DocWalt's '92 GTI - TriStateTuners.com :: Home of Tristate Auto Enthusiast

DocWalt · 09-18-2012, 10:26 AM

Finally bought myself a new car. Got a smoking deal since the car includes a TON of relatively expensive extras, found some issues I wasn't expecting and now I get to do a member's journal, woohoo!

Drove 5 hours to go buy this GTI in NY. H&R Springs all the way around, new Bilstein rear struts, and 160k mile front struts. 5 hours home on the highway with struts like this vv was hilarious. I hope the people I blew past were laughing as much as I was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbSUI4cgyQQ

WTF? I have a Helios blue BBS RA for my spare tire rim...

Got home safe and sound, cleaned her up and made a tally of the issues I had: Passenger inner door handle is no longer attached to the door latch; passenger side lap belt is gone; passenger front indicator and marker light don't work; headlights are trash; driver's door latch needs finagled to close; headliner is sagging; door cards have shrunken leather; no radio; no fuel gauge; missing seat levers; blend door foam is missing (blows out in your face); exhaust leaks; handbrake doesn't work. I'll try to think of anything else.

Some cleaned up pics:

Obviously I need to get inspected to drive on the road in PA, so I'm going to start tackling the obvious inspection issues first.

Find where the exhaust is leaking:

DocWalt · 09-18-2012, 10:30 AM

Last night I decided to tackle the fuel gauge issue. The gauge in the cluster seemed to work, it would move up to the empty mark from the shut off point, so I moved to the tank and checked the PO's work to make sure the float was lined up correctly. Simple, or so I thought, lol. There's an arrow on the fuel pump assembly and on the tank to make sure the float arm doesn't hit anything and it was right on, time to pull the assembly. What I found was odd... No float on the arm. /facepalm. I got to drain the tank (no drain plug so I used a siphon and a bunch of gas cans and juice bottles

) and fish around for the float. I could hear it clunking around when I sloshed the tank so I knew it was still floating around. Fished it out around 9pm. Woohoo!

Spent an hour finding a new clip and put it all back together and cleaned up around 12am. Gauge now works!

DocWalt · 09-18-2012, 10:35 AM

Big props go out to my brother Andrew for picking up a new door latch and passenger lap belt, plus some other odds and ends at Harry's on Sunday. He also tackled the wiring for the indicators and fog lights with me on Saturday & Sunday night. Thanks Andrew!

Ordered up some new door latch bolts and seat belt bolt at the dealer yesterday. Sunday night I ordered a TON of parts to finish up the repairs I need for inspection. New headlight assemblies (need to find good H4 bulbs, any recommendations?), KYB GR-2 front struts and new OEM upper strut mounts, Pagid front pads, Mk4 rear caliper conversion kit (factory calipers are seized, no bueno), and a Techtonics Tuning exhaust.

Woo, expect lots of pics of repairs and stuff.

DocWalt · 09-18-2012, 10:36 AM

Quoted from the CL ad:

Quote:

i have a 1992 vw gti 16v with 159k miles on it. it runs and drive it's currently on the road, i've put a bunch of new parts in it over the past 2500 miles like tires,clutch, motor mount,tranny mount,both fuel pumps, coolant pipe shifter bushings,battery, all new seals and fluid in the tranny while i had it out to do the clutch. i also have new and ready to be installed e-brake cables,rear motor mount,t-belt,tensioner and water pump... the car has abt pedals,and door lock pulls,conrerro red stiched shifter boot with matching e-brake handle cover,carbon fiber momo door sill trims that still have the protective plastic on them!!! a nuespeed upper stress bar, smoked tails aftermarket recaro seats in the front and the correct stock grey recaros in the rear and it's sitting on some period correct 15" fondmetal rims...for that old skool look...NO RUST!!! i bought the car on long island 2 years ago where it sat for 8 years before i got it and theres no rust anywhere that i saw on the car... needs some tlc like a pass side mirror (which i may have, i have to check my storage) it needs a radio,the foglights were missing when i got the car,the suspension is completely blown( i made a deal for a suspension but it seems to have fallen thru,if that changes and i get the suspension we can negotiate that into the price some how if interested) and the short harness for the right front directional needs to be replaced...i have nearly twice what i'm asking into the car at this point but inlight of the tlc that it needs i've priced it for a quick sale, i'm willing to dicker a LITTLE but i'm not gonna give the car away...NO TRADES!!! and please don't send me emails with lowball offers i will not respond!!! if you want to make an offer come see it!!! i have a clean NYS title in hand in my name!!! and i will NOT hold the car for anybody...first person to show up with the right amount of CASH gets it...and yes i have the lower lip for the front bumper...if you have any questions please feel free to email me.

jpalamar · 09-18-2012, 10:37 AM

Don't be the typical VW owner...

DocWalt · 09-18-2012, 10:41 AM

No hipster bull**** for me, restomodding and no super slammage here.

Mishimoto · 09-18-2012, 11:02 AM

Looks like it cleaned up very well! Cool project.

jpalamar · 09-18-2012, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocWalt

No hipster bull**** for me, restomodding and no super slammage here.

Nice.

Coming from your other cars , 3000GT VR4 and Evo X, what made you choose this?

DocWalt · 09-18-2012, 11:47 AM

Thanks!

Cheap as hell, and Andrew has a TON of spare crap on the back porch, including a trans. Not sure how he got so many GTI parts since he just has a Golf, but w/e lol

Bates · 09-18-2012, 01:05 PM

I love the body style. I am not loving how the engine bay looks more complicated then it should. Maybe cause it is just dirty. Anyway, good luck with it. Please don't slam it, put some ridiculous camber on it, or put a roof rack on it. I really like how it looks right now... though some new wheels may not be a horrible idea.

laser92dsm · 09-18-2012, 04:25 PM

A friend of mine had a red 88 gti and that thing was so fun to drive. It only had 77k when he bought it. Enjoy it!

trainboy414 · 09-19-2012, 08:50 AM

Nice car bro! literally..... but seriously nice car and good luck with it and it should be sweet when its finished

SikneSS · 09-19-2012, 10:24 AM

looking forward to seeing the progress on this, i've been mulling around the idea of getting one of these too. just wondering, how much did you pay for it? you can send me a PM if you don't feel comfortable publicly posting that info.

DaveSTi · 09-19-2012, 01:42 PM

Sweeeeet. This is going to be fun!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

DocWalt · 09-19-2012, 02:47 PM

Thanks dudes, looking forward to cleaning this up and having some fun!

teecap93 · 09-19-2012, 06:05 PM

Awesome car! That style of GTI is my one of favs!

DocWalt · 09-20-2012, 10:35 PM

Thanks!

I did the brake bleed again, didn't get any extra air that I noticed. My brother found this thread: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4588531 that describes my issue exactly. Bah, I need a booster. Ordered up a reman, I hope it works out and fixes this. Might explain why the pedal was pretty soft, I just chalked it up to the seized rear calipers. Made it awfully hard to heel toe, lol.

DaveSTi · 09-21-2012, 06:46 PM

Gotta love troubleshooting brakes

DocWalt · 09-21-2012, 07:50 PM

Yeah, tell me about it. Frustrating, I want to drive the car lol. I'll pull the exhaust and stuff this weekend, maybe swap the timing belt and tensioner too.

Some quick pics:

CntrlSwitch · 09-21-2012, 08:38 PM

Congrats on the new buy Kenny! I'll be keeping track of your progress. Big fan of the body style of the car! Get it prepped for a meet soon!

09-18-2012, 10:26 AM	#1
DocWalt Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Royersford, PA Member #10805 My Ride: '92 GTI, '19 MX-5 iTrader: (0)	DocWalt's '92 GTI Finally bought myself a new car. Got a smoking deal since the car includes a TON of relatively expensive extras, found some issues I wasn't expecting and now I get to do a member's journal, woohoo! Drove 5 hours to go buy this GTI in NY. H&R Springs all the way around, new Bilstein rear struts, and 160k mile front struts. 5 hours home on the highway with struts like this vv was hilarious. I hope the people I blew past were laughing as much as I was. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbSUI4cgyQQ WTF? I have a Helios blue BBS RA for my spare tire rim... Got home safe and sound, cleaned her up and made a tally of the issues I had: Passenger inner door handle is no longer attached to the door latch; passenger side lap belt is gone; passenger front indicator and marker light don't work; headlights are trash; driver's door latch needs finagled to close; headliner is sagging; door cards have shrunken leather; no radio; no fuel gauge; missing seat levers; blend door foam is missing (blows out in your face); exhaust leaks; handbrake doesn't work. I'll try to think of anything else. Some cleaned up pics: Obviously I need to get inspected to drive on the road in PA, so I'm going to start tackling the obvious inspection issues first. Find where the exhaust is leaking:

09-18-2012, 11:02 AM	#7
Mishimoto Vendor Join Date: Apr 2009 Member #12742 My Ride: 2008 EVO X, 1991 RHD J-Spec S13 (566RWHP) iTrader: (0)	Looks like it cleaned up very well! Cool project. __________________ MISHIMOTO AUTOMOTIVE --Push the Limits-- [ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. \| To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. ] The Leader in Aftermarket Performance Cooling Technology Offering Aluminum Radiators, Intercoolers, Silicone Hoses & Cooling Accessories

09-18-2012, 04:25 PM	#11
laser92dsm Tri-State Addict Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Wappingers Falls, NY Member #14720 My Ride: gets me from point A to point B iTrader: (3)	A friend of mine had a red 88 gti and that thing was so fun to drive. It only had 77k when he bought it. Enjoy it! __________________ 2009 Honda Civic To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. 1987 Toyota Supra To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures.

09-19-2012, 10:24 AM	#13
SikneSS Tri-State Addict Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Newark, DE Member #6688 My Ride: 08 Chevy HHR SS iTrader: (1)	looking forward to seeing the progress on this, i've been mulling around the idea of getting one of these too. just wondering, how much did you pay for it? you can send me a PM if you don't feel comfortable publicly posting that info. __________________ -11 Civic LX sedan, it's just a daily driver R.I.P. JDK

09-19-2012, 01:42 PM	#14
DaveSTi Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Charlotte Member #1591 iTrader: (0)	Sweeeeet. This is going to be fun!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ Member Journals: To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures.

09-18-2012, 10:30 AM	#2
DocWalt Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Royersford, PA Member #10805 My Ride: '92 GTI, '19 MX-5 iTrader: (0)	Last night I decided to tackle the fuel gauge issue. The gauge in the cluster seemed to work, it would move up to the empty mark from the shut off point, so I moved to the tank and checked the PO's work to make sure the float was lined up correctly. Simple, or so I thought, lol. There's an arrow on the fuel pump assembly and on the tank to make sure the float arm doesn't hit anything and it was right on, time to pull the assembly. What I found was odd... No float on the arm. /facepalm. I got to drain the tank (no drain plug so I used a siphon and a bunch of gas cans and juice bottles ) and fish around for the float. I could hear it clunking around when I sloshed the tank so I knew it was still floating around. Fished it out around 9pm. Woohoo! Spent an hour finding a new clip and put it all back together and cleaned up around 12am. Gauge now works!

09-18-2012, 10:35 AM	#3
DocWalt Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Royersford, PA Member #10805 My Ride: '92 GTI, '19 MX-5 iTrader: (0)	Big props go out to my brother Andrew for picking up a new door latch and passenger lap belt, plus some other odds and ends at Harry's on Sunday. He also tackled the wiring for the indicators and fog lights with me on Saturday & Sunday night. Thanks Andrew! Ordered up some new door latch bolts and seat belt bolt at the dealer yesterday. Sunday night I ordered a TON of parts to finish up the repairs I need for inspection. New headlight assemblies (need to find good H4 bulbs, any recommendations?), KYB GR-2 front struts and new OEM upper strut mounts, Pagid front pads, Mk4 rear caliper conversion kit (factory calipers are seized, no bueno), and a Techtonics Tuning exhaust. Woo, expect lots of pics of repairs and stuff.

09-18-2012, 10:37 AM	#5
jpalamar TST Ruined My Life! Join Date: May 2009 Location: Collegeville, PA Member #13773 My Ride: 03 Corvette Z06 iTrader: (3)	Don't be the typical VW owner...

09-18-2012, 10:41 AM	#6
DocWalt Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Royersford, PA Member #10805 My Ride: '92 GTI, '19 MX-5 iTrader: (0)	No hipster bull**** for me, restomodding and no super slammage here.

09-18-2012, 11:47 AM	#9
DocWalt Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Royersford, PA Member #10805 My Ride: '92 GTI, '19 MX-5 iTrader: (0)	Thanks! Cheap as hell, and Andrew has a TON of spare crap on the back porch, including a trans. Not sure how he got so many GTI parts since he just has a Golf, but w/e lol

09-18-2012, 01:05 PM	#10
Bates Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bloomfield, NJ Member #16741 My Ride: 2012 Nissan Juke & 1987 Nissan 300ZX GLL iTrader: (0)	I love the body style. I am not loving how the engine bay looks more complicated then it should. Maybe cause it is just dirty. Anyway, good luck with it. Please don't slam it, put some ridiculous camber on it, or put a roof rack on it. I really like how it looks right now... though some new wheels may not be a horrible idea.

09-19-2012, 08:50 AM	#12
trainboy414 Noob-Jersey Join Date: May 2010 Member #16473 iTrader: (0)	Nice car bro! literally..... but seriously nice car and good luck with it and it should be sweet when its finished

09-19-2012, 02:47 PM	#15
DocWalt Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Royersford, PA Member #10805 My Ride: '92 GTI, '19 MX-5 iTrader: (0)	Thanks dudes, looking forward to cleaning this up and having some fun!

09-19-2012, 06:05 PM	#16
teecap93 Tri-State Aficionado Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Coatesville, PA Member #23647 My Ride: 2005 Subaru STI, 1993 Mazda RX7, 1971 Volkswagen Beetle iTrader: (0)	Awesome car! That style of GTI is my one of favs!

09-20-2012, 10:35 PM	#17
DocWalt Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Royersford, PA Member #10805 My Ride: '92 GTI, '19 MX-5 iTrader: (0)	Thanks! I did the brake bleed again, didn't get any extra air that I noticed. My brother found this thread: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4588531 that describes my issue exactly. Bah, I need a booster. Ordered up a reman, I hope it works out and fixes this. Might explain why the pedal was pretty soft, I just chalked it up to the seized rear calipers. Made it awfully hard to heel toe, lol.

09-21-2012, 06:46 PM	#18
DaveSTi Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Charlotte Member #1591 iTrader: (0)	Gotta love troubleshooting brakes __________________ Member Journals: To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures.

09-21-2012, 07:50 PM	#19
DocWalt Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Royersford, PA Member #10805 My Ride: '92 GTI, '19 MX-5 iTrader: (0)	Yeah, tell me about it. Frustrating, I want to drive the car lol. I'll pull the exhaust and stuff this weekend, maybe swap the timing belt and tensioner too. Some quick pics: Last edited by DocWalt; 09-21-2012 at 07:55 PM.

09-21-2012, 08:38 PM	#20
CntrlSwitch Tri-State Aficionado Join Date: May 2012 Member #23074 My Ride: 1992 3000GT VR4 iTrader: (0)	Congrats on the new buy Kenny! I'll be keeping track of your progress. Big fan of the body style of the car! Get it prepped for a meet soon!

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode