Mk2 Golf......started...or 'here we go again!'

OK, so, one of our local forum VW lads called to the house Sunday morning, made an offer that couldn't be refused, and the Corrado G60 is gone to a new home!

Ah well, there is such a thing as having too many projects on the go...but do we ever listen? Ehhhhhhh..........NO! HAHA!

So what do I do now, for my oil-under-the-fingernails fix?

Get up off my ass and tear into the 8valve Mk2 GTi project, that's what!

So, had a few hours to kill yesterday evening, and the pictures below can tell the rest!

Job done, time for a large coffee and a couple of smokes!
Seats, carpets, door cards, rear trims all removed to be scrubbed clean of dirt and old mouse-shit - door cards are saggier than an 1980's glamour-model's tits, so they may be for the bin if I can find decent replacement panels.

On the outside, rear badges are off for some tlc and refurbishment, front lower valance is more bent than an Irish politician, so that's for the bin, and the four lamp grille is making way for something that's really gonna upset and boil the piss of VW purists!  Watch this space!

TO-DO:
Wheels are sourced and in the shed, waiting for their refurb; nice and simple OEM+.
exterior's just gonna be left as-is for now, cleaned up and made presentable while still retaining the patina; this one's for driving, not for shiney-shiney trophies.
Exhaust system and Weitec coilovers are sitting in a friend's shed...actually they're still on his car, which has been attacked by rust, so gotta get those removed and transported home.
Interior will stay standard, just some decent ICE and additional gauges to make sure all remains well under the bonnet.
All exterior trims are gonna be refurbed, so I'll do a handy how-to on that for people who fancy giving it a go.
Engine will remain standard, with all belts, fluids, ancilaries and service stuff renewed or replaced.
Right, that's enough to be going on with...check in for more updates soon.

Drive safe,
later,
RV.

More mini Corrado progress!

Just a small update, rather than pay ridiculous money for replacement badges, I resprayed the front and rear 'G60' badges with white primer then three coats of VW Tornado Red.
I then handpainted the black surrounds and centres using Humbrol satin black enamel paint - didn't turn out too bad, in fairness...pic is a bit shit as it was taken under an arclight in the dark!

 

I also re-vinyled  the rear tailgate plinth in carbon 3D vinyl from 3M - here it is with the German font plate laid on for ilustrative purposes only. As it's such a nice day today I may refit this to the car when I get home!

Or I may just drink cold beer and say 'fuck it, it can wait'...got to have your priorities straight, y'know?

Stay posted, as this car's coming close to completion!

Later,

RV.

Corrado progress...at last!

So, finally got the finger out last week and did a few bits with the Corrado!

First up, refitted all the lights and modified the later model debadged grill to fit - left the front indicators smoked with the Lamin-x film as it'll tie in nicely with the smoked side repeaters to be fitted.

Next job to be done was to restore the second-hand chin spoiler that's been lying in the shed for the last couple of years. First job was a rub down with red scotch pads, then a clean with white spirits, then a few coats of Halfords Black bumper paint - great stuff that gives a nice textured OEM finish...

Next on the list was to clean up the bodywork, in advance of tackling it with the DA Polisher and mops, to try and bring the paintwork back to life. As you can see, two years of sitting out in the elements has done it no favours, and it had become an arachnid wildlife colony!

 As you can see, the horizontal panels (roof and bonnet) have become very dull - this will be rectified, don't worry!

 This female spider wasn't too happy when I raised the electric spoiler for the first time in a year, disturbing her and her hundreds of cute little babies! Arachnophobics look away now!

So, onto the cleaning... fisrt step was a couple of applications of snowfoam, left to dwell for 30mins. All products were supplied by Larry in www.cleancar.ie - what a gent and a pleasure to do business with!

Next step, wash down and rinse and detar the whole car, as this helped remove a lot of glue from trims, badges etc too.

Next, soaked her up with snow foam again, rinsed and clayed the whole car, using clay bar and speed detailer...

Finally another coat of suds and a good rinse off.

 Didn't turn out too bad at all; she's ready to be attacked with the polisher next, so we'll see how that turns out in the next installment.

So, while I was on a roll, I decided rather than fork out on new badges, I'd refurbish theexisting ones, to save a few bob, for more important things, like petrol!

All were rubbed down with red scotch pads to give a good surface key, then painted with hycote primers. The G60 badges were primered in white and have gotten three coats of VW Tornado Red, and will be finished with the surrounds done in Hycote satin black once the red has cured enough to mask over it.
I also used some 3M carbon vinyl wrap inside the rear panel badge roundel, as it was badly discoloured - didn't turn out too bad, I think..

And yes, I did manage to snap off the 'C' from the rear 'Corrado' badge, as some numpty had glued it to the car...this will be fixed during refitting!

Right, thats all for now.

Later,

RV.