer fuel pump tonight and seems to be pulling more consistently.

[choochoo]

Replaced transfer fuel pump tonight. Followed Bentley to a "T". Easy fix. Car seems to pull more consistently throughout. Plus it sounds totally different when it primes as you turn the ignition key.

Dirty! tried to vacuum as much dust as possible.

Had the fire extinguisher, just in case!

Some fuel will spill out when you pull the lines. I'd suggest wearing at least a mask, if not a respirator. The big locking ring took a few good taps from the hammer and screwdriver to break loose.

out

new and old, careful when you take out the pump assembly. Make sure you take it out slowly and not damage the fuel level float.

Lastly, the rubber grommet that connects the pump to the assembly should be replaced. The rubber has clearly broken down after all these years soaked in gas and it probably won't seal as well. I didn't have a new one, so I reused the old one for now. I will replace it.

the just put everything back in the reverse order.

I'll try to tackle the fuel filter tomorrow.


Modified by choochoo at 12:52 AM 11-18-2009

[Seax_Smith]

sounds like you are doing things the smart way.... Do things right the first time and it takes as long as it takes and costs what it costs. The big issue a lot of people run into with make II's is that they try to avoid the extra little things which in turn, turn around and it them in the a$$. Repair things correctly the first time, have a good plan, and you basically have to go through the whole car section by section, and when you are done, you drive it enjoy it and work on the fine, personal preference details.

keep going like you are and you will have a 100% reliable daily driver that is a lot of fun to drive daily.

Don't know if you have done it yet, but relaying your lights well is a good thing to get done early. The more of the heavy current load you can get out of the stock circuitry, the better off you are because the switches etc have pretty much already passed their expected service life.

Grounds up front all cleaned and re-seated well with either dielectric grease or conductive grease and replacing all the vacuum lines will make you life a whole lot easier over all because you won't be wasting time with pita issues which can be avoided. The vac. hose thing..... there is a really good silicon-type hose which is like $2/foot that is for BMW's, used to be earthworm brown and is now blue. Its a one time fix for vac line leaks. I know the stuff is still soft and flexible after 7 years in an engine bay. If it is applied with a little dielectric grease or silicon grease, it will slip off years after it was put on and still seal perfectly when reattached.

[rustype]

cool ride !!!! choochoo

[choochoo]

Thanks. I can't really take any credit for it, since I bought it this way. Well, I guess I can take credit for paying for it! hahahaha!!!

Update: passenger door handle fixed, horn fuse replaced and new wiper blades! It has begun.....

oh yeah, and $5 Walmart steering wheel cover


Modified by choochoo at 7:54 AM 12-6-2008

[TANiK]

glad to see this car went to a good home
enjoy it!
I was going to pick it up but insurance issues prevented me
plus I have no time to do all the work

[lilredmk3]

CONGRATS ON UR NEW RIDE YO --- BEST OF LUCK WITH IT " IT LOOKS SWEET"

[GrandpaDriver]

I am sure that you love the MK2... I am still working on my ... hope it will run solid soon

[choochoo]

Thanks for the encouragement! I hope it doesn't rain....

Is anyone running 185/60/r14 instead of 205/55/r14? If so, what tires are you running and how's the grip?


Modified by choochoo at 4:30 PM 12-8-2008

[_pineapplegti_]

It really depends on your plan.. if want grip around town .. toyo t1r will be great. if u want a great cayon /auto x tire.. falken azenis rt615 is what your looking for in a 185 60 14,

[CODE7-C]

Hell yeah! That's awesome! There are not many Mk2s in this area - or Mk3's, it's pretty sad actually. Makes me wish I would have just bought a Mk2 instead of buying a brand new Mk5. Anyone wanna buy a Mk5? :-D

[choochoo]

Thanks for the recommendations.

Right now, it's got Toyo Ra-1's on there. It grips like it's on rails in the dry, but last time I drove in the rain.... it was a little sketchy..... I'm looking for something that's good for everyday use. I've been fairly satisfied with pirelli p-zero nero, bf goodrich g-force sport, and falken 512 tires in the past. The falken's were the worse performing of those, but they weren't terrible. Anyone ever run Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS Pole Position?

[selfatvi]

If you are looking for some 14" Work equips (the real ones) let me know. Im looking for a trade plus cash for stockies with decent tires.

Also looking for header back exhuast for stock trade plus cash too.

My car needs to go back to stock.

Modified by selfatvi at 10:04 AM 3-6-2009

[GTIMK216V]

and how mach it cost you

[choochoo]

no, not looking for wheels. I need to save up some money to work on the body. Just looking for some tires. I like the look of the snowflakes.

I've read and heard that the Falken ZE912's are a decent all around tire. Anyone here have them?


Modified by choochoo at 4:13 PM 3-6-2009

[Phat73VW]

I have the Falken 912's on my Jetta and they are superb! I recommend them.


Modified by Phat73VW at 3:48 AM 3-8-2009

[choochoo]

Hmmm, I see them advertised on craigslist for $39/each for 185/60/14. I might have to check them out.

[VWDoc91]

Quote, originally posted by Phat73VW »

I have the Falken 912's on my Jetta and they are superb! I recommend them.

Likewise here. More bang for the bucks....

[FrostedDub]

Keep up the great work! red stripe

[Jersey Fresh]

good luck

[bigb112]

looking good!

good luck with it!

[vwdubrider]

Nice find ,good luck