The Wurst GLI

[NTUNED]

Well I recently bought a 1989 Jetta Helios GLI with ABS (or Wolfsburg as it's correct name should be according to my research) I got too excited about it that quite honestly I went with a shut up and take my money mindset as oppose to a smart buy

Well with that aside, what was suppose to become a daily now turned into a project. There is so many little things wrong with it that the name Wurst came to mind. Prolly the worst GLI I've had.
To begin with the front recaros are gone. Instead they put some Corrado seats in front. Headliner is coming off. Wiring mess with headlights and fusebox. Paint is ****, mix match side fender. Tons of other things that don't really come to mind right now.

This is somewhat of a build thread, mainly to ask questions and kinda keep track of my progress.
Some people will totally disagree with what I plan of doing but oh well.
Some plans:

Fix wiring mess (headlights and etc)
Fusebox back into place
Replace headliner (suede most likely)
Change seats into 04 GLI seats hopefully
Paint car (Original Helios color)
Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance!!!!!!


Well enough talk for now, some pictures (some are cell phone pics some are legit camera)
Don't have any good outside shots. Really nothing to see but here are some photos of how it was when brought home










In the garage (the 04 is not low, oh well, don't really care)

Both in the garage


Parked in the garage ready for some tear down


There's a lot of questions, lots of hidden stuff I was not told about
So there's prolly a lot of coming pictures that I'll be asking about and would appreciate any help.

Thanks, cheers!

[black gti]

nice combo

looks like it could be worse!

[Smiff]

Hope it's not rusty like my replacement-shell-turned-project proved to be. No big deal, I like to weld and learning body finishing has always been on my list. By the look of it, yours isn't really bad. No obvious damage, no missing pieces (save the Helios seats, ugly anyway imo); do a little wire repair, handle all the maintenance, paint it and enjoy!

[4doorbiotch]

i bought my vw golf with the same attitude as you. hated the car for a couple of month now since i started to do work to it i fell back in love...lol but hey wish you the best on your project and stick it out. Youll end up with a really nice car!

[NTUNED]

nice combo
looks like it could be worse!

Thanks
Well there's still a lot more I haven't checked, so I guess I'll keep you guys posted on what else appears

Hope it's not rusty like my replacement-shell-turned-project proved to be. No big deal, I like to weld and learning body finishing has always been on my list. By the look of it, yours isn't really bad. No obvious damage, no missing pieces (save the Helios seats, ugly anyway imo); do a little wire repair, handle all the maintenance, paint it and enjoy!

Well I seen a couple spots of what seems to be just surface rust. I don't remember exactly right now but I know a two doors have a little spot on each, and there's some around the lower front passenger fender. Still need to remove some stuff and do a more throughout inspection.

Well there's a couple broken parts, missing bits here and there. I'll elaborate on them later on with pictures hopefully. I hope to do an 04 seat swap. I find them to be extremely comfortable and there's a couple sets for sale around my area

i bought my vw golf with the same attitude as you. hated the car for a couple of month now since i started to do work to it i fell back in love...lol but hey wish you the best on your project and stick it out. Youll end up with a really nice car!

Definitely was super excited when I got it. Then I kinda went into a stage of wtf did I just buy haha but now that I regained some composure and that my financial situation seems to be on the right track towards better, I definitely want to turn this car around


I'm at work so my photo hosting account is blocked but hope to post some pics tonite about wtf things or pieces I don't know what's going on lol

But out of memory:

Oil light is flashing. No oil leaks but flashes nonstop. Hoping is just that it needs some thicker oil, plan on doing an oil change to see if it fixes, if not, then onto sensors and what not.

Coolant is suppose to be what color? looks almost completely black on the ball Also plan on doing a coolant flush and put new in there

[Smiff]

Black coolant? Idk, sounds scary, or at least very dirty. My car was loaded with green coolant when I bought it, and will probably get fancy G12 whenever I get around to swapping the motor.

[Rocambolesque]

Paint it red? Hell no man, its a helios GLI. One of 1500.

[NTUNED]

Black coolant? Idk, sounds scary, or at least very dirty. My car was loaded with green coolant when I bought it, and will probably get fancy G12 whenever I get around to swapping the motor.

Scares me too. I hope is not oil, it's really hard to tell since the coolant reservoir is pretty dull.
I read on the FAQ that it uses g11 coolant, any one confirm? I haven't checked the bentley yet but I will

Paint it red? Hell no man, its a helios GLI. One of 1500.

I know, hence why I said a lot of people might not agree. I'm still not decided, and if I did I might just do it on the outside to be able to switch back to the original blue. Will probably stick with the helios blue but i don't know yet

Well started the break down


So here is the pics with the questions:

Is this necessary to be plug in or be like this?
Any idea where I can get a new piece or what's called so I can look it up?



Does these two cables suppose to be hooked into each other? The cables by themselves come out of the coolant ball sensor and the other plug I have no idea



I'm guessing a line goes there? vacuum line? I found a line by itself



What's this plug entrance for? and what are those two little plugs on the side?



Does anyone know why there are 3 Z's in the vin number? definitely not what appears on the title, just seems a little weird to me


Well rust ain't looking too good. The battery tray looks kinda bad, haven't checked it completely but will do



Well I got plenty more but if I can get some answers to that, it'll be good. Thanks

Cheers!

[Smiff]

Check valve for evap (charcoal cannister under the fuel dizzy). The broken part would have a line going to the throttle body.




Wires coming out of the coolant ball are from the fluid level sensor in the ball, should go back to the dash through the chassis harness. Connector looks like it should mate up to your tranny for the upshift light.




Hard to tell where that is, but it looks like the bits for cruise control. If so, you should be able to trace one of the lines up to a vac diaphram on the intake mani (if it's all there).




Upshift light connector.

Identification in blue above.

No idea on the VIN. Rust in the battery tray isn't too hard to fix if that's as deep as it goes.

[junkjetta]

thats not the vin plate. they all have the 3 z's in the vin on the firewall. its just a factory designation. ur vin plate on ur dash and ur vin label on ur b pillar indicate the correct vin. pay no attention to the one under the hood. and for heavens sake, u bought a helios, dont paint it any other color, when that color is painted right and clean its a beautiful color

[strangerhacks]

and for heavens sake, u bought a helios, dont paint it any other color

The first thing I noticed was the Helios rear seats but after looking at the pictures again that is definitely Helios Blue, you got yourself a gem here buddy. Only 1500 of these GLIs

[Mr. Knappy]

No idea on the VIN. Rust in the battery tray isn't too hard to fix if that's as deep as it goes.

Those are filler numbers. When that chassis was built, they used Z's rather than other letters because at that time, they didn't know what engine and trim were going to be in the car.

[NTUNED]

Identification in blue above.
No idea on the VIN. Rust in the battery tray isn't too hard to fix if that's as deep as it goes.

Thanks a lot for the info

On the last picture, did you say the two wires were for the upshift light? That's the only part I wasn't sure if you were talking about the wires or the plug entrance

thats not the vin plate. they all have the 3 z's in the vin on the firewall. its just a factory designation. ur vin plate on ur dash and ur vin label on ur b pillar indicate the correct vin. pay no attention to the one under the hood. and for heavens sake, u bought a helios, dont paint it any other color, when that color is painted right and clean its a beautiful color

Haha take it easy, still a long way till I can get to painting. Want to fix it up first, don't mind rolling in a bad painted car for a while, but I guess I'll keep you guys on the edge whether I go different color haha

The first thing I noticed was the Helios rear seats but after looking at the pictures again that is definitely Helios Blue, you got yourself a gem here buddy. Only 1500 of these GLIs

Yeah, I verified the Helios before getting it, so it's legit. Just a shame is missing the front Recaro's

Those are filler numbers. When that chassis was built, they used Z's rather than other letters because at that time, they didn't know what engine and trim were going to be in the car.

Thanks for the info in the vin When I first saw it I thought it meant fishy business but I checked the dash vin and other label together with title and they all match up so I was just wondering why the Z's

[TrackWerks]

My VIN (not just chassi id) has Z's in it but it's also a MK2 that was built in 83

[ca180]

My VIN (not just chassi id) has Z's in it but it's also a MK2 that was built in 83

Every place my VIN is located says ZZZ (registration, firewall....)... only place that says the motor is the little sticker in the hatch area....

just sayin

[NTUNED]

A couple other things that are wrong so far:

I obviously need to replace this hose


Another thing that I think it's somewhat weird. Car never leaked anything till a couple days ago after the car had sat for a couple days without me turning it on (I turned it on once a day or once every two days)
The car decided to pee haha


Traced it back to the brake fluid reservoir. The cap seems to be leaking. It stopped already or at least the puddle hasn't gotten bigger but I just think it's a little weird



I started taking some of the interior apart. Headliner was sagging bad so decided to take it off and take a look.




Only bad part was that the headliner was already cracked


I haven't searched but I almost wanna beat that there is no way to get another new? I'll have to hit the junkyard and hope there is one with a sunroof in good condition

In a bit of a good note, I found this neat little sticker once I removed the headliner


Looks like the factory sticker for the part number Came from Germany for sure haha

Well, next couple weeks might be slow since I'll be switching places, we'll see

cheers!

[TrackWerks]

Every place my VIN is located says ZZZ (registration, firewall....)... only place that says the motor is the little sticker in the hatch area....

just sayin

Z's there as well my friend. It's a Euro Mk2 built in 83. It was built with an Audi 1.8L block.

Looks like you got your hands full OP, Good luck she will be worth it in the end.

[DjBij099]

The plug that's left open on the transmission is for the back-up light switch, aka reverse lights. I can't help on the two random wires by it

[Smiff]

Thanks a lot for the info

On the last picture, did you say the two wires were for the upshift light? That's the only part I wasn't sure if you were talking about the wires or the plug entrance

Oh, right. The two wires hanging down in front of the upshift connector....I kind of missed the forest for the trees on those little guys. Better pics of the wire ends would help, looks like blade terminals. They also look kind of short, so there must me some open terminals in close proximity.


^ @DjB.... Backup light switch? Function combined with the upshift light, or am I mixing components?

[Sinner44]

Yeah the headliners are very fragile at this age, and It's fairly difficult to remove one intact... When I re-did mine I used a fiber glass kit...works very well and adds more strength to those broken spots...kind of a pain to smooth out if you don't apply the resin smoothly

[WERDNA75]

Please do not paint this car Red. These cars are supposed to be LA5Y , Helios Blue Metallic Only...

[Sinner44]

Please do not paint this car Red. These cars are supposed to be LA5Y , Helios Blue Metallic Only...

x2

[DjBij099]

^ @DjB.... Backup light switch? Function combined with the upshift light, or am I mixing components?

Here's a link on brokevw.com regarding reverse switch wiring. There is mention of the upshift light as well

http://www.brokevw.com/reverseswitch.html

If the plug is actually present in the bay somewhere, plug it back in, turn the car on and walk around the back and look. If the revsere lights stay on despite being in neutral, it's faulty and needs to be replaced.

[DjBij099]

x2

x3

[VR6 GLX Man]

I went with the same mindset as you when I got my 92 gli, yours doesent look too bad. I have the same rust on the bottom of battery tray, somehow when it rains or you wash the car water gets through somehow and goes right to that tray. Found that out after I first washed the car. My alternator was missing a bolt after replacing it after it died 3 days later, distributer rotor and cap were bad, so three things in one day went wrong and left me stranded at my job. I was seriously asking myself what was I thinking getting the car. It's been a week and half since new rotor and alternator finally mounted properly and the car is running strong, with exception of a check engine light. Also the car came without an air filter so thats an easy fix.

[VR6 GLX Man]

After my experience, the ditributer rotor and cap shoulde be inspected before buying ot just buy a new rotor and cap since it's cheap or replace the whole distributer itself. This alone could be a reason for your car not cranking.

[taymk2]

Nice find

[NTUNED]

Oh, right. The two wires hanging down in front of the upshift connector....I kind of missed the forest for the trees on those little guys. Better pics of the wire ends would help, looks like blade terminals. They also look kind of short, so there must me some open terminals in close proximity.
^ @DjB.... Backup light switch? Function combined with the upshift light, or am I mixing components?

I'll try to get a better shot of the two little plugs

Since now there's two different answers, I don't know which one is right haha

Yeah the headliners are very fragile at this age, and It's fairly difficult to remove one intact... When I re-did mine I used a fiber glass kit...works very well and adds more strength to those broken spots...kind of a pain to smooth out if you don't apply the resin smoothly

Yeah, I'm gonna have to try to work out something if I can't get my hands on a different headliner from a junkyard.

Here's a link on brokevw.com regarding reverse switch wiring. There is mention of the upshift light as well
http://www.brokevw.com/reverseswitch.html
If the plug is actually present in the bay somewhere, plug it back in, turn the car on and walk around the back and look. If the revsere lights stay on despite being in neutral, it's faulty and needs to be replaced.

Good info I'll try to check but I haven't seen any loose plugs that seem to fit there

I went with the same mindset as you when I got my 92 gli, yours doesent look too bad. I have the same rust on the bottom of battery tray, somehow when it rains or you wash the car water gets through somehow and goes right to that tray. Found that out after I first washed the car. My alternator was missing a bolt after replacing it after it died 3 days later, distributer rotor and cap were bad, so three things in one day went wrong and left me stranded at my job. I was seriously asking myself what was I thinking getting the car. It's been a week and half since new rotor and alternator finally mounted properly and the car is running strong, with exception of a check engine light. Also the car came without an air filter so thats an easy fix.

After my experience, the ditributer rotor and cap shoulde be inspected before buying ot just buy a new rotor and cap since it's cheap or replace the whole distributer itself. This alone could be a reason for your car not cranking.

Well my car has not issues cranking. I just have the oil pressure light going off and the battery light (alternator light) on

Nice find

Thanks man Might just move slowly along sadly

[NTUNED]

Well I didn't do much over the weekend since I was moving some stuff to the gf parents.

On the way there I saw a pretty cool sight tho, stopped here on the way back and hopefully next time I'm going down there and when I'm not pressed for time, I'll stop and ask the nearest house to see if I can get in there and take a look.
There was a handful of golf/gti/rabbits and one mk2 jetta



And here is a google aerial view of the little lot


It was a sad but cool scene and kinda made my day haha

[Volkswageneer1990]

After seeing the nitty gritty now I really want to get my hands into this! Let me know whenever I can come over and help please!

[NTUNED]

I went to the junkyard several days ago and got a couple parts. Mainly, I wanted the front aero set up
I got a bunch of small pieces, so this pic isn't everything I got but it got most of the big parts. My passenger tail light is messed up (on the plastic trim) and so is my driver but not that bad. Sadly, I wish I would of known it was the right one when I was at the yard, ended up coming home with the piece to replace the less broken one

Hella headlights (made in germany too )


The rear is Hella but made in mexico

Whole front core support and even the horn haha


Extra aktiv cover


OEM speaker cases (one with the actual oem speaker) Mine is missing this




Today I got some more work done

Started by removing the passenger side door cards (both front and rear)
Apparently the front had already been messed with







Removed the rear seats

Rear seat is missing one of it's hooks


Well that it's all for now. I'm mainly taking out the inside until the car gets settle in it's new home once I move, which is soon

[NTUNED]

After seeing the nitty gritty now I really want to get my hands into this! Let me know whenever I can come over and help please!

Sure enough
I'll send you a text next time I plan on getting more done with the car and see if you can come. Most likely during the week around 6pm or if I get lucky and have a free weekend or at least one of the days haha

[Volkswageneer1990]

Sure enough
I'll send you a text next time I plan on getting more done with the car and see if you can come. Most likely during the week around 6pm or if I get lucky and have a free weekend or at least one of the days haha

Sounds good!

And can you please post a picture of the cluster in that group of parts? If that is a Helios cluster I am going to start drooling...

[Greensteeldragon]

Only bad part was that the headliner was already cracked

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...-today/page640

[NTUNED]

Sounds good!

And can you please post a picture of the cluster in that group of parts? If that is a Helios cluster I am going to start drooling...

The cluster is out of a normal jetta GL from the junkyard. The one I told you they had just put out there.

I got a third cluster with some white gauge faces. Haven't looked at it closely but it's different in looks at least

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...-today/page640

I saw this the other day, looks like a good way to fix the headliner. Thanks for the heads up