My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

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rocco1982
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My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by rocco1982 »

I'm calling the car 'Mono', short for Monosodium Glutomate cos of the 'MSG' reg number... :blush:
Well I've had Mono since August this year. It's definitely had one or two strange owners in the last few years...hence the paintwork situation. Here's how it was when I bought it :
Dark smoked rear light lenses
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Matt black paint around the car which covered up some strange artwork from the previous Goth owners! Some Rover 15'' alloys too..eek :blush:
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Completely matt black bonnet. Slightly wrong kind of front fog lamps for the car, smoked indicators, eyebrow spoiler.
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The gear selection was out of alignment but didn't put me off buying it. You had to plunge the stick down to find 1st and second...and had to be careful not to get reverse instead in traffic! I soon got the knack. There was a loud rattle from the front suspension aswell, which I was confident I could sort out...I could see the top mounts were past it and I secretly hoped it was just lack of anti rattle shims on the brake pads...that would be an easy fix! The rattle went away when I tickled the brake pedal you see ;)
I got the car home and later I changed the front suspension top mounts, and as I had some new springs in the garage that were spares for my Mk1 Golf, I wacked those on aswell. Whilst the wheels were off I noticed the front brake caliper was 'loose' as I could rock it around! The top allen head bolt was just spinning freely and wouldn't tighten, so only the bottom bolt was holding the caliper on! That's what was making the rattling sound I think...far too much movement. :shock: At least it got me home!
I went to my first meet near Durham before I'd had chance to change anything about the car. I was lucky enough to meet several of you Scirocco Register members. Ian (aka ianaudia4) and Tony (aka Mazzellan) even sorted my gear selection issue for me there and then! It was like Christmas! Can't thank you guys enough. The gears are now perfectly normal! Got loads of advice from others like Colin (aka DT1) too, and saw all your lovely Sciroccos! :
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Then more recently I've started, slowly but surely changing some of the styling to how I'd prefer it (much more original looking)...normal rear light lenses first
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Original alloys found thanks to Ian (ianaudia4) :
:Image
Correct fog lamps fitted and amber indicators, eyebrow spoiler removed :
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I put on a Pool ball gear knob...'oh no!' I hear you cry, but it suits the car so well and feels like it's meant to be there, I love it!
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The interior has been nicely preserved under seat covers so I'm grateful for that!
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Engine-wise it runs REALLY well and I'm so suprised how quick it is! It's got a Weber carb, otherwise I probably wouldn't have bought it to be honest. So far under there I've just been sorting out superficial stuff like putting on the correct size fuel filter, replacing hoses, putting on the correct air filter bracket mounting and changing the air filter and oil/oil filter. Ian kindly renewed all my vacuum hoses at the Durham meet too! The brown messy bits near the suspension top mount are Kurust by the way (previous owner). Still plenty to tidy up under there, but it all works so I'm happy!
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My plans now are to get the car back to it's normal white state...I got a couple of quotes for professional body shops to do it for me (as low as £400 just to sort out the black bits), but have decided I might have a go myself. I've done a bit of spraying on inconspicuous areas on my Golf when getting rid of rust bubbles, so aren't totally new to d.i.y spraying. At worst I do a dreadful job and have to take it to the bodyshop. It already looks rough so it's not like I'm wrecking a pristine car! I'm going to cheat and put on a white bonnet as that's so much easier than spraying this black one! My logic is that it's the biggest panel I need to to do and is actually the bit of the car everyone's going to look at first so if I get it wrong it will be more noticeable than anywhere else. Once the white one's on I'll only have the side stripes and two small strips at the back to do myself.
Watch this space...I've bought some paint and plan to get things underway next week. I'm also going to change my rear springs and more importantly the spring top caps as one is more air than metal! Catch you later! :bye:
Last edited by rocco1982 on Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.


Ex-owner of a 1990 1.8 GTII
1982 Mk1 Golf (daily driver)
ianaudia4
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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by ianaudia4 »

One to watch out for in the future guys, this girl is focused!


1984 MK2 Havanna brown Storm
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DT1
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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by DT1 »

I was wondering what stage you were at as I had noticed a few bits going your way.

Nice coat of paint and it'll look great. :good:


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Risocco
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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by Risocco »

Best of luck with it, looking forward to updates :buddy:

Alex


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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by Cpt Custom »

Nice to see you're making headway - looking forward to following your progress!

:beers:


Image 1987 Alpine White Mk2 GT Lily
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rocco1982
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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by rocco1982 »

Thanks for the encouragement folks. I already love this car so much, I'm not even embarrassed about the current paint design once I'm in it, cos it's so much fun to drive, I just forget about it! The rubber-neckers just make me smile even more! :hugegrin: So needless to say, when it looks a bit less molested I'll be even prouder.


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1982 Mk1 Golf (daily driver)
markh
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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by markh »

Enjoy the car and good luck with its transformation !!! :chill:


Don't ask me....it was like that when i got here !
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rocco1982
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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by rocco1982 »

Thanks Mark. I made some progress today...I got a 2nd hand bonnet in Alpine White from Nathan on the forum (aka Snathe). Jolly nice guy, thanks again! Got it fitted before it got too dark this evening. Makes a big difference...now there's light at the end of the tunnel...just a few stripes and the odd niggle to go!
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That last pic with the amber indicators cut out of the picture makes me think how good it might look with clear indicators...but at £130 a pop I might as well forget it! :hehe:
Last edited by rocco1982 on Wed Oct 27, 2010 11:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by Cpt Custom »

Looking good Helen.

That new bonnet makes a real difference to how it looks. And I totally agree with what you say about the indicators, they'd look neat, but the prices are just silly - IMHO.

:bye:


Image 1987 Alpine White Mk2 GT Lily
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rocco1982
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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by rocco1982 »

More exciting stuff to come (I hope), but the rain has put me right off today. I recently got hold of a replacement caliper carrier for the nearside brake (the thread inside my existing one was wrecked causing top slider bolt to never tighten properly even with a new bolt). Turned into a long job when I went to split the donor caliper up (I just needed the carrier off it). On one of the slider bolts the allen head was already rounded off! Ended up getting the grinder out. :hugegrin: Dug a deep slot into the top of it with a cutting disc and managed to turn it out with a giant flat head screwdriver. Got a rubbish drill so was dreading having to drill any of the bolt out. It's always the simple jobs that end up turning into a parlava! I've now got brand new slider bolts on again, so hopefully that's the end of it. My offside caliper's been completely renewed at some point by previous owner...wish they'd done them both :roll:
Old one off, and new one...well, 2nd hand...on.
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I've ordered new bottom bolts for the rear suspension in anticipation of them being seized on for that job. Even if by some miracle I got them out I wouldn't fancy putting them back in again afterwards 'cos they'd be even worse next time. Anyway, the car's now being treated to the garage so I can make progress even in the rain. :yup:


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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by snathe »

rocco1982 wrote:Thanks Mark. I made some progress today...I got a 2nd hand bonnet in Arctic White from Nathan on the forum (aka Snathe). Jolly nice guy, thanks again! Got it fitted before it got too dark this evening. Makes a big difference...now there's light at the end of the tunnel...just a few stripes and the odd niggle to go!
Ahhh, that looks better!!! :hugegrin: Just needs the black paint removing from the sides now... If it's been rattle canned, you could try wiping it off using thinners and a rag. The thinners "shouldn't" harm the original white paint underneath if you don't rub too frantically :good: I had to do this on one of my previous cars after some local yobs decided to paint some pretty coloured wavey lines down the side of my Capri :dunno:
It was good to meet you the other day too :beers:


'91 Pearl Green GT2 16v... Breaking
'80 MK1 GLS project... Sold
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rocco1982
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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by rocco1982 »

Thanks Nathan. Good idea. The trouble is, it's not the original white paint underneath the black bits...it's some goth design or something from the owners before the bloke I got the car from! And the white on the front wings and doors isn't the right colour...it's lighter, so I need to do all of each wing (arches are original paint), the doors up to the bottom of the windows (side skirts are original paint) and the rear panel up to about half way. What a kerfuffle!


Ex-owner of a 1990 1.8 GTII
1982 Mk1 Golf (daily driver)
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rocco1982
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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by rocco1982 »

Well, so much for rattling on with stuff...time just goes nowhere! Anyway, got a worthwhile job done today...renewed the rear struts/shocks, springs and spring top seats. The only hard part I found was, predictably, getting the old lower shock bolts out! I knew just by looking at them that they were old and seized, so I used a grinder on them, then renewed the bolts (I got some new ones from the dealer in advance). Took me ages though...I had to be careful not to hack the strut mounting to bits as I tried to grind up enough next the shock. Maybe my cutting disc was a bit big for the job :dunno: The whole lot took me about 3.5 hours from start to finish, mainly because I didn't leave myself much room to work/lay about around the car in the garage. It was nice not having to pratt about with spring compressors working on the rears though. I bet the neighbours wondered what was going on when I screamed at one point...as I laid out one of my freshly removed old strut assemblies a giant spider ran out of it and scared the hell out of me! Must've set up home in there! I'm a lady - enough said. :lol:
Off with the old :
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On with the new...one side of old stuff next to the brand new set (very satisfying putting new components on...thanks again for the springs, Ian ;) ) :
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Look at the state of the spring top seat from the nearside! The main reason why I decided to do the whole job...I didn't even poke those holes in it, they were already there...
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So now, everything seems to be in safe running order...I just need to crack on with the paintwork! Eeek...so much for being 'focused' Ian...I think I'm trying to do stuff in the wrong season. At least I can drive it around in the meantime! Hope to update again soon! :chill:


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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by Cpt Custom »

Slowly, slowly catchy monkey ... or so they say Helen.

Coming on nicely!

:beers:


Image 1987 Alpine White Mk2 GT Lily
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rocco1982
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Re: My project gets underway...'Mono' the GT2

Post by rocco1982 »

Thanks for the encouragement, Paul!
Baby steps...I replaced my GT II pillar badges today with some I bought from a fellow forum member.
Before :
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After (the other side looked better...I might re-do this side as the badge was a bit bent) :
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Yesterday I got my headlights properly adjusted at an MOT garage, as I'd replaced the headlamps with better 2nd hand ones that weren't cracked or otherwise knackered. Now I can drive it ok in the winter darkness. Then I took the battery out and gave it a good trickle charge all day as it was about flat after standing ages while I was waiting to pull my finger out.

Today I put the battery back in and decided to drive it to work for the first time. As I was leaving town, what parked car should I drive past but a Black Mk2 Scirocco! I never see them round here and yet there we were both on the same road on the same day at the same time! I've put it in the 'spotted' section just in case. As for the commute...it was brilliant. The headlight full beam is far superior to the Mk1 Golf (my usual daily driver) as you can imagine...and it has a radio/CD player which the Golf never has. It got toasty warm inside nice and quickly and it was a REALLY enjoyable cruise to work! The new suspension feels nice and everything worked perfectly! It's easy to cruise around in a high gear...but when you want to get a shift on, the power's there. I could get used to this. The Mk1 Golf is always reliable and does 60mpg and I love it more than life itself due to a decade of emotional attachment, but this Scirocco is that bit more luxurious, comfortable and refined...as you'd expect, not just because it's 8 years younger. It's also nice to have all the familiar switches and controls I'm so used to having driven the Mk1 Golf for so long (feels like home)...although a couple of them, like the headlight switch, are on the other side to the Golf...grrr! :lol:


Ex-owner of a 1990 1.8 GTII
1982 Mk1 Golf (daily driver)
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