DUBSTAR'S PROJECT - Weiss Hase - 1976 Golf LS

[dubstar]

Been another long break between posts, but there has been significant progress.
I have been ripping everything I can out of the engine bay in preparation for lifting out the engine and gearbox. I will be posting a bigger summary and possibly a timelapse soon, but in the meantime I need some wiring help as I am trying to remove/update some of the 40 years old wiring in the engine bay.

Here is where the engine bay is at. Wires labelled and almost everything out of the bay.



My question relates to the alternator wiring. I will be upgrading to a 90amp alternator with the bolt down posts (the old one was the rubber plug type).
I just want to know about the blue/white wire that originally went to the B+ terminal on the alternator (the other blue wire is the excitor wire).
It plugs into harness spot A4. On the ‘1976 Golf’ wiring diagram in the workshop manual it says that it should terminate in the C plug on the harness….it doesn’t……..anyway question is. What does this wire do? I have a feeling that it is part of the diagnostic circuit and doesn’t do anything else. Can anyone confirm? I am removing the diagnostics, so if it is, I won’t run a new wire for it.



I will be redoing the power wires as they are fatigued and I really don’t like how ‘light’ they are for the main charging circuit.

[GeorgeMK1]

I always thought it was the wire that goes to the cluster/dash that is connected to the batt light.

[dubstar]

No, that is the other plain blue wire that goes to the D+ terminal.

[GeorgeMK1]

I shall be quiet from now on!

[dubstar]

No, all good ideas are welcome. I mean really, what was the idea behind having the same coloured wire running the same course, but doing 2 different things.....

[Browneye]

I'm fairly sure when I redid my engine bay wiring, the wire only goes to the diagnostic box, and is unnecessary for a newer alternator. My 90amp alternator only needs the battery wire and the exciter wire to work

[dubstar]

It has been a looooooong time since my update, however, a lot has happened in that time.

I originally took Andy off the road on 28-Dec-2016 and, as life gets busy, only go him back on the road on 8-Nov-2017, just under a year.

Here is the how the engine bay looks now



The specs are:

2L AGG bottom end
Mk2 ported/polished head
270deg cam
45 DHLA carbs
Purely mechanical dizzy
Raceland headers
ACD gearbox

It runs beautifully and is an absolute hoot to drive. i have 2 problems that still need fixing. Firstly, there is a bit of smoke on start up, so I think I will need to change the valve stem seals (maybe they sat too long?) and secondly, the headers are touching the steering rack. This is really annoying as I have tried 2 different manifolds and this is the one that touched the least. I am going to give up and take it to an exhaust shop to sort it out, but very annoying!!

Also whilst the car was off the road I painted the engine bay. I have reverted to the original colour code, so it doesn't quite match at the moment, but eventually there will be a fresh respray on the outside which will bring it all together. I also raised the suspension by 15mm all around, just for some comfort and compliance. Finally I got some new tyres and a GTI duckbill to add the final touch.

Pics after first clean (I am painting the badges at the moment)





Other engine pics:









PS, if anyone does have a 6-bolt Mk1 GTI exhaust manifold they will sell, this could be another option for my exhaust woes.

[browndizzle]

Woww shes clean as! 👌🏻 Big ups on the work!

[aprr32]

Can you not space the gearbox mount(snot block) and front steady to adjust the engine angle slightly?

[dubstar]

Good thought, but its just not enough movement. The problem is that the engine leans back, so adding 20mm in height, translates to a movement up and back at the steering rack.