Looking for some advice - 97 Golf CL

[beale187]

I have tried to trade him in for a new one but my wife indicates that with the mileage on him that the dealers will not accept it as a warranty claim

haha love it.

You know looking at that damage there doesn't appear to be any cracked painted or sharp edges (indentations) to that dent.

I bet it could be PDR. There's a guy we use here in Sydney, his the best I can put you in touch with him if you like, shoot him a pic and see what he says, or source a white door?

[feenix74]

I did not see any cracked paint and I am going to Supercheap to get a suction dent puller to give it a go myself this weekend. Depending how I go with the DYI job, there are a couple of PDR places here in Canberra. I was worried that a replacement door would be hard to source but it appears on closer inspection that the rear Vento door is the same as the Golf door on a Mk3 so I should be able to get one without too much trouble if it gets to that.

[feenix74]

Had no luck trying to get the dent out wih a suction puller today (could not get enough suction on the panel because of the shape of the dent). I will probably try getting a quote from a PDR place and a price for a replacement door and go with whichever solution works out cheaper.

I did manage to look at the boot lock mechanism in the white Vento which only has a small hard plastic cover which meant that after taking off the felt carpet cover on the red Vento I manage to finally pop the boot. Looks like only the lock mechanism itself is worn and when I can find a part number and get one ordered from ebay, I should be able to get the red Vento's boot working properly.

[feenix74]

Managed to get the white Vento to pass the roadworthy and registered yesterday. Still needs some work:
- a radio
- more work on the driver's rear door (I owe the brother-in-law some beer for helping push the dent out and get the electric window regulator working again)
- we found that there is some very minor damage to the driver's rear quarter panel (the wheel arch has been pushed forward just enough to touch the rear door), the rear door works but it will need to go to a good panel beater at some stage to try to open up the clearance properly
- the driver's front door has a slight bit of damage (a bit of chipped paint where the panel has been pushed out from inside)
- the driver's front quarter panel has a small scrape at the back of the wheel arch
- replacement gear shift linkages to get rid of the slop and play in the gear shift

Otherwise the Vento has come up well.

Now to work on the red Vento, reconditioned power steering rack will be fitted next week then get the replacement aircon compressor installed after that.

[dylan8]

Awesome! Good to see another hitting the streets.
If you need/want a stock radio, think I have a spare one.

[feenix74]

I would definitely be interested in a stock radio if you have a spare available at the right price. I will need to take a photo of the connectors for the radio and compare with a photo of the connector for your spare stock radio as well - the previous owner had an aftermarket radio in and removed it, it has two rectagular connectors and I am not sure that they are standard or have been fitted to suit the aftermarket radio.

[feenix74]

Red Vento has been driving reasonably well over the last couple of weeks since we had the new aircon compressor put in. New aircon is nice a cold but I tried to clear the aircon drainage pipe in the firewall today, so hopefully it will stop raining in the passenger footwell every time I have the aircon on for a cross-city trip.

I am getting a bit of a humming noise as the Vento gets over 70 km/h. I think it needs new front wheel bearings.

[dylan8]

I would definitely be interested in a stock radio if you have a spare available at the right price. I will need to take a photo of the connectors for the radio and compare with a photo of the connector for your spare stock radio as well - the previous owner had an aftermarket radio in and removed it, it has two rectagular connectors and I am not sure that they are standard or have been fitted to suit the aftermarket radio.

No worries. I'll try to remember to pull it out and take some pics

[feenix74]

Cheers and many thanks dylan, but no huge hurry.

Father-in-law picked up a cheapie JVC head unit from JB HiFi to throw into it but I would not mind having an OEM unit to put into it in future when I restore one or both of the Ventos.

[feenix74]

Red Vento went into CVWC today to get new front wheel bearings. Daughter No. 1 reports it now drives much better, no more bearing noise at 80+kph and much better acceleration. I warned her that it should now pick up speed downhill even with her foot off the accelerator and she will need to work harder on the brakes to slow it down to a stop.

Next step is a oil change this weekend and I will throw in a new air filter while I am at it. I am also waiting on a fuel sender unit from Latvia that is on backorder (so that the fuel gauge will actually work properly under 1/2 a tank). Then save up to replace the cheap chinese Hi-Fly tires on the rear wheels and get a wheel alignment done.