Part 10 - Tying up the loose ends

   Since posting Part 9 a couple months back, there have been a few updates and changes in plan.  The biggest change involved my recently acquired Dunlop SP9000's.  After literally minutes of debate amongst myself, I decided to relegate the ATPs to the basement in favor of the factory Corrado steel wheels (right).  Though the Spas look good on the car, they are a rather heavy wheel, especially in the 15" x 7".  The reduction in unsprung weight is noticable. The car accelerates much better than any of my previous VWs, and it out and out flies on the highway.

   Look for a second set of Corrado wheels, widened with stickier tires, for the local autocross this Summer.Another big item added since Part 9 is the Recaro interior.  I've always wanted a set of Recaros in one of my cars, so when a set became available I jumped at the chance.  And what a set; complete, rip, stain, and cigarette burn free, and complete with interior panels and a matching package tray.  I've kept the old, beat up seats, so I can take the Recaros out when the car is in the bodyshop.  More on that later.

   After driving Project Hole-In-One for a couple weeks, I noticed some things that I liked, and some others that needed further attention.  My first nagging problem came from the odometer.  One of the parts I didn't salvage from my Jetta donor car was its speedo.  After 270,000+ miles, the odometer stopped working.   I did at least save the white gauge faces, which I installed on a cluster I purchased off eBay.  Unfortunately, that cluster had a similar problem that manifested itself within the first week of driving.  

  Fortunately, I had several spare cluster laying around by this point, and I was able to piece together a good unit with the correct mileage on it. One thing the car had was a ticking time bomb underneath, in the form of a corroded and worn out fuel pump/reservoir assembly.  It was during my first long drive in the car, down to Essex and back to help out on Eric's ice racer, that age and deterioration finally caught up and a small puddle started forming under the right side of the car just ahead

of the rear wheel.  A side-effect of the sorry state of the fuel pump assembly was that I never changed the fuel filter.  Luckily, most of the parts I needed are still available online from places like IMPEX Foreign Car Part.  I decided to go all out, replacing the reservoir and all of the fuel lines between it and the fuel distributor.   Despite blustery conditions, I did the swap out in the driveway during a recent "warm" spell.  Now the car starts and runs better, and doesn't smell like gasoline anymore.  All big pluses if I decide to put it to the big test with a drive down to Florida for the 12 Hours of Sebring.

   And here it is, Project Hole-In-One at the end of Phase 1; the mechanical restoration of Project Golf.   There are still some odds and ends to attend to (the reverse light switch comes to mind) but overall the car is ready for Phase 2.  In Phase 2 we will cover bodywork, as both minor collision and rust damage are repaired, some minor modifications are made, and the car is prepped and painted.  Unlike Phase 1, my contribution will be limited to photography and writing.  Bodywork is an art, and I am going to leave it to the specialists.

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