My first Resto, 3 Door 77' Golf

[Lukacic]

After much delaying over the past month i have finally found the time to post up my very first restoration!

In the begining of June I bought my very first Golf, and to my surprise it went very well, considering its age. However, it had a face only a mother could love and the interior made me feel dirty by only seeing it..:cry:

Ever since the day i bought it i have been slowly restoring it to its original state, and feel that the progress i have made has been good considering the little amount of money i have spent!

I still have a lot to do and its no doubt going to take months to comlete, but i am enjoying 'almost' every bit! lol

Yet to do is;
-Full respray (going white)
-Needs a good tune up
-Numerous new seals needed
-Weld on a new drivers floor pan (i will show you why soon)
-Lower it to a nice height
-Tints!
-Exaust!!
-And last but not least rego



Since i am still very new to the VW scene i am not 100% on things i should look out for and know, so any advice would be much appreciated!

Here is my progress over the past two months, from start to now! Also the first couple of photos are bad quality since my camera was broken, sorry if its hard to see. Enjoy :)

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P290509_1532-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P290509_1533-1.jpg

See what i mean? lol notice the previous owner has used the generic trailer indicators.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P290509_153601-1.jpg

The dash was cracked so the previous owner decided to fix it sumhow ( i honestly dont know what with... will remain a mystery)

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P290509_153701-1.jpg

The engine bay almost made me not buy it, but since im in the detailing business i thought i could fix it

IT BEGINS...

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P010609_1036-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P010609_103602-1.jpg

After a much needed cleanup of the whole car i decided that blue isnt the colour for me, so i painted the carpets with a nice black

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011163-1.jpg

Also experimented with painting the seats with just basic spray paint... didnt go well as my clothes found out.

Now since the custom work of the previous owner was making me embarassed i needed to get new interior parts asap.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011165-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011176-1.jpg

Ripped out the old instrument cluster and put on the new dash-mat to mask the uglyness lol

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P130609_125701-1.jpg

Called around and Thanks to Costa was able to find someone helpful to buy parts from! So i decided to destroy the ugly dash.

[Lukacic]

I finally found the dreaded rust patch that i had been hoping not to have and as you can see its pretty bad, so im going to have to find a way to fix it up, and make it strong once again.
For the mean time i have just done the rust conversion and fiberglassed the hole.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P130609_13202-1.jpg

But then along came the new dash ( and ive never struggled to put in anything like i did with this!)
Also Fitted the centre console, steering column covers, backseat door cards, and my LED lights, which i got rid of a week later lol

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011190-1.jpg

Next was the task of the enginebay, wheels and exterior..
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P310509_1842-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011151-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011154-1.jpg
The paint cleaned up nicely, but still in need of a good respray

Next after ripping of the previous 'nudgebar', fitted on the nice new gti grill and a pretty straight chrome bumper.. Which made my day!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011185-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011152-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011180-1.jpg

New wood steering wheel and gear knob, my 2nd favorite addition to the interior!

[Lukacic]

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/DSCF1623-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/DSCF1637-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/DSCF1639-1.jpg

New Door Cards and seats out of a Scirocco thanks to Matthew! And yes thats right, ive done floorboards in the back lol

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011186-1.jpg

However things did evolve as i put in my 1st favourite thing in the interior!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011195-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011200-1.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P1011202-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/DSCF1645-1.jpg

Also found the time to wire up my new headlamps! Looking mean..

So there is my progress so far, still much more is needed and will update as i go, instead of huge bursts of info as ive done here! lol

Any comments on anything would be great, let me know what you think!

Cheers, Daniel.

[Peter Jones]

Looks like you're off to a flying start. Nice work!

I notice you're in need of window winders. BMW e30 and some Audi and Volvo ones fit. Check out your local self service wrecker.

Pete

[XXX-1.8T]

Wow!

Paint looks good i wouldnt worry about the respray!

Did Jules hook u up with the parts?

[mikinoz]

That is an inspiring thread. It was a royal mess before you started and it now looks half respectable.

Best thing about them is that they are pretty straightforward if you are starting out - I have learnt more fiddling with the MK1 than any other car as I am willing to give it a go knowing if I fail it won't be all that hard to reverse.

Keep at it. Look forward to meeting up with you some time.

* I may have some VW centre caps that fit for nix if your interested.

[dubai gti]

Mate that engine bay now looks fantastic...:bowdown: wish you were close by, as I'd pay you to do mine!!!!

[static1800]

Great work, that interior looks awesome from where you started.

Keep up the good work.

[Spyda]

Loving the floor boards man. Is it laminate or actual boards?

[Golf Loon]

Yeah man floorboards look awesome.

Glad to see those Rocco seats going to good use too.

[KI11Z]

lovin your work mate! massive thumbs up :bigok:

[Whubbsie]

sweet jesus cleaned up good, how'd you get your engine bay so shiney?? I need to do that to mine.

[Water Boy]

Nice! :banana:

[gtimk5]

Congets mate, doing a good job there.

Not knocking at all but with the wood in the back, I would be hoping not to have a rear end shunt.
Well done,
Andrew

[Lukacic]

Wow! Thanks for the great response! Im glad to see that my work is liked in the vw community lol :biggrin:

I honestly didnt think many people would like the floorboard idea (and yes they are actual floorboards!)

But i did think about what would happen in case of a rear accident, the centre where the sub-woofer is is just thin plywood with cabin carpet on it, so that it will crumple instead of floorboards spearing me in my back! lol

And i honestly spent about 15 minutes on the engine bay, it was easy as spraying de-greaser everywhere, mag wheel cleaner over the metals and a high-pressure hose to get it looking sweet! and once its dried, just some tyre shine over the black parts! ;)

Im going to update this after the weekend, as i have much planned to do for it ;)

Cheers, Daniel.

[Satanstoenail]

Very impressive, looking forward to watching the progress.

[Lukacic]

Heres the first update of my little project, yesterday i transported the golf to its new temporary home in Prariewood where its going to be for a couple of months or so! A lot was accomplished that day, as was a lot was learned!:frown:

My mate and i started stripping the car first thing in the morning, as today the internals of the doors and bonnet are being sanded and primered!

Doors, Bonnet and Hatch came off with ease as did lights, wipers, and the little things! However on the drivers door one of the bolts was rounded so that made life a little more difficult :mad:
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P220809_1011-2.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P220809_1314-2.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P220809_1316-2.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P220809_1130-2.jpg

I had to also take out all the glass and seals off the car and basicly everything that was needed of for the respray!
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P220809_1052-2.jpg

Since basicly everything was off by 12:30 we thought it would be fun to lower it! So we did the typical cheap way, and just cut them! however i thought i'd use the spare springs... and as u can tell the was a huge difference:brutal:
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P220809_1704-2.jpg

However, during the process of removing the windscreen i learned that rust was a little worse than i thought!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/08/P220809_1725-2.jpg

Anyone had this problem, if so what would be your best advice on how to fix this?

Cheers, Daniel.

[Golf Loon]

Very common rust spot for Mk1s mate.
Best if you can weld it, if not the kurust treatment that makes it go black and strong and then some bog and sealant.
Thats not bad, I have seen ones much worse.

[mrlex]

Nice work mate, loving it!
Like Loon ive seen much worse rust than that, just weld or fill...

[Dubdubdubdot]

So nice. Keep with the single per side headlights IMO, but ad the rad red gti trim around the grill/

[leo46]

Great Job! You have me inspired! Does any one know if it is legal to take out your back seat? I think i will do something similiar but slant it so its higher at the back so i still have some grocery space.
Once again good job! :bowdown:

[Jarred]

half a day to strip a golf, you're doing pretty well! for you first time atleast! :D

Hit that whole window section with some wirebrush, as I'm sure some more pin holes willl appear. It's best to have it welded up properly, although rust convertor and a metal/fibreglass filler would be my next preference. (as opposed to just bog, as it has practically no structural qualities.)

[Lukacic]

Thanks for all the advice and great comments! :biggrin: im sure i can get it welded up, however, i do still have fome rust converter and that fibreglass kit that i used for the hole in the floor..

To be honest i have no idea whether its legal to make it a 2 seater, im guessing that it shouldnt be a big deal. i just couldnt keep the rear seats anyway, no belts and the seat would not hook properly. So hopefully the rta doesnt kill my life about it!

[Lukacic]

Sheer apologies to those following this with interest for not being able to update this thread any sooner than now, its just that the resprayer took 11 weeks on my car! (i guess he took full advantage of 'take your time i want a good job') haha

Well its almost FINISHED! and i thought id share my last few weeks with you all!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P061209_1351-2.jpg

Here it is after 10 weeks and the resprayer had sanded the old weathered paint back and primered it up nicely as well as paint the door jambs.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P061209_135301-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P061209_135102-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P061209_1353-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P061209_135303-2.jpg

Very nice aquarium now compared to before!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P061209_135302-2.jpg

Good ridance to the rust around the windscreen! hope to never see it again!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P061209_135401-2.jpg

I love this photo, just thinking back to the visual condition this bonnet was in before makes me feel ill, its too bad its going to get dirty as soon as i do a few hundred or so kilometres..

CONTINUED

[Lukacic]

Here it is on the big day, all properly masked (though the interior still ended up in heaps of overspray)

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P241209_0953-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P241209_111601-2.jpg

Resprayer sanding back plaster just before we wiped it down with thinners whilsts inside the booth.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P241209_1454-2.jpg

The car recieved another coat of primer before the paint went on, and after that it recieved 4 coats of paint, no paint as spared! so at least now should anything stain my paint theres no problems cutting back!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P241209_145501-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P241209_1649-2.jpg

After it was heated for an hour and a half in the oven we drove it out looking like a different car.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P241209_164902-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P241209_1650-2.jpg

CONTINUED

[Lukacic]

And then finally came assembly day my mate and i started at 3pm unfortunatly so we couldnt get all on however the majority is on excluding windows, chrome strips, gti decal stripes!, and various other little components.

ONCE again used the crappy camera on my phone, better photos will come soon!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P200110_131002-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P200110_173101-2.jpg

No more cable ties holding on the grill! lol

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P200110_2002-2.jpg

Doors all fixed up with my new customizable LED lights

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P200110_2001-2.jpg

Finally looking like a car again

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P200110_2005-2.jpg

One of my favourite photos!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P200110_200801-2.jpg

Lights were tricky to wire up, because it was pretty dodgy, going to have to tidy up the wiring one of these days

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2010/01/P200110_2007-2.jpg

And there you have it! its almost there! i will update soon with the windows in, and also going to change back to the original carbie, getting sick of the sidedraft delortos.

Also needed to do in put in a reconditioned servo and new master cylinder, lower it (again lol), tune it up, service it, tint windows, exhausts and then REGO! really not all that much and cant wait till its finished!

[mikinoz]

Awesome work. Good effort on spending the coin on getting a great paint job, you will be rewarded in the future if you have to sand out any contaminates.

I like it without side strips, are they staying off?

[revnit]

good job mate the way it looked in when you brought it dam! i would have walked away but well done you started with a very average looking mk1 (as most are these days) and got something great out of it :cool:

Anyone can go and buy a datto or corolla takes passion to live outside the box, there are not many mk1s on the road these days its good to see another brought back to life.

[Golf Loon]

Looking good mate.
Nice to see the Rocco seats living on.
Hope you dont have too much drama with the RTA.
Look forward to seeing it terrorising the streets of Sydney real soon.

[Lukacic]

Thanks for the comments! i too look back at the photos and cant believe its the same car haha its much better now but has a bit to go, although now all the hard work is done.

(apart from locating the 1/4 window seals, which im sure that i will have difficulty finding, since i want them to actually work and not be fixed..)

I have to admit too that i do like it without the side strips but all the holes are still showing for them to clip into so i am left with no choice than to use them!

[Golf Loon]

You can use a roll of pinstripe which will cover the holes and not intrude like the factory sidetrims.

I have the fixed quarter lights and seals. good luck getting opening quarterlights which work and dont leak.

[Jarred]

looking good matey.

what are the plans now?

[mrlex]

Looks the nuts with new paint, coming along nicely.
x2 on whats next?

[Lukacic]

Well next is lowering it, i plan on just lowering maybe 3cm max from its ride height atm.. just because its so damn high! nothing too low that it becomes ugly to drive, just somthing to make it look a little cooler :cool:

Then after that im going to put on a whole new exhaust.. simply because its got holes everywhere and its not original anyway. going for 2inch piping.. and no, i dont plan on putting a typical P-Plater 'Fart Cannon' lol

after those two main things its just whatever comes to mind! i dont really plan on making it 16v anytime soon seeing as im saving to go overseas, however should there be anything that anyone can suggest, im all ears!

[Jarred]

new wheels?! :D but lowering also sounds good too!

your plans sound pretty good. Get some extractors, and a 2" system with a hotdog and 1 straight through rear muffler; it's pretty much the norm for alot of mk 1s these days