All Things Mk5 > Members Rides
Marticus' Red GTI
Marticus:
Cars back at the mechanic today for new belt, waterpump, thermostat, cam follower, evap valve, and bonnet strut.
So seeing as im spending all my money on mechanical bits i decided to have a go at painting the lip myself. If i make a mess of it i can always take it to the body shop to be fixed, and if it works out maybe ill have a go at painting some other bits.
So today i ordered some paint, and started preperation.
Firstly i lightly went over the lip with some 120grit, then wiped everything off with some paint thinner, before realising that it also thins ABS :confused: so finished cleanup with water and towels.
Then started with some primer i had left over from previous projects. Problem was that the first couple of cans were pretty old, and ended up leaving a sh*tty finish, the third tin worked better but is orange for some reason.
So tomorrow ill be cleaning up the garage and hitting it again with some sandpaper to knock down the bad bits and get it prepped for the last primer and color/clear.
Im still trying to decide if i should do the lower center section in black or red..
Marticus:
Just had a call from the mechanic, and it looks like the alternator is going to need replacing, along with some fitting in the fuel system, and the engine cover is f*cked, the joys of owning older cars.
So I figured I would take a minute to list what's been done, and is yet to do.
Done:
Dsg service
Cam chain set
Cam belt
Water pump
Thermostats
All filters
Cam follower
EVAP system valve (p90 I think..)
Boot struts
Bonnet strut
Bulbs
Headlight switch
To do:
Fuel system connector
Alternator
Charcoal canister
Divertor valve
Fit induction kit
Fit suspension
Buy and fit better brakes
Radio upgrade
Probably lots more...
Looks quite daunting written down like that, and funds are running low. But at least she will be running well once I'm done.
Some good news is that the paint for the front lip has arrived, so hopefully later I will be able to find some time to work on that. Need to pick up some higher grit sand paper and solvent free cleaner for wiping everything down.
Marticus:
Ehh this cars starting to twist my tits now.
Picked up the car today after the mechanic finished the latest lot of work, and drove it to the petrol station to refuel (after the fuel fitting failed and dropped a load of fuel over the garage floor), and on the way home figured o would stretch her legs to see if everything felt OK, when poof. No power, engine revving not going anywhere, popping from under the hood.
Got back to the garage, and turns out that the intercooler hose has popped off, and the metal parts on the hose have stripped so it won't hold properly to the cooler :doh:.
So popped it back on and drove home very carefully.
Now I'm a bit stuck for next steps, because I had planned on eventually going for an s3 intercooler anyway, which means I would have to cut the ends off the hoses if I understand correctly, or replace them with s3 ones. Either way there's not much point in spending money on new hoses for the standard cooler if I'm going to replace / cut them up in the foreseeable future.
The other consideration is with the noise pipe, because my car is LHD I assume it has a noise pipe, and if I decide to get rid of it I would need the s3 piping right?
So does anyone know if the s3 piping is a straight fit to the engine side of our fsi engines? I assume yes..
Marticus:
Decided to turn my frustration today into something more positive, so spent some time on the front lip.
Its not finished yet, but progress so far goes like this:
After the last update, i wet sanded everywhere with some 600 grit, and hit it with a couple of coats of the new primer.
Then once that had dried i sprayed the first coat of black, which came out far too thick and ran everywhere. So after some cleanup and another light sanding, i got the black down if not perfect at least ok.
And lastly tonight i masked off the center section and got the red down which went on easier than the black thankfully.
And thats where im leaving it tonight, tomorrow ill start the clearcoat and prayni dont make a mess of it.
Its not perfect by any means and ive now idea how good the color match will be, but i think its ok, a damn site better than the unpainted black lip thats on there now anyway
Marticus:
Got the laquer onnthis morning and offered the splitter up to the car today. The colour match is .. not good. But maybe it will improve after a polish. I dont have the heart to repaint it now so it will have to do.
Now i just have to get it fitted.
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