My Mk1 1500CL

Here are some pics of my Jetta as it was when I bought it.

£120 including 6 months tax! Not bad I thought.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

My short term plans are...get it running and MOT'd, slam it (got coilovers ready) and put it on ATS classics (13x7)

Mid term...I've got a 2lt injection engine from a G reg passat to go in which will benefit from a little tinkering and a new cam etc. Comes with the 5 speed box too!

Long term...I want to end up with a fairly understated sleeper! not many exterior mods, just looking nice enough and slammed. Good handling and a fast engine. We'll see how far I get.

Any suggestions send them my way. Cheers

looks like a nice start just make sure you get all the rust sorted asap, if you leave it too long it will be too late

whats with the reflectors left right and center

agree on good start! its like having something with loads to tinker like those pencil cases with spring loaded trays, each with a separate compartment of stationary.

Agreed on the reflectors! I hate them. Not taken them off yet but will do in time, the paint underneath will probably be the best on the whole car!!

With you on the rust issues as well, I have a few! I'll be treating the worst ones asap (weather permitting) but I'm not too hot on bodywork stuff so any tips would be appreciated.

Ok need some help!!

Have started fitting the coilovers (which don't come with any fitting or setup instructions!!) but am not sure of a couple of things...

1. Do you still need to refit the rubber bits at the top of the strut?

2. If so should I replace the old ones and should they be the same or can you get better performance ones?

3. At the rear, do I need to refit the metal caps that used to fit on the top of the strut, holding the srings inline with the shock? The way it looks I don't need to but I am just checking!

4. Any ideas on setting them up? They are just height adjustable as far as I can tell (none of the more complicated adjustments like rebound, damping etc) How do I make sure they are the right/same hieght all round?

Cheers guys, it's turning into one of those jobs that should only take a day but takes a week for one reason or another!!!!

Oh yeah, quick progress update...

Given her a good well needed service and she runs a lot better now, still a bit of work to do here but it's getting there.
Coilovers nearly fitted (see above!) I'll post some pics when I'm done.
Interior is cleaned out of about 100 years worth of allotment-material-carting...ie dead wood, leaves, mud and various other vegitation.
Reflectors are off.
All the worst bits of rust have now been anchor waxed to try and keep the brown stuff at bay till I can fix them properly.

loving the mk1 !

Quick update...

Sitting lower on coilovers now. Sorry about the pics, it was quite dark. I'll try again later.

MOST of the cooling system has been replaced due to overheating and pressure build ups etc.

Serviced

Still to do...

Tune Carb
Shift rod bushes
new wheels and tyres
re-adjust height after new wheels and tyres
get wheel geometry checked and aligned
MOT
Insurance
DRIVE!!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

ginna be sweet as a nut when your done , what coilies did you sling on?

its quite slamming now.

Progress is VERY slow on this one. Keep getting problem after problem at the mo. It's still not on the road yet.

2 major stumbling blocks...

A fuel tank filled with all sorts of rubbish from a previously replaced rotten filler neck. Need to drain the tank and clean...AFTER I just filled it up!! So I'm getting fuel starvation problems which means I can't set up the carb properly.

The engine keeps overheating...STILL! I've replaced nearly all of the components of the cooling system and given a complete flush through. New rad, thermostat, header tank and cap, pump some new hoses and a chemical check on the head gasket. The water just seems to be pumping back up into and then overflowing the header tank when I turn the engine over. Any suggestions?

Beginning to put my head on with regards to changing the engine sooner than I anticipated. Anyone got any tips on swapping in a 2ltr digifant passat engine? From a G reg passat. All help gratefully received!!!

Been slack lately (and on holiday!) but made a bit of progress yesterday:

Got the new wheels on! Yay! Looks a lot harder now I think. 7"x13" ATS Classics with 175x50x13 rubber stretched on. What do you reckon?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And next to the 2lt heart doner!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Also started trying to clean out the tank. Trying to do it without removing it but it's taking a while. Didn't help that I've only used 1/4 of a full tank so had to syphon out loads of fuel.

STILL got the overheating problem so any help/suggestions would be gratefully received.

Mate that is gonna look the muts im lovin the stance looks really aggressive

mrrawle wrote:ginna be sweet as a nut when your done , what coilies did you sling on?

Sorry mate. Got them from a guy called Phil on one of the Polo forums. They are the unbranded ones that a lot of people get branded in their own name. Hottuning on ebay do them as well.

For the short drive I had before it overheated it handles really well. I'd recomend them to anyone (so long as you don't mind being low...the back is at the highest setting!!!) And that was on the old wheels with crap high walled tyres, I could feel the sidewalls moving around corners!! Can't wait to finish setting it up and go for a propper drive!

love it

Lookin good

Cheers guys.

No photos but progress this weekend was...

Remove rear axle, remove tank and spend around 2 hours trying to clean out all the rust and sediment from a rusty filler neck!! Laborious job but I hope it'll help the running. Getting the tank out was a tad difficult too without a ramp and having to do it on axle stands but with a little determination it was achieved!!

Also done a lot of thinking and planning for the engine swap. Gonna have to use the fuel pump form the Passat and fabricate a bracket on the fuel tank sender in the Jetta to be able to put it in the tank. Reckon I'll have the 2ltr out in a couple of weekends time!! Like I say, slow progress but progress none the less!

Looking nice..... progress is comming right along nicely.... faster than mine so far.... but i am at lack of a JOB.... not for long though.... anyways not every day i see a MK1 being rebuilt..... nicelooking car.. keep it up

i no the feeling as my mk1 broke down yesterday in da rain, as it has a hole in the filler neck and has flicked crap in da tank so im off work waiting for parts.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

love it mate i soooo want 1

whats next on the aggenda

Heh heh, just read my last post and realised how long it's taken me to do anything else!!!

Last weekend managed to get the tank back on. Removed the rear axle completely this time which made it a lot easier!

As the axle was off, decided to take the opportunity to replace the main bushes with urethane ones which is cool and replace the rear stut top mount bushes with urethane ones also. Put everything back together and there we go. Fingers crossed, I may get her running over the bank holiday!!

Hey guys. Long time no post I know, had some work "issues"!!

Some BA*$T*D has put a brick through my rear passenger side windows!! Anyone know where I can get a replacement?

I MIGHT be rolling the wheel arches this weekend and MIGHT possibly even get her started...will be the firs bit of attention she's had since my last post....DOH!!