My '97 Golf GTi 16v

[Kai Robinson]

http://kai.robinson.free.fr/dropbox/golf1.jpg

Here you go guys, i've moaned about it often enough but not taken any pictures :p

Golf Mk3, 2.0 ABF 16v - completely standard except for Mongoose Exhaust

Good Points:

Black Leather Interior - very good condition.
FK Angel Eye Headlamps
SWG 'Pro Design' Front & Rear Bumpers
SWG 'Pro Design' Sideskirts
Tinted Windows for the rear doors & rear window

Bad Points:

Stupid Momo Handbrake (i want an OEM one!)
Stupid Momo Gearknob (see above!)
Tacky Chrome Plastic Heater Control knobs
Wonky Distributor

Basically think of this as an animal - it's a rescue cat, and i'm saving it from a life of abuse at the hands of some pimp my ride loving chav...

[Kingcarcas]

OMG!! More pics :clap: Sexyness right there, i might get something like that, plus it's black hell yah!

[Kai Robinson]

But of course, old chap.

http://kai.robinson.free.fr/dropbox/golf2.jpg

http://kai.robinson.free.fr/dropbox/golf3.jpg

And of course, the 2.0 ABF engine - 155hp from the factory :)

http://kai.robinson.free.fr/dropbox/golfengine.jpg

[jaguarking11]

What no 20v swap? Im disappointed. :D

[[XC] Lead Head]

Good looking car! Wouldn't have thought a 97 would still have a distributor tho :-/

[Kai Robinson]

Nope - the ABF is a good engine and i'd rather not go DOWN in displacement.

I'll be keeping the engine in this mostly stock for the forseeable future, it's got enough poke as it is - and if i get a K&N and a chip, that should be all it'd need.

Well, its a 'distributor' - theres no gear drive in it at all, no rotor arm and as you can see, the 'cap' is square and at right angles to the body. It's got a kind of optical pickup on the end, which 'knows' the position of the camshaft, it tells the ECU when to fire the coil pack, which then batch fires the spark plugs (wasted spark).

Problem is, the optical pickup is a little 'wonky' - and every so often the engine won't rev past 2000rpm, regardless of throttle position, and then if you let go of the throttle, it'll just stall...which can be fun if you're going downhill at 60mph and coming up to a sharp left hand bend :D

[Shaz]

I want the wheels off that. Stock GTi mk3 alloys are pretty nice, shame I've got a 4 bolt mount on mine. I'll have to make do with BBS RA if I get hold of them.

[Kai Robinson]

Lenso make a good copy...split rim too....and they do them in 15".

[Brave758]

Mk3 golf :( sorry mate but vw lost the magic right there.

But still a easy lump to work on

[jaguarking11]

Nope - the ABF is a good engine and i'd rather not go DOWN in displacement.

I'll be keeping the engine in this mostly stock for the forseeable future, it's got enough poke as it is - and if i get a K&N and a chip, that should be all it'd need.

Well, its a 'distributor' - theres no gear drive in it at all, no rotor arm and as you can see, the 'cap' is square and at right angles to the body. It's got a kind of optical pickup on the end, which 'knows' the position of the camshaft, it tells the ECU when to fire the coil pack, which then batch fires the spark plugs (wasted spark).

Problem is, the optical pickup is a little 'wonky' - and every so often the engine won't rev past 2000rpm, regardless of throttle position, and then if you let go of the throttle, it'll just stall...which can be fun if you're going downhill at 60mph and coming up to a sharp left hand bend :D

Sounds like you have moisture in your distributor.

No matter how you slice it, its a distributor, optical or mechanical. The old gm v8's of the 80's and early 90's had a similar system, it was called optispark. It would pick up moisture and then malfunction.

Then they switched to cam sensors.

[Kai Robinson]

£230 for a replacement at a VW Stealership, but theres no other option - once its dead, according to other owners, it's dead...

It only does it at random intervals - sometimes when its hot, sometimes when its cold - it's like living with a mental patient :p

[Kingcarcas]

Simple, clean, tidy :up: My uncle told me to look for one with fuel injection though...

[Kai Robinson]

Well, thankfully whoever put the SWG kit on, did a good job.

And the GTi's ARE ALL FUEL INJECTED :p:

[YukonTrooper]

You found a new love! What does your Yank lass think of this!?

[[XC] leviathan18]

not bad at all

[jaguarking11]

£230 for a replacement at a VW Stealership, but theres no other option - once its dead, according to other owners, it's dead...

It only does it at random intervals - sometimes when its hot, sometimes when its cold - it's like living with a mental patient :p

Scrap the stock, replace wires with coil on plugs and run an aftermarket ignition with a disy style pickup, or a magnetic screw in one of your cams with a hall sensor and an msd box.

Im sure that it can be done.

[Kai Robinson]

Nope - not possible at all. You have to replace stock for stock, unless you want to change the entire engine bay wiring loom and lose the MFD.

Simpler just to swap out the parts.

Yukon - the golf is just my other daily driver aside from the Focus. The Skyline arrives Tuesday (yay!) and the Supra is still in about 15 different boxes in a garage in reading...

[YukonTrooper]

Yukon - the golf is just my other daily driver aside from the Focus. The Skyline arrives Tuesday (yay!) and the Supra is still in about 15 different boxes in a garage in reading...
Lucky man! R32/R33? I refuse to believe you have an R34. :p:

Looks like you also have a nice pad!

[Kai Robinson]

1997 R33 GTR - paid £8830 for it including all shipping fee's and import tarriffs.

Yep - thats the other thing i haven't mentioned yet, i bought back my family home! Four years after it was purchased by the state (in France), it's still just as i had left it - books on shelves, stuff in drawers, furniture still all there - no-one had even viewed it. I got this for a measly £327,000 - thank you credit crunch, thank you housing market crash :p:

[darkorb]

mmm nice MK3 golf!

[Kai Robinson]

Thanks Darkorb :)

However, it's not so nice at the moment - while on my way to the bank this afternoon, the distributor started wigging out on me again, but this time bump/rolling starting it didn't work, and when i pulled over at the side of the road with my hazards on, it refused point blank to start - pulled the ECU fuse, the Fuel Pump Relay, replaced them with spares (just in case), reset the MFD, checked and cleaned the connections on the dizzy and the coil pack, the main engine bay loom plugs were all cleaned and i tried to start again...nothing. Kicked over but wouldn't start.

So, out came the tow-truck to take it away to the garage, dropping me off at home in the process....

The mechanic grimaced when he saw that it was a petrol engine, then confirmed that the distributor has gone 100% bye bye, as well as the coil and noted that the wiring into the hall sensor had pretty much had it. However, the good news is, that the cost of the parts from VW in the UK is the same price as having the car towed away and repaired, it'll just take a bit longer.

[Kai Robinson]

Sods law stepped in once again! It seems to have a personality all of its own, this car...

I picked it up from the garage, and vroom vroom, it was alive once again. The bill wasn't too bad either - at only €316 including the cost of the tow-truck and all labour...

But, less than a minute from leaving the forecourt, it started buggering me around AGAIN - despite the BRAND NEW dizzy and coil. Not anywhere near as bad as before, nor as frequent, i can actually drive it without too much fear of ploughing myself into a ditch.

Now, instead of just randomly dying on me all the time, it'll do it only once every few days, and only then, when slowing down. And instead of just not accelerating at all on occasion, for the most part it accelerates brilliantly, albeit on the same days as it stalls, it'll hesitate to accelerate and just take off like it's been kicked in the nuts instead of just bogging down and dying.

So that leaves part number: 165 906 381

The ECU Relay....

How many of these things have i gone through? 3 - all faulty ones!!!

[[XC] Lead Head]

Sods law stepped in once again! It seems to have a personality all of its own, this car...

I picked it up from the garage, and vroom vroom, it was alive once again. The bill wasn't too bad either - at only €316 including the cost of the tow-truck and all labour...

But, less than a minute from leaving the forecourt, it started buggering me around AGAIN - despite the BRAND NEW dizzy and coil. Not anywhere near as bad as before, nor as frequent, i can actually drive it without too much fear of ploughing myself into a ditch.

Now, instead of just randomly dying on me all the time, it'll do it only once every few days, and only then, when slowing down. And instead of just not accelerating at all on occasion, for the most part it accelerates brilliantly, albeit on the same days as it stalls, it'll hesitate to accelerate and just take off like it's been kicked in the nuts instead of just bogging down and dying.

So that leaves part number: 165 906 381

The ECU Relay....

How many of these things have i gone through? 3 - all faulty ones!!!

I'd just get some industrial rated relays and rig it up into a standard relay base.

This car is OBDII correct? Might be wise to invest in a Scanguage or some other kind of Data Acquisition scanner to see exactly whats going on when she starts acting up

[Kai Robinson]

Technically its OBDII, but only with VW's 'special' tools can you read it :/

The actual relays aren't too expensive, about €13/€16 each, but there are two types, the black ones, which are made in malaysia (the unreliable ones) and the grey/brown ones which are made in germany (reliable ones) - so i have to make sure i get the grey one.

[GMX]

vagcom?

Get someone local to scan codes for you if u dont have

[[XC] Lead Head]

vagcom?

Get someone local to scan codes for you if u dont have

Its not just codes, but a real time data logger is needed to see what exactly goes whacked out. Because it may not trigger a code to be set.

I find it interesting that you can only use it with VW's special code reader. Over here ever car has to be able to be read from the same code reader

[Kai Robinson]

VW's are OBDII compliant, but, they change the pinout of the connector so if you plug in a non-VW tool *poof* it gets 12v through the data lines instead. I've got my eye on building a code reader (not hard) but where i am, i doubt anyone within 100 miles has vagcom other than the dealer in St. Malo.

[[XC] Lead Head]

VW's are OBDII compliant, but, they change the pinout of the connector so if you plug in a non-VW tool *poof* it gets 12v through the data lines instead. I've got my eye on building a code reader (not hard) but where i am, i doubt anyone within 100 miles has vagcom other than the dealer in St. Malo.

That is what I'm saying, over here every car must have the exact same connector, with the exact same pinout. While more advanced features don't have to be standardized, at the minimum the ability to read codes must be allowed. Are you sure the pinout is different?

Well thats interesting, I was just reading up on vagcom, and this guy has a 2000 GTI 1.8 with a similar problem as yours, and his fuel pump relay kept dying on him

Hmm more interesting information on the 12v to the OBDII connector. Seems like an easy enough test.
http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/aftermarket-radio.html

[Kai Robinson]

Yep - pinout is definitely different. Was looking for OBDII readers and several were marked 'VW/AUDI/SKODA/SEAT ONLY' (all of which are VW owned). Read up on it and yep, its different. They might do it in the US too, but you dont use the same EFI systems as we do, the engine ranges are different and the requirements are different.

Yeah the fuel pump relay is also an issue, but the ECU Relay is the main one.

[Kai Robinson]

New ECU Relay = NO BLOODY DIFFERENCE!

GRRR!!!

I checked closer and they DIDNT change the distributor, only changed the CAP on it, which does BUGGER ALL....FSCKING GARAGES >_<

I'm ordering a dizzy online and going to do it my bloody self, even if i have to buy new tools to do it....

*grumbles and breaks things*

[Polizei]

That sucks man... every time I take my car in, I'm afraid I'm going to get screwed like that. I haven't taken it in for minor things like oil changes or brakes, but big things like exhaust or stuff, I let them do it. I can't imagine it taking as long as they say it does, but whatever.

On a side note, you need to stop posting in this thread. ;) Just kidding, just kidding. Seeing this thread reminds me of how my coworker teases me about how his family owns two 2003 Jetta TDIs, both 5 speed, black on black leather, under 60k miles on both. Jealous doesn't even describe how I feel.

[Kai Robinson]

Lol - well, if it makes you feel any better, i have a 1991 Toyota Supra Mk3 Turbo as well! ;)

Unfortunately, it's holding all my tools (its being rebuilt) so i have none with me here at all (the car is in Reading, i'm not). I didn't get screwed either - i should have realised when the bill was so low (only €316) when VW Charge €203 for a distributor alone...

[Jamesrt2004]

the car is in Reading, i'm not)

Ill have the car? :D

[Kai Robinson]

Well, sure, if you want to assemble it from a bare shell - its strewn around about 15 tea chests in a garage :p

[Kai Robinson]

I'm very, VERY worried about my ABF now. Having replaced virtually every last ignition component, its STILL giving me crap. So, during a routine clean and fluid check today, i discovered, to my horror, that i think the oil has almost completely escaped.

Upon removing the dipstick, it was wet with oil, but wiping it try with a paper towel and then trying to measure the fluid level, it was.....DRY.

TOTALLY DRY.

Not reading ANYTHING, not even on the tip of it.

Of course, having a 7M-GTE engine thats previously been run low on oil thats subsequently needed a very expensive rebuild, i'm so incredibly worried that my Engine is bollocksed to the point of needing a rebuild.

It sounds a bit clattery on the top end, but the cams are slick with good looking golden syrup coloured oil, theres no sign of rod knock, all through the rev range (gently upto about 3000 rpm once i added another .5 litres of oil to it) - the engine just sounds....grunty. It's not seemed down on power either....is the dipstick lying to me, and i need to wait a little longer to check it, or does Mystic Meg forsee a new set of bearings and a crank grind? :(

Of course, if this was a 7M-GTE, i'd have plenty of spares...and know what i'm getting into...

[Shaz]

If you can get it here I know a mechanic that can rescue it. No joke.

[Kai Robinson]

Got about 2mm on the bottom of the dipstick, thats all...

[Jamesrt2004]

Engine problems aside...
my mate has a mk3.2(the one with cool back bumper) polo V-dub he has these like german plates (the font that is) which makes the car look great I recommend you get those and spray the rims a nicer colour, was thiinking black but that might look a bit chavvy!! :)

how is the car going atm anyway anything happen over the last few days?

[[XC] Lead Head]

Got about 2mm on the bottom of the dipstick, thats all...

So put more oil in it?

[Chipmonk]

Sounds like the MAF to me causing all the crap with the throttle. Look irt up and dose it with WD and keep on top of it with a spray oncwe a fortnight, Also try GSF (german swedish french) for your parts, all non genuine but you wont know the difference.

[[XC] Lead Head]

If it has a MAF, try spraying it with Sensor Safe Throttle Body cleaner. If that doesn't work try disconnecting the maf. If it is a MAP, just try disconnecting the MAP and see if it helps.

Personally I'd hook two little 12v lights (or LED + resistor) to one of the fuel injector wires and the coil pack wire to see if one of them stops firing when the engine goes to die.

[Kai Robinson]

There's no MAF - this is the Digifant II/Siemens Mangement - uses a MAP sensor in the ECU. Found out and solved the problem with the stalling though - Coolant Temperature Sensor - it was throwing inconsistent resistances and causing the ECU to alter the timing to compensate.

Lead Head - although i've done a complete oil & filter change, i'm still paranoid about possible bearing damage due to the low oil situation. I might just rebuild the spare ABF i picked up as a 'just in case' scenario.

In other, more positive news, i have nearly finished un-pimping the interior!!

This is what it looked like before (bad angle):

http://kai.robinson.free.fr/dropbox/golfinteriorbefore1.jpg

http://kai.robinson.free.fr/dropbox/golfinteriorbefore2.jpg

The glovebox was totally inaccessible as the handle was torn off and the whole assembly was wobbling.

In addition, the heater controls had been replaced with these really REALLY tacky chrome sprayed plastic 'things' that didn't fit right.

So, this is what it looks like now:

http://kai.robinson.free.fr/dropbox/golfinteriorafter.jpg

Just the gearknob and the handbrake to unpimp now, and hopefully Shaz has found one for me :D

[Jamesrt2004]

looks great :)

I wish insurance wasnt the law. I'd so get one of these I love them

[XS_Rich]

looks great :)

I wish insurance wasnt the law. I'd so get one of these I love them

I'm actually kind glad insurance is the law! It's saved me forking out when I've been hit in the past...

[Kai Robinson]

The insurance industry in recent times, has become biased against younger drivers. Probably on the advice of the government, who would like nothing better to force us to use public transport, live in cities and thus be more 'manageable' as a population. All that 'freedom' is most troubling for those commie scumbags in charge.

But i digress.

The best form of 3rd party cover, would be to have it attached to your license, so you all pay into one big pool every year for 3rd party cover. For anything extra, you have to top it up. Australia does this - works pretty well for them...

[XS_Rich]

The best form of 3rd party cover, would be to have it attached to your license, so you all pay into one big pool every year for 3rd party cover. For anything extra, you have to top it up. Australia does this - works pretty well for them...

I didn't know that. Sounds good though!

Mind you, my insurance is CHEAP (<£500 fully comp on a heavily modified Focus ST) :)

[Kai Robinson]

Ditto, mines cheap, but just cause i'm in a good position with 9 years of NCB doesn't mean i'm happy about others being robbed blind by insurance companies.

[Shaz]

You mean like me? Renewal of £885 today...

But yeah I'm still hunting for the unpimping things that you need... I never realised your gearknob was THAT ugly though, I plan to look harder now.

[Kai Robinson]

LOL - Work Harder :p:

[[XC] Lead Head]

Generally the car will start yelling at you if you have no/low oil pressure. With or without an oil pressure gauge. If your that paranoid just hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge and check your warmed up operating oil pressure. Should be at least 15 PSI hot idle. Maybe around 35-50 PSI full revs.

[Kai Robinson]

Oil pressure gauge checked out fine and the system has since been filled up, but still, being used to 7M engines chewing through bearings upon insufficient volume....maybe i'm just paranoid about it :D

[[XC] Lead Head]

Oil pressure gauge checked out fine and the system has since been filled up, but still, being used to 7M engines chewing through bearings upon insufficient volume....maybe i'm just paranoid about it :D

Which gauge?

[Kai Robinson]

Oil pressure warning lamp, rather - gah, it was 5am you cant blame me for a typo :p:

[[XC] Lead Head]

Get a mechanical gauge on there, it will tell the real story;)

[Kai Robinson]

It's in the UK for a few weeks, i'll do it when it gets back here....hopefully by then i'll have my tool chest back!

[Overvolt_25]

First time down this far on the Xtreme page:)

Your making me feel left out gonna have to post my 2dr 83TD rabbit and soon to be built 84 Rabbit 4dr with a 1.7L TD :D VDUB!!

[Kai Robinson]

Got backed into today by a drunk tractor driver, he let his foot off the brakes and rolled back faster than i could reverse :(

[elite.ire]

omg !, man that sucks !!!, i hope the insurace is going to cover you :/, is it just the hood he got ?, or is there other damage i cant see from the picture ?

[Kai Robinson]

Insurance? Hah, i'm not claiming on my insurance for that. And of course tractors out here are uninsured. The guy was more concerned about the graze his tractor recieved....and then drove off.

Yeah, just the bonnet, although the clips for the front grille are snapped.

[Jamesrt2004]

that sucks!!! that golf is actually mint!

[perry_78]

dude how can he *not* pay you? he caused damage to your property, if he doesn't compensate you, you can press criminal charges. Bonets don't come cheap unless you get them from a scrap yard :p:

I'm quite petty, so if all came to nothing i'd probably just bash his bonet in a bit :)

[Kai Robinson]

He can't pay me because he drove off and refused to give his details, normally i'd have taken the registration....but its a tractor - and therefore didn't have one.

I got a new bonnet for €45 with the hinges, going to fit it tomorrow. Only issue then, is getting it resprayed...

[elite.ire]

thats a stinger man :@, but given its a tractor he must live locally, fix the car, then charge him , and make sure and charge him the price it would cost for genuine vw parts :up:

[Jamesrt2004]

thats a stinger man :@, but given its a tractor he must live locally, fix the car, then charge him , and make sure and charge him the price it would cost for genuine vw parts :up:

genuine ones that you got shiped over from the germany factory tooo


as you know it's a special model etc... jsut take the piss basically to give him his comupence :p:

[Shaz]

The Golf's all share the same body parts bar a couple of special editions (mk2 rallye for example) so he can have a bonnet from any Mk3. As Kai said, the only issue is a respray. The alternative is REALLY good panel beating. Personally, you should of at least shot him in the leg.

[[XC]thewildblue]

Why didnt you follow him, its not like he can outrun you unless he goes into a field. From what I remember most tractors have registration plates to allow them to drive on the public roads, its just usually not that obvious. Personally I would have gone ape sh1t if this had happened to my car, even if it was a banger... ;-)

[Kai Robinson]

No registration plates here, and to be honest, i wasn't going to follow a drunken farmer with an attitude problem who's driving a vehicle 10x the weight of mine that could crush me even more. Had i taken my Beretta with me, obviously things might have been different. And don't start with that 'banger' crap in my thread.

[[XC]thewildblue]

Well it should have plates if your in the UK. So he was drunk as well, I would have deffo followed and also called the police on my mobile, as its hit and run, failing to give details, an unregistered vehicle and drink driving...Im sure if you had followed him and made that clear you would have a new all paid for bonnet for your bang....err I mean golf.;)

[elite.ire]

he was in a tractor with no reg plates drunk, he proberly wasnt far from where he lived :/, shouldnt be all that hard to find him....

[Shaz]

thewildblue;3663518']Well it should have plates if your in the UK. So he was drunk as well, I would have deffo followed and also called the police on my mobile, as its hit and run, failing to give details, an unregistered vehicle and drink driving...Im sure if you had followed him and made that clear you would have a new all paid for bonnet for your bang....err I mean golf.;)

He's in the middle of Brittany in France. They don't have to have number plates.

Find him and shoot him in the leg Kai.

[Kai Robinson]

Hehe - well, the new bonnet is fitted, and aligns perfectly, but the catch is 100% fecked, its been shunted a clear inch over, and its nigh on impossible to bend back. So, time for a new one.

Then its just replacing the windscreen washers, the underbonnet sound deadening and a respray which should set me back about £200. For a decent body shop, of course.

[Kai Robinson]

New Catch Ordered, Pickup is on Tuesday....surprisingly cheap, too - €23.85 for one. They're €10 for a used one at a scrapyard...

[aspire.comptech]

It's times like these I'm really tempted to get a carry permit and a nice little pistol.

Course around here, Bay Area in California, we don't really run into drunk tractor drivers...

[WrigleyVillain]

Course around here, Bay Area in California, we don't really run into drunk tractor drivers...

I had about a hundred different comments run through my drunken head as I looked through this here thread...but after the last post all I got left is LOL! :rofl:

Damn I knew things were bad in the UK but who knew a drunken tractor driver would pwn your new baby? I'm (almost) speechless.

[Kai Robinson]

I'm not in the UK....

[Shaz]

Kai Robinson
Xtreme Enthusiast

Kai Robinson's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: France
Posts: 550

[[XC]thewildblue]

Well thats only recently changed...you were somerset for ages. Do you have a new World Of Warcraft girlfriend out in France then ?

[Shaz]

He's been there for months. Are you obnoxious all the time or just when you log into XS?

[[XC]thewildblue]

Wow steady there LITTLE man, from what I understood he was between the UK and France and had places in either location. How are we all to know his where-abouts all the time. And who are you anyway, his shadow ? Cant he answer for himself.

[[XC] riptide]

Dayum Kai. I would have had him out of that tractor. The PTO's on tractors are great for getting details from drunken farmers. You put his coat into it, while he's still wearing it.... then squeel him. That is crazy.... destroying your bonnet like that?

Shaz.... yes we understand he's gone to France. He betrayed Her Majesty by moving to .... FRANCE? Of all the places.... :D

[Kai Robinson]

I've been living here permanently since September. As for the snide girlfriend comment - it's been reported.

France isn't so bad. My council tax is only £120 a year. My Insurance bill has plummeted. And i have more space to myself.

Going to VW tomorrow to pick up the new bonnet catch, once thats done, the only thing left will be to get a re-spray.

[[XC]thewildblue]

Errr.... how was it snide...Im sure I read somewhere that you had met a good lady from playing wow....

I also recall the threads about where to go in London with girlfriend. So I just sort of assumed as you had moved to France that you had met another lady...no need to be quite so touchy about everything, its only the internet after all. I cant be expected to keep up with your personal life and where you do and dont live and was only saying what I woudl have done if someone had backed into my car and done that sort of damage.

On a side note France does sound alot cheaper to live, just maybe a tad more dangerous as with what youve saved on insurance and council tax your having to pay out on damages made by local untraceable drivers. Horses for courses I suppose.

[Jamesrt2004]

kai, how much do you think roughly it would be to get your golf a complete respray at a good place? (also how much paint would you need?)

[Kai Robinson]

thewildblue;3673540']Errr.... how was it snide...Im sure I read somewhere that you had met a good lady from playing wow....

I also recall the threads about where to go in London with girlfriend. So I just sort of assumed as you had moved to France that you had met another lady...no need to be quite so touchy about everything, its only the internet after all. I cant be expected to keep up with your personal life and where you do and dont live and was only saying what I woudl have done if someone had backed into my car and done that sort of damage.

On a side note France does sound alot cheaper to live, just maybe a tad more dangerous as with what youve saved on insurance and council tax your having to pay out on damages made by local untraceable drivers. Horses for courses I suppose.


I have categorically stated in SEVERAL threads, i NEVER met anyone playing WoW, i don't play WoW and i never WILL play WoW. The g/f i have from xmas is still around, only the trip to london fell through when my bank decided to be a bunch of :banana::banana::banana::banana:s. It was a snide comment, you didn't need to bring it up at all. It's a CAR thread, not a 'oh hey, whats going on in your personal life' thread.

[Kai Robinson]

kai, how much do you think roughly it would be to get your golf a complete respray at a good place? (also how much paint would you need?)

A complete respray? Hmm, well it doesn't need one, only the bonnet, but, in theory, if you're looking for an 'on top' spray, then you're into about £800 for the whole car.

If you want to go to the trouble of stripping the shell bare, and getting it sanded, blasted and then sprayed, about £1500.

[Jamesrt2004]

A complete respray? Hmm, well it doesn't need one, only the bonnet, but, in theory, if you're looking for an 'on top' spray, then you're into about £800 for the whole car.

If you want to go to the trouble of stripping the shell bare, and getting it sanded, blasted and then sprayed, about £1500.

ahh cool, i would be looking at stripping etc,,,,, my uncle does it all etc.. and said he would spray my car for free for my 18th (mk 2 or 3 golf (vr6 eventually supercharged) atm,) so was wondering roughly~ how much it would be so I can stuill offer him the money if he needed it! :)

[Shaz]

Don't supercharge a VR6. Turbo it. The charger is a bit of a waste of time.

[[XC]thewildblue]

It's a CAR thread, not a 'oh hey, whats going on in your personal life' thread.

Yep and as usual you miss the point, if it was the UK where I "assumed" you still lived the tractor would have registration plates, but due to your PERSONAL circumstances you have moved to France and I wasnt aware of this when I posted up what I would have done in the situation of having my car staved in my some dodgy farmer. :shakes:

Again nothing personal, its the internet after all.:cool:

[Kai Robinson]

I wouldn't bother with a VR at all. They're a boat anchor of an engine. Cramped to work in the engine bay, and if a 4-cylinder with 800cc less capacity can nearly match it for power + torque...

Get a Mk2 3-door, bung an ABF and stock management on it. Then start messing with silly cams :D

[Kai Robinson]

thewildblue;3673764']Yep and as usual you miss the point, if it was the UK where I "assumed" you still lived the tractor would have registration plates, but due to your PERSONAL circumstances you have moved to France and I wasnt aware of this when I posted up what I would have done in the situation of having my car staved in my some dodgy farmer. :shakes:

Again nothing personal, its the internet after all.:cool:

I had meant the whole g/f bit - the rest didn't bother me.

But w/e, back on topic.

[Jamesrt2004]

I wouldn't bother with a VR at all. They're a boat anchor of an engine. Cramped to work in the engine bay, and if a 4-cylinder with 800cc less capacity can nearly match it for power + torque...

Get a Mk2 3-door, bung an ABF and stock management on it. Then start messing with silly cams :D

I just wanted bragging right's i suppose :P

but i am likeing the mk2's + seen a lot with ABF's maybe even get one with the abf already in it now looking in the right place :D

[Kai Robinson]

Heh - get a 1.8 PB engined one first, get used to driving that for a while before you drop money and time on an ABF conversion :D

[Kai Robinson]

Got the bonnet all aligned yesterday, new catch installed as well. The grille has been taken off to refit (read: epoxy) the clips on the top edge, but i'm pleased with the result - just roll on the respray :)

[Shaz]

I wouldn't bother with a VR at all. They're a boat anchor of an engine. Cramped to work in the engine bay, and if a 4-cylinder with 800cc less capacity can nearly match it for power + torque...

Get a Mk2 3-door, bung an ABF and stock management on it. Then start messing with silly cams :D

Unless you get a free one...

[Kai Robinson]

Well, the SWG Grille is a write off :(

The front slam panel was damaged as well, which means that after painstakingly re-attaching the clips to the top of the grille, upon closing the bonnet, they all got sheared off again.... I was NOT happy.

So, i ordered a near OEM grille, same as the VW official one, but debadged, to keep the evil look. I may also need to re-seat the front bumper, just in case.

[Jamesrt2004]

that sucks dude :(

[Kai Robinson]

Right, yesterday was Mk3 day, today is Mk2 day :D

Yesterday, i dremelled off the stupid threads that were designed to hold the SWG Grille in place, and proceeded to fit the new grille: