Boy am I exhausted. Finally started working on my project 2002 Golf, now that it's not as hot at night (but still fairly humid), not raining, and not windy.
Got my LCA's mounted, one wheel hub mounted, replacement VR6 brake calipers put in place, so I could bleed the brakes. Had a massive leak of brake fluid, and found that I had no o-ring on my clutch cable. Fortunately, I found a second cable in the garage, but I had to reshape the metal piping portion. Did that and got the brakes and clutch bled. Couldn't test the brakes, but the clutch pedal works.
I previously couldn't get the transmission into first. I dumped ATF into the transmission, mostly empty, and now it shifts into 1st and all gears and reverse just fine. I'll probably run it another 5 minutes on jacks tonight, then let the ATF drain overnight (including out of the 5th gear cover), and then pour in Redline Lightweight Shockproof, which is amazing stuff (use it in my daily driver). Matt Whitbread suggested this procedure to clean water intrusion/nastiness out, and it's worked perfect for me on another car.
Somewhat near future plans, ideally after I get the car back on the ground, is replacing the injection pump. The current pump is an 11mm, but the "made in" portion is scratched off. So I have no clue who the hell refurbed it. In will go a "Made in Czech Republic" pump, since those are 100% refurbished with new parts. I'll do the same at some point on mom's Golf, so I'll know that I'm not using the original German-made injection pumps (I've found a big difference between using a rebuilt pump and an original German pump with who knows how many hundreds of thousands of miles).
Oh, and finally, I got my cooling system fixed. As much as I love two of our trusted vendors on opposite coasts, I'm not buying aftermarket heater core couplings again. Last ones I got were LEAKING before I even turned the car ON. The o-rings inside are absolute crap! The dealer parts aren't cheap, but no leaks. Ended up getting one that comes out straight, in addition to the normal 45 degree angle, and my fitment is perfect (EGR cooler delete). Lasltly, I replaced the coolant flange (since this is a 5 speed swap car). Some previous owner put in some s#it Dorman part, and I could see some evidence of corrosion/coolant by that flange. Cleaned that up and replaced it with a Genuine VW part.