Erik & Rupert: The Tale Of Two MK1s

**Jarred** · 09-05-2012, 09:16 PM

Saw those ATS on YJ ages ago, they were tempting me for so long!

They will look dope polished up and restored on the mk 1!

**JoshFair** · 10-05-2012, 01:05 PM

This looks awesome!! its inspiring me to buy another mk1...

**HuH** · 11-05-2012, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by GeorgeMK1

Every mk1 ive owned has had them cut off - So i just remove it. I believe its something got to do with emmisions control ?

Originally Posted by Gipson

that's a carbon cannister for the exhaust gas recirculation gear, there is another under your driver side front guard throw them both in the bin rust loves to take over behind them! project is looking great

Thanks, blokes. It's going in the bin for sure. I suspected emissions but the hoses on it seem way too thick for that. Whatever the case it's gone.

Originally Posted by Jarred

Saw those ATS on YJ ages ago, they were tempting me for so long!

They will look dope polished up and restored on the mk 1!

I hope so! Got them for a good price. They're not my favourite wheels but they suit the VW and should be easy enough to flip for the same money if I fall in love with something else.

Originally Posted by JoshFair

This looks awesome!! its inspiring me to buy another mk1...

Do it! Can't wait to be driving these again.

The green car should be running again this week if I can spend enough time on it. Got some important stuff done over the last few days.

Got the fuel tanks out of both cars to swap them over. How bizarre is the normal fuel setup in these old MK1s?

This tank has eight outlets/inlets on it. Five of them are for that breather/expansion tank thing in the top of the rear wheel arch. It seems like total overkill to me.

I got lucky and found 20 litres of fuel in the yellow car which I wasn't expecting. That was a nice bonus.

The tank that's going from the green car to the yellow car for the 16V is a Golf Diesel tank. Much simpler

This is the external pump for my setup.

I have a question about this rear swaybar thing. Does it actually do anything? It's not braced to the body, just the two sides of the rear beam. Surely the thickness of the beam itself and the big gussets it has should be enough for strength? I ask because the yellow car doesn't have this swaybar, and I'm not sure whether I should move it across or not.

The green car has it's pedal box back in, steering column switches fitted and dash loom in. With the fuel tank sorted we'll be putting the engine in and will hopefully have it running ASAP!

**hiho** · 12-05-2012, 06:22 PM

do this simple test: undo one of the swaybars outer mounts, support the beam such that the long edge is on the trailing arms are vertical. Wobble the rear beam and see how much flex there is. Now use your hand to clamp the swaybar to the trailing arm (where you removed the mount) and wobble it again. You will be able to feel how much stiffer it is.

**HuH** · 13-05-2012, 09:18 AM

I don't really understand what you're saying. There's no way I would be able to flex the beam itself with the swaybar disconnected.

**HuH** · 28-05-2012, 11:25 PM

Time to get up to date! It's been a while as things got more complicated and slowed down, so there was less to show for each night spent in the shed. I kinda stopped taking photos and updating. Despite the lack of updates I have been getting into it and making progress.

The green car is finished. Yesterday I took it on a proper drive from my place in the Hills to Fairfield Showground for the VW Nationals. Surprisingly the drive was much less scary than I thought. It has a gearbox problem, but I've managed to find a way to make driving it at least semi-predictable.

Getting this car back together has been the main focus for the last couple of weeks.

I took a shot in the dark tonight of the finished engine bay all back together. Gearbox troubles aside, this 1.9L 8V goes really well. It's a really nice and pokey little engine.

Inside it's pretty shabby and in need of a vacuum, but it's together. The colours don't look this bad in real life. Haha. It's all working as it should after some initial electrical gremlins.

So with that now done and dusted, attention is fully turned to the yellow car.

Here's where the engine bay is at currently.

This wiring is the next challenge. Nothing needs to be changed exactly, just neatened up. I'll be tackling that next.

The Golf Diesel tank from the green car is fitted and the rear beam bolted up again. You can see the fuel pump perched in its new home as well. I have to hook up the fuel return line and run the fuel feed up through the front arch to the filter, but that's straightforward.

Inside it's about where we left it last time. I've plugged the dash loom into the switches and cluster.

These damn switches were the cause of a lot of grief. It meant changing the whole steering column assembly which then meant changing all of the key barrels in the doors and hatch between the cars so that the same key works for everything.

Changing the steering columns also meant changing the pedals as it's welded together as one unit. I think these ones are just waiting for some skateboard grip tape offcuts! Haha.

On the other side you can see the heater box which has had holes drilled for it and is now properly mounted and not resting on a tub of grease and a screwdriver. While the wiring looks messy it's actually sorted out and just waiting for the engine loom to come through before a final tidy up.

As soon as the car is fired up and the electrics are checked and sorted, this roof lining will be the first to go. I have a complete replacement kit sitting on the bench.

The MK2 dash will be fitted once the roof lining is done, and then the rest of the interior will follow.

Here's the bench of parts which has been refined a bit since last time. It's all pretty well ordered and I know where things belong (hopefully).

Picked up a pair of replacement taillights at the VW Nationals yesterday which I was happy about. These will get rid of the mismatched and cracked ones currently on the car.

And that's really where we're up to! Still a bunch of steps left to conquer but there is a plan. I've got a few nights to work on it so I'm ambitiously setting Thursday night as the first fire up night. Expect video if it all goes well.

**HuH** · 29-05-2012, 04:42 PM

Just organised a mobile motor trimmer to come out and fit my new roof lining kit on Friday. I'd love to do it myself but I don't have the right tool to get in under the windscreen or rear quarter window seals.

I did the roof lining in my KE70 and it was one of the most frustrating things I've ever tackled. I'll pay the $250 to get a pro in this time.