The Golf GTi Mk2. I've wanted one of these for a very long while and the desire got a whole load stronger when I picked one up a few weeks ago for a friend and got to drive it 80 odd miles home. I then found myself with a good excuse, I am moving house, starting a new job and will be commuting on a motorway. While the 635CSi would have been nice to use a) I don't want to drive it through the salt b) 20 mpg and c) some scumbags vandalised it and I'm still getting the parts together to repair it. This left the Land Rover as the only other viable daily option on the road. Funnily enough it found itself up for sale last week and was snapped up in under a day which I took as a result and promptly went Golf shopping.
What I picked up on Saturday was a very early 1985 8v GTi with 169000 miles in tatty but, hopefully use able condition.
Reasonably tidy outside
And not bad inside either
First impressions where mixed, the paint is not good (rattle can job), there is no headlining, various bits of trim are missing and it is generally tired. Having said that there was very little rot, it's very clean and seems 'good'. So after some careful consideration the money was handed over and I set off into the dusk. And that is where the problems began.
First up, as soon as I put the headlamps on and accelerated the fan belt slipped, really badly. This meant that I had to drop to side lights, get to speed and then, once cruising, turn the full beams back on. Thankfully the 90 mile trip consisted of easy going M25 and towns with street lights so I survived that. More worrying was the oil pressure light that started to come on at low speeds, the speedo that crapped out completely and the coolant gauge that had a mind of its own. Oh dear.
I pulled over and checked everything I could, it wasn't hot, there was oil and there was water so I pushed on at a steady 50mph and tried to relax. From there on the oil light stayed off when driving and the temperature settled down and I started to enjoy it. There are very few rattles and the car rides and handles well. With home almost in sight (and within walking distance!) I properly opened it up for the first time and it pulled really well. Far stronger than the car I drove a few weeks ago and with no flat spots or fuss.
Sunday morning came with more mixed feelings. I took it out to Hellfrauds to get some oil and plugs and the oil light flickered on several times, both at idle and while cruising. I lifted off, dipped the clutch and blipped the throttle and it went out again so I am thinking a sticky regulator may be the issue. More disappointment came when it started to rain and I found the wipers only worked with the arm at 'full' and even then they are sluggish. A careful drive back and a service...
Nice clean 'bay
Missing cambelt cover annoys me a lot!
I used some engine flush before changing the oil for Castrol 10W40 in the hope of getting some of the gunk out of the sump in case that was causing problems with the oil pressure.
Grim spark plugs
Plugs were changed for Bosch four electrode items.
I also fitted a new battery and in the process fixed the MFA which looked like it had a dead LCD but came back to life after being disconnected from the mains. Only the clock, outside temp and oil temp work, probably because the speedo is completely non functioning. It looks like someone has 'had a go' at it in the past as the needle is broken in several places and has been glued together!
Car is stationary...
With this complete a test run was in order and the results positive. It runs even better on the new plugs and the oil light stays out. Oil temp is mid to high 90s if the sender can be trusted.
Full of enthusiasm I set off to Chichester, about 50 miles away, and was having a great time. The car seemed very happy sitting at a constant 3500rpm. Then more fail.
With night falling and my destination almost in view the coolant light flashed, temp shot up and I pulled over into a service station, steam and water everywhere. . Split oil cooler pipe. I let it cool and cleaned up the pipe as best I could before wrapping it in some hazard tape donated by the service station, keen to do everything in their power to get this heap off their forecourt!!! Remarkably it held for 5 miles and I was able to arrive at the better half's before she even realised I was late. Success? More success when I remembered I had bought AA cover in August who sent a van in 20 minutes to replace the hazard tape with proper hose tape to get me home. Hopefully it will hold until a replacement arrives.
The trip back was uneventful and the commute home from work this was actually fun. Hopefully I'll be able to sort the niggles out and start to enjoy the car soon!
What I really need most urgently is advice on the wipers. I took the cover off the relay and it clicks with ignition but doesn't actually do anything! The wipers still come on with the stalk at 'max' and don't auto return even with the relay removed. I can't see any evidence of hacked wiring so I'm at a bit of a loss. Any advice or suggestions would be very very welcome and gratefully received.
Thanks
James
What I picked up on Saturday was a very early 1985 8v GTi with 169000 miles in tatty but, hopefully use able condition.
Reasonably tidy outside
And not bad inside either
First impressions where mixed, the paint is not good (rattle can job), there is no headlining, various bits of trim are missing and it is generally tired. Having said that there was very little rot, it's very clean and seems 'good'. So after some careful consideration the money was handed over and I set off into the dusk. And that is where the problems began.
First up, as soon as I put the headlamps on and accelerated the fan belt slipped, really badly. This meant that I had to drop to side lights, get to speed and then, once cruising, turn the full beams back on. Thankfully the 90 mile trip consisted of easy going M25 and towns with street lights so I survived that. More worrying was the oil pressure light that started to come on at low speeds, the speedo that crapped out completely and the coolant gauge that had a mind of its own. Oh dear.
I pulled over and checked everything I could, it wasn't hot, there was oil and there was water so I pushed on at a steady 50mph and tried to relax. From there on the oil light stayed off when driving and the temperature settled down and I started to enjoy it. There are very few rattles and the car rides and handles well. With home almost in sight (and within walking distance!) I properly opened it up for the first time and it pulled really well. Far stronger than the car I drove a few weeks ago and with no flat spots or fuss.
Sunday morning came with more mixed feelings. I took it out to Hellfrauds to get some oil and plugs and the oil light flickered on several times, both at idle and while cruising. I lifted off, dipped the clutch and blipped the throttle and it went out again so I am thinking a sticky regulator may be the issue. More disappointment came when it started to rain and I found the wipers only worked with the arm at 'full' and even then they are sluggish. A careful drive back and a service...
Nice clean 'bay
Missing cambelt cover annoys me a lot!
I used some engine flush before changing the oil for Castrol 10W40 in the hope of getting some of the gunk out of the sump in case that was causing problems with the oil pressure.
Grim spark plugs
Plugs were changed for Bosch four electrode items.
I also fitted a new battery and in the process fixed the MFA which looked like it had a dead LCD but came back to life after being disconnected from the mains. Only the clock, outside temp and oil temp work, probably because the speedo is completely non functioning. It looks like someone has 'had a go' at it in the past as the needle is broken in several places and has been glued together!
Car is stationary...
With this complete a test run was in order and the results positive. It runs even better on the new plugs and the oil light stays out. Oil temp is mid to high 90s if the sender can be trusted.
Full of enthusiasm I set off to Chichester, about 50 miles away, and was having a great time. The car seemed very happy sitting at a constant 3500rpm. Then more fail.
With night falling and my destination almost in view the coolant light flashed, temp shot up and I pulled over into a service station, steam and water everywhere. . Split oil cooler pipe. I let it cool and cleaned up the pipe as best I could before wrapping it in some hazard tape donated by the service station, keen to do everything in their power to get this heap off their forecourt!!! Remarkably it held for 5 miles and I was able to arrive at the better half's before she even realised I was late. Success? More success when I remembered I had bought AA cover in August who sent a van in 20 minutes to replace the hazard tape with proper hose tape to get me home. Hopefully it will hold until a replacement arrives.
The trip back was uneventful and the commute home from work this was actually fun. Hopefully I'll be able to sort the niggles out and start to enjoy the car soon!
What I really need most urgently is advice on the wipers. I took the cover off the relay and it clicks with ignition but doesn't actually do anything! The wipers still come on with the stalk at 'max' and don't auto return even with the relay removed. I can't see any evidence of hacked wiring so I'm at a bit of a loss. Any advice or suggestions would be very very welcome and gratefully received.
Thanks
James