Grandma's Golf rolls on - 86 4-door OEM+ project

[dubsport87]

[bodhi_tree777]

So happy to finally have my car back and back on the road.. had some pain in the arse suspension issues that had to be ironed out, simple yet expensive

On the upside, it rides great now. All of the bounciness is gone and I can drive on the highway now without feeling like I'm about to jump off the road. I really like the FK's. Not as low as some might like, but just about right for this state.

Today I went out to do an oil change and wasn't able to find a filter that wasn't a Fram. Even the dealer didn't have them on hand. Time to order a case, I guess. Instead, I decided to rip out the flimsy thin plastic raintray cover and ECU cover and replace them with hard plastic versions from a later model. First I had to do a bit of plastic welding to fix a small crack which turned out pretty crappy. Does the trick, though. Vacuumed about a pound of debris out of the raintray, sanded the plastic weld, painted all of it with some satin black I had laying around and put it all back together.


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[bodhi_tree777]

Not a huge update, haven't had a great deal of time to myself lately. Got rid of the torn shift boot and transplanted the intact boot and leather shift knob from the gold Golf, also removed the cassette box in favor of more storage (and scratched the console in the process, grr).

[sin bar]

most excellent, dude.

what were the suspension issues?

[bodhi_tree777]

most excellent, dude.

what were the suspension issues?

Rookie mistakes. I've never had coilovers on a car before. Installing the FK's was the first time I'd ever attempted any suspension work. I enlisted the help of a buddy from Columbus I met through the 'tex and swapped him a tattoo for about a day's labor. His first time working on MK2 suspension as well, but with more background knowledge than I for sure. To his credit, he worked his arse off and got everything together seemingly correct.

Immediately ran into some idiot mechanic issues in trying to get the car aligned, and it was at alignment shop #3 that someone finally figured out that we were missing the centering sleeves in the control arms. ECS hadn't included them in the suspension kit I bought and we just simply overlooked it during the install. Not to mention that alignment shop #1 really screwed up the alignment job and proceeded to blame it all on the car being lowered. All in all the car was off the road for like 3 weeks, my wife was pissed at me and I ended up blowing my project budget on shop labor .. I'm on a steep learning curve

[sin bar]

live and learn, dude.

[bodhi_tree777]

No real updates to speak of, but I'm happy to say that I have been driving the hell out of this car on a daily basis and for me it's just like old times. Still need to fix my bumper and do a few other minor things, but work and life keep getting in the way. Trying to get caught up on old work on friends, I've got a bunch of pieces in the works that are floating around unfinished. Time to get cracking (if I can get these guys to take time off to travel), but here they are so far if anyone wants to see what's funding this beast:

Mr T Teddybear (somewhere in central Ohio):

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little boy riding an electric slug and eating a sandwich (and wearing a bath towel for a cape, Williamsport PA area):

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Koi fish and lanterns half-sleeve (Cincinnati area):

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poison booze bottle (central Ohio):

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meditating boy (NYC, this is on my best friend, was my 5th tattoo ever, just need to find the time to make it back out there):

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tribute to a father (on another good friend, Williamsport PA, just needs color):

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grim reaper and puppet-on-a-string (currently baking in the desert somewhere in the Middle East):

[ORdubFan]

You do some good work man. Like your car as well.

[Mean 'n Green86]

hell yeah someone else in fan of the old school accordion shift boot

[bodhi_tree777]

hell yeah someone else in fan of the old school accordion shift boot

your car has been one of my inspirations lately, so thanks!

[bodhi_tree777]

Free audio upgrade today

I finally got a chance to go up to the farm and my buddy Todd and I extracted the remnants of the stereo system from the gold Golf. This car was, at one time, my brother's demo car for his audio shop in PA. The amp and sub are long gone, but we pulled the head unit out to put in Todd's Dodge and the still-fresh Kicker speakers will get transplanted into the '86 to replace the blown out ones that i'm currently listening to.

Also pillaged the little rubber straps that lift the parcel tray when you open the hatch, as these are long gone in the silver car. I really dig having a parts car


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Rust-free doors

[dubsport87]

do it up

[bodhi_tree777]

One step forward, two steps back

My muffler rusted off. Actually, it looks like the rubber hanger broke and the extra movement just kind of bounced it off at a weak point in the weld. Time to start shopping for a new exhaust set-up, anyone have any suggestions? Looking for close to stock. Performance upgrade would be nice, godawful loud would not be.

The culprit:



the muffler:



So for now I'm driving around like this:



Also, a couple of weeks ago, I was closing my hatch and one of the hatch struts popped off right before I slammed it shut. It popped out just enough to get stuck between the hatch and the tail light and crush the top housing on the light. It's not leaking, but it's definitely broken



I guess I'm also shopping for new tails (this one has some sort of weird bug somehow stuck in it as well so it's due for a replacement), although I might just nab the old ones of the Golf Golf for now. I may also take the broken one and try my hand at DIY all-red tinting.

[crazy mother dubber]

I LOVE silver mk2's!!! You will have to let me know what else you may need or want for your mk2's. The bottle caps will look good on it.

[bodhi_tree777]

I LOVE silver mk2's!!! You will have to let me know what else you may need or want for your mk2's. The bottle caps will look good on it.

Thanks for your help this week man!

I finally made some forward progress this past week. I worked out a deal with my brother to come see him in PA and lay some tattoo work on he and his wife. In exchange, he footed the bill to have my exhaust replaced from the cat back, and bought me a set of wheels and two sets of new tires. The barter system wins again.

First off, the Golf made the 700+ mile round trip in fine style and is turning out to be a pretty reliable ride. I changed the oil & filter just before I left, ran some fuel injector cleaner through it, finally installed the new speakers all around as well. Thing ran like a champ.

So here we go. The beginnings of a full-on nerd themed leg sleeve:



and a freehand cherry blossom on my sister-in-law's foot:



I still owe them a bunch more work, but in exchange I now have a new stainless exhaust from the cat back:



Also got a set of Firestone "winterforce" winter tires mounted on my steelies:



And finally, a fellow Vortexer drove out from Lancaster to drop off a nice, straight set of bottlecaps (thanks again CMD!). Those have been outfitted with a new set of Hankook all-seasons and (despite being generally hated here on the 'tex for some reason) I think they look pretty good on a silver MK2.





The steelies are going back on as soon as the snow starts flying, and I'm going to take a stab at stripping and properly refinishing the caps over the winter.

Not too shabby for the cost of gas money and a few days of my time.

[bodhi_tree777]

Here it comes..



Time for the steelies/winter tires (I'm actually pretty excited about that, I've never run winter tires before). I mostly dread winter for the idiocy of my fellow commuters. Just got a primer fresh set of center caps in the mail, need to buy some paint.

[thatGTIguy]

I guess I'm also shopping for new tails (this one has some sort of weird bug somehow stuck in it as well so it's due for a replacement), although I might just nab the old ones of the Golf Golf for now. I may also take the broken one and try my hand at DIY all-red tinting.

just be glad it didn't damage the hatch.. taillights easy fix... rear hatch.... @!#$@#$#@@ !!!!!

[bodhi_tree777]

just be glad it didn't damage the hatch.. taillights easy fix... rear hatch.... @!#$@#$#@@ !!!!!

Good thing, that.. although the way it happened, I'd guess the tail light plastic would lose out against the metal every time. Still haven't gotten around to replacing it, too freakin' cold, but I'm pretty sure the crack is letting water into the car now. Felt some dampness around the spare tire, that's the only thing I can guess.

Stupid laws of physics

[bodhi_tree777]

It's freezing outside. Perfect day to paint my center caps 2 minutes and a can of Rustoleum hammered silver..





Still need to re-paint my steel wheels, not sure if I'm going black with the silver caps or matching silver. To freaking cold out to actually want to go out and do it.

[ennui_delphian]

Any work on that inventory of what you need? Seriously make a full list of everything broken/missing from the car. I'll fill up the van and head up with it

[bodhi_tree777]

Any work on that inventory of what you need? Seriously make a full list of everything broken/missing from the car. I'll fill up the van and head up with it

d'oh, I sent a message, guess it didn't get through. Re-sending..

[bodhi_tree777]

so this happened:







posted about it elsewhere, pretty self explanatory

Today, I got a package in the mail from GAP (saving the day yet again):



I figured it was as good a time as any to replace them all the way around. I couldn't find the smaller door handle gaskets available, hope it's okay to re-use the old ones.

My driver's side axle is on its' way out as well, but I'm hoping that'll hold out for warmer weather.

[Ickey]

yea I know how u feel man with the suspension hell lol ...hey u need to come dub dash next year in dayton !! I know there be some good work for you there too far as tats and what not , i need some work done too.

[bodhi_tree777]

yea I know how u feel man with the suspension hell lol ...hey u need to come dub dash next year in dayton !! I know there be some good work for you there too far as tats and what not , i need some work done too.

When is that? I'd be all over it

[mushroom_curry]

This looks great!

[VW_RAT_VW]

looks good, keep going

[bodhi_tree777]

thanks fellas, it's coming along

It'll never be a show car, but I'd like to keep it as clean and original(ish) as possible. Partial to-do list:

- replace driver's side axle
- big door swap / rust repair / paint (next year, hopefully)
- relay the headlights, clean and upgrade all the grounds, replace battery cables w/ A3 cables
- replace my broken front bumper (need to find a NA-spec chrome stripe small)
- shave the antenna (tuck it in the rain tray or get one of those hidden antennas)
- un-shave the passenger mirror
- figure out why my rear defroster doesn't work and why my rear wiper is making a crazy knocking sound

lots of other little things, but these are things that are currently bugging the hell outta me

[mushroom_curry]

If you were planning on going big door you should've bought my OEM euro big-door chrome window trims when they were up for grabs

Would've retained that 100% period correct look on a silver car.

[bodhi_tree777]

If you were planning on going big door you should've bought my OEM euro big-door chrome window trims when they were up for grabs

Would've retained that 100% period correct look on a silver car.

I missed that completely

It almost seems like, out of necessity, the car will gradually be de-chromed. The doors need to be swapped out because of the rot and I'll probably stick with the big door fat trim (no chrome). My bumper needs to be replaced and I'm having a hell of a time finding an NA spec chrome stripe small bumper, so that chrome may go away as well. Just replaced the door handles and used the black plastic handle inserts, so no chrome there either. Not by choice, just by circumstance.

I have decided to retain the original color, at least, when it gets painted. Did some research on a2resource.com and found that Flash Silver Metallic was a Wolfsburg-only color option in '86 and (while not RARE) isn't terribly common. The interior grey is a WE-only cloth as well, and it's got a few other bits that set it apart somewhat. I'd like to try and preserve that. In fact, if I could find a nice set of small doors to paint I'd stick with the smalls. The big door swap is just because I've got 'em already.

[Ickey]

Dub Dash is beginning of october with in the first few weekends anyhow. Was pretty crappy this year it rained and was pretty cold out. Hard telling what the weather will be like next year anyhow.

[bodhi_tree777]

Dub Dash is beginning of october with in the first few weekends anyhow. Was pretty crappy this year it rained and was pretty cold out. Hard telling what the weather will be like next year anyhow.

I'll keep an eye out for it. There was a VW-specific show here in Parkersburg a couple of years ago with zero MK2 representation (mostly air cooled). They didn't have it again last year so it may have been a one-off thing. I've been looking for other regional stuff going on.

[tobiwonkonobi]

Mk1 autohaus on Ebay sells the exterior door handle gaskets

[mushroom_curry]

Tobi... it might be my net connection at work but... the link in your sig no worky?

[tobiwonkonobi]

Tobi... it might be my net connection at work but... the link in your sig no worky?

its a faux link hahaha.
Just search" mk1 autohaus" on ebay..Moogie has lot of goods

[bodhi_tree777]

Mk1 autohaus on Ebay sells the exterior door handle gaskets

nice, thanks