My Polo Project

tonyyeb · 8 Apr 2007 at 20:23

phil14 said:
Looks a good project whats your budget

I don't really have a budget. This is what has been spent so far:

Car: £165
Transport of car: £70
Service Items: £25 (Oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter etc...)

Total so far: £260

I think maybe another £100 or so will get it to MOT status (?) and maybe another £50 - £100 to get it looking a lot nicer.

I've also bought tools and ramps etc... but these obviously don't count as these will come in handy for future projects.

tonyyeb · 8 Apr 2007 at 20:24

L1J said:
There's usually an electrical switch on the handbrake, check that is moving freely and the connections are ok.

Thought as much. Ill be giving this a go tomorrow. Cheers

tonyyeb · 12 Apr 2007 at 14:27

Update:

Took a leaf out of L1J's book and decided to prep the air filter box cover and give it a coat of black VHT paint. Got some wire wheels for my drill and gave it a good going over - this part made me realise what attention to detail L1J is putting in. Preping each part and painting it. Man this took a while just for the air filter box cover. Used a wire brush to get the bits where the wheel couldn't reach.

Then gave it a couple of coats with matt black VHT:

I'm very happy the way this went. It will look good when put back in. Makes me want to spray more things!

tonyyeb · 12 Apr 2007 at 14:31

Then onto the hand brake. The light did not go out when the hand brake was released. A quick pull up of the carpet around the hand brake revealed:

And i managed to remove the switch:

Now as i don't know what this should look like, to me it looks a little bent.

Where the cable attach's to the level looks bent as well:

If anyone has a pick of what it should look like (my haynes has no picks) pleasse mail me (e-mail in trust) or post here. Thanks.

a1ex2001 · 12 Apr 2007 at 15:36

Maybe being dense hear but I would have expected two wires going to the hardbrake sensor switch so it could make or break a circuit. Simple test if you have two wires to find out if the switch is the fault is to turn the engine on then hit the two wires together, depending on the type of switch this should either turn the light on or off.

tonyyeb · 12 Apr 2007 at 15:40

a1ex2001 said:
Maybe being dense hear but I would have expected two wires going to the hardbrake sensor switch so it could make or break a circuit. Simple test if you have two wires to find out if the switch is the fault is to turn the engine on then hit the two wires together, depending on the type of switch this should either turn the light on or off.

The part where the switch screws in completes the circuit (see pic above, blue bit with hole in next to the hand brake cable). Light goes off when diconnected, reconnect light goes on. Switch is very stiff and is no doubt in my mind the reason for the problem.

L1J · 12 Apr 2007 at 16:52

A single wire switch usually switches the negative side of the circuit. When the switch is made the circuit completes and the current flows.

Handbrake:

VW says it should look like this:

It looks like this on the golf:

Basically when the lever is down, the plunger on the switch should be pushed in to break the circuit.

Catch me on MSN if you want the source of the first picture.

tonyyeb · 12 Apr 2007 at 17:17

I need to bend the bit circled in yellow back so that it lighs up with where the switch goes (circled in red):

MSN'd you btw

I've managed to free the spring in the switch so that it returns when not pressed.

tonyyeb · 13 Apr 2007 at 14:45

Update:

Got the hand brake off to find it was bent:

Managed to straighten it a bit:

tonyyeb · 13 Apr 2007 at 14:47

Now back on with the free'd up switch - the light now goes off and on when it should.

HB off

HB on

The switch is still a little sticky. So ill order a new one from GSF: £1.80

Need a new warm air hose as well - £2.50

Next job: Test drive!! I think the brakes will need some work but a quick trip around the block first to see what it is like... got to get some more fuel first.

Trusty · 13 Apr 2007 at 14:55

Good stuff mate. Im gonna be doing a similiar project with a old 1303 VW convertible beetle! Should be fun!

tonyyeb · 13 Apr 2007 at 14:57

Thermaltake said:
Good stuff mate. Im gonna be doing a similiar project with a old 1303 VW convertible beetle! Should be fun!

Cool i look forward to seeing the thread! When i'm bored with this, i'm thinking of moving onto a MKII Golf. VW's seem to be nice and simple to work on IMO.

tbz_ck · 13 Apr 2007 at 16:20

L1J has done the Mk2 Golf thing. Why not try something from another continent ?

tonyyeb · 13 Apr 2007 at 22:16

tbz_ck said:
L1J has done the Mk2 Golf thing. Why not try something from another continent ?

Maybe. But L1J's project is an upgrade, not an overhaul of the original bit. Im working to a more Discovery Channel Wheeler Dealer style - buy an old classic, put it back to its original state, sell it... in a way! But mainly it s a learning thing. I want to keep the curve as gentle as possible. A 70's classic might be next, Midget, B Roadster, Spitfire, Dolomite... something along those lines.

tonyyeb · 14 Apr 2007 at 15:44

Update:

Not much today. Tried a bit of white spirit on the 'painted' rear windows. Did next to nothing. Tried some paint stripper with more success:

Before:

After:

Ill give it a good go when I can be bothered. Weather is too nice at the moment for being in overalls!

Mike UK · 14 Apr 2007 at 16:52

Not much today. Tried a bit of white spirit on the 'painted' rear windows. Did next to nothing. Tried some paint stripper with more success:

Just dont do what one of my friends did and try to remove paint from a window with a heatgun paint stripper ..Doh!
Looks like your making good progress think ill attempt a service on our car when its due

..well minus breaks i wont play with those

energy · 14 Apr 2007 at 17:14

tonyyeb said:
There is something I can do tomorrow which is take a look at why the hand brake warning light stays on all the time (even when the hand brake is off). The previous owner said it had been like that ever since a guy changed his hand brake cable. When he asked why it was not back to normal the guy said "Dunno. I thought it was odd, but the hand brake works ok now so that's the main thing". Made me chuckle!

Edit: Oops just realised there was one more page of replies after this and I see you've fixed it so my apologies

helpimcrap · 14 Apr 2007 at 17:35

good stuff mate, keep it up.

tonyyeb · 15 Apr 2007 at 19:50

Mike UK said:
Just dont do what one of my friends did and try to remove paint from a window with a heatgun paint stripper ..Doh!
Looks like your making good progress think ill attempt a service on our car when its due ..well minus breaks i wont play with those

You should do it - i was very pleased when the engine fired up afterwards and all seemed well.

Mike UK · 15 Apr 2007 at 19:54

tonyyeb said:
You should do it - i was very pleased when the engine fired up afterwards and all seemed well.

Then its decided next oil change I shall do

Cant do any worse than National i was praizing earlier in the thread for the £20 oil changes
the cars now got an oil leak ..Gggreeat ! :rolleyes: