Mk4 1.8t Anniversary "Annie"

BobSpounge

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Thought I'd kick this off now as I just want to update the thread as I go instead of having to post a load of stuff at once.

Bought this off a forum member earlier this year. It's a father/son project and it's for him when it's done. He's car mad and loves VW's and it was bought more for him to learn some things more than anything.

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BobSpounge

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BobSpounge
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It's certainly not perfect and needs work. It had been hit by a motorbike at the driver's side at some point and after digging deep it's had a wing, door and a section of sill. Needs some tidying and better rust protection around the repair areas. Paint on drivers side and boot is not good and there's areas where moisture has been trapped under the paint and rust has started forming underneath. I've removed the paint in some of these areas and the rust is only light surface and sands down to clean metal easily.

First mod was to alter the eurotreffin sticker on the boot lid for my son's amusement.

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BobSpounge

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BobSpounge
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Car had no clutch and I pulled the gearbox out and replaced a leaking slave cylinder. Back together and all good. Was going to put it back on the road for a bit as my wife's car developed a gearbox fault but it didn't happen.

There's just over 120k on it so engine rebuild was in the plans. Son confirmed that plan when he was revving the engine in the drive and it shat it's turbo seals, filled everything on the cold side of the turbo with oil. CCTV caught the moment it happened 😂

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FM155

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Alfa 155
I know it's an old car by today's standards but that's some yoke for a first car.
 

BobSpounge

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BobSpounge
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Good buy and great project for you both ,, and good to see it’s being saved

Thanks. Too many of these are being broken for parts and scrapped and I've always loved the anniversaries. Ok it's been accident damaged and is CAT S in old money but it doesn't put me off. It might not be worth much when finished because of its history and probably would not fetch a fraction of the money that we will put into it but that's not what this project is about.
 

dh1079

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Thanks. Too many of these are being broken for parts and scrapped and I've always loved the anniversaries. Ok it's been accident damaged and is CAT S in old money but it doesn't put me off. It might not be worth much when finished because of its history and probably would not fetch a fraction of the money that we will put into it but that's not what this project is about.
Exactly how it should be
 

BobSpounge

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BobSpounge
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Engine and gearbox are out and after having a quick look and taking some measurements there doesn't seem to be any rod or other damage. Won't know until it's stripped though. Rod's will be changed to forged ones anyway. I'll strip the engine, separate the head and block and send them somewhere for the head to be checked and new valve guides fitted if they're needed and I'll get the cylinder bores honed if all is good. Any recommendations for someone trustworthy to carry out that work appreciated.

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FM155

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Byre Engineering in the Nutts Corner Business Park in behind the Bondelivery Depot. I've used them a fair bit in the past and they have been great. They also do a lot of work for the hot rod boys.
 

BobSpounge

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Most of the interior is out except the dash.

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The floor has a bit of jack damage in a couple of places, worst on the passenger side. I've straightened it out a bit for now. There was concern that the rear quarter may have been damaged during the motorcycle incident but it looks like it escaped. No evidence of any repairs going by the inside of the panel.

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That's it so far. Rear axle and suspension, fuel tank, front subframe, steering rack and suspension etc coming out next and I've an adjustable rotisserie jig ordered from a company in England. Then the real fun begins. I'll be replacing both the sills (common rot issue on mk 4's). The underbody protection is pretty good on these so I'll assess what it needs when it's on the jig. There will be bits that need attention but we won't know how far we need to go until we dig deeper.

Byre Engineering in the Nutts Corner Business Park in behind the Bondelivery Depot. I've used them a fair bit in the past and they have been great. They also do a lot of work for the hot rod boys.

Cheers. Close to my work too which is a bonus.
 
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Apis

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Hopefully your internals are still ok.
I remember having a 18T in a passat and the engine was perfect when I sold it at 180,000 miles. Never even used a drop of oil and remapped as well.
Apart from turbo and sensor issues, it was a peach.
 

r16vka

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Ards
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Audi 80 V6
Rust creeping in was one of the main reasons that swayed me to sell my black tdi anniversary. I knew if I kept it I'd have to have replaced cills wings and lower rear quarters.

Best of luck with the project,great to see them being saved rather than broken for bits 👍🏻
 

BobSpounge

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BobSpounge
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Engine stripped, pistons removed and cams removed. Nothing of concern found except when we removed the crank there is a small gouge on No1 main bearing. It's only on one spot on one of the shells strangely. All bearings being replaced anyway so it's no biggie. Crank faces are fine though with just the normal light wear marks that a polish will sort out. It will be getting forged rods too as the standard ones in 1.8t's aren't great and can let go.

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Turbo stripped, seals shot as expected. No damage to housings so a new core will put the turbo right.

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Suspension, axle, subframe, exhaust and fuel tank removed so that's the underneath completely stripped. Back axle is scrap as expected. Subframe is surprisingly good and will clean up the best.

Don't know whether to love or hate the fact that every bolt has came out with ease, even the crank sprocket bolt gave in handy enough but if it was a quick job on a daily that you'd be looking to get back on the road quick then every bolt would probably be seized solid. I'm not complaining though.

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