"The Frog" Ground up rebuild of Mk1 Cabriolet with 1.8T 20v

[pommydubber]

Pic to go with build story...
Golf Cabriolet Mk1 Build Photos by colin_fisher1 | Photobucket

Hi,
I have been wheeling and dealing to get bits for my $500 purchase late last year. A Mk1 Golf 1982 Cabriolet with a 1.6 8v and 5sp 020 gearbox in it.

The paint job was done by the previous owner. He resprayed the car in Holden Hot House Green. It was supposed to be rebuilt for his wife but the project stalled and was mothballed in his yard for 5 Years!!!

I came to its rescue tho.

The original interior was an awful colour of red and brown so it had to go. I waited for a solution. It came in the form of a late 1993 Auto 1.8 Cabriolet with no Rego. It had the ideal coloured interior, the black goes well with the Green paint. Plus it had all the bits minus a decent canopy to get my car to a presentable standard.

I then made a deal with Grant. AKA Roccodingo for his BBS Wheels in exchange for the remains of my 1993 Cabriolet.

Just recently I bought a front D/S smashed 2007 GTI Polo for its running 20V Turbo engine & Gearbox for $800! A steal I reckon! see pics

So now recently gutted the polo and sold some bits to the polo boys here on VWWatercooled and its going on the scrapper truck tomorrow...

To Get my Golf over the pits in standard form plus have a bit of fun in it whilst I save up the cash and source the various custom bits needed to convert it into a 20vt. I bought a second hand set of Weber DCOE 40's to go onto the 1.6 8V.
I have found a great looking manifold from Dbilas in Germany who can ship to Australia for $260!
Check out their site:
Ansaugbrücke VW / Audi 1,5-2,0 8V 45mm - dbilas dynamic

So that's where i'm up to at the moment regarding the build.

I do have a wish list/plan of further stuff to sort with regards to the 20vt conversion.

I have found a company in the UK called Vagtronics who you can send your 1.8T wiring loom to. For around $350 they will De-immobilise your factory ECU and strip your loom to a minimum to run just the engine. So the existing mk1 electronics can still function as normal. See website: Home

Also I may be using this guy in the states on VW Vortex runs a small tuning company called reflect tuning. He can do Immobiliser defeats and Stage 1 & 2 tuning for extremely low prices. Check this site out:
Immobilizer Defeat : Reflect Tuning :: SHOP

More to come in the near future.

[Peter Jones]

Sounds like a great project.

You might like to check out Quantum Performance Engineering - Home for other plug and play 20V bits and pieces.

[pommydubber]

Sounds like a great project.

You might like to check out Quantum Performance Engineering - Home for other plug and play 20V bits and pieces.

Hi pete,
Thought it was about time to share. Been a bit lazy with the posts on the project so sat down on the computer and got busy last night...
Qpeng are ok if u live in the same climate as uk. There are guys on this forum who are not impressed by these units here in oz. I think haltech are a better option here as there is dealer support, it's only a few more hundred $'s and u have an infinitely better more tuneable setup.

[Peter Jones]

Hi pete,
Thought it was about time to share. Been a bit lazy with the posts on the project so sat down on the computer and got busy last night...
Qpeng are ok if u live in the same climate as uk. There are guys on this forum who are not impressed by these units here in oz. I think haltech are a better option here as there is dealer support, it's only a few more hundred $'s and u have an infinitely better more tuneable setup.

Agreed, there's a lot to be said for local support. Haltech and Motec are very well supported in Aus.

[ByronRichesMk1]

I see you're in Waikiki mate! My girlfriend lives just down the road in Golden Bay. Should go for a roll together once this is regoed!

[pommydubber]

I see you're in Waikiki mate! My girlfriend lives just down the road in Golden Bay. Should go for a roll together once this is regoed!

Yeah that would be cool. Keepin the mk1 presence on the road! Mine probably won't be on the road til next year tho due to lack of funds. But I ain't givin it up for nothin! Where u based?

[pommydubber]

Eeeeee

[aussievwwdub]

Good luck Colin look forward to the rebuild thread

[ByronRichesMk1]

Yeah that would be cool. Keepin the mk1 presence on the road! Mine probably won't be on the road til next year tho due to lack of funds. But I ain't givin it up for nothin! Where u based?

I'm down Bunbury way mate spend half my time in Golden Bay though next time I'm up in the golf I'll pm you if you like!

[pommydubber]

It's been a fair while since I have posted on here. The project has slowly been coming together. I had to seek the 20v (too many bills to pay) but I kept the twin dcoe's and now have a 2.0 8v lump with a high lift cam to bolt them onto!
I have also been painting all the body kit and sourced some nice m3 style lights for the rear. Check out my pics on this link!
Golf Cabriolet Mk1 Build Photos by colin_fisher1 | Photobucket