Black Ph1 D-Turbo project (black betty)

[doogle-d turbo]

Onto recent work and future plans.

The car went up on axle stands and I have been working on stripping the engine out. One thing has led to another and I have now decided if something needs replacing, fixing, painting, cleaning etc it was to be done.

A few photos of the car being stripped. The engine is out with 90% of the bay stripped to reveal 20 years of dirt and rust! 

























All steering and suspension removed as everything is going back on either new or cleaned and painted. wishbones have seen better days so will be replacing those along with drop links, arb, tie rods and track rod ends, better coilovers etc.



Brake calipers were not great so they have had a good clean with wire wheels and a paint. I will also either refurb them or upgrade to bigger brakes of a gti or similar.
















In the last week I have cleaned the steering rack and painted the heat shield, a few before and after photos;



primed ready for paint.




The arb had seen better days and the bushes were destroyed so i met martyn from the forum and bought a 21mm bar off him which i have cleaned and primed ready for paint along with the gear linkage bar. 

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More Progress...

Steering rack before and after cleaning;







I've also started work on the engine bay. Obviously there were areas of rust but nothing that required welding so I cleaned these areas up and gave the bay a paint with hammerite satin black. I will also be using some bilt hamber products to treat the under side, wheel arches and other areas that need attention. The aim is to prevent rust from causing issues further down the line. Of course with the age of these cars now rust is getting more of an issue and i keep finding more areas that will need further attention in the future.













engine bay after a good clean, de-rusting session and a lick of paint;







a little blurry but I will have better photos in the near future.







So this is where I am currently up to. I have the arb to paint, more work on restoring the wheel arches and sill etc. I will be cleaning, painting and protecting any areas i can really.

There is no rush to get the car back on the road but I would like to take it to fcs next year so that's the plan. Things to do in the near future are finish the bay and clean the engine, replacing any parts/electrics that need doing. Sorting out a turbo, probably a gt2052 or similar. New radiator, intercooler, pipes, conduit, steering and suspension, cam belt and water pump. The list goes on but basically if i'm not happy with something it is getting fixed or replaced. 

I am also working on other bits. Door looms need replacing if i can find genuine ones for cheap enough. Decisions on headlights, whether it be masked standard lights, morrettes which I am refurbing or projector headlights. New fog lights, refurbished rear beam, new fuel cap release cable, clutch cable, gear linkages and many other jobs. 

Sorry for the huge updates but that's what happens being out of the loop for years on end.

I would appreciate any advice people have in putting the car back together. I have been reading other restoration threads for inspiration as I would hate to miss something or not replace it to find it really should have been done while the engine was out. Things you may have come across or ideas I might be interested in using.

More progress as it happens.

Thanks for looking.