Another non dak-dak thread...

[Dan [GTI]]

So very productive day today (will get photos up tomorrow), everything bar the brakes have been painted. Here is a taste of what I am dealing with, it's nothing too extreme. The last owners have looked after the interior and exterior very well but neglected under the bonnet.




The brakes are tomorrow job, I have scoffed them up and taken the clear coat off so should be straight into it tomorrow.

[Dan [GTI]]

Wishing the weather would warm up so I can finish my brakes quicker. Found a few more small brackets to paint up before the rocker can go back on. Complimentary teaser picture:

[TROLLEY]

Came up niiice.

[Dan [GTI]]

Hopefully the brakes come out just as nice tomorrow and I can have it back together by Thursday

[Dan [GTI]]

So today went well besides one small set-back when a caliper had a reaction on the last coat of black, but no big issue. Just stripped, sanded, cleaned and sprayed again with no complications. Unfortunately in my rush I didn't take any decent photos but not really showing anything important. Here are some of the prep. After the prep I removed the discs, dust shields and masked the back off before spraying.


I was going to take them off the car completely but after inspecting the seals they seemed quite new and no signs of leaks. If they fail in the future then new seals and powdercoating will be on the agenda.

All the painting was done yesterday so just reassembly was todays job and I think it all came out fantastically. The picture make the rocker cover seem a little orange but trust me it is very much red. Also re-wrapped the injector loom as it was starting to perish. Now to fuck off that blue battery







The bumper did not miss out of the treatment. Mesh, plate bracket, badge and all the bolts been cleaned and painted.



The intercooler was fun (not) and I actually had to replace the hot side pipe as it had a massive dent in the pipe, probably reduced the pipe down 30% in size and I wasn't able to knock it out all the way so Tokyo Motorsports to the rescue and $50 later I had a hot side pipe. I also grabbed a spare cooler while I was there but didn't end up using it.




Despite every internet expert advising me I was committing automotive suicide by painting it black and that it would have a major effect on the cooling efficiency I still went ahead. The truth is that I just fogged the fins lightly and it only penetrates the cooler maybe 4mm (especially considering how deep the factory cooler is) and on a 230KW car there will be negligible intake air temp changes.

[TROLLEY]

All looks good-o!

[Dan [GTI]]

Thanks Craig, it's already exceeded my expectations. Now I can pop the bonnet with pride.

[Dan [GTI]]

So the decals and gloss clear have been applied and will hopefully fully cure in the next 24 hours. Then I can have the car back together by tomorrow, if not work will get in the way and it will likely become a Monday job.

Here is a sneak peak of the front, the photo doesnt do it justice:

[Dan [GTI]]

So made a small effort after work today; rotors, discs, shims and pads installed.

So only wheels need to be thrown on and a test drive before I can call it a success but decided to do that when I am not falling asleep.

[Dan [GTI]]

Finally all back together this afternoon and is is so good to drive it again. The engine bay turned out magnificently, almost too good. After a nice drive I put some heat into everything, there doesn't appear to be any leaks and the paint still be on everything... which is nice.


Gave it a quick clean while I was at it and put bigger rivets in the exhaust shield.


The brakes have been the biggest pain in the ass throughout this whole deal and it's finally done and they came up perfectly. Same as the engine I put a little heat into them and the paint seems fine too.