Barn Find Laser Green 1.9 Gti.

[Leslie green 109]

Got a good bit done and broke a few bits !

 

Hammered all the dents in the floor due to careless jacking back down , tried to remove the rear trim on the tailgate and lock was stuck in and cracked it on the edge , the centre pin was missing anyway so not too fussed.  I then moved on and tried to take the windscreen out , I heated the seal and sprayed rubber spray on it as I thought it would make it slide out easier , it did not it made it impossible as the rubber just popped back and eventually I cracked it , then got inside and stuck my 2 feet on it and it was out in 5 seconds lol Id have cut the seal but I believe the gti sunroof type lip seal is hard to find. I hope glass is easier !

     Moved on to the tail gate and as there was no help around tried to take it off myself , I had just about done it but it slipped side ways and slide down the pillar and put a dent in the side flange  doh !  Instead of leaving it alone I used a vice grip jaw as a lever and made a good job of straightening the flange but put a shallow dent in the front face ,damn these panels are flimsy !

         I then took the car out side an powerwashed the whole thing inside and out and let it dry a while then used petrol to get all the waxoyl of the underneath , this was very time consuming but the original coat underneath is in fairly good condition bar a few rust spots so the waxoyl did it's job , even the wheel arches are tidy after a good scrub.

I also gave the strut towers a few  whacks to make the more flat as they had lifted up a bit . 2 steps forward today one step back !

 

IMG_20220628_183114 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220628_184424 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220628_184417 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220628_184455 by Leslie, on Flickr

[Nikofreak 0]

HI, you'll find the windscreen easylly on :

https://www.boutique-laventure-association.com/fr/26-205?q=08+\-+Carrosserie+\-+Sièges-81+\-+Baie+avant+\-+Pare\-brise+\-+Pare\-soleil+\-+Rétroviseurs+intérieur+et+extérieur&page=2

Seal with "lip" is also available !

 

Niko

[Leslie green 109]

Thanks Niko  if id known the seal was available id have cut it to save the glass , last I heard it was obsolete for cars  with a sunroof but stuff gets remade.

I doubt they could post a screen to me though in the UK ( Northern Ireland ) but I hope the likes of autoglass can supply the correct tint one when I need it . Hate breaking things that could have been avoided as they are all adding to the cost. 

Edited July 1, 2022 by Leslie green

[Leslie green 109]

Tackled the sunroof removal today , I was trying to undo the torx bolts but no torx bit would fit them then I realized they were actually rivets ,I thought these fixings were all torx was the phase 2 different as In my opinion then look factory complete with little alloy spacers ? On each corner there is a torx screw with 2 at the back for the rail end clamps  hence the confusion . It was one of those jobs I wish I hadn't started ! The sunroof tray and drain tubes are however mint no rust at all .

     25 rivets and alloy caps were drilled out and I nearly had it removed but I couldn't get the sunroof handle cable off to pull the cable though , I undid the centre pulley and removed it and one of the latches at the side  but I still couldn't get enough slack to unhook the end at the handle ,i was at it ages before the pin snapped ! Doh ! Another part for the scrap bin ...

    Also got the vinyl of the "B" pillars by heating it and the rubber wind seal up the "A" pillar and along to "B" pillar just by carefully peeling it off not forgetting the plastic rivet at the back.

 

20220711_161958 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

20220711_155410 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

20220711_174833 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

20220711_175125 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

 

Edited July 11, 2022 by Leslie green

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Rivets are OE on later cars. I'm not sure when they changed over, as I had an early phase 2 car which was still the screws.

[Leslie green 109]

Does anybody know where I could get any of these rivets or even had any success fitting them ,I can't even find a part number for them  other than the rear ones which are nothing more than rivets without the spacer 840350 or is it better to go back to screws like phase 1 cars . I see baker does the screws for about 120 quid ouch !!!!!! My spacers are mostly toast anyway as most were stuck and I had to drill into them to free them.

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

You could move to screws I suppose by fitting riv nuts to the roof. But I would spend some time reclaiming the alloy spacers and then just use pop rivets.

 

[Leslie green 109]

Thanks Tom some might be saveable but a lot are just alloy swarf as I used an 8mm bit and if they were stuck solid as many were I drilled till they lifted off. I know were there is a scrap gti on a j reg so it might have the right ones if I used a small 4mm bit and some care 

[Leslie green 109]

Had a closer look at the rivet alloy spacers today, they are all toast not one saveable , they are actually 2 pieces not a single piece as I first thought.  Got the grill separated and the fuel cap separated and no breakages although the grill backing was cracked in quite a few places anyway and one of the lower pegs is gone . Searched the loft and anywhere I could think off  for the battery tray but its gone awol last seen 3 years ago I think !  Have 9 large boxes filled with gti parts now cars take up some space when in bits .

 

20220714_142051 by Leslie, on Flickr

Edited July 14, 2022 by Leslie green

[Leslie green 109]

Got a bit more done , all rivets drilled through with 4.5mm drill to get the ends out of the roof , tried to remove the aerial but the cap on the end turned to dust when I touched it and the screw was siezed solid so wore through the bolt it with a power file , I thought they were available new on ebay but they don't quite  look the same . I think it was leaking anyway. I then cleaned the sealant of the inner wing to reveal the start of some rust but the sealer was cracking with age. Next I cleaned behind the rear arch and found a huge 10mm gap in places this was just filled with sealer from the factory I thought unless I did it scraping the sealant of the inside I dunno lol so I decided the tap the inner arch outwards till it met the outer arch and weld the 2 together after folding the outer over the inner as far up as I could before they part company  , this was tricky as Icouldnt see what I was doing with a welding helmet and no access and even when cleaned up it was a struggle to weld the metal but it's a lot more solid now .

  I found the battery tray at last after days of searching and the original 2 1.9 gti axle mounts which have offset studs , I think the only ones you can get now have equal spaced studs and one of these id separating due to old age.

   I sent Farmer a message to see if he knew where any roof rivets could be got but he hasn't been on in the last week  and a message to Bakerbm to see if they were thinking about remaking some as they are perfect for cnc work.

 

IMG_20220719_165549 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220720_185314 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220719_175422 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220720_173117 by Leslie, on Flickr

Edited July 20, 2022 by Leslie green

[Anthony 1,003]

14 hours ago, Leslie green said:

the original 2 1.9 gti axle mounts which have offset studs , I think the only ones you can get now have equal spaced studs and one of these id separating due to old age.

 

The rear mounts like you've pictures are offset for all 205/309 models and aftermarket replacements easily available.  The only inline ones I've seen were the original PTS-type Group A alloy mounts, but Baker BM have since made a revised version that is offset (indeed, it looks like an alloy version of the rubber mount you've pictured) if you're looking at going down that route

 

It's the metal front mounts that are offset on 1.9 GTi's but not on other 205's - these are rarely damaged beyond some cosmetic corrosion though and should be reusable after a cleanup.  The bushes in the beam tube they're attached to can be replaced and are available, but generally seem to be long lasting in my experience and can often be reused without issue.

[Leslie green 109]

Thanks Anthony looking at the pics of new ones had me confused as they looked parallel .

[Leslie green 109]

Got a bit more done , cleaned the seam sealer from the bulkhead join and seam welded it , then found a couple of small pieces in the boot that when wirewheeled went through , one on left and one in the centre at the bootlid so welded those up too.  The handbrake mount had a crack so ran a cutting disc up the crack and welded that also.  Cleaned most of the seam sealer of in the boot and all round the floor and put some etch primer on it for now and found a hole in front of where the tank sits on the floor so it needs fixing. I also welded the B post bottom as the spotweld had failed on this side also . Inner seat mount on drivers side had cracked the floor 2 probably due to the outer front bolt failing alowing the seat the twist about.

      Cleaned both side behind inner wing indicator area and etch primered those too , there was some minor rust under the concrete sealer so i treated that with rust remover.

 

IMG_20220722_171435 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220721_181339 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220721_161624 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220721_182508 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220722_171403 by Leslie, on Flickr

Edited July 22, 2022 by Leslie green

[Leslie green 109]

Got a few more pieces welded , the inner wing join I seam welded as it's always a problem on these and both little wing captive nuts sheared of when removing the wing, I did keep them to refit but they cannot be found  so I found some weld in nuts and they worked very well . One of the tank mounts on the floor the top skin was gone , it had just started to rust behind the sealer but was a hole so made a new piece and seam welded it so now much stronger. The drivers arch looks like it had 2 self tappers or maybe extra rivet holes to hold the arch at a time as some of the fixing holes were broken so got rid of those , had to be careful I didn't weld up the wrong ones and so easyto burn a big hole in the thin tin. I found a load of insulation round the filler neck in the 1/4 panel when removing the pipe , the nut securing it was very rusty and took ages to remove .

 

 

IMG_20220725_145334 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220726_152451 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220726_161725 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220726_175759 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

[Leslie green 109]

Got a bit more done , knew there was filler in the drivers 1/4 panel and one nasty spot I could see from the inside , the rest of it seemed fine ,looks like it has had a brush along something in the past , looks like they drilled holes to use self tappers to pull a dent then hammered them down after as was common years ago. The filler had lifted in places so it had to go . I tried to put a new piece in but this has resulted in a hollow above the repair despite tacking and being very careful with heat. I might have been better leaving it alone .... Any attempt to fill a pinhole had me chasing a bigger hole with burn through .  Id be tempted to fit a new 1/4 panel if you could get one  as there is a small dent at the bottom of the taillight panel too and the 1/4 doesn't look that hard to remove ,  I know where there was a base model shelll recently but cutting the gti arch after and making it neat would be tricky too. 

    Cut the bolts securing these bumper spoilers  and gave them a wash and they are fairing good condition wise. The sticky pads used on the numberplate were a right pain to remove . Also tried removing the sticky tape holding the rubber trim up the A post but only way was wear it off with a small wirewheel in a diegrinder , it was slow going so gave up after 1 side for now .

 

 

IMG_20220801_160157 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220801_180228 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220802_151254 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220803_171427 by Leslie, on Flickr

Edited August 3, 2022 by Leslie green

[Leslie green 109]

Got both doors drilled for kit rivets ,these need a 2.5mm holes and it's easy to drill one in the wrong place ,measure twice drill once lol and 12 holes per door . I then welded the door bottom of one up . it was worse than it had looked  before it was cleaned up and needed about 10cm of the bottom flange replaced.  I then tacked round the lock on the other where it had been punched through with a screwdriver some time in the past and it turned out well. then put the hinges on and  tried a door on and set a wing on . These liittle jobs took a long time .

 

IMG_20220804_131224 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220804_135030 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220804_153639 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220804_170038 by Leslie, on Flickr

Edited August 4, 2022 by Leslie green

[Leslie green 109]

IMG_20220804_170127 by Leslie, on Flickr

[Leslie green 109]

Got another few jobs done . One of the bonnet bolts had snapped and a bolt head been welded in long ago , I'm not even sure it was in quite  the right place ,I thought id grind it out and drill the snapped thread out , by the time id got the bolt of the metal behind was rotten so I cut the rot out and used a large penny washer to cover the hole with a nut welded to the back of it and another washer  tacked on top to make it the right height again. , all the little spacers on the hinges were siezed solid and needed freeing off too. I wasn't happy with the repair I made before with cutting the lip of the passenger arch as with the metal being so thin it would be ground through very easily when sanded for paint so I made a new one in !mm steel  and welded it in , much better as I knew one side folded and 1 side original would bother me later .

  I had a guy who was going to remove the rear glass but several weeks passed and he never got back to me so I did it myself  today with a craft type  knife , It was only  cheap on I had lying around but it got the job done in an hour , you just need to be patient and not try and force the glass , Mt dad went and got me some pegs to use as wedges but by the time he was back from the local shop it was already just about out , I set the tailgate on 2 old sofa cushions and worked my way round several times . The trim was cut through in a lot of places and as it was stuck to the sealer  cutting through it was always going to happen  , another piece to add to the growing list  of bits I need . 

 

IMG_20220805_140039 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220805_160250 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220808_134420 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220811_114801 by Leslie, on Flickr

Edited August 11, 2022 by Leslie green

[Leslie green 109]

Started work on the axle today ,  the lower shock bolts were immensely tight and the first side the shock bush was rusted to the bolt  but freed off  but the other side the bolt would not move a mm with the nut off  the bush was grown into the bolt  I didn't want to  wreck the shock as they seemed to be damping ok and are genuine ones  , but as time went on patience wore thin and I heated and forced the shock of leaving the bush , no amount of heating would shift the bush  it so I wore through it with the grinder then it spun round and still stayed on .  By the time it was off the bolt was damaged anyway . Before the bolt came out the battering with a big hammer actually separated the axle  arm on one side as I already had the torsion bar nuts of but the threaded pieces would not unscrew. so that was a plus.

     One bolt each side of the axle side support  pieces will only come out if the arm is pulled down but of the car this is very tricky and a huge amount of time was wasted trying to  hook it under a container on one side while standing on the other to push it down. so the head of the bolt could pass through. . The bearing needles didn't fall out so hopefully the tube is ok but it needed doing  before going back on the road .The centre of shock bolt to shock bolt setting was 300mm for ride height if I've measured right.

 

IMG_20220812_140444 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220812_180415 by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220812_183032_BURST001_COVER by Leslie, on Flickr

 

IMG_20220812_183103 by Leslie, on Flickr

Edited August 12, 2022 by Leslie green

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Tube looks like it will go again. Fit new bearings, and replace both trailing arm shafts.

Get the torsion bars out both ends to allow you to set the rude height properly. 300mm is pretty low on standard 19mm bars. Around 312mm is a good match for typical 30mm lowering springs up front.

[Leslie green 109]

Both inner and  outer bearings removed ,4  bushes removed and antiroll bar removed , but one of the torsion bars is stuck fast in the arm and no amount of heating or bashing with a nylon hammer will shift it . It's grown in and will need pressed out. The outer bearings were a bit of a pain to remove and I ended up using a power file to wear it down a bit and a sharpened chisel to fold in in on itself , took ages though. The inner I used a foot long piece of 40 or  45mm I think it was bar inside the tube then a metre long piece of 1 inch bar to whack it with a hammer on the end , them even came out in good condition .

     The bushes I set fire to the rubber with a blow lamp , levered the bush out , I wore the ends with a flap wheel till then fell off then then cut slits with a hacksaw in the outer sleeves but it was still hard going .

Ford wheelnut  used to push out antiroll bar . The tube has no wear thankfully so that's a rear bonus , the outer cage had rusted away and turned to dust so not taking it apart tube damage would have happened quite soon id think .

IMG_20220816_133254 by Leslie, on Flickr

Outer bearings 

IMG_20220816_153241 by Leslie, on Flickr

Bushes removed 

IMG_20220816_170150 by Leslie, on Flickr

Inner bearing 20 cm into tube 

IMG_20220816_172511 by Leslie, on Flickr

Inner bearing bashed out 

IMG_20220816_174004 by Leslie, on Flickr

Edited August 16, 2022 by Leslie green

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

The thing you need to be careful of now is when re installing the bearings. You need to support the rollers with a mandrel at diameter while carefully pushing the outer race into the tube. If you don't do this carefully then you will deform the outer shell of the bearing which in turn will nip the rollers and stop them being able to move freely. The impacts from driving will then indent the hard bearing rollers into the arm shaft. Thus your rebuilt beam will have play in it quickly. I've done hundreds of beams and have seen this often from well meaning folk trying to rebuild them. With the bearing installed you should be able to easily spin the cage and rollers with your finger. If you can't, cut them out and start again. Easy to check the outers, not so the inners.

Re: getting the bar out, they will almost always come out with heat and my puller. Or an easy job if you can borrow the use of a press.

[dcc 855]

We use a cut away trailing arm shaft to press out the really stubborn torsion bars, you can cut away enough to get around the casting of the trailing arm. some of them have taken 20t plus, and heat, and on occasion a lump hammer too.

[DamirGTI 342]

8 hours ago, Tom Fenton said:

The thing you need to be careful of now is when re installing the bearings. You need to support the rollers with a mandrel at diameter while carefully pushing the outer race into the tube.

 

Interesting , does make sense .

 

The installation tool should be made/machined to something like this one right ? :

[Leslie green 109]

Yes Tom I see what you mean the rollers on the ones I knocked out have been nipped at the bottom  with the housing being bent in , that was due to the use of the 1 inch bar I sharpened into a sloped point  and was just battering them to get them out  fisrt try  I checked today and a 1 3/8 inch  3/4 drive socket i( 46mm  approx) and would be perfect to drive the new ones in and with the pressure all the way round it should be fine. Not really anything more I could do without  getting something made  on a lathe. 

 

dcc I can well believe some take 20 tons I was beat yesterday with all that effort , the amount of times I've decided I needed a press but still haven't bought one !!!!!

 

Pitcrew that looks expensive !!! , if I had plenty of axles to do I get something made but  will have to improvise for now.