Mk2 Jetta Lx ... with added G60 power :)

Right, the search is over, big thanks to Scott (Acsa on here) for a nice low mileage example As you can guess from the title the plan is to get a proper engine in it and quick.

Bit of history; Bought a mk2 golf converted to G60 a while back, but after taking it off the road when the mot ran out for a few repairs and a tidy up I found that there wasn't much left of the floors and sills -> off to the scrap yard. Soooo I thought I'd drop the engine into a moordoor golf I had with a knackered engine. Stripped that and it has somehow turned into a bit of a long haul project, whoops.

So, the next idea was to get a tidy shell and drop the engine in without getting anal about every inch of bodywork etc - the hunt for a nice Jetta began and here is the result

Pictures from when I got it home;

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Cleared some space in the garage so that work could commence. And yes that is a ford in the pic, but no it's not mine ..

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Couldn't help offering up the wheels before starting. Looking forward to the day when these go on and stay on

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Pulled the rear beam off and stripped the rear end .. hardly any rust which is nice for a change;

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Having cleaned up the rear beam off the scrapper a while ago means much time saved now. One rusty beam;

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Blasted and primed;

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Painted up;

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Going to run mk4 rear calipers so blasted them too .. a half and half shot;

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As this is a pov spec 1.3 there is no rear brake pressure regulator, so will use the beam mounts etc from the gti. Not bothered with these previously, so dug them out to clean up - like most parts off the scrapper looks like it's been at the bottom of the sea for a while

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Also started sorting through the wiring loom I got from a corrado, the whole of the engine loom is in there along with the fuse box so will put that in, but unfortunately the fusebox to fuel pump wiring is missing so currently trying to get hold of it.

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Next I decided to look at the rear arches as they looked a bit soft at the bottom corners so removed the plastic arch. The result is that unfortunately the shell isn't quite as clean as I thought, but still not too bad. Couple of spots of welding to be done.

N/s front after running over it with the wire brush;

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Chopped out and cleaned back ready for welding;

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Welded up and pretty much done, not the neatest job in the world but at least it's solid again;

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O/s front;

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Chopped out;

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Halfway through (note gap in return lip .. some poor measuring there obviously );

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Pretty much done, again not the neatest but nice and solid ;

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O/s rear of arch;

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Going to tackle that tonight, but will remove rear bumper to protect the paint .. hopefully no nasy surprises under there

nice project!

My God you don't mess around Howard, got a lump in my throat tbh but gonna be worth it in the end
Gutted about the rust but the water does tend hide in there behind those arch covers
Still trying to find that part we spoke about
keep up the good work mate.

Cheers Andrew

I'm on a deadline remember Scott - 1st December Looking at the engine on my engine stand I'm thinking I'm being a bit optimistic. The rust in the rear arches is not that bad really, like you say they all tend to go there. The rest of the arch is nice and solid both sides

Really looking forward to the plan being executed Howard, I can't wait to call down to check it out.

You got me hooked already bud keep the pics coming.

Few more pics from this evenings activities

Removed the rear bumper so as not to cause any damage whilst repairing the rear of the o/s arch. Luckily it's all nice and clean behind;

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Chopped out the rot from rear of o/s arch;

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Half way there;

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Welded and tidied

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Next job is to re-seal them and paint up the bare metal. Ordered a few bits from vw which should be here Monday hopefully so just got to finish painting bits up then can put rear beam together. Unfortunately not going to get much done this weekend as got a wedding to go to, but will crack on again next week.

good work there! A sleeper in the making too

Yep, will hopefully give a few people a surprise

Today I spent quite a long time grinding back rust spots on the underside ... not much fun, but thought I might as well get it done while there's not much under there in the way. Also dropped the fuel tank to check out the top of the o/s arch.

Gave the tank a bit of clean too. Anyone know how important the earthing strap is? .. it's snapped off;

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Luckily the arch and the mount are in pretty good condition, there's just one hole in the mount which is faintly circled in red .. will weld this up tomorrow eve

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Cleaned up the tank straps too and put some primer on them, will paint them up tomorrow;

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Still cleaning up the underneath .. v dull. Welded up a few little holes and cleaned up the o/s arch around the fuel filler - luckily it's very tidy with virtually no rot at all

Random hole in the floor;

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Chopped out and welded up; (I hate welding upside down!)

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Behind the fuel filler;

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Most parts are painted up ready for refitting, so hopefully finish re-undersealing tomorrow then can have rear beam back on by the end of the week.

Strong work mate, very clean behind the fuel filler too.

God its really spooky looking at this thread its like da-ja-vue all over again. As far as the earth strap is concerned i would refit it if you can it will stop any static build when you fill up at the pumps. Top work nice to see someone taking restoration as seriously as the mods.

No pics as all I've been doing is undersealing and welding up that horrible ford as seen in some of the earlier pics

Cheers for the comments, I'm planning on keeping this car a long time and I want it to be rock solid ... also I'm a perfectionist so I can't stop myself

Re the earth strap .. it's snapped off the metal ring round the filler on the tank and I don't reckon I'll be able to solder it back on due to needing too much heat very close to plastic and fuel vapour ... any suggestions?

Cheers

Crimp-on O-ring connector jobbie,fine drill and a small self-tapping screw?
Metal-weld bodgit spec?? (don't even know if it's conductive TBH?)

....poor i know,but don't really have any better suggestions wi' out seeing it/whats left of it i'm afraid

If there is enough meat on the metal ring around the top of the tank neck then take a set of tin snips or good wire cutters. Snip two slots with enough space between the two cuts to push a small spade connector onto it then use a PU bonder to seal it all up.. Oh do a continueaty (spelling) test on it first coz PU is a bugger to get back off once its set. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Cheers for the suggestions guys, will have a go at sorting it tomorrow.

Only managed a couple of hours today, still undersealing (feels like a never ending job) and started building up the beam;

40 quids worth of parts from vw

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Stub axles and backing plates;

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Powerflex bushes fitted and started making up new brake lines to complement the goodridge hoses

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Not much to update, beam is back together other than the calipers. Going to pick up new pads and bolts tomorrow so I can fit those. Will finish the (never ending) undersealing tomorrow too, so all that remains is to get hold of a mk3 gti/vr6 fuel tank and the back end can go back together

Decided to go with the mk3 tank as it saves all the hassle of sorting a mk2 fuel pump to go under the car .. assuming I can get hold of one fairly easily.

Will get some pics tomorrow so proper update to follow.

LOVE IT! Need more already .

Cheers mate

Didn't get as much done today as I'd hoped, but always the way. Managed to get hold of a mk3 Vr6 fuel tank, so cleaned that up - just got to sort the earth strap on it then it's ready to bolt in. Rear beam is finished too, so nearly ready to put back end back together. Only thing I'm not particularly happy about is the conversion hoses for the mk4 calipers - as you can see in the pics they have quite tight bends in them to make them fit ..

Also, painting the calipers white was a mistake they're pretty dirty already!

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Mk3 tank;

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Refurbed tank straps and bolts;

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Great work mate.
Love the brake conversion, I am just starting the same on my 1.8 8v but with Mk3 GTi disc brakes fornt and rear.
Good luck with the build

Cheers mate. Crap day today Fitted a new earth strap to the mk3 tank - managed to aviod blowing myself up whilst welding it on but the tank doesn't line up very well at the fuel filler flap and struggling to get the plastic lines from tank to underside of car in right place. Had to go out earlier this evening so couldn't carry on faffing with it, will have another go after work tomorrow. On the bright side I have managed to finish all the undersealing on the back end! woop woop

New earth strap;

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Cool ive only been away for two weeks and i seem to have missed it all its good to see another build thread on the go keep it comin bud

Hows the Fuel tank faffing Going? Big congrats on finishing the undersealing, nightmare job. Gotta be glad thats over hey

Pics pics pics. Come on i wont take no for an answer . Nice rear beam build are the calipers white or silver?

cheers guys

The calipers are matt white, looks nice now but don't know how they're going to stand up to brake dust etc ... time will tell.

Few pics of the freshly undersealed underside;

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Lots of waxoyl on the rust trap above the fuel tank;

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Managed to get the tank bolted in this evening, used the mk2 gti plastic fuel lines round the tank and they fit properly (unlike the mk3 ones) and adjusted the holes up near the filler so that it sits central. It's still fractionally lower than it should be at the filler neck, but decided this is because I've been a bit excessive with the seam sealer and underseal

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Also got the rear beam bolted up - going to fit the rear suspension tomorrow and crack on with the arch rolling.

Lined up;

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Bolted in;

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More tomorrow (I hope)