Between being busy at work recently and the Texas heat, it’s been a while since my last update. I’ve mostly been working on random small tasks that need to be done since I don’t have hours a day to devote to tasks.
Since I’m moving the battery to the trunk, I cut out and filled in the battery box. The transmission tunnel was also cut to bits to make the 2000 MkI transmission fit, so I roughly welded that back into place. It might still need more work to make the T5 fit, so I didn’t go crazy making it look perfect.
I also continued replacing rusted through body panels. The rear lower rockers needed to be patched, and I replaced the entire rear lower valence which was swiss cheesed, as you can see in the pictures below. These have taken quite a lot of work as there are a lot of panels joining together. I also want to restore the chrome trim on the back panel, so I need to do a bit of work where the PO had bent over/hidden all those mounting points.
Finally, I’ve been continuing to button up the frame modifications to make the new engine fit. I had to remove a lot of the buttresses on the shock towers, so I reinforced those heavily front & back with 3/16″ plate.
More to come!
