mk1 golf GTI ragtop *new engine in!*

[adi]

Here's my 1988 GTI cabby I picked up a few weeks ago. Kept the wheels from the mk2 GTD and stuck them on, had to adjust the gear linkage as it wouldn't get 5th, and now its alright. Apart from needing another interior as the doorcards have been butchered and the driver's seat is in a bad way. Oh and some idiot has put a carb engine in it so that needs rectifying, just weighing up my options over what engine to put in her. Its just had a new blue mohair roof fitted, and it has a matching tonneau cover. Here's some pics...








and a pic after a good clean



Just fitted a new grille with the end parts, got a new heater panel, and waiting on a new rear foglight,on the to-do list is coilovers, and a beefier exhaust. I've sourced a complete running gear set up from a mk1 campaign with 80k fairly local so I'm hoping to get that lot dropped in

[adi]

I've been a busy boy today. I've fitted my new rear foglight that came from ebay as the old one was smashed, fixed the horn, fitted my new heater panel as the old one was manky and attacked by a screwdriver, and fitted some little plates that go on the front corners of my roof to help it seal better as they were missing. Some pics from today and I thought I'd give an example of just how mint the shell of this car is

[shaun850t5]

looks realy nice and tidy

[greencloverleafpat]

very nice convertible golf ;D.
i had a black golf gti cabroilet a reg karmann i did love that car and would have another one ,maybe next summer.

[adi]

I love it, its just the engine that really lets it down, it runs like poo and its slow! Oh and the brakes are typical mk1 curse word. The missus has just got a mk4 polo to learn in, so I'm gonna run that for work until I find a mk2 to run around in over winter, so this can hibernate in the garage and recieve its new heart

[adi]

New number plates finally arrived today! Didn't actually want them with the GB badge, so out come the hacksaw and file to round the edges off



One done



After chopping them both they're on. Front one is a tad wonky though, and I need to buy some of the coloured screw caps, but I'm happy with them.

[MatsOldCars]

this looks like a smart cabby, what engine are you planning on putting in then?

[adi]

I've put a deposit on a full running gear from an 80k mk1 GTI campaign, so it'l all be standard 8v Kjet that it should have in it. It still has all the loom for it, so should be plug and play. Sooner the better really as the carb is playing up quite a bit when its cold!!

[adi]

That is all. Work commences Sunday

[ditchdigger]

I love this.

I am reluctantly fond of these. I have had 4 of them, keep saying I won't buy another and inevitably within a year or so I end up with another one.

[adi]

I'm like that with mk2 golfs normally. If I sell one, after a few weeks of driving anything else I usually get bored and want another one. I've had 9 mk2's now. This is my 1st mk1 and even after a month or so I'm not bored yet. Can't wait to get this engine in tomorrow and hopefully get the coilovers on and get it dropped a bit

[adi]

spent the day on the cab today, good progress, got the carb engine out, Kjet engine is in, all thats left to do is fit the fuel pump, connect the fuel pipes to the metering head, fit the expansion tank, fill with coolant and fire her up! Pics from today

old carb engine in this morning


carb engine out



Kjet engine in, this was taken a few hours before I'd left so theres a bit more stuff connected up now

[adi]

Well I've had it running tonight, although very badly, and not on petrol... but WD40 sprayed down the intake! Ran for about a minute, popping and farting. So I now have a spark, but obviously no petrol is being injected. Any ideas?

[mk1markfalkirk]

nice looking cabby dude, should be sweet on some coils.

[adi]

Really wanna get them on! But need to get the new engine running first...

[mk1markfalkirk]

hope you have more luck than me. took me forever to get my cabby running even half decent

[adi]

put a new fuel filter and dizzy cap on it today, checked the metering head flap and that isn't stuck, cracked off the injector pipe unions on top of the metering head and turned it over, no fuel squirting out, and I assume there should be.

[adi]

Tried another metering head, cracked off unions, fuel squirts out, but engine won't run, so could be faulty injectors. Losing mojo! So I got the front coilovers on and let the polo borrow its wheels so I don't have to drive around on the pink and blue monstrosities. Here she is looking sorry for herself



And I gave the golf some sick rims and camber!

[adi]

Collecting parts for the cabby this week. Here is the 1st instalment...

[adi]

Well I haven't done much with the cabby lately, had other commitments and its been pretty cold lately, I did however get the 4 branch manifold on, wasn't too much bother to get on, just had to remove the ARB then it slipped into place. I have a proof shot of this, although its not very clear.



I also fitted the fuel pump I got from minidan on here, but just my luck its actually in worse order than the one I got with my engine, so after xmas I'm going to get a brand new one, they're £70 which is a lot for what it is, but I don't want to be buying a load of 2nd hand pumps until I get a good one (I did this last winter with ECU's when I converted my old mk2).