MK3 Golf CL

**volksmanharry** · 31-01-2013, 09:31 PM

Hey guys, not too long ago I became the proud owner of my first watercooled dub, a 1997 Golf Mk3 Cl 5-Door.

The neighbours across the road from us had previously owned the car, and after 3 years of the car sitting out in the weather without being driven my father and I decided it was time to go and enquire about whether or not the owners wanted to sell. This is what the car looked like at the time.

Unfortunately, the neighbours said that it wasn't in running condition, and more importantly they were not planning on selling it. After a few months, we had a knock on the door, and who would it be but the neighbour! They had just returned from an expensive overseas holiday and were in desperate need of cash, so wanted to know if we were still interested. After a little negotiating the bargain Golf was ours! Of course we had to ask what was wrong with it, and the only things the previous owners could mention were that the battery was dead and the power steering had broken.

After an exhausting haul up the hill to our place, Dad and I found a spare battery lying around and checked all the connections and spark plugs before trying to turn her over. After less than a second of the starter kicking in the little girl was roaring to life! Dad and I had the biggest grins on our faces of disbelief

Further delight was to come our way after I gave her a much needed wash, to discover that under all the weather there was only one slight scratch on the metalwork! There were 2 or 3 small patches of paint that had flaked off on the bumpers and grill, but they would be an easy repair later.

On the inside, there was a great amount of dirt and rubbish lying around but after a lengthy vacuum the seats, doorcards, carpet and floor mats were all in excellent condition. The only interior component that needed major attention was the headlining, which after reading through the forums I have discovered is a common problems among Mk3's.

Within the first week of owning her, I became a bit click-happy and ordered in quite a few parts. The first part to arrive were the rear M3 style rear lights, which were a breeze to fit and looked so much better.

Before:

After:

Wanting to remove all orange lenses from the car, I also bought clear front indicators & fog light kits and clear side repeaters. Decided to take a few artistic-ish photos that day lol

The hella spotlights have since been removed also, and to my disappointment I found that some of the bumper ribs had been sawn off to accommodate them

The next thing that arrived was the keyless entry system I ordered from RightClick, which was a breeze to install and works a treat! It also comes with Mk4 Switchblade key remotes, which I intend on getting cut once I can figure out how to get an immobiliser chip into them

While working on the interior to fit the fog light relay, keyless system etc. I realised just how much the headliner needed replacing. After looking at a few DIY's on the forum I decided to try myself and popped down to spotlight to get some black suede while they had their boxing day sales on. The final finish looks so much better than the original, and I don't think I mind the white/black contrast.

After a quick trip around the local wreckers, I found a set of multistud Advanti Racing wheels with basically brand new tyres on them for dirt cheap! They look pretty good in my opinion, and match the car quite well. I don't have any photos of the car with them on... yet!

The car was taken down to a local mechanic who is great with VW's, and after having the discs machined and the power steering and coolant leaks fixed, it passed roadworthy! So fun to drive, pokier by far than any other car I have driven! Can't wait for the next few weeks to go by so I can do my driving test and finally drive alone in it!

**Jarred** · 31-01-2013, 09:37 PM

Congrats on your first car!

Good to see a young fella getting stuck in, no better feeling than doing a bit of DIY!

**mb1907953** · 31-01-2013, 09:55 PM

Love it mate. Keep us updated. How many Ks has she got?

**volksmanharry** · 31-01-2013, 10:01 PM

Thanks guys, I also plan on getting the windows tinted and finding a nice set of coilovers once dad doesn't have to drive in it anymore

It has 157XXX, not too bad from what I've seen other Mk3's at.

**shramma** · 31-01-2013, 10:09 PM

nice work mate.

question for you re the headliner - the dents/poke marks etc on the foam, how did you overcome them as I cant see them under your nice black suede!

**mb1907953** · 31-01-2013, 10:10 PM

Awesome find! Sounds like you got it cheap too. It's a 1.8L isn't it?

**volksmanharry** · 31-01-2013, 10:15 PM

With the headliner the foam was all scraped away with a wire brush before the suede was glued on, the glue didn't stick to the foam and it was super thin anyway so there's hardly any downside to not having the foam there

Yes it's a 1.8L, and a manual. After seeing some of the guys here talk about the 1.8 being super weak compared to the VR6's etc, I was quite surprised driving it for the first time! I'd actually be scared driving a VR6 haha the 1.8 is powerful enough for me!