Author Topic: My GT-G40  (Read 112656 times)

Offline grungeisdead

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #90 on: February 23, 2011, 06:46:45 pm »
hahaha dan is a comedian!

deffo renew the rear plate vinyl dude, would look a bit incomplete, especially if its badged up as a G. i know what you maen about them being far more noticable on the lighter coloured cars, but it seems a shame to be oem about the lil bits from vw for inside and then leave that.

awesome progress tho, know what its like being snowed under with work, looking forward to seeing this with fresh paint, i remember parking next to it at the CP RR day back in 2007

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #91 on: February 23, 2011, 06:58:21 pm »
It's not had one since I tore the factory one out just after buying it.



It was peeling around the edges anyway, so I did the rest.

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #92 on: March 02, 2011, 05:47:13 pm »
Spent a few hours at the workshop earlier, so I've got another quick update tonight.

The car hasn't changed much in the last couple of weeks, it's waiting on the 914 in the last pic before we can really get the bodywork moving. But I've been too busy to get across anyway.

Today I popped in to finish cleaning the glue off the trim, and while I was at it I cleaned up the tailgate. The last time I had the car painted, it looks like they masked around the number plate. The paint was coming off with the fudge wheel in a few places.

You can also see that the old 'Coupe' badge which I removed years ago took a layer of lacquer with it. I think it was glued on. :(



But flaky paint isn't the big worry today. I've been dreading tackling the spot of rust in the boot, for fears that it would turn into a large spot of rust. Well, my car now has a thumb sized hole in the wheel well. :(



It's not good, by any means, but it can be cured. It looks like water's got into the seam and rotted it from the inside, but luckily it's only eaten through one layer of metal. This should be an easy thing to plate, and Perky says it won't even be visible when it's finished, painted and sealed up. It's not as bad as I was expecting it to be.

I'm back at the unit on Tuesday next week to start the bodywork. I'll have lots of pics then.

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #93 on: March 05, 2011, 04:59:16 pm »
Back in Cardiff for the weekend so thought I'd finally collect the bits for my tilt/slide sunroof conversion. They've been sat in my parents' garage for just over five years (since the CG40 RR day 2005!) waiting for the next time the car was painted. The time is now...



As you can see, I got halfway through trimming the interior panel just after I bought it. I'll do the rest on Monday.

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #94 on: March 07, 2011, 03:46:30 pm »
Lots of lessons learned today. Firstly, don't let working on your car get in the way of work, or you end up being behind with everything. Secondly, a Polo sunroof only just fits in the boot of a Z4. It's quite a wide piece of metal.

Thirdly, you can iron headlining! Who knew? The iron stinks of oil vapour now though (the headlining was being stored in a box with the G40 boost return pipes - thanks Mum).



Just as well really, if you look at the last picture it's been screwed up for a while. Tolerant though my parents are, they don't take quite the same car with bits of my car as I do.

The main part of the sunroof panel was partially trimmed anyway, so I decided to start today with an experiment on the smaller piece. My Dad reckoned I was using the wrong glue before, so advised trying carpet tape. Well having had a real ballache with the other panel, this was a breeze. I had the insert done in about 20 minutes, with all of the fabric edges (out of sight anyway) covered up with black duck tape. It's actually neater than it was originally.



Then I got to work on the outer piece. The hard bit had already been done here, so all I had to do was trim the bits I didn't need and tape the flaps down on the inside.



You may be looking at these and thinking they're creased. They are, slightly. Both panels got bent while being stored, but when they're pushed flat the creases disappear so when it's fitted they won't show.

And last but not least, a UPS van turned up first thing with my Polo Performance Parts rear strut brace. This will be painted body colour before it goes on the car.



I'm going to Perkins Automotive tomorrow morning to trial fit everything and start on the bodywork, so expect a nice big update!
« Last Edit: March 07, 2011, 03:48:10 pm by Alex »

Offline cheys03

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #95 on: March 07, 2011, 05:32:10 pm »
Lovely build, keep up the great work!

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #96 on: March 09, 2011, 11:37:04 pm »
Mixed week so far.

Spent Tuesday afternoon at Perkins Automotive trying to fit the tilt/slide conversion. What a NIGHTMARE.

On the original one you just screw the runners down, rest the roof on top and fix it in place. The new one has to be assembled off the car and slides into the roof whole, tilted upwards. Then you have to wind it flat to adjust it. Get it wrong and it jams, then the cables all pop out of the runners and you have to take it back off.

So it turned into a waste of a day. I put the standard one back in for now, mainly to keep all the screws together, and the bodywork hasn't progressed because I was in the way. No pictures, as the car hasn't changed.

But it's not all bad news. On Monday night I put a bid in on a set of wheels, and I lost. Why's that good news? Well the winner was a timewaster, so the seller offered me the wheels for my maximum bid. And they were in West London, not far from Windsor where I've been working today.

So I picked them up this evening. Gotta love having a Passat as a daily - all four laid flat, with room for my luggage too.



They're Watanabe RS-8 split rims. 14x6.5 and, from what I can tell, ET35 (though the seller said he thought they were ET25, so I may be measuring wrong), and they weigh only 5kg per corner which is pretty damned light! They'd just come out of storage, hence the dust.



The previous owner had them refurbished and it's not a bad job, but I'm not into the black centres. They'll either be sprayed silver or grey (to match the bodywork) before they go on the car. What do you reckon?

I'm swaying towards grey, mainly because the dishes have been painted silver and aren't polished. If I paint the centres silver there's a chance they won't match, and if they do match it could look cheap. I don't have the cash to have them polished this year.

They're doubly cool for me because they're a present from my fiancee. Love her!

More next week. Got a busy run up to the weekend, and then there's Ultimate Dubs.
« Last Edit: March 10, 2011, 12:18:04 am by Alex »

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #97 on: March 11, 2011, 09:24:11 pm »
Yesterday marked 11 years since I first collected the car. It's subtle, but it's come such a long way since!



Popped into Perkins again this afternoon as I was passing and had my wheels in the boot. Would've been rude not to try them on!

They fit over the brake calipers up front, bolts inside the rim don't catch. I know some people have had issues with wheels clearing the calipers on the 256mm setup.



Fitment up front - poking slightly with the car jacked up, should be about perfect when it's on the ground.



The rear is still tucked under. I'm going to see what it looks like with the tyres on before I decide what to do here.



I'm actually starting to like the black centres...



Short and sweet today, I was only there an hour or so. Can't wait to get the car back!

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #98 on: March 15, 2011, 09:23:35 pm »
Another day at Perkins Automotive today, and some progress to report!

For me, personally, not a massively productive session though. I decided to have another go at fitting the tilt/slide sunroof, this time following the guide in the Audi Coupe Haynes manual I borrowed from big_burt last weekend.

The Haynes method is much easier. Instead of building it off the car then slotting it into the roof, you fit the guide rails with the trim panel, hinge and drip tray in place then bolt the metal panel to them. I spent another two hours getting it all in, and it tilts properly but won't slide. Unfortunately while trying to get it to work last week I managed to bend all of the cables out of shape and as soon as it sticks the whole lot just jams.

Enough is enough. I'm sick of it. I don't want to end up with a sunroof jammed open, and ordering another set of cables will delay the already delayed bodywork restoration so I've stripped it all out. If someone fancies buying it off me, it'll be going cheap and includes a retrimmed trim panel (in the proper black and grey headlining) but you'll need to either change the cables or bend the existing ones back into shape. PM me if you're interested.

So, after three hours I'd put the original sliding roof back in, albeit without the panel itself. That's being prepped for paint.



Today hasn't been a write-off though, Adam's started on the rest of the bodywork. Beginning with removing the arch liners, which uncovered stash of mud and sand behind the driver's side wing big enough to fill a plant pot!



Adam then started attacking the rust with a sander...



Back to solid metal.



This uncovered what should have been a plate welded into the wing aerial hole. Turns out it was filled with a conker-sized blob of fibreglass. Nice.



More grinding on the tailgate, sorting one of the badge holes and the metal around the number plate lights. You can see my car's latest stablemate in the background, another forced induction hot hatch from about 20 years ago. It's got quite a bit more rot than mine, I'm amazed it's still in one piece! I haven't seen one in the metal for ages!



The a pillar is now rust free too. The one halfway up the pillar turned out to be worse than the one in the corner, it has two pin-sized rust holes to fix.



Work is continuing through the week, Adam's going to weld up the wing aerial hole tomorrow and block the dents in the swage line. The boot is being sorted soon too, then it'll go into primer early next week. I can't get back until early next week, but I'll be getting updates via picture message so I'll post the latest photos on here when I get them.

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #99 on: March 18, 2011, 12:42:25 am »
I've not been able to get back up, but Adam's been taking pics over the last couple of days. It's come on loads!

Boot hole is welded up, needs tidying up, sealing and painting of course...


The dents have been removed from the bodywork, and then all of the uneven patches been blocked to make sure it's smooth.






Some of these I didn't even remember being there before, which shows how thorough they're being! It's gonna look awesome!

Wing aerial hole is now welded up, not filled with fibreglass, and has been given a rust treatment to stop the tinworm getting in again.


The a pillar has been treated too:


As has the bad patch on the passenger side rear quarter. The holes are being sorted in the next couple of days.


And all of the arches.






Should be getting its first coat of primer early next week. I can't wait to see!

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #100 on: March 20, 2011, 06:48:18 pm »
A minor update today. While I was at Goodwood on Thursday, I had a parcel turn up and went to collect it on Friday. Dan managed to stitch me up again collecting this from the embarrassed looking guy at the Post Office.  :D



'Tracey' was actually the black vinyl for the number plate tub. I removed mine years ago, never bothered to put it back on. These usually have holes for the numberplate screws, but I don't need them. :)


Then I decided to show my hard-working daily some love yesterday. Well, with good weather and no G40 to tidy up it would've been rude not to, right?  ;D




Hopefully I'll be posting primer pics in the next couple of days!

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #101 on: April 01, 2011, 10:11:41 pm »
Today being my birthday, I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day than heading over to Perkins to check up on the latest progress.

Since I last visited they've finished the 914 and done all the welding on the MG Maestro, but the Polo had progressed too with all the rust holes patched up and given a skim of filler then block sanded. When I turned up this morning, Adam was busy in the booth finishing up the masking for its first layer of primer.

(Sorry for the slightly distorted and not very well cropped pics, it's a small spray booth so I couldn't get very far from the car)



All done and ready for the repairs to be primered. Check out my brown wheels!







With its first layer of primer I'm starting to get a glimpse of how perfect the bodywork will look when it's done. I can't wait!





Scan back to the first part of the bodyshop work and you'll see the arches were rusty, they're not now!



That large patch of tinworm on the rear quarter panel is fixed too.



And the rust spots around the windscreen are history. :D



The next step is checking for pinholes, filling them, priming again, rubbing the entire body down then it's ready for paint!

It's not looking likely that it'll be ready for Early Edition though. I've said to let the paint harden for a week before it's flatted and polished, which makes sense having waited this long. There are about two days of work involved in putting it all back together and cleaning it properly, and I'd rather not rush it despite how desperate I am to have it back home!

More updates as and when!

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #102 on: April 07, 2011, 12:08:55 am »
Today's pleasing picture message from Ad at Perkins:



Being painted tomorrow! :-)

Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #103 on: April 07, 2011, 01:14:23 pm »
This is proving to be a MAJOR work distraction...


Offline Alex

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Re: My GT-G40
« Reply #104 on: April 07, 2011, 03:24:20 pm »
Productivity fail (I'm trying to write, but this is distracting me) but my god paint job win...

Base coat:


Clear coat:


I'm up to my eyeballs in work, but I think I'm going to take a break tomorrow morning to go and lick it.

Literally speechless with excitement!