Need Mk3 ITB info and general help.

[jamscal]

Hello all,

I picked up a 1994 Golf (2 door, no sunroof, roll-up windows) to turn into an ITB car. I'm looking at a slow build, driving it around, auto-xing, and some track days as I build over the course of 1-??? years. No hurry, I enjoy both building and driving. It won't be a daily driver either, so daily comfort isn't a concern.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j118/jamscal/golf2.jpg

First off, I'm looking at buying a suspension. I have the money for a set of Koni Sports, Ground Control coilover kit and related suspension bits.

Are the above parts acceptable??? I was thinking 500# front and 450# rear spring rates. This info is from the 'net, so I'm not sure...I do need a starting point, however. (I believe the koni's will have to be revalved eventually.)

Next, I'd like some general links regarding cars, mods, etc.

I have some of the common links that pop up on this board from time to time, as well as the SCCA GCR and IT rules, but I'm new to VW's so anything might help.

One more Q: To remove the a/c I'll just need the non-ac drive belt, right???

I'll have a new tig welder soon and hope to be fabbing many of the necessary items.

Thanks a bunch,

James

[Knestis]

Congrats on finding a non-sunroof 2-door. Not very common...

We've got all kinds of hints (good, bad, and otherwise) at http://it2.evaluand.com/gti/ if it's helpful...

BEFORE you do anything, you'll want to investigate the floor/sills/etc for rust. We've discovered that there are some issues on these cars, with water entrapment causing rot, particularly in the area of the rear seat area floor. If you want to avoid doing this...

http://it2.evaluand.com/gti/images/mk3.2/floorold.JPG

...check before you get committed to the build. :)

Your spring rates would be OK for a street/track/first setup car. We use much stiffer springs (600F/700R) and revalved KONI's to handle the extra rate and higher frequencies of suspension motion. You can start by taking the front bar off and adding something like the Shine race bar. That will get you out there but you'll probably find you want more rear bar, the more you drive it.

(Note here that opinions vary on this topic, of course.)

The AC delete is a little more complex than one might think. We list the parts required at http://it2.evaluand.com/gti/tech.php

If you need anything, I'd invite you to get in touch with Conover Motor Sports - http://www.raceconover.com/. Cameron Conover is responsible for everything harder than brake pad changes for me, and he can hook you up with parts, gearbox and engine builds, and so forth. You don't mention where you are but he might be very useful.

Kirk

[jamscal]

Thanks a bunch for the info.

I've been looking at your site but completely overlooked the a/c removal info. I did discern it would take more than just a belt looking at the car today.

The floors are good with the exception of a 3" dia rusted hole in the floor under the passenger seat. It looks like they ran over something, punctured the floor, and the rust got it from there. I was changing the fuel filter when I saw it. I will do a bit more checking in hidden areas since you mentioned it, but it seems very solid.

I'm in Louisville, KY...not exactly a hotbed of racing...

-James

[Spinnetti]

Thanks a bunch for the info.

I've been looking at your site but completely overlooked the a/c removal info. I did discern it would take more than just a belt looking at the car today.

The floors are good with the exception of a 3" dia rusted hole in the floor under the passenger seat. It looks like they ran over something, punctured the floor, and the rust got it from there. I was changing the fuel filter when I saw it. I will do a bit more checking in hidden areas since you mentioned it, but it seems very solid.

I'm in Louisville, KY...not exactly a hotbed of racing...

-James
[/b]


Hi James... I'm just up the road 45min or so in Verona.. I run IT/A in a Corolla, but have had plenty of Dubs... (Have a Touareg and an A4 for my street cars)..

[Dave Zaslow]

James,

Good score to find 2 door non-sunroof car!

Kirk's advice is very sound. There are lots of parts around from Bildon.com, Shine Racing, Ground control, and others.

Bilstein also makes a coilover shock you might want to take a look at. You might want to consider installing camber plates when you do the shocks, but it will mean cutting the shock towers, a point of no return.

I believe Bildon's rear bar is a higher rate than Shine's (but I ended up with a Shine). If you do get one from Shine, make sure to specify their Race bar.

I started by putting together a list of all of the systems in the car; engine, ignition, suspension, etc.; breaking it down into sub-systems and then putting together what I wanted to do with each.

Ask lots of questions here.

Budget for a limited slip differential or decide if you like driving a welded diff. Find someone good to rebuild the trans and do the install. At least 4 of us here are running a 4.25 final drive. They are rare pieces from athe AVX diesel transmission.

Do yourself a favor, take the car to a track day and see if the car will rev to redline in 4th or 5th gear. It is better to find out now rather than later. It has caused great consternation. Then watch this board for potential answers.


DZ