Dirtydubbers Resto Corner MK2 Jetta 8v GTI.

First of all sorry its been such a long time since i last posted anything, life has been a bit manic just recently...

So i will start by introducing the car she is a farly standard 1.8 8v gti with the only mod being a cheap suspention kit this is pretty much how are customer bought the vehicle to us which leads me quite nicely to introducing the owner for now i will just call him Jettafan im sure he will introduce himself in the new members section as soon as he gets back from holiday (he has already signed up on the JOC but has not posted anything yet). Im quite lucky with this project as the owner is not only a good customer at dirtydubs HQ but he is also a very good friend as well although he might not be when he see's what ive done to he's vehicle since he's been away

Some before shots.

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The engine was a bit smokey and the gear box was totally useless we suspect diff failure.

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But after a very vigorous health check up the rest of the chassis was given the Ok for a restoration and engine upgrade.
In fact its actually a very good body with very little surface corrosion at all.

so first things first out with the tired old lump.

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Look at the mess thats made of my nice clean floor!

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Now to strip the bay for a good wash and overhall. There was a couple of areas that we knew were going to be rusty.

The bulkhead behind the block/exhaust downpipes.

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And the battery tray.

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With both the front wings off we can make the very important check of the tops of the front chassis legs were they meet the a piller and the top edge of the bulkhead (were the bonnet hinges are bolted in) this is a common point for corrosion and can be a nightmare to fix but this one is spot on!

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After the bay was cleaned by hand it was time for us to repair that battery tray. First get rid of the corrosion.

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Then a fine skim of metalix filler just to give it some shape and to help seal it.

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Then the hole bay has any small spec of rust removed then all seam's, joins or welds are given a very thick coating of seam sealer.

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This is left for 48 hours to harden then another rub down and then hole lot is given a thick coat of acid etch primer.

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That includes the underneath of the chassis legs aswell.

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Well that brings me to the end of the first post on this ongoing topic i hope ive wet your appetite a little and not made you want to chuck yourself off a bridge!!!!
Just leaves me to say to Jettafan ....... Its to late now!!

no bridge jumping for me just admiration! lol

Cheers sam thanks for that. Just had jettafan pop round for a look today and he seemed quite chuffed with the progress too so its all smiles

were bouts in west sussex are ya? mit pop up for a veiw and a hand is always willing to be lent? lol

Well i wont rattle on to much i will just give you all some progress pics instead

Finally the finishing touches to the battery tray.

Before =

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After =

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The bulkhead finally done.

Before =

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After =

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And then some pics of the rest of the bay and chassis legs with fresh new paint.

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Oh and the underside is as good as the top not that anyone is ever going to see it.

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Before =

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After =

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Plus we stripped and cleaned the scuttle tray area and the inner wings as well.

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We will replace all of the waxoil that has been cleaned off later.

Now that the paint has had time to harden its time to move are attention to the rear subframe front cross member and front end running gear.
I will keep you posted...........
Again cheers for reading.

samthejettaman wrote:were bouts in west sussex are ya? mit pop up for a veiw and a hand is always willing to be lent? lol

We are in the south coast / chichester area.
Pm me if you would like satnav details or my number.

Lovely job!

Looking good - and following with interest.

more pics,more pics,more pics this will look so fresh when its finished, how long did it take from strip down to paint

how much do you charge for a bay like that ? inc removing and refitting engine?

i know a car that needs sprucing up under the bonnet

Alex, once again an anal build thread.... will keep an eye on this to fill me in on what i've missed in between visits!

can't wait to see it finished dude!

Cheers again for all the interest.

Nothing to really report today as it was just boring stuff like servicing and refitting the wiper motor and ecu plinth plus i have to work on this project when i can so i dont end up turning away my bread and butter trade (servicing and such like).

jedi16v = I will try and post a couple more pics of the bay just for you. It took about 25to30 hours to strip and prep for paint.

steveb = This sounds like such a garage cop out but it really is impossible to say with out seeing the vehicle and giving a good inspection (how much rust, does it have power steering). Plus there are always your limits to consider what would you like us to replace along the way. This bay was very good to work with in the first place but its still taken us about 35 hours and over a £100 in just materials!. I dont charge hourly for things like this as we like to take our time so that we are happy that it will last and its the best possible job we can give the customer.

steveb wrote:how much do you charge for a bay like that ? inc removing and refitting engine?

i know a car that needs sprucing up under the bonnet

Surely you cant mean your valver she's a minter

Some more pics, Just the bay in various stages.

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Its almost a shame to put the lump back in there. You can see how easy it is to get carried away thought.

Has the AC been removed

just me being dumb no dought but do you mean air con?

one word. WOW!!!!!!

Dirtydubber wrote:just me being dumb no dought but do you mean air con?

Thats right my friend (sorry for being lazy )

Nope no power sapping A.C here thank god! You would be pretty dame lucky to find one with aircon in this country ive heard that there are some out there but the only one i have ever worked on was i south african import i think it was a GLX if my memory serves me right..... Have you got one?

Right! some more progress the loom is back in now and yes you've guessed it thats been cleaned to within an inch of its life as well. Oh and just a little bit of detailing too..

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Its amazing what some rice,vinegar and a dishwasher will do to some of your engine bay bits. These are the original bottles i promise.

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wow they are super clean! guna have to do that!

Dirtydubber wrote:Nope no power sapping A.C here thank god! You would be pretty dame lucky to find one with aircon in this country ive heard that there are some out there but the only one i have ever worked on was i south african import i think it was a GLX if my memory serves me right..... Have you got one?

Yes it was factory fitted on the donor car (Golf gti 16v)and power isn't to bad at 16,01 down a 1/4 mile and the fun I have on the road is sooooooo good

Its always interesting to follow the build threads to see what others get up to and how they aheive certain things but this is such an exciting treat to watch my motor taking shape and know its in good hands, still stunned when looking at the before and after pics next to each other! so v.

Ok so i know its been a while but i didnt want to bore poeple to much with lots of before and after pics of what seems to feel like a never ending amount of tatty engine bits that need a bloody good seeing to

But here is a shot of just a handfull of bits and bobs before they had some good old fashioned elbow grease chucked at um.

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Some closer shots before they were detailed.

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Again each component was cleaned of rust, dirt and grease then given a good coat if the faithfull acid etch primer.

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Then given a fresh new look with most of the components keeping a factory finish and colour.
Rear right gearbox mount after.

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Brake servo after.

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Rear left engine mount after.

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Let me know if you want some more pics but for now i will leave it short and sweat. Cheers again peeps.

No work on the rear subframe yet as we have a busy week ahead and we need her to be mobile. But we have done some upgrades on the braking side of things first things first.

Servo back in place with a new bendix 22mm brake master cylinder. It was black but i wasnt happy with the standard paint finish, I was feeling brave so i gave it a fresh coat of light gold GULP (hope you dont mind JF?).

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And yes im that sad i glued the original part number sticker back on

Next job to replace all the solid brake lines (not including the four at the rear we will get to them later).
So we started with this =

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Then made one of these =

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Then these =

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And these =

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I know you can make your brake pipes up how ever you want but we like to make them as close to the originals as possible.
After a good scrub the original reservoir bottle is refitted.

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Then the front to rear pipes were clipped in place after the clips were cleaned copper slipped then the floor pan was cleaned as well.

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Then to replace the front pipe work (and polish the three way joiners sorry i cant help myself i just love cleaning stuff it makes me ).

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All the plastic clips in the engine bay were replaced for new ones as the heat had made them very brittle.

Well thats it really again we hope im not making this to boring for everyone?
Feel free to let me know what you think good or bad dont be shy.
JF (jettafan) hope you like? see ya soon bud.