Since the last update I’ve done loads of work to the Golf, and generally been using it loads, which has been really nice.
I’ll start with an evening track session at Cadwell Park. This was such a great way to spend an evening - good weather, good mates.
The video below is one of my favourite track sessions I’ve ever had, and certainly the fastest I’ve ever gone around Cadwell! Chasing 2 race prepared Nova’s, our cars were very similar paced, so I had to work hard to get past.
At Cadwell I was trying to make the most of the 2 hours we had on track, so I was doing 35-45min sessions, I usually do around 20 min sessions. The Golf felt fantastic and handled the extended sessions well, I only came in because I was flagging and drip wet through!
The extended sessions did highlight one problem that you will see in the video – the brakes. When braking there was a crazy amount of shake coming through the steering wheel, to the point where I was struggling to keep hold of the wheel one handed while changing gear. I did some tests with a dial gauge when I got home, thinking it may have been warped discs, but the discs were dead true.
After doing some research and chatting to a few mates, we came to the conclusion it was pad deposits on the discs, I was apprehensive – could pad deposits really cause this much vibration? I cleaned up the discs with some scotch brite pads, and to my surprise completely cured the brake issue.
This did highlight one area for improvement though and that was cooling. I use the factory 16v brake ducts, which just vent to the wheel arch, so I decided to improve on that. Again I did my research, with the biggest takeaway being its best to duct air as close to the centre of the disc as possible, so the air can flow through the veins in the disc. With this in mind I started to modify the standard backing plates.
Holes were marked and cut, then a 2.5’ tube welded to the backing plates.
For anyone that has done this, you will know there is just no room for a 2.5’ duct, and there is literally only one way the tube will route without interference with the CV, driveshaft, track rod, suspension articulation, subframe to wishbone distance.
With the disc end sorted it was time to move onto the getting air from the front of the splitter. I’d decided not to bastardise the standard OE ducts, these seem to be worth a fortune now and really the shape didn’t lend itself well.
I started by remaking the ducts out of cardboard and tape.
Once happy I then wrapped the card in ali tape, to be used as a plug/mould for fibreglass.
It’s a messy process, but it came out really well once cleaned up.
I then used rivnuts in the metal front valance, to secure along with a cable tie.
I used 2 ply silicone ducting which should help with longevity.
Clearance is tight on lock, but there’s just enough room.
I’ve not done any heavy track work since, but I will report back once its been tested. I’ve also looking into the Porsche GT3 style ducting which clips onto the wishbone and directs air to the dics, which Might be the next option along with the ducting, but the ducting alone should be a big improvement.
Next update was some cosmetic upgrade to my steering wheel. I absolutely love this wheel, it’s a pretty "uncommon" Momo Jackie Stewart circa 1960. The leather was getting tired and my sweaty palms on track were not helping.
I decided to try and restore rather than retrim as I like the patina of an old wheel.
The original wheel:
I grabbed a kit from my local leather place for £50, which included a leather cleaner, sponges, primer, leather paint and a UV top coat. I started by cleaning the leather and then sanding to scotch up the surface and level and of the bumps.
The finish result is really impressive! I just hope the finish lasts.
Next up was the Mk2 Golf Owners meet at Curborough, I went for the Sunday which was all VAG cars with my mate Nick in his Leon.
I started the morning off with road tyres on the rear and semi slicks on the front, this was to help the car rotate on this super tight track. Having an open diff doesn’t help here.
And rotate she did! Full opposite lock into the first corner with Ian onboard, we both were laughing the whole way round, and the rear came round on EVERY corner, much much fun, but not fast. So I swapped over to the semi slicks all round.
I’ll post a video up of my fastest time when I get it edited, but the car felt fast this year, the cage reinforcements made the chassis feel super tight. But the times don’t lie, how did I fair…
Well I’ll start with Nick, he managed a 27.7 lap, bagging him the fastest time of the day, taking home the silver ware. This is a properly serious time! And expertly driven by the man himself.
As the awards went on the last thing I thought was to hear my name called out. Despite trying to extract as much speed out of the 8v as possible, its just that, an 8v. It was never going to be a competitive car. As the famous John McGuiness says “you can only piss with the d*ick you’ve got”
To my surprise Matt called my name! with a 29.7 lap time. 4/10ths fastest than last year.
I was completely in shock and so chuffed! The award was a sponsors choice, given to the person achieving a decent time with the machinery under them.
Matt also wrote some very kind words in the awards posted on facebook.
Thanks buddy!
So that was that. The 2 Yorkshire lads bringing home the silverware!
Big thanks to the guys who organise this, its always so well run and the value for money is crazy for the amount of track time!
The last update is to the wheels (sorry this is a long post, ive been a busy boy! And I’ve actually skipped a lot of jobs out!)
I was never a fan of the dark wheels on a black car, so I decided to tackle them this last week, I spent a while deciding on colour, but finding the exact shade was so hard.
On a whim I decided to mix some base coats I had in the shed, I used some Arctic Silver from the E36 with some L041 Black from my Golf, in about an 80:20 ratio silver/black. And unbelievably this was the result.
I was over the moon with this, it had the perfect amount of goldy glitteryness, with silvery greyness. I also had about a litre of the stuff so Ideal for repaints/ touchups in the future.
The centres were masked up and prepped with some 800 scotch brite.
The inside of the wheel was also prepped. Very tedious work, but its worth the effort spending the time with prep.
Base coat
2k clear coat
Very very chuffed with the outcome.
And that’s it from me. I’ve got another evening session at Cadwell tomorrow night, so I’ll report back on the ducting to see if its cured.
I finally got round to designing and making some B pillar gussets for my cage.
Started out by trying to design something I liked the look of, I find it a challenge to make these look “right” and get the angles of the gussets correct.
Transferred what I had on paper into some steel.
I didn’t want to have to strip the interior so I used a large fire blanket on the floor and protected everything else with cardboard and tape.
Got them all welded in, took a few goes to get the welder set up right, but came out okay in the end.
This was then epoxy primed, and painted satin black. I’ve not got the car out of the garage yet so I don’t know how it all looks in the daylight, but so far I’m pretty happy
That was a good catch with the tensioner, a couple of miles more could have spelled disaster!
I like the coolant vacuum thing, but how does it go about the thermostat? Wouldn't that need to be open to get coolant everywhere?
Honestly I'm not sure, the tool expels all the air in the system so whether it can get past the other side of the thermostat I don't know. All I can say is that it worked a treat!
Some prep before we went, I fitted a brand new SKF water pump and 87 degree thermostat. As I had a strange noise on start up, the old waterpump was a cheapo topran one from many years ago so no harm in replacing it. After a test drive I wasn’t too happy, firstly the noise hadn’t gone and secondly the coolant temp was ¾ on the gauge just driving on the road.
The next day I stripped it all down and refitted my old 80degree thermostat. This made a huge difference! And coolant temps were normal, bang on ½ way even on track.
The noise you ask… well some more digging and I found it, it was the cambelt tensioner. The bolt had loosened despite being torqued to spec (45nm) luckily the engine wasn’t out of time. I replaced the nut with a nyloc nut, torqued and paint penned the end so I can see if it comes loose again. (post track day, all still good)
One tool I picked up cheap on amazon for about £20 was this vacuum coolant bleed kit.
It’s an impressive bit of kit and takes minutes to bleed the coolant, without the need to sit and rev the car etc. it works by creating a vacuum using an airline, you then crack a valve to replace the spent air with coolant – perfect!
I drove over on the new wheels to save the AR1’s. I didn’t have the correct bolts for the 20mm spacers, so settled for 15mm. Although they did have the correct taper for the rear so I used some 8mm on the rear and 15mm on the front, looks okay, and should have some positive effects to handling in the wet with a wider front track.
I bought some new collapsable storage boxes to transport tools to and from trackdays. Makes loading the car nice and easy. We were properly loaded up for this trip, with the usual spare “gearbox…” tools spares, over night bags etc. Ford was in with me as passenger.
We still had out overnight bags to add here who needs a van!
We had a 3.5 hour drive over with Nick in his K1 and Ford passenger with me. The Golf was doing well, comfortably doing 80 ish the whole way. We stayed overnight in an Airbnb and met up with Beardy (who use to own the white teg) had a good catch up and a walk in the hills ready for action the next day.
We were lucky with the weather and even got some sun!
The Golf was going really well! It was the first time properly pushing the 205 section AR1’s, the level of grip was amazing.
I’m pretty pleased to report all went smoothly! No issues, no hiccups, just solid lapping all day long- which my brand new tyres thanked me for! I was having so much fun I’d forgotten how bad Anglesey is on front left tyres.
It looks to have been slightly over inflated too, I usually run 32psi hot pressure, but I’ll drop this next time and go back to 30.
Id taken Nick out and we came to the conclusion I could maybe do with some stiffer springs and maybe some antiroll bars, I’ve modified so much of the suspension and I’m now finding I’m running out of dampening adjustment on the coilovers, compensating for roll.
Having said that the car felt amazing once it was dialled in, I was catching 90% of the cars on the day in the braking zones and through the corners. You will see some of that in the video below
Hi chaps, its been a while. Not a huge amount of progress on the Golf, the daily E36 will be up for sale shortly, thats getting a mini restoration on the weekends, with some new rear arches and jacking points ready for sale.
I've bought an E61 535d as its replacement, its just shy of 400hp which makes it very unassuming for a big barge! So far I'm really enjoying it.
anyway...back to business.
The Golf passed it's MOT with flying colours again, having being parked up since I got back from Germany in the summer, I hadnt even washed it...
I've got Anglesey booked with Nick in his K1 cupra in a couple of weeks, so want to get a few jobs ticked off over the next week or so. I've got an oil and filter to change, SKF waterpump and Meyle thermostat and housing, then we should be all set!
I've been eyeing up a second set of wheels for a while, so I'll have my AR1's for dry and run either a road tyre or a racing wet for any wet weather. At the moment with just having the AR1's if a trackday is wet i've pretty much wasted £2-300 as the track day would be a write off.
I almost pulled the plug on a set of E30 BBS wheels 15x7 et 24. But I've always had my eye on a set of Rota Speciale 15x7 et 20, but I'm too tight to fork out on a brand new set.
Luckily for me, a set popped up on marketplace, we struck a deal at £500 and they came with brand new Toyo T1R's... Now these tyres wouldn't have been my first choice as a wet tyre, but, they were on, brand new and balanced up and ready to go. They have a "B" rating in the wet, so although they wont be as good as a Michelin PS3 or a full wet tyre they will be miles better than the AR1's.
Its crazy how skinny road tyres are. for reference heres the specs:
A quick test fit on the car and I wasnt happy with how the car sat at all, so I test fit a 20mm spacer and I much prefer how it sits - and theres LOADS of clearance. that effectively makes the wheel 15x7 et0. Less than ideal with such a low offset but for me the car is all about function and form.
It also just goes to show just how chunky the semi slicks are! I've got a lot less room in the arch with them and they have 7mm less poke than the new Rotas.
The colour of the centre also isnt my first choice, in time I may paint them silver or gold. Quick photoshop below.
All in all very happy with the old skool motorsport look, exactly what I was after
It’s that time again, the big one, the Nurburgring. This year was slightly different, the usual bunch of lads who come along all had other life commitments and couldn’t make it. I was going out there at the same time as Nige (Pinderwagen) and I would be travelling out with Warren who also has a mk2.
Warren has been rebuilding his car for a while and as the time got closer, it was looking less and less likely he would make it, after having the car fully reshelled. I got a call the day before we were due to set off with some bad news, his car wasn’t going to make it.
So this year I was out there on my own, or at least travelling and staying on my own. This was a real shame, but I didn’t let it hamper my spirits, I just needed to make sure I had packed extra everything, in case of breakdown/failures etc – yes I did pack a spare gearbox again…
First success, I’d made it to the ferry
They really pack you in! Its always nerve racking when they park you so close and people have to squeeze past with luggage.
Every year it seems to be decent weather when the ferry leaves, which is nice.
Arrived in Rotterdam the next day, the weather had turned slightly… I was on the motorway doing around 60mph and I was changing a full lane without wanting to! AR1’s and standing water are terrifying! Although I felt sorrier for this lad in his drop top Lotus…
Driving through Holland, their motorway have these large concrete slabs which dip and div, a bit like waves. With the car being full to the brim the passenger rear tyre was catching on the rear arch… less than ideal. So I pulled over at the services, picked up some obligatory snacks and had a think.
I had a quick look and there were no marks on the tyre so the arch only needed massaging a mm or so. I could have carried on driving but my thinking was, going through the foxhole in the big compression it might have a chance of catching there too. It was still torrential rain outside, so whatever I did needed to be fast.
Jack handle to the ready! Wedging it between the arch and the tyre I managed to get the purchase I needed. Back out onto the motorway and the issue was sorted result.
Getting closer to the Ring, it starts to feels very special, every year. Off the motorways and winding down these roads is a great feeling.
I arrived early afternoon and met up with Nige, checked in at the house.
The next 2 days was the DN Event trackday, I was just doing TF again this year, so I joined Nige for a day of passengering and helping out where needed. Saturday was total write off as the weather way awful. I did get out with Nige and also Al in his 996, It was really interesting seeing someone use the wet line properly, but it did make me feel a little queasy.
That night a load of us went out for some food, which was really nice.
The next morning was much better weather, again I wasn’t on this track day so I went to support Nige and get some passenger laps in.
It didn’t disappoint! We had a couple of laps, sat behind loads of 911’s, GT2RS’ you name it! After lap 1 lap Nige engaged the “high boost” mode – hell fire, this was another level now. I still can’t get my head around how a brick shapped mk2 golf can be so savage ontrack. Fortunately I was also onboard for this…
The golf did its highest ever top speed down the Dottinger Hohe straight… 174.9mph. GPS. Just have a moment to think about that for a minute… it’s pretty mind blowing!
Unfortunately, it did go a little south at this point, as the car hit the compression in the track, it starved the bottom end of oil and spun a bearing. I wont say too much as Nige might want to publish an update at some point.
But we made it to the top of Flugplatz, and pulled off behind the barrier.
(concerned face!)
We then spent the rest of the day trying to sort it. Nige had the spares but all our conventional and unconventional attempts to fix it did work and the lack of oil pressure had damaged the crank, so there was not much we could do.
That evening the track was open for tourist driving, so I got my helmet on for a first steady lap on my own. (I’m still waiting for some images to be sent through so excuse the watermarks)
I must sound like a broken record now, but… God the Golf feels good, it really, really feels amazing to drive, so direct and a crazy amount of grip from the new rubber.
While I was over there I met Tim and Bex, who were also there for the DN event. Tim had never been round the track before so I was delighted to take him out as a passenger.
We had some great evenings with Nige, Lou, Tim and Bex and I’m really grateful they let me tag along.
The next day Nige came out with me for a lap, helping me brush up on lines etc.
Its great to see him enjoying himself!
I’m really glad I clearanced those arches!
As you can tell we both had a great time!
I went back to the house and checked the car over. Thankfully, no leaks, everything was tight, all good to go for the next day
That night, we all went out for some food and everyone was high on Nurburgring spirit. I’d been chatting to a few people and they were telling me tales of crashes, repair bills, how dangerous TF is, the usual. Now… I know the risks, we all do.
But something was different this time, I still don’t fully know what it was, I think being here “on my own” had a lot to do with it, usually you are with your mates 24/7, there’s moral support, banter and people to look out for you. I was the only one doing TF, Nige and his group were leaving the following day and I’d be completely on my own for the next 6 days or so.
Just to clarify, I’m a grown man, and I’m completely happy and comfortable in my own company (I do quite enjoy that a lot of the time) but tourist days on the Nurburgring are no joke, essentially if you crash or drop fluids, there’s a high chance you’d end up bankrupt - I mean that in the literal sense.
Having said all that I didn’t come here to drive round at 30mph, I came here to enjoy what is the greatest race track in the world and drive as fast as possible.
The next day I had a couple of warm up laps, driving at 80% or so, to get my confidence back and mentally get myself in the place I needed to be. What’s weird, any nerves you have in the TF car park vanish as soon as you pass that gantry.
I had a couple of great laps, catching faster cars and generally just having a bloody good time!
Below is a little battle I had with an E36 325i, I don’t think he was too happy with me getting past, but I was faster in the twisties.
Every lap there had been a few yellow flags, so no laps times yet. Not that that really mattered because I was having a blast. But I could tell the golf was quick this year, and I was I knew I’d be close to the ever-elusive sub 9 min lap time.
I’d also been watching my videos back trying to see where I could gain some time, Id tried holding the car at redline in 4th up the Kesselchen straight instead of going into 5th, despite the car still dropping in revs at the top of the hill I’d determined that to be a second or 2 faster.
I went out again that evening, it was a week night and the traffic was a lot quieter. The Golf was going well and I knew if there were no yellow flag and no major hold ups I’d right up there.
Luckily there were no yellow flags, but unfortunately there was traffic, some costing me valuable time. I got to the end of that lap with a big grin! It was a good lap, but I didn’t think it was a sub 9 due to the hold ups.
I parked the Golf up to cool down in the usual lay-by, close to the track. I don’t use any type of laptimer on track, so I checked back over my video footage.
an 8:58 BTG… no way… all those hold ups!?
double check
8:58 BTG.
We’d done it! The mighty little 8v, going sub 9 at the ring. Without sounding link I’m blowing smoke up my trumpet that’s some going for a car with sub 125hp.
After watching the footage back I recon there was AT LEAST 15 seconds of hold ups… I think an 8:40/8:45 would be doable on a clear run. That is mega!
I drove over to Brunchen to watch the last of the TF cars before closure and sat down with a currywurst and a coke. That was it, that was the moment, nothing like it.
While I was there I met 2 lads from Holland, they had a lovely mk2 with an ABF.
I drove back to the house that night, very happy indeed. I was meant to be out there for another 5 days, but unlike me I decided to call the trip short, I was going to travel back to the UK the next day. I rang my wife that night and explained I’d be back home early, she did make me second guess my decision and was telling me to stay and just enjoy myself, which was nice to hear. She knows how much work and dedication I put in year round for this trip, and how much it means to me. But I know myself, I trust my judgement and I knew, deep down, I’d be chasing that time, I’d want that 8:4X and that’s not what TF is about. It’s a dangerous game I can’t afford to play. I was happy, very happy. The car was in one piece, the gearbox hadn’t exploded, smiles all round!
So that was that.
Who’d have thought all those years ago… We’ve both come along way!
Love this, amazed how you can get the tyres so close to the arch but still retain 100% driveability.
Also, can you give me a bit more info on the string method with the axle stands on one side? I've never been able to do it and always end up going to the local garage,
Yeah I think something often over looked is caster angle, and that’s probably a big part of why I get the clearance. Im not sure on exactly measurements but if that factory castor angle is say +1 degree, i’d guess mine would be nearer +4 degrees. The benefit as im sure you already know is you get more dynamic negative camber, so the more steering input the more negative camber I get.
For the string method of alignment, its a real pain… a real pain but if you have time and patience it works. First loosen the track rod end lock nut. Then centre the steering wheel, once happy put a piece of masking tape on the steering wheel boss and one on the steering column, draw a straight line between them. This is a reference mark to get the wheel perfectly aligned each time, best to use a fineliner for this for accuracy. Then set up a length of cotton (use cotton, anything thicker and you have less accuracy) between 2 axel stands, make sure the axel stands are positioned so they are longer than the car. Measure the gap between the centre of the hub to the cotton - a steel rule is perfect for this. It doesnt matter what this figure is as long as its perfectly the same front to back.
Next measure the front of the rim to the cotton and then the rear. You will see straight away if the wheel is toeing in or out, I found its easier to draw a diagram to visually see the difference. - now remove the string ( this bit is annoying) jack the car up adjust the track rod, lower the car down, roll the car forward and back, check your alignment marks on the steering wheel, then set the string back up and re measure, over and over until you are happy. Repeat on the other side.
I was sceptical if the marks on the steering wheel would be accurate, but from driving the car it really is, as long as you use a thin pen line, to make sure its perfect each time.
You can get a steering wheel clamp on ebay to prevent the wheel from moving but as I had to turn the car around to do the other side it was pointless
The first port of call were new brakes, I went with a Ferodo DS300 on the front after having loads of success for years with the DS2500, and a new set of Tarox Strada on the rear. The front received some new Brembo Maxx grooved discs and new ATE Type 200 fluid.
I also needed to sort some new tyres, the part worn NS2R’s were well past it, and provided little grip even in the dry. I’d been putting tyres off just because of the cost, in the last year or so like everything prices have gone through the roof.
I’d decided on a set of new Nankang AR1, but this time in a 205/50/15 instead of the usual 195/50/15. Sourced for £460.
This was a big risk because the arch clearance with 195’s was already tight on the 15x7 et13 Mahles. So some jiggery pokery was needed. For me the golf has always been about function and form, so raising the car, or fitting generic arch extensions wasn’t an option. I’d decided to make as much room in the arches as physically possible, whilst keeping the standard OEM look.
The front was easy enough, the wings were chopped out behind the arches. This is all well and good but then the arch fitting also needed removing, again arches can be stuck on with adhesive, but I’ve never been a fan of that, I’ve done enough rust repairs!
I remade all the mounting points lower down to secure the arches with flanged bolts and captive nuts.
It’s hard to photograph, but the plastic lip on the arch was sanded flat with finger sander to the face, so it retains its profile from the outside.
The same was done on the rear, the double skin welded back together, ground flat, seamsealed and painted.
It turned out really well!
Believe it or not, the car doesn’t not catch at all! Relief! And I love how the chunky tyre gives a really purposeful look.
Next up, a new cambelt and tensioner, which I bought from Amazon prime of all places!
I also aligned the car, using a length of cotton across 2 axel stands, the tricky thing for me was room, as I don’t have the space to make a square box of string around the car, so I had to do one side at once. To make sure nothing moved (hard when you have to drive the car to turn it around!) I marked the steering wheel boss and the column, so I knew the steering wheel was exactly in line.
I set the geo as:
Camber: –3.0 Toe: 0.01mm Toe out
At this point I’m only a week or so from going to the Nurburgring, and thankfully the car went straight and felt amazing!
The last job on the list before going away was to sort out the relay ball on the gear linkage, as these like to melt on track. So I bought a length of nylon, and made a new ball for a spare shaft I had. The benefits of nylon is the heat resistance and easy of manufacture/cost.
After the gear linkage was aligned, the car was finally done, and ready to go!
I’ll uploads a full trip report shortly, stay tuned
Since the last update I’ve been on the mk2 golf owners sprint day, which was a lot of fun! I was there both days this year and camped over, it was great chatting to some old faces and meeting some new ones!
At the end of 2 day, I thought I’d go squeeze in one last run… can you guess… yep I had a fairly decent off! Went into the chicane too wide, rear tyre touched the grass and I was just a passenger.
I'm bring 2 tents, one is a pop up jobbie to put all my tools/spares in, the other is a 2 man tent I got for my birthday 20 yeas ago! yep... I'm going to errect (oo err) it in the loft today to make sure it has no holes... hopefully its waterproof!
I managed to get all the scuttle buttoned up over the weekend.
But firstly, sometimes things don't always go to plan… When I was welding, I had a thin plastic painters sheet over the bonnet, with a big sheet of cardboard over the top. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough, the splatter from the welder got through and destroyed the paint! And the cardboard had left loads of marring in the paint.
Not pretty… Not knowing how much paint I had left to play with I had to just go for it, with the thought that I’d probably have to paint the bonnet as well. So I had nothing to lose.
At this point I decided to give both the bonnet and scuttle a really good machine, as I just wasn’t happy with the dust nibs in the paint, so I decided to wet sand them out as well. I used some 2500 grit on the nibs and a 3000 3M Trizact disc on the rest of the panel, this takes the heads of any inconsistencies.
Usually a quick flick over with the machine and she’s grand, but this time it was a real pain to get the wet sanding marks out. For some reason the paint was rock hard. I ended up using G3 cutting compound on a hard pad, and my machine set on a faster speed than I was comfortable with. The danger on such a skinny panel is cutting through an edge in the panel or bonnet. There was some serious heat in the panel from the machine work but luckily it went well. Refined using Menzera Medium on an orange medium pad and finally Menzerna Super finish on a red soft pad.
I’ve said it before, any type of paint work is stressful… at any moment you’re back to square one, so I was very happy to have this one ticked off. Luckily the bonnet survived!
Treated myself to a cold one!
I then managed to refit the new screen on my own, using some builders brick level string in the seal, putting pressure on the outside while working the string around the inside in a circular motion.
The new top tint has really grown on me! Almost like a factory sunstrip, which is right up my street.
Last job was a clean of the glass and a couple of coats of Swissvax Sheild Wax.
With the gussets done, the focus was back on the scuttle. Another fibreglass hole was revealed near the wiper. This was cut out, and a some fresh sheet welded in.
The scuttle was then keyed with 400 grit paper by hand, making sure to get into the gaps in the panels. I’d managed to get a trim tool under the roof gutters and lift them up enough to get some masking tape under them, which worked surprisingly well!
Etch primer applied in a can, wet sanded with 800 grit ready for 3 coats of base coat, followed by 2 coats of clear.
Really happy with the finish. There is some dust in the clear which is inevitable without a proper booth, but I should be able to wet sand these out.
The image below is straight out of the gun.
One thing I’ve learnt from painting a few things now, is in the clear coat. The clear I use recommend a 2-1 ratio of clear to hardener with 10% thinners, I’ve found this doesn’t flow through the gun well and it doesn’t really atomise very well. I use around 20-30% thinners in the mix, and the paint seems to go on really nicely! Obviously, you run more risk of runs, but it's a lot less work after wet sanding and polishing.
I’ve also picked up a new windscreen, this one is a factory green tint with a blue top tint band.
I can confirm a mk2 screen fits in the back of a e36 BMW with about 3mm to spare
Nurburgring Trip is booked for the end of August for 11 days! Very very excited for that!
I’ve been tinkering away slowly on a few jobs. First the scuttle has needed attention or years, I previously repaired it when I was 16 with fibreglass… yep… but to be fair, it was all still intact and the rust hasn’t spread.
I also need a new windscreen, as this one has a few chips and some grinding splatter in the glass. The old seal was cut out and the windscreen removed.
The next step will be to remove any other bits of surface rust, etch prime and paint.
Another reason for the removing the windscreen was to make some gussets for the roll cage.
I always liked how they look and should provide loads of extra stiffness in the shell. As with most things, I’m picky. You can buy sheel steel with the dimples already made in a precut piece. I’ve never liked them as they never fit 100% and feel like an after thought.
I’d made a few CAD (cardboard aided design) templates and settled on this.
I wanted the angles of the piece to match the roof line at the top and the speaker covers in the dash at the bottom. I bought a 25mm punch and a 25mm dimple die.
Both incredible tools! And very reasonable at £10 a piece.
Once I was happy I started making them in steel
Another cheap but incredible useful tool! A deburring tool, used for, you guessed it... a bargain for £7 Dimples were then added.
If you don’t know, the dimples add loads of rigidity to the panel, whilst also reducing weight. Win-win!
Once I was happy, I protected the car from heat/welding splatter as much as possible, using a welding blanket over the dash. I also ali tapped the roof gutters just in case. I’d have been gutted if these were damaged!
Then pen marked where I wanted to stitch weld, making sure to weld inbetween the dimples to give the most strength.
All welded in.
The process was repeated on the other side, then etch primed and painted satin black.
All done!
Very happy with the results. I wasn’t too happy with the welding at first, I’m getting better but by no means perfect. Luckily I’m pretty good with a grinder! lol
Next up will be finishing the scuttle off, and if there’s time before the Ring, I’ll also be making gussets for the b-pillars.
After all the recent modifications, I was excited for Donny and to see how the car performed.
After a 2 hour drive, we arrived. My mate Jim in with me as passenger, Brooke in his e46 touring, Rob in his S3 and Dunc in his Clio.
We are getting pretty good at this track day lark, along with an F1 team assortment of spares and tools, we added a kitchen to the list of “must-haves”– Yorkshire tea, Ginger Parkin and chocolate Hobnobs to boot!
The day went really well, slowly picking up the pace.
I was soon taking Craner Curves flat in 5th, the car felt really planted and I often found myself catching a lot of fasters cars through this section and the old hairpin.
One thing I struggled with in the morning was the brakes, They bite so hard its unbelievable, and because I’d got new brakes I was trying extra hard to brake as late as possible and as hard as possible, which resulted in a few lock ups. Luckily my brain engaged, came off the pedal, quickly back on then easing the car into the corner without getting too out of shape…
Whats amazing is, 5-6 laps in they just get better and better.
After a session I noticed the brake reservoir, was completely cool to the touch, which shows just how effective the copper backing is on the pads at managing heat.
The Golf kept battling on lap after lap, without issue.
I was really pleased with how the car felt, the steering is like nothing I’ve driven before, so precise and accurate, it was well worth the time and effort correcting the rollcentre and bumpsteer. The only thing letting the side down were the tyres. As good an all rounder as NS2R’s are they just don’t provide the grip, particularly on corner exit that you really want.
Having said that I was catching some expensive metal and had good battles with an E36 M3, a fully bazzed up M4 Competition and this amazing E30.
It was a 1989 320i and according to James the owner it was 128hp and 1,000kg. Which explains why this and the Golf were so evenly matched! Even in a straight line, which never happens!
They seemed to just get the edge on corner exit, and as usual I was probably pushing a little too hard for the tyres (I'll address that soon!)
But here you can enjoy a few laps with the E30. I’d borrowed a newer GoPro 8 Black, and the quality was fantastic, so I’ll be investing in a new camera shortly, and using my GoPro 3 as a footcam
*disclaimer* The Porsche at the start of the video had held me up numerous times in the day, every time I’d catch him, he would fly off, before the next corner, clearly the thought of an old brick shaped Golf getting past his beloved Porka was too much to stomach, so I’d decided to just drive as close as I dare and hope for a blue flag… it can get frustrating. For those who don’t know on a track day, if a car approaches you from behind, they are faster, it doesn’t matter what it is. Indicate, back off and let the other car past. It’s a very simple concept, a lot can’t seem to fathom.
Unfortunately for Rob, just before the end of the day, the pistons in his S3 decided they didn’t want to be in an engine anymore! So that was end of play for him.
Before we knew it the day was over! It was probably one of my favourite track days, Donington is fantastic! And we had some really good laughs with some really good lads. There’s not much more you can ask for!
Since the track day I’ve been using the Golf as often as I can, I’ve been over to the Motorist a few times, which is always good!
And someone took some nice photos
Next on the list, is another set of wheels and a set of slicks! Lets see how many CVs/Gearboxes I can break…
who needs a van!
