Mk1 Shaved Bay

[finman]

Hi Guys,

so i have a 76 Mk1 Golf and i am in the process of doing it up i want to shave the bay, including removing the brake booster assembly, the heater core, raising the strut towers and cutting a c notch.

firstly regarding the heater core. does anyone know if the car will still pass rego in NSW if i was to remove it all together? or do you have to have it in?
Secondly whilst looking at ways to remove the brake booster assembly i came across the Wilwood brake bias pedal box,

which mounts above the pedal. and i was wondering if anyone else has completed this swap successfully, what its like, is it advisable and will it work better than the booster?

Thirdly i would like to raise the strut towers, leading me to ask that is it at all possible in NSW, being that i get it engineered.
raising the strut towers will then require a c-notch cut out. can that be done?

i am trying to go for this look:



thanks Finman

[RABBIT]

I'm sending mine to race creations next week and I'm pretty much going for the same thing you're thinking of doing.
If no one gives you an answer by next week, I'll let you know what Mick says. I have a VR6 in my mk1. I want to shave as much as possible and keep it as minimal as I can but still ensuring everything is legal and road worthy.

[finman]

cheers man, much appreciated. good luck with yours

[RABBIT]

Thanks. You too would love to see more pics along with your progression.

[finman]

will do

[nightphotographer]

I can only give you advice on what i've read regarding the brake servo and bar delete - as I'm wanting to this myself - it's not cheap if you want to do it properly.There's a few different options ranging from cheap and not ideal to very expensive and perfect.

I read 6N2 TDI Polo servos are a pretty good fit if you want to get rid of the bar and mount a booster on the drivers side (now I've tried googling it I can't find that) but it's still an option that'll be significantly better than the bar and will be better to drive than servo-less.

Then there's servo-less pedal boxes (bias boxes) with the MC straight above the pedal - I personally would be getting mine from Crazy Quiffs with the hydraulic clutch because I have an 02A hyrdaulic box. It's about 400 pounds excluding VAT and postage is pretty steep too - I was planning on bringing mine back when I next visit.

If I go the servo-less then there's the issue of pedal feel - of course it'll feel more responsive, but will take so much more effort and that's going to take a lot of the fun out of driving so I've also been looking at installing dual circuit remote servos too. But then you're looking at 700 pounds ($1200) just to improve braking and tidy up the bay - it's very pricey!

I think the none hydraulic servo-less boxes are 200 pounds (excluding custom brake lines) which isn't too bad. Hope that helps!

[sports racer]

You haven't mentioned anything about replacing the original booser with a modern one but kept in the same location. Replace all the linkages that go from the booster to the pedal arm with a single hollow tube that has an extension on each end, angled to match the pedal movement at one end and the booster input shaft at the other.

This gets rid of all those pivots that wear out and create unnecessary play in the brake pedal movement.

Cheers

Paul

[nightphotographer]

You haven't mentioned anything about replacing the original booser with a modern one but kept in the same location. Replace all the linkages that go from the booster to the pedal arm with a single hollow tube that has an extension on each end, angled to match the pedal movement at one end and the booster input shaft at the other.

This gets rid of all those pivots that wear out and create unnecessary play in the brake pedal movement.

Cheers

Paul

Yeah or you could do that! I hadn't even looked at keeping the booster where it is. I reckon I'm probably going to address it more when my engine's in and I can see how much room there is with the servo still there. I guess if it was powdercoated/polished it wouldn't look too bad.

[finman]

Ok, thanks guys for the feedback, it looks like I will be going with the brake bias pedal box option. And does anyone know about deleting the heater core and if it's allowed in NSW

[greg32]

Ok, thanks guys for the feedback, it looks like I will be going with the brake bias pedal box option. And does anyone know about deleting the heater core and if it's allowed in NSW

You cannot delete the heater core unless you are able to provide another effective means of windscreen defrost. Check out the hot rod scene as they commonly use an electric unit.