Budget Track Car Build Thread - Project SaladBoy

[davidandrews88]

This started off as an idea for a stag do back in October 2019 between two of us , the aim was to make it to the Ring in 2020 and do some laps and **** off the stag with stupid pointless mods. The budget was set very low (sub £500) and it didn't take long for a complete bargain to come along. Full Dealer History 85,000 mk5 2 litre FSI miles for £50.....yep that's right £50. The only catch was it has been sat a year outside, no MOT, no battery and no ability to hold any coolant but worth a punt for that price, scrapping it would have made an instant profit if it came to it. It was recovered to start the work.

[davidandrews88]

The first task was power, a spare battery from my WRX was wedged into place, terminals hooked up and the car started up instantly. No errors codes and all looked great, even had some fuel left in it

Second job was to take care of the coolant, it was flooding out the radiator so that was the first point of call

[davidandrews88]

All back together and now more fluid was pouring out, found quite a few blocked lines and some broken components, i assume someone tried to repair the radiator by adding something

[davidandrews88]

All leaks plugged and it was off to MOT, no real issues found so it was all set to carry on. As the weather was turning it was parked up with the intention of carrying on in warmer weather. I took it from Hampshire to Wiltshire to store in a garage on a relatives farm. After a couple of months it was taken out by a relative who lives in Norway, over for a visit as cheaper than hiring a car. It made 2 trips to Heathrow and another down to Bath.

[davidandrews88]

Well Covid hit and delayed everything, there was no chance of hitting the ring in 2020 so plans were pushed back. Late 2020 I went to collect it and nothing, wouldn't start at all. 2 weeks later another attempt was made, but this time equipped with tools, new spark plugs went in and lots of diagnostics was done, during this process the bonnet latch broke and the front badge was smashed off to gain access. After a while it was clear that this was not a simple fix. The AA were called out to recover it back to Basingstoke where further work could be carried out

[davidandrews88]

It was found that the ECU was dead, how this happened when the car was just sitting is a little odd, but it was dead. It was found that this was not the first repair this car had, a Golf MK6 ecu was fitted. Due to not having the original codes it was decided that it would go for scrap. Even with repair it would mean a car that has killed 2 ECU's.

[davidandrews88]

The car was ready for scrap and was due to be picked up, I ended up talking to colleague about this and his response was "i have a mate that used to work with the VW race team". A call was made and i was informed i just needed a matching ECU, key and dials. This was sourced on eBay for £75 with a 90 day warranty, seemed worth a try.

Digging into it a little more i found the ECU harness to be damaged, repairs were made and the new parts put in...................... it fired up first time, she lives again

The battery was taken off and the decision to isolate the power was made when parked up

[davidandrews88]

Now the car was functional the mods to **** off the stag could begin, the choice was made to start off stickers

[davidandrews88]

Next on the list was to rip out the bulky stereo and fit a button panel............because why not. I honestly put too much effort into it

[davidandrews88]

This brings us up to the start of 2021, the golf was kicked out its storage area and moved again, this time only 5 mins from where it was. In March 2021 it was checked and mice/rats had eaten the bonnet insulation. The car would then not start, no power at all. Again scrap prices were checked and it was ready to be hauled away for a profit. One last attempt was made and it turns out the isolation switch had failed, we assume the cold weather killed it. A new MSA spec was put on order to be fitted inside the cabin with a pull cable to kill the power once the car was locked from the outside. Longer battery cables and hydraulic crimpers were put on order to make up the new circuit.