Yoda

[the edmundator]

Not really.
If I was worried I wouldn't have driven them for 18 years and built them to them to the standard I did.
What I meant is that they've always been slightly looked down on and derided by the Vw scene in general. To be fair, that was half the appeal for me. I enjoy rocking the boat a bit.
I imagine I find it as satisfying as you do in picking holes in people and their posts.
You've known me long enough so you're either trying to annoy me or you're generally a condescending tool ed. I expected more either way.

No, I just don't really understand where you're coming from with that statement.

I don't really give a toss either way, it just seemed like a weird thing to say.

[Mr Funk]

Gave enough of a toss to make the statement.
Perhaps ask the question rather than a judgey statements about what I do/don't care about next time.
We're both grown ups, we're both busy and this isn't no-rice. Neither of us has the time or inclination for bitching.
But while we're here:
The Rocco has always been looked down on.
The mk1 was a classic but the mk2 was always the ugly step kid. A wallowing, underpowered wedge using the wrong engine and bits from the spare parts bin. It's only been in the last 3, perhaps 5 years that attitudes have changed.
Anyway,
So with Han out racing this weekend I found myself at a bit of a loss. I was at a point where I could tackle stuff but risked biting off more than i could chew and causing more problems for myself.
In the end I ended up rebuild one of the shelf supports (they're plastic and removable in the golf, easy to replace but the plastic is fragile) - pics to follow
We were also meant to have the cabriolet/white dog toffee picked up. This meant talking to next door about moving his car.
We have shared access and I fully acknowledge that living next door to me must be a bit of a chore sometimes.
He's just got himself a new girlfriend but left me the jey to the Renault captur(I think) she owned.
It meant I could move it out of the way when they came to collect the toffee, but they never turned up (trailer issues apparently. Paid up in full and coming down during the week).
So in the end I clean the neighbours cars. Filled the phone with radio 4 and off I went.
I started with the intention of just giving it the once over but it looked like it was last cleaned by a blind man with a scouring pad. Ended it washing it down twice then polishing out the swirl marks and streaks, surprisingly satisfying.
Also picked up a kenwood twin channel amp from a. Mate for a tenner. It'll do for the time being and help me with mounting everything

[Mr Funk]

And so suddenly we're in September, how on earth did that happen?

Last weekend was the ever brilliant Vw Action at Santa Pod. Unfortunately sporadic rain came hammering down on the Saturday cancelling the racing for most of the day and sending us all scuttling for cover but it didn't really stop the fun.

In the run up I'd had the preceding week off so busied myself with getting the car ready but with three days available I ended up doing a few more bits than I anticipated. Always fun but risky as it's normally those "small jobs" that end up with me arm deep in wiring crying into bottles of wine and shaking my fists at Odin.
First up was to strengthen up the rear parcel shelf supports. On the Golf these are removable and replaceable unlike the rocco, seems like a small thing but I like it. Means it's easier to get the extra space should you need it (especially when stripping them down) and they're easy to put back in. The down side is that after 30 years they're often brittle.
For some reason I only got photos half way through the process but take my word for it, once they were finished you wouldn't notice the difference.



After this it was a quick rub down, marry up the holes and drill new ones and spray it all.

Also started on the speaker pods. Again, 30 years of abuse have taken their toll. Will get more pics over the weekend if I remember.
This one was a little more complicated and I had to build everything up slowly, rub it all back and redrill everything.

Re-glued all the struts and put a layer of fibre glass on the joins so hopefully it won't happen again. Quite randomly I picked up another set from a lad at Action which had the same problem.

All this brings me to the stereo. Couple of choices: Vintage looking stereo or a rebuild. Need to look into the practicalities of both. The off the shelf ones are ready made and do everything I need but apparently the sound quality isn't fantastic. To be fair, will I actually notice?
The other choice is to send an original unit off for a complete refurb. This is considerably more expensive but I can state the kit and outputs that I want.
For the time being I've just bunged the house Bose unit in. Brilliant piece of kit anyway and solved the issue for the short term.


Only other problem was the water hose splitting and pishing everywhere. Luckily I was only 200 hundreds yards down the road and the split was near one end. Managed to get a new one but just cut the end of and stuck it back on as a quick fix. DId another 250 miles so clearly wasn't that bad.


So now everything slows down a bit.
Won't be storing it over the winter like I used to with the other car but it'll be off the road for a bit. Going to lay all the wiring for the stereo equipment and another 12v outlet, while I'm there I may put some sound deadening down but that really depends on the state of the bodywork.
After that it's starting work on the engine bay. It needs a bloody good clean so I can properly look for leaks then give it a proper service and change the gaskets. Also got a load more powder coated parts that'll start replacing the tribute to Bob Marley under the bonnet.

[Mr Funk]

Well now, six months later I finally get round to updating things.

Lots of updates but very quickly:
Silent coat 4mm = cracking stuff
Alpine 6x4 speakers all round with new wiring
g60 rims

AP coilovers and new exhaust on it's way.

Oh, and there's the MOT.

Despite what you may think, that's pretty good.
The horn has been disconnected as the steering wheel hits the connection, we think the column is slightly bent (have a spare), the lights do actually work but the tester has to use the headlight button rather than the fog light switch.
And the exhaust? yeah, that's fecked. New one on the way.

[Mr Funk]

The offending mot

[Mr Funk]

The easy option would be to simply rip the inlet and throttle body off and replace them but I can't help thinking that it's all been played with.

I really need to get product codes and check out the throttle body. The accelerator is super sensitive and it doesn't rev like any other injection I've owned.
But saying that, I can't compare it to anything I've ever driven as i's been too long.
But those are currently my biggest worries, and that's pretty good.
It goes like a stabbed rat but corners are simply terrifying. I had planned on having the AP's on by now but what with one thing and another i haven't got round to it and have been ploughing spare commission into reducing my already tiny debt - work took a turn again. Looks to be sorted but I'm paranoid. If it looks like this happens with alarming regularity it's because it does. Everything is fine but I always have a plan b.
Moving forward I'm now in a much better position which puts me in a more secure position financially.
It'll just be a toss up between the car and the house.

[mark watson]

its strange when i compare car and house prices from the uk to here in south africa , the mk2 rocco has prob cost me in the region off 11 000 quid so far , but my house was 45 000 quid , and everybody says im nuts doing the rocco , the mk1 rocco cost me 3500 quid . what would a 4 bed / lounge / tv room / dining room / study / pool / self contained flat / double garage cost over there.
still got my british passport ( would never dream of giving it up ) but do still have my sa passport - had to as i had to do my compulsory military training when i got out of school and ended up in angola in the late 80's

[the edmundator]

Depends where you live. Anywhere within commuting distance of London (I.e. Up to an hour) you'd be looking at £600,000+ for the kind of house you describe... especially if you want the double garage, pool and annexe.

I live in a town that's 45 mins away from London by train. The cheapest property available on Rightmove (a popular property listing site) is £80,000 for a one bed flat in a rough part of town.

[mark watson]

this is where i think we get hammered for cars but houses are cheap , 600 000 pounds is 10 ,200 000 million in our money ( my house was 850 000 rand ), and i know a good rocco with spending some cash to sort out would cost around 4000 pounds ( am i correct ) , a new audi a4 2l new is 550 000 rand ( around 33 000 pounds )

[Mr Funk]

The post probably doesn't explain what I mean really.
Ed's example is pretty bob-on, house prices over here are a bit mental. We have a two bed Victorian place that's just been remortgaged at Considerably more than we paid 11 years ago. It's big enough for us, we have extra ordinary neighbours and a back garden you couldn't adequately describe (thanks to the neighbours).
We did well, bought at the right time and are financially secure. What I meant was that we want to do more work on the place and we'd rather self finance if possible.
Just for comparison - we live in Kent so about the same train time away (cattle train is 1hr 20, high speed is 37mins) but we pay for the privilege of high speed.
My wife pays £7,500 a year just to travel into London.
If the house means putting the car on hold for a year then I can do it.

[mark watson]

all the best with the house , self financing is the way to go and keeps the banks from getting all your hard earned cash , i am sure you will do a cracking job and get back on to the rocco when you can