Right on man, keep at it brother

Nice Chad man

Possibly, now that my garage is insulated and I can work on it over the cold months. I'd really like it to be roadworthy by summer :).

F**k. I hate when orders don't go smooth. My order was missing two things, one of which was supposed to be drop shipped to me. I didn't know that, and apparently they've been slow to do that lately. Hell.

Yeah yeah...shop local...except I couldn't get them locally :(.

Looking good man. Keep it up!

The front end is done.  Suspension is refreshed, steering is set up, and shifter linkage is back in place.  I have to track down a couple of NLA (no longer available) parts to fix the steering column (f**king thanks, VW), and I'll be good to go to put it back on the ground for a bit.

 

I decided to check out the 'refurbished' head that came in the parts stash I got with the car.  Previous owner strikes again...sigh.  It is a home port-and-polish job, and it destroyed the ports/combustion chamber.  Everything is misshapen, the valve guides are paper thin on one side, and none of the chambers are the same size/shape.  Motherf**king hell, some people should not be allowed to touch cars.  Just because there's a Youtube video of how to do something, doesn't mean you should!  Knowledge is no replacement for skill and patience.  Now this head is only good for mocking up stuff, and using as a template for welding with.  I'm going to have to pull my current head off and rebuild it, which is an unplanned step.  BAH.

^^^^^ Dude I've seen that doodad before!! Just remember you need to go 88 mph and will require 1.21 gigawatts of power.

 

The tranny mount is done (the hardware is temporary), and the used starter arrived in the mail today.  This **** isn't cheap, which is why I bought used, lol.  $40 USD vs. $200...yeah.  I have to add a single leg to the front mount, to account for the different mount pattern of the 2008 GTI gearbox.  Still stoked that a 2008 gearbox mated perfectly to an 87 block :).

Thanks Gary :).

That's crazy they matched up perfectly... works out great for you! BTW if you get the tranny all back together and sealed up, then find 3 bolts left over.... don't panic! that's normal... Nice to see you making progress, good luck with it man!

wild stuff for sure....your like a watch builder in Switzerland........but on a bigger scale.

Never again do I want to reassemble one of these.  It's done though, and if it blows up due to something I've done, I'm going to strip it down for the good parts, and get a shop to do the work on its replacement, lol.

I just need a bit of sealant, and I can bolt the cover back on. 

 

looks like you have done a wonderful job on rebuilding the flux capacitor. if she blows up while your driving then you may end up in the year 1957.

LOL! If I end up stuck in 1957, I'll stash a bunch of cars in a barn and slap a LOSERS logo on them, for the future ;).

 

It's an empty block and head, but even with the heavy transmission, everything is still level.  I took the measurements for the axles I'm having made at A1-CVTech (local place in Gatineau with an import performance division), and rounded up some spare hubs for them to re-spline.  I figure I might as well get some tough ones, for the future ;).  I dislike having to shell out for something, but it had to happen sometime.

ya happy birthday!!!

It's an engine again.  Fresh gaskets, THOROUGH de-gunking, and a new oil pan (that came in the parts stash I got with the car). 

Thanks Gary :).

I f**king hate de-gunking stuff.  It sounds silly, since I love cars, but I hate getting my hands dirty.  It makes me squirmy, lol.  I have to wear gloves when I do anything, but that greasy crud gets EVERYWHERE.

I needed a way to torque down the flywheel bolts (44 ft/lbs + 90* stretch), so I made a flywheel locking tool.  Worked like a charm.

 

 

I'm tired and I want a coke, lol.

Engine's in, tranny is on, axles are bolted up...and hopefully the summer will be easy going with some metalwork and wiring.  I really hope there's no more surprises...

 

I recently pulled the crappy rear shocks/ebay ricer coilover sleeves out and discovered that the PO had installed the rear shocks without half the required hardware at the upper bearing/bushing. This car would have been a rolling death trap.

He SERIOUSLY thought it was road-ready and only needed a coat of paint. I'm glad I bought this car with the intention of doing exactly what I'm doing, because I'd otherwise be reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally pissed off right now. NEVER trust someone else's work, unless you're sure they know what they're doing.

The PO is currently into rock crawlers...lord help anyone near his projects.

your a regular body man. I am going to ship you all my projects now..since you have so much time.

This is the first time I've ever done any bodywork, ever...so if you guys want to trust your cars to a guy who washes his car with brake cleaner...feel free to drop them off ;).

Oh, I get to drive them around too, so leave me the insurance and ownership papers...lol.

Gary:  I promise I'll drop by to take the LTD for a spin when it's done ;).

 

Honestly though, the only reason I'm doing any of this is because the PO BUTCHERED this car and I can't stand the quality of his 'work'.  I'm all for letting people do their own thing, their own way, but man...sometimes you have to wonder what they were thinking.

-- Edited by Broke4speed on Tuesday 5th of May 2015 02:21:03 PM

Damn good door

I've decided that this car is going to be a 10-footer.  I can't fake interest in bodywork, so it's getting what it needs...and that's it.

This is the driver's door, after I stripped all the useless filler and welded in some new metal behind the handle mounting points, as reinforcement.

 

It's also painted with Tremclad 'high performance enamel', which I love.  It self-levels, and looks exactly like oldschool enamel auto paint.  Shiny, but not deep.  Who says spraybomb paint jobs can't be good ;).