New Mk1 Owner

[Mika]

Howdy guys!

Just picked up my first VW today off a member on here, K_Man. It's pretty rough at the moment, but I absolutely love it...so far! haha!

From what I've been told, it was originally a diesel, but is now running a 1.6L with headers, exhaust and weber carb and a 020 5 speed. I love the sound of it at WOT...apparently it's blowing a little blue smoke higher int he rev range, but ah well, I'll just keep an eye on oil.

Now I have a fair few issues I need to sort in the next few weeks, so I can register it, which some of you may be able to help point me in the right direction. Both my other cars are Nissans so some of the lingo I read on here is a little different to what I'm used to so bear with me.

My main issues are:

1. It has had a 5 speed fitted, however 5th gear cannot be engaged. Driving along the freeway in 4th gear was a little fun! I've been looking around at linkage repair kits and I just don't know which one to buy. There are complete kits, kits with a couple of bushes in them and some with a few bushes and a couple of linkages. I'm pretty unfamiliar with these types of linkages...they look a little complex compared to my pulsar.

2. Instrumentation. Dash lights are dead which should be a simple fix, however, fuel guage does not work, nor does the odometer/trip meter. What are the common causes for this?

3. Wipers are unbelievably slow and only seem to work on one speed (I know a thread on this has appeared recently and will be looking into it tomorrow)

4. Indicators seem to go off and come back on as they please when I'm indicating! Guessing it's contacts ont he stalk, but once again, what are the common causes.

There are more things that need doing, but I'll ask for help when I can't fix them myself!

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Mika

P.S. I shall post up some pics once I've given the car a thorough clean

[16v_kid]

cool to have another vww mk1 lover.

keep us updated

[Jarred]

2. Check the dash light itself, the fuse, and the contact board on the back of the cluster. does the temp gauge work as well? It's possible the small voltage reg on the back of the cluster is busted. happened on my old mk 1, and my fuel and temp gauge's didn't read.

odo/trip meter could be something else. There is a small gear on a metal rod that tends to crack, and just rotate on the metal shaft, not actually turning it, and hence no numbers moving on the odo. I had spare cluster lying around which i replaced when this happened to my car. May or may not be the problem. You'll need to pull the cluster and pull a few bits apart to check it out. not too hard though really.


4. start by cleaning up the earths and contacts. It would be worth while to check all of the earths in and around the engine bay while you are there. fixes a few things sometimes.

where abouts in melbourne are you?

[Mika]

Thanks for the quick replies and welcomes

I'll start pulling things apart this week and checking them over. There is a spare cluster but i think it's the original one which has been swapped out for the current one as the woodgrain on it matches the rest of the dash.

Oh, and Jarred, I'm from the inner eastern burbs

[Jarred]

There are a few of us around the eastern suburbs, don't be afraid to holler if you need sometime.

with the clusters, you can swap out the clocks, so you can keep the woodgrain, if you really want. haha

[Mika]

There are a few of us around the eastern suburbs, don't be afraid to holler if you need sometime.

with the clusters, you can swap out the clocks, so you can keep the woodgrain, if you really want. haha

Thanks mate!

I think i prefer the silver surround, but I may put the woodgrain back in so it matches the rest

[Peter Jones]

Welcome to the world of MK1 ownership.

As to the shifter kits, start with the basic kit. The bushes that make the most difference are the two on the vertical rod on the steering rack.

Depending on how the conversion has been done you could use either the 4 speed or 5 speed kit to get the replacement linkages.

The ball on the realy shaft lever. (The ball that hangs off the lower end of that vertical rod) is smaller for 4 speeds and larger for 5 speeds. Either will work but have to match the size of the cage on the end of the horizontal shaft running back to the underside of the shift lever.

Fuel and temp guage not working- Usually voltage regulator on the back of the cluster or the flexible circuit board is stuffed.

Wipers - Fuse box corrosion or column switch or the wiper motor itself or all of the above