Bit more progress tonight. Finished drilling out the two of three sheared torx screw bits that hold the discs to the drive flange hubs. One more to do tomorrow, I just ran out of time tonight. Most of the time was spend sorting the sheared rear anti roll bar end plate bolt. Drilled and tapped it but had to faff about taking off the disc protector back plate etc to be able to get the position I needed. Still it’s a job off the list…
Rallye Project 
First of all I would just like to congratulate you on a great site and that I really like the updated version!
Your really cracking on with the 8v and I cant believe you have taken on another project when I thought the first one was enough!
Just out of interest what welding set are you using as I was looking into getting a set but have been unsure on what would be best for what I want to do (also doing up a 106 but a GTI rather than a rallye) have been on the mig welding forum ahving a read but there can be quite alot of conflicting info. Also any other metal working tools you would recommend apart from a grinder obviously haha
Keep up the good work
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The first time I had work done on the car I paid someone else to do it and it cost a lot, but the work was quickly done and I had the car back on the roads in very little time. After that I decided that I would do it my self and started putting £100 a month aside.
My PortaMIG 185 welder arrived just before Christmas in 2010 from Weldequip after a 3 month wait! They are worth the money as they are amazing welders and very highly regarded – flexible for thin body work and also much thicker metal too! Everything you’ve seen in this website has been achieved since then – so about 9 months now.
I have never welded before that but I am quite a practical person who doesn’t mind getting stuck in. I also found the MIG Welding forum an invaluable point of reference and advice There are some good tutorials on there. There are also some good videos on You Tube from the University of California. I found those really useful when I was starting out just to understand the basics and what kit was needed.
As pretty much everyone I spoke to said practice, practice, practice! This means you need to be patient as you will need to clock up some hours before you start getting consistent results. I went through a lot of metal just practicing and getting the hang of it. Welding is dangerous so you need to be careful and have good protective gear. Fire retardant overalls, welding gauntlets and a good welding mask (I use a Speedglas v9100) are the bare essentials.
You need various other bits and bobs like clamps and other metal working tools, but you will be amazed at how much you can get done with just a vice and a hammer A lot of the kit can be picked up cheaply or second hand. My welding mask for example only cost be 1/3 the original price as I won it on an eBay auction.
I have slowly accumulated kit over the last few months which has been made possible by not having a car on the roads and saving money by not running it I cycle to work everyday and the money saved all gets ploughed into the car.
The consumables are a little expensive. I bought two gas bottles and now get them refilled at £25 a time from the same person who is local to me. Works out cheaper than renting them for me. Metal is also not cheap these days so getting stuff for free or finding a good local supplier can be a big help. Since having the kit it has been very useful for doing other stuff and you will pick up a skill which will be useful throughout your life.
Just a final word of caution! My old man ended up in hospital after welding some repairs on a BMW 3 series he was doing up. He was working in a pit under the car and the welding ignited fuel from the tank or lines that had not been removed prior to work commencing. The tank had been drained, but clearly there was some left in the system. The resulting fireball left him with some rather singed hair, no eyebrows and a rather nasty concussion!
In all it has had its highs and lows. I have thought about jacking it all in on a number of occasions, but have stuck with it. Some times you just need to step away and have a bit of a life again to get some motivation to get back to the project.
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