Preparing a Mk1 Golf

[bangernomics]

Now I've thrown out about two tons of rubbish from my garage and found all the tools I had lost, I'm starting to prepare my Golf GTi Mk1 for track day use. It already has Bilstein shocks, cross-drilled front discs and Pagid fast road pads. I've got a couple of small holes to weld up in the floor, then I'm planning to fit the following:

Superflex suspension bushes all round
New strut top mounts, bottom balljoints and track rod ends
Goodridge brake hoses and DOT 5.1 brake fluid
Front lower strut brace
Battery cutout switch
3 point safety harnesses (I've removed the back seat)
Fire extinguisher

I'm also starting to look round for a set of cheap 14 inch wheels, and I'm planning to have the engine set up on a rolling road. By the end of this process I may be too broke to actually afford any track days, but at least the car should drive well.

Anything else (inexpensive) I should be doing?

[domster]

Put a cage in it if the rear seats are out. Better mount for the harnesses as well. I have seen a couple of rolls at trackdays this year, and not just the bacon sarnie type

[Mark B]

Definately a roll cage, good to be a good move. What about strut braces, you will find them on Ebay too, always seems to be some for sale on there.

What about, when monies allow a rear beam from a Mk11 with disks??? I think it is a relatively straight forward swap.

[jeremyc]

You might want to contact iguana seeing as he has the dismembered parts of about 6 Golfs and other assorted VWs littering the space under his rock (much to the chagrin of Mrs. Iguana).

The Pikey-meister is never one to turn down an offer of hard cash for anything in his possession.

[bangernomics]

Thanks for that guys. I thought about a roll cage, the problem is that my Golf is a lovely original car, and I don't really want to start chopping holes in the dash for the cage uprights. But now you've set me thinking.

[trooper1212]

I've got a half cage in mine, which negates the need for too much chopping.

Not too sure how much less protection than a full cage you get though, so it depends on what you intend to do with the car.

[domster]

I have a half cage in my 911.

Bolt in job.

As has been mentioned, rear disk brakes from a mk2 has to be a good move. I believe Iguana even has a decent Mk2 minus engine, which he wants to get rid of very cheaply. Could be good for scavenging - or maybe as your track slag

[iguana]

Hello somebody called


I wouldnt bother messing about with the rear brakes if you are on a budget, its the fronts you want to sort as they are woefull on a Mk1 even on the road, let alone on track.

There are many options & people like TSR etc are perhaps the best to advise you.

As you are not constrained by racing regs of keeping to the standard size the best best is to go bigger, either to later mk2 16v 256mm jobs or an after market set up- 280mm seems a popular size but you will prob need 15 inch wheels over 256mm.

If you dont already have a nice set of 14 inchers I can certainly advice going to 15 inch anyway(but no bigger)

Also sort out some cooling ducts to the brakes (like mk2 16vs) & run without disc backing plates to aid cooling, Braided hoses, & higher boiling point fluid too.

Oil cooling is another important area, did all Mk1's had the air to oil jobbie? (or was it just the 1.6's?) Anyway see how you get on with it oil temp wise but I think its cheap engine insurance to uprate to a bigger cooler.

On all of the Mk2 8v & 16v's I've had the standard Gti water/oil cooler is pretty lame when the going gets tough, & its easy to get oils temps over 120 degC after just a few hard laps or even very very hard road use, so I consider a biger air/oil jobbie essential on a MK2.

Anti roll bars are a worthwhile investment, lots of makes out there but Eibach jobbies are well recieved.

The Mk1 I belive benefits not only from a normal between the suspension turrnets strut brace, but also a lower chassis strut brace.

Couple of Phers have raced Mk1's (I think SPNracing is one of them so might be worth a profile search & a few e-mails for advice if they dont see this)

Yes I do have various Mk2 bits floating about incluing a a complete & straight Mk2 GTi that is surplus to requirements, so mail me if you want some bits.

Must say however if I had a very nice straight MK1 GTi I would not track it, as they are getting rare & collectable- I'd use a cheaper & more available Mk2 instead.

Ok Mk2 is a bit heavyer& a bit less nimble but not a huge amount if you strip it out say sub 900kg vs sub 800kg or so.

Also Mk2 considered more stable & still suprisingly agile & nimble when stripped & equpped with the right supension & ARBs etc & 16v's esp when modded just a touch say 160bhp & 900kg will lap at the same pace as lots of very quick road cars on track.

Never forget that a Mk1 Golf was the 2nd quickest car at the Autocar howfast can you go event at Bedford on the GT circuit- only thing that beat it was an R500!! yes ahead of 996 Turbos (inc one driven by Tiff Needel!) GT3's, 993Rs, 964Rs, M3's, scoobydo impretzels Lotuss elises etc etc.

Ok it wasnt your average Mk1 Golf & you wouldnt want to drive it on the road plus he had a fair whack of power from a modded 1.8T engine- I think 350bhp or so & serious brakes, but chassis & body wise you can have a similar spec handling wise on a reasonable budget- the power & brakes, plus the skill to drive it that well- will cost a tad more!


>> Edited by iguana on Wednesday 14th January 13:31

[trooper1212]

If you don't mind the wheel styles being mismatched, I've got a set of 14 inch alloys that I could part with cheaply, I've also got a couple of brand new track tyres to go on them (can't remember the make, but they are the minimal tread pattern things)



>> Edited by trooper1212 on Wednesday 14th January 15:13

[bangernomics]

iguana said:

I wouldnt bother messing about with the rear brakes if you are on a budget, its the fronts you want to sort as they are woeful on a Mk1 even on the road, let alone on track. As you are not constrained by racing regs of keeping to the standard size the best bet is to go bigger, either to later mk2 16v 256mm jobs or an after market set up- 280mm seems a popular size but you will prob need 15 inch wheels over 256mm. If you dont already have a nice set of 14 inchers I can certainly advice going to 15 inch anyway(but no bigger). Also sort out some cooling ducts to the brakes (like mk2 16vs) & run without disc backing plates to aid cooling, Braided hoses, & higher boiling point fluid too.

I actually have a longer term plan for this car, which is that after I have done a few track days, if I find I’m really enjoying it I’m planning to start racing in Post Historic Touring Cars – so I’m building it up with one eye on the CSCC regs. As far as I can tell, the GTI 1600 only ever had 13 inch wheels, so that’s what I’m stuck with. I read somewhere that a Mk2 16V master cylinder and servo improves pedal feel and reduces travel (although obviously it won’t do anything for actual brake performance) – might try that at the same time as I put the Goodridge hoses on. Cooling ducts and losing the backplates – sounds good advice, and gives me the chance to use up a load of heater ducting that I’ve had sat in the garage for ages.

iguana said:

Oil cooling is another important area, did all Mk1's had the air to oil jobbie? (or was it just the 1.6's?) Anyway see how you get on with it oil temp wise but I think its cheap engine insurance to uprate to a bigger cooler. On all of the Mk2 8v & 16v's I've had the standard Gti water/oil cooler is pretty lame when the going gets tough, & its easy to get oils temps over 120 degC after just a few hard laps or even very very hard road use, so I consider a bigger air/oil jobbie essential on a MK2.

This one is a 1600 so it has the little air/oil cooler. I’ve got a second one of these (with hoses) – might see if I can fit it in series with the first one, and get a (small) increase in oil capacity as a bonus. I’ve never seen oil temp above 90 deg in normal use, but track days are a different game I guess.

iguana said:

Anti roll bars are a worthwhile investment, lots of makes out there but Eibach jobbies are well received. The Mk1 I believe benefits not only from a normal between the suspension turrets strut brace, but also a lower chassis strut brace.

Lower strut brace has been bought and awaits fitment. I read that an upper strut brace doesn’t make a huge difference to a Mk1, but I’m open to persuasion. They aren’t expensive anyway, so I might just fit one regardless.

iguana said:

Couple of Phers have raced Mk1's (I think SPNracing is one of them so might be worth a profile search & a few e-mails for advice if they dont see this). Yes I do have various Mk2 bits floating about including a complete & straight Mk2 GTi that is surplus to requirements, so mail me if you want some bits. Must say however if I had a very nice straight MK1 GTi I would not track it, as they are getting rare & collectable- I'd use a cheaper & more available Mk2 instead. Ok Mk2 is a bit heavier& a bit less nimble but not a huge amount if you strip it out say sub 900kg vs sub 800kg or so. Also Mk2 considered more stable & still surprisingly agile & nimble when stripped & equipped with the right suspension & ARBs etc & 16v's esp when modded just a touch say 160bhp & 900kg will lap at the same pace as lots of very quick road cars on track.

I saw SPNRacing’s Golf at Silverstone last year, and very lovely it looked. I’d just bought my Golf at that time, and until that race meeting it hadn’t occurred to me to go racing in it… Thanks very much for the offer of bits, I’ll remember it if there are any Mk2 bits I need. As for buying a Mk2 for track days – I suppose part of the reason for using the Mk1 is that I have racing ambitions for it, part is that I’m short of space and would have to sell it to make way for a Mk2, which I’m reluctant to do because I love it so much. Yes, it’s straight and original, but not mint, and it’s a 1600 which for some reason are much less sought after than the 1800. If I didn’t already have the Mk1, I’d definitely go for a Mk2 – the papers are full of cosmetically shabby cars under £500.

Anyway, thanks very much for that hugely useful post. I love PH. Trooper 1212 - YHM

[jay w]

Get the weight down - replacing the side and rear glass for perspex / polycarb (can never remember which) is a good one for kg's saved and safer in the event of an off. If it's trackday only you can also junk the regulators and winders etc if you're really serious - if not, the perspex in the original guides will let you put the window down once in a while.

Any other bits of luxury can go - sound deadening, both in the car and the engine bay (front bulkhead especially), rear wiper, door and boot trims, headlinings and visors, whatever.

Absolutely no idea on Golf mechanical bits I'm afraid

[cptsideways]

If your stripping it out then you may as well stick a half cage in, for the sake of £200 it's worth it.

Having followed a 205 Gti round Hethel that rolled right in front of us, luckily & only luckily they walked away.

Take some lessons, it'll speed you up far more than saving weight or spending cash.

[GVK]

iguana said:

Also Mk2 considered more stable & still suprisingly agile & nimble when stripped & equpped with the right supension & ARBs etc & 16v's esp when modded just a touch say 160bhp & 900kg will lap at the same pace as lots of very quick road cars on track.

Do you have any experience using slicks on Golfs Iguana?

I have the car you describe above and have the chance some slicks, just wondering what to do regarding pressures and the like

thanks for any advice.

>> Edited by GVK on Tuesday 17th February 00:15

[Motion Lotion]

Before you start spending , add up the cost of all the parts you WILL end up buying from the Demon Theives catalogue, Then plan a trip down to sunny Hampshire to come and look at my beautifully prepared, race ready Mk1 . Its started life as a campaign 1.8 in Green. It was possibly one of the cleanest, straitest cars about. After a complete bare shell re-build, everything was taken off the car, mounts replaced with nwe VAG ones etc It now boasts a lovely Red exterior, over a grey interior , has a lovely S.D cage in front and rear, and Door bars. A race fuel cell in wheel well, with proper ally firestop panel. Race seat,Harness,cut-off, push button start,race steering wheel,Rear harness mount bar/ strut brace, O.P guage, Water temp guage, full extinguisher set up, exterior pulls on front panel. New brakes, Bias valve, new shocks new springs new VAG master cylinder/oil pump/water pump/radiator/eng mounts. Bigger oil cooler, crankcase breather setup, MOT!!!! More aaeroquip than you can shake a stick at . Engine rebuilt/bored honed, gas flowed , not even run in yet, 116 brake, more when settled , gearbox rebuilt with uprated bearings, Im bored typing now.
You could sell your MK1 now, and if you have in the region of £5000, it sounds alot, but beleive me , ask SPN it is easy to blow more, and you could have a serious, fast safe trackday car, which if funds allow you, Stock hatch/hot hatch/vw cup/ ctrcc pre 83 / sprint car. I know its fun trying to build your own , but this car was built for me by Mike Dowsett, who has won the Ctc championship twice, so nows abit about cars. Another opportunity has come along , so its gotta go, cost me an awfull lot more to build , and I did a fair bit on the car myself. Mailme if you are interested [e-mail]

[iguana]

GVK said:

Do you have any experience using slicks on Golfs Iguana? I have the car you describe above and have the chance some slicks, just wondering what to do regarding pressures and the like thanks for any advice.

Sorry mate I don't, I was going to say perhaps head over to the club GTi forum for some people that might know, then I clicked on your profile & im 99% sure I recognise your car from over there anyway.

All I would say is that slicks will put a lot more strain on suspension, wheel bearings etc etc (Also different camber & toe in settings might be needed for slicks)

Also although the KR engine has a pretty good baffle set up as standard (different to the 8v's that ive seen anyway) I reckon that the extra grip of slicks could be an issue for oil starvation on long high speed sweepers & really you could do with a properly baffled jobbie like wot I has got in mine (unless you fancy the rather pricey dry sump route)

>> Edited by iguana on Wednesday 18th February 21:04

[GVK]

Yup - I can be found over on Club GTI forum

I run 2 degrees negative camber on mine, did try more toe out for a sharper turn in but the inner edges of the tyres didn't think much of it...

We're at Mallory on the 28th and was also thinking about the oil surge through Gerads if using some grippy tyres!

[Corin Denton]

Cheap mod is to fit a throttle bodie and warm up refulator from a 5 cylinder Audi to improve fuel delivery can be picked up from a scrappie.
As all Mk1s were fitted with a LHD servo it has an 11 piece linkage, obviously over the years the tolerances increase in the joints but Awesome do a two piece linkage that improves pedal action.
A quick shift for the gearbox is relatively cheap but very effective.
Get a slightly smaller steering wheel, makes a big difference!
Get poly exhaust mounts, the standard figure of eight mount will snap all the time with track use.
Fit Cabriolet driveshafts, they are heavier duty.
If you go for the rear disc upgrade fit the Mk3 caliper,it's a direct bolt on mod the MK2 ones seize for a past-time and are costly to exchange.
Great cars!

>> Edited by Corin Denton on Monday 23 February 22:43