The Revolving Door

[the edmundator]

Today I managed to get the car back home. In the six or seven years since I sold it, things don't seem to have gone so well for the car. It's had another new speedo (can someone tell me whether 1.8 GTs had a 140mph speedo as standard?) and it seems to have suffered badly at the hands of an amateur spray-painter on nearly every panel. I'm not sure why, because it was pretty much perfect when I had it.

The most pressing problem is a horrid clanking rattle that comes from the engine bay when the car idles, and disappears when the clutch is depressed. The car can drive, but sometimes the transmission disengages and then engages again whilst you're moving (it's only been driven on and off a trailer).

I've booked it in for an MoT on Friday and they're going to take a look at the clutch for me as I assume this is where the problem lies (release bearing or somthing like that?).

The outcome of the MoT will decide its short-term future. If there's not too much wrong and the transmission problem is easily fixed, I'll just get the car running again and do a bit of a rolling tidy-up for the moment. If the list is long and expensive, or the transmission problem is a buggered 'box, I'm tempted to use the GTX I've got as a mechanical donor and make myself a GTX replica. But if the engine has to come out, that might be the best time to get it resprayed, which is going to be necessary. There's plenty to think about, but I want this as a long-term project.

I've given it a wash so that it's presentable for the MoT, and tested all the lights, horn and wipers/washers. It doesn't look too bad in the pictures, but it's rougher than it appears.

[Reverend Frog]

You forget how many Roccos you've gone through until you see them all listed in order Ed! My favourite is still the silver GTI...what an absolutely gorgeous car.

I also spotted my first ever Rocco in the classifieds a while back: but somebody else got there first and by the time I arranged to see it it was a stripped out shell: they have me the numberplate as a consolation, which i still have in a box somewhere.

And yes GTs do have a 140 mph speedo as standard.

[the edmundator]

In my bid to fool the MoT tester into thinking the car's ok tomorrow, I've done a bit more tinkering.

Set of matching wheels with legal tyres (fronts are even a matching pair!):



I noticed there was no rear-view mirror, but found one in a bag in the back of the car. Used the Loctite stuff made for this application and it seems to have done a great job:



Driver's seat was a bit loose. As I suspected, the rubber spacer on the locking mechanism was missing. There was something funny going on with the seatbelt mounting too, so the easiest thing to do was swap in a decent seat:



Not an MoT issue, but the driver's door wouldn't lock. I took the mechanism off and everything seemed to be working ok, but I swapped it with one from the GTX and it now locks, so I can only assume something in the mechanism was broken. Not that a Scirocco door lock's that much use anyway, but it makes me feel better.

[Old Mac Rocco]

In my bid to fool the MoT tester into thinking the car's ok

Tut tut.

GOOD LUCK TOMORROW.

[GTXTRA]

great storytelling Ed.

your silver 82 gti is in my own personal top five rocco list on here. absolutely stunning.

[the edmundator]

I think I've got my dream mk2 line-up now (I'm not saying that will stop me buying, enjoying and selling more Sciroccos in the future ).

My first Scirocco.
A perfect '82 GTI.
A car's worth of spares.
And another GTI... but more of that another time.

Would still like to add a mk1 to the collection at some point, but don't have the funds for the perfect fuel-injected one I'd like at the moment.

[the edmundator]

Oh, dear. Got about 100m round the corner, then the car refused to go any further. Appeared to be stuck in gear, but no forwards or backwards motion. I managed to free it off with a good shove from behind while the lever was in neutral, but not able to resume forward travel. Fortunately the garage is about half a mile away at the end of the road. Even more fortunately a neighbour was strolling past and helped me push. Better still, it's mostly downhill.

The car is now in the hands of the garage, but they're going to have to look at the transmission problems before they can MoT, so that won't be until next week. Progress, of sorts.

[The Autoad]

And another GTI... but more of that another time.

I had a feeling that you had bought that one.

[the edmundator]

It was impossible to resist.

More news from the garage: clutch seems to be fine, suspect trousered gearbox. Off to be reconditioned on Monday.

[MikeH]

No drive in any gear sounds like a diff problem, rather than a clutch release bearing. I think you need a new 'box, unless the clutch pressure plate or drive plate has fallen apart.

I can't help thinking that if you'd just sorted out one or two of those cars properly, you'd have avoided all the 'pierburg pains' in between :D

[the edmundator]

Further news from the garage:

Ready for collection with a fresh MoT! Apparently only needed new wipers and a bulb once the gearbox was fixed.

Will be collecting and taking for a test run tomorrow, then it'll need a good service.

[the edmundator]

Right, then.

Back from post-MoT test-run. Things did not start well when there was no life from the battery on turning the ignition key. The garage had had the battery on charge overnight as they'd had problems with it not starting well, so it should have been ok. There wasn't even the merest glimmer of light from the dash, so I suspect some kind of earthing problem. There are a few other electrical issues to sort out as the temp gauge isn't working and the heater fan only works on speed 3.

Mechanically I've also identified a few issues that need attention. I think that the front N/S wheel-bearing is on its way out as there's a noise and vibration that increases with speed and seems to be worse when turning right. 5th gear can be a bit difficult to select, and the garage said the selector fork was looking worn, so that might be the culprit. The brakes are terrible, not just in an "I've just driven my first ever Scirocco after only driving modern cars and the brakes are rubbish" sort of way, but in an "I currently own four road-worthy Sciroccos and these brakes are terrible" way.

The only other issue to note was that after returning from my run, I turned off the ignition but the car carried on running - not properly, but it refused to stall. I'm not certain if this is electrical (and possibly linked to the poor starting) or another issue entirely.

So the priority list is:

1) Brakes - will try new fluid first to see what improvement that brings
2) General service
3) Electrics - starting/stopping issues first, then temp gauge, then heater fan
4) Front N/S wheel-bearing (this will require another trip to the garage, so will have to wait for the moment)

After that, I might be able to start on fun stuff, like suspension and wheels.

[the edmundator]

Some of you might remember seeing this in the classifieds on this site a few months ago. Like many people, I liked what I saw in the pictures, so I went to take a look. Of course, I fell in love instantly - there's nothing quite like buying a 27-year old car from the original owners, with a whole pile of history to go with it. I'll get some pictures of the history at some point, as there are a few things in there I've never seen before.

First registered 1st March 1984.
Sold to me, 2nd owner, 9th March 2011.

1.8 (DX) GTI
LA8Y Bronze Grey Metallic
ZA Brown cloth seats, brown dash/doorcards/carpets
Optional dealer-fit alarm
99,500 miles

See the full spec here (brochure): http://driversfound.com/scirocco/history/uk/1984/

As advertised:





Now at my house, waiting to be pressed into regular service after a few years sat in a garage.











As you can see, my cat takes a keen interest in what's going on about the place.

Jobs so far have been cambelt & major service - a few bits still need doing including brake fluid and coolant changes.

It's in generally excellent condition, which is to be expected. Unfortunately there is a bit of rust round the rear arches and a couple of other minor bits on the doors, but overall it's quite good. Bascially, it's exactly what I wanted, a car in good enough condition to use regularly, but not so good I'm (too) worried about it being damaged by being on the road a lot. Undoubtedly it will need a few bits and bobs sorting out along the way, but at the moment I've got a modern everyday car - I'm hoping that over the next two years I'll have this GTI ticking over nicely as a suitable daily runner and will be able to ditch the modern stuff altogether. I'm also happy to alter this one a little bit, as the '82 GTI is staying completely standard, this one will be gaining a few modifications for my enjoyment.

Today I began that process, with a new set of wheels. The tyres on the original alloys are very old and needed replacing even though the tread is legal. I thought about keeping them, but I've already got that look with the '82, so time for a change. With ease of use in mind, I've gone for a set of G60 steels as they're cheap to buy and easy to clean! Wrapped in a nice set of Toyo Proxes 4, 195/45/15.



Next jobs are:

Brake fluid change (? braided hoses at the same time)
Coolant change (might need one or two new hoses - I've noticed a small leak that I'm keeping an eye on after tightening the jubilee clip)
Fit a Koni STRT -30mm kit (already purchased and waiting to be fitted)
Fix the tilt mechanism on the driver's seat
Fit the new stereo

[Cpt Custom]

Sounds a good buy Ed, love the G60s on it. Happy motoring!

[daveyg]

Looks a cracking base, the G60's suit it really well. Once its dropped a tad i think that wil llook stunning. Look forward to updates on this one