1991 Volkswagen Scirocco 1.8 8v

[mada01]

So i decided to do a purchase as I was missing a car to work on and mess around with. Originally I was looking for a polo bread van but couldn't find any that were local to me! I did find a nice one which was in Portsmouth but it was a 12 hour drive to go and collect. 

After browsing facebook market place for the 10000th time I came across something that caught my eye. 



a 1991 Mk2 VW Scirocco

After a few messages with the seller and a few running videos sent we agreed on a price and a day to view.

The car was located up in Wick, basically in the arseend of the highlands! but luckily for me only 3 hour drive! 

So we set off early Friday morning and arrived around 12:30. We were met by the seller who was fantastic, He showed us around the car and we went out for a test drive. Instant smiles, then disaster struck and the car started spluttering. Instant thoughts were fuel starvation, and a quick look under the bonnet and these were confirmed. Lots of air bubbling in the fuel filter, managed to limp it back to sellers house and then we took it to his friends house to help diagnose. A previous repair was found that had failed just before the the rubber fuel hose attached to the hard lines underneath. We went for lunch whilst they got some lines sorted and off we were on our merry way!

Got around a hour into the journey then spluttering started again. Oh no not again 
Managed to pull over into a lay-by on the NC500 to have a look. Nothing jumping out at us whilst looking and its getting dark too now. Decided to carry on and limp it home and see how we get. After another breakdown, we took out the fuel pump cover to see if there was a issue at the top of the pump. Again nothing that we could see. Had a check underneath too and nothing obvious seen. Car started again and off we went onward to Inverness.

Arrived at Inverness with 1 or 2 small splutters on the way but not starving the car like before. 



excuse the shoddy parking, parked along side my friends car who came along for the adventure! 

2 more breakdowns 5 Miles from home but finally made it back at 8pm



Haven't had chance to look at the car since getting back due to work, but plan to get to it this week.

Have ordered new fuel hoses and will inspect the tank and the filler neck as reckon we have some rust going on there too! and possibly blocking the pick up in the tank. will look this week.

So what have I purchased? A money pit? A project? A financial mistake? Time will tell

Next pictures are from the add, Ill get better ones later

Its a 1991 Mk2 Scirocco 1.8 8v
10 previous owners 
2 keys 
Mot July 2024
149k on clock 

Car has had a recent respray which seems in good nick.









Plans

Get it working! 
Want to keep it period correct with a few upgrades here and there
Multiple parts have been purchased but will reveal them once I start to fit them

Eventually would like a engine change, I'm leaning more towards the V5 engine for something slightly different but that would be a long way off.

Will update with more stuff later! 

[zeberdee]

Nice buy !!

Had a 1.8i Scala for a couple of years , sold it a year ago & still miss it .

Whilst your looking for running issues , check the carb base gasket , a known weak point . Might also be worth looking at a Weber carb replacement , if it hasn’t been done already .

Looking forward to the updates .

👍

[grizz]

That looks a cracking car.

Always liked them, never considered owning one.

But…..

I would.

A good seller is great too.

[jimi]

Nice, must be one of the last MK2's 👍

Many moons ago I had a 1983 Red MK2 1.5



That replaced my MK1 1.8 Sirocco which I don't have a picture of 😞
Similar colour to this



Both decent cars, but I preferred the look of the MK1

[scottmk1]

Nice buy. I had a Scirocco Mk2 i bought in 2017 and 1.8 turbo'd it. Was a great car, apart from the never ending rust (did both sills, 4 arches, fuel flap, fuel filler, passenger side floor).

I currently have a Mk2 Golf with the 2.3 V5, its a nice engine for the car, but far less exciting than the 1.8t.

If I were to do it again I would cut the engine mounts out of the donor car and weld them onto the chassis legs of the Scirocco. The conversion brackets are fine but do give you loads more vibration than the standard. I made my own mounts and still was not as smooth as i'd have liked it to be.

[mada01]

Thanks for the advice so far guys.

should have this afternoon to have a proper look over the car. More parts ordered already too

[mada01]

So had a half day training course at work today which afterwards I gave my purchase a good looking over!

I drove it to my training day and it left a huge smile on my face, and the amount of people looking at it as you drove past was awesome!

So here it is on the drive, Only shot I took today will get more after I've gave it a clean!



Now these are in the boot, not sure if they work and unsure if Ill use them or not



Decided to trace the wiring from the speakers in the boot back and found this little retro treasure stashed under the rear seats



It appears to be wired up bar the ground attached and the remote cable, Although it does appear fairly rusty too

The dash board is in very good condition and no cracks too!





There is a small leak in the rear, so far I am 95% certain its from the rear washer jet. This is going to be deleted along with the wiper anyway so I set about removing both the hose, resviour and the pump




The boot area needs tidying up as someone has sprayed it black and its started to scratch and peel off. Once I know the boot is leak free I may look at carpeting the sides.

Now onto todays task, removing the radio. This is what I was greeted with and also note the poor fitting by the heater control panel, turned out to be some missing screw.



And this is what has replaced it with



a Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46 DAB.

Yes it was fairly pricey but I wanted something that looked like it belonged there instead of sticking out like a swore thumb. First impression is very good, although the menus are tricky to navigate but I'm sure ill get used to them. Also whilst testing I did find the passenger side speaker wasn't working. Took off the grill and the speaker to check the connectors and found it hadn't been plugged in! Plugged back in and it works lovely now, although they Proberly need replacing too!

Also have a small fuel leak, believed to be coming from here



Now this could either be the hose, tank, or filler neck. All known issues for the Scirocco's. I ordered a new hose as its the cheapest and will inspect all 3 parts once it has arrived. I have also ordered a magnet on a stick to pick up any deposits inside of the fuel tank if it is rust. This could also be causing the starvation issue I had on the drive home when I picked it up.

[jpr1977]

Nice 'Rocco.

Mine went to a member of this parish a few years ago (looks to be still SORN)

Have you checked the fuel filler neck, they do like to rot and throw bits in the tank. I'd give it a blow through the lines in case there whilst our remedying the leak. Also get a stock of the cheap plastic fuel filters and keep replacing them. (also check the one on there has been fitted round the right way, ask me how i know....)

Also would agree, bin the pooberg carb and get a weber, the Pierburg was great when it was new, but trying to get them to run properly now is almost a thankless task, with dwindling part supplies (waxstats being a distantly remembered annoyance)... The weber with a good old manual choke is more fit and forget

As for the leak in the boot, check the boot seal as they shrink and the seal around the lights.

Jp

[craig1010cc]

do love a rocco, had 2 in the past. The 2nd one (an early GTS with a factory zender small rear spoiler and single headlights) had a similar issue to yours. Turned out to the the pot (for want of a better word) that the fuel lines go into infront of the carb. I was advised to replace it with a large inline filter which worked a treat and I had no further issues.

[mada01]

Got chance to have a play this afternoon after finishing night shift.

Started out with the standard front end



Removed the smaller inner lights that hold a 2nd high beam



And a mk2 golf grill, carefully cut down to fit the space! cable tied into place.



I feel this has transformed the front of the car, and looks amazing!

Managed to sort out the door check strap, it was hidden in the door so just needed pulling out and reattaching. Had a look at the retro amp that was under the rear seats, and after re attaching the ground got it working again and the speakers in the boot now work. Unsure on wether Ill be keeping this or not, but nice to know that it all works and was a easy fix!

Now the fuel issue that happened on the drive home hasn't happened again since. Ive still decided to investigate this and took the pickup out of the fuel tank and was greeted with this



it didn't look as bad as I thought it would be, but still enough little deposits to clog the pickup. I used a magnet to pick up any loose bits I could see and this is what I got out



A few bigger bits, the car still has half a tank of fuel so need to get it down to empty then I will see about removing the tank and investigating properly.

After todays jobs went for a drive to get Ice cream, and had to take a picture



Now I need to get this lowered and a new set of wheels!

I'm debating on wether to remove the front fogs too, to give the front end a cleaner look or to keep them. Whats your thoughts?

[zeberdee]

Liking the single lamp grill mod .

I’d remove the front fogs if it was me . Would add too the ‘clean’ looking front .

👍

My old one .
Wish I’d thought of doing the grill like yours .

[redratbike]

ooh lovely

after buying the herald the mrs said i wished pi’s bought a scirocco!

never been interested before (except for a mk2 escort she once owned ) and drops that bombshell!

[mada01]

Zeberdee I love your old one! The wheels are fantastic, they are a contender for this one.

Have decided to call the car benny after the last 3 digits of the number plate BNE.

Got some new pressed plates today, thought I had ticked the black boarder button but I must not have. Although they don't look too bad i don't think.





And as suggested, the fogs needed to go. Ive left the brackets on for now as I need to take bumper off to get to them, but they aren't that noticeable at the moment. Feel it has tidied up the front end nicely. May look into a bonnet lip eventually then it'll be perfect.





Also picked this up locally from a audi 80, VDO gauges



Already removed them from the centre console and they will be getting fitted above the radio in this part



Have ordered a holder from Dreadnought customs and will get them fitted next week.

[Davey]

What a transformation on the front end! I distinctly remember a local one with some Japanese engine in it. Maybe an SR or K20.

[jimi]

I prefer it with the twin headlights and no fogs, twin headlights were one of the things I liked about my MK1 Sirocco

[craig1010cc]

this was my old 1, def prefer the single headlights

[grizz]

And just like that….. I am now really jealous.

You are having way too much fun transforming your car.

New look works for me.

I would personally remove the front fogs too, but they also make it look a bit more butch.

Great job on all the work done.

[ChrisT]

Really liking the way this is going, didn't think there was anything wrong with the front end but looks so much better now.

[mada01]

Thanks for all the lovely comments so far. Really enjoying the 'rocco and the smiles it brings on peoples faces who tell you stories about when they were younger.

Got home from work and received a parcel





excuse the mess, its the chaos that comes with a 1 year old!

Its not a genuine one as the price and paid i doubt it is, but it'll do! will hopefully fit on Monday

And here is a tease of something that's getting custom made in Poland for the car

[grizz]

Just a massive WOW !!

For the louvers louvres.