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
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
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?
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,
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
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?
So, 3 weeks ago, I fixed the passenger side rear shock. Then i noticed the drivers side rattling. So, I tightened the top hat.... well, long story, short, I overtightened, then the driver's side rear shock pushed through the tower....
So, this weekend, I got to work on the car. Put it up on jacks... pulled the rear shocks out of both sides, not having access to a real welder, I JB welded the circlips and washer in place. hopefully, it'll hold. I've got my fingers crossed.
On jacks
Close up
I noticed a bit of rust on one of the springs. Should I be worried? It doesn't look too bad.
Rust on spring
YEah, fixed! ....hopefully http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif
also, refused the headlights and tried to clean up some of the wiring to the relays. I still don't have my highbeams. But, I suspect it's the high beam switch on the turn signal stalk, which should be coming in this week.
come out tonight! manic mondays in ontario check the socaleuro forum for moar details
Can't.... Chinese New Year dinner!!!!
I'll try to make it out to the Saturday meet. But, my wife's been complaining i'm spending too much time working on the car.... so.... it might not fly with her.... http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif
snowflakes. two are in kind of rough shape. Straight, but have some curbage. They do hold air. tires are shot. Paid $30 for the set.
What tires should I get? I already have toyo ra1's and i want to save them. So, i'm looking for a DD, decent grip, can be a summer tire. Nothing but R-compound for stock 205/55/14 size. So, i'm open to 185/60/14 or 195/60/14 sizes.
http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif
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
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