Tuesday 24th June 2014

VW Golf Mk 1: You Know You Want To

No Euro mods, no engine transplant, no power steering. Get back to basics with an old Golf

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There's a common theme that runs through many threads on new car tech, from adaptive steering to dual-clutch gearboxes to self-parking; the car shouldn't be doing that, I want to do it. And it's a fair argument, this is a site for those people who enjoy driving after all. Of course the discussion so descends in to 'so you want to bring back drum brakes and crossply tyres too?' but here could be the perfect compromise on the modern(ish) car that's still requires a bit of driving effort.

Do your own infotainment in here

It's a 1.1-litre Golf. Bear with me. It has manual steering, a choke and wind down windows. There isn't an airbag and the interior is shockingly basic. That's the classic element of it. But as one of the first modern European hatches, would it be completely unfeasible to use it semi-regularly? Of course it will be slow, the very antithesis of today's torque laden turbos, but that should be celebrated and not condemned.

The focus becomes on conserving speed, reading the traffic situation, maintaining flow. But not in something so compromised as to be frustrating because it was once just a family hatchback. You won't be cosseted as in a new car, of course, but that's exactly the point. It's old without being unusable.

Furthermore, with nearly every early Golf being pounced on by those wishing to indulge in a bit of Euro modding (some more successfully than others), finding an unmolested Mk 1 must happen very seldom. And it's a pleasant reminder of just how right the original Giugiaro design was. The dimensions make it look quite delicate amongst modern stuff but the proportions are spot on and even the poverty-spec steel wheels don't look out of place. Don't forget this design is 40 years old now too.

Can't be many left like this now

With 114,000 miles, this Golf wouldn't have to be a pristine garage queen either. It's being used regularly by the current owner which is encouraging and maintained to a very high standard (when one of the car's bad points is a CD player that's 'a bit 2001' you sense it's cared for). Moreover, the Golf is being sold to help fund a 996 Turbo purchase which is a genuine reason for sale if ever there was one.

The Golf's MoT has expired now so there could be some negotiating room there. With Mk 1 GTIs rocketing in price, to see an early Golf at £3K is almost surprising even if it's not exactly a bargain. Classic insurance should be cheap, there's not an awful lot to fail and its spartan nature is really rather cool. Anyone else tempted?

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VW GOLF 1.1C
Price: £3,450
Why you should: Back to basics driving in style
Why you shouldn't: Slow, probably not that safe, not a GTI

See the original advert here.

[crostonian]

My mother had a Golf Formel E, she hated it and replaced it with an Alfasud SC which oddly rusted less than the Golf and she still talks fondly of the Sud to this day. That Golf 1.1 may be worthy and pure but it's dull with a capital D!

[Lowtimer]

That must only weigh about 850kg - the original GTI was only about 900 - and takes me right back to a white Mark I 1100 base model that I used to drive when I was a kid. Had a lot of fun in it.

Chance of it not getting modded to buggery: slender to zero. Oddly enough that gives me a powerful motive to save it.

Probably not £3.5K powerful though.

[Pixelpeep]

This further underlines the pure crazy that is 'classic ford' pricing.

Have you seen how much pretty much ANY ford is from the same year as this?

[Aphex]

Been up on retro rides for a while now, overpriced but I'm not complaining if it sells as I have one in the same condition lurking in the garage

[Pixelpeep]

Lower it, upgrade the brakes, running gear and engine from an R32.

[aka_kerrly]

Jeez, £3.5k for a 3 door shell.

I bought a 3 door 1.1C with tax & mot for £106 in circa 2005/6, I went on to chuck some old mk2 golf GTI front seats in, put some bottle top 16v alloys on and gave it a dam good clean. I sold it for £600 thinking I was a smart ass.

Funnily enough my old one went around three or four owners before ending up just up the road from me again now sporting a 2.0 16v conversion!

Great fun the mk1 but it needs updating a bit especially in the brake department to make them more user friendly on a daily basis.

[clonmult]

Pixelpeep said:

Lower it, upgrade the brakes, running gear and engine from an R32.

No, no, no.

Just keep it standard, its better for it.

[knebworth01]

Slow but fun. I had one of these years ago when I was 18, think I paid £350 for it!
It replaced my blown up Uno Turbo at the time and it took me weeks getting used to carrying more speed through roundabouts just to keep the momentum up!
Ended up p/xing for an Cav SRi 130, felt like i'd just stepped into a Ferrari!
Those were the days...!

[loveice]

Pixelpeep said:

Lower it, upgrade the brakes, running gear and engine from an R32.

Just google 'twin vr6 w12 lupo'.

[Lowtimer]

Ah yes. The brakes.
The 1100 I used to drive had, if memory serves me correctly, no brake servo at all, in addition to the other well known Mark I brake problems.

It's amazing how hard you can push when you need to.

[PATTERNPART]

I learned to drive in one of these. It was nice to drive. The big steering wheel made the steering light. It was a "company" car on a farm where I lived. It rusted through somewhere between the scuttle and under the dashboard. The anti perforation warranty was invalid because it hadn't had its annual checks. It didn't last long. Not tough enough and the engine was too small for lugging 5 people up and down hills.

[Amizade]

Sweet memories - my first car was a Mk1 1.4 GLS

[Jerry Can]

My mum moved up from a Honda N650 to a white Golf N like this in 1978. but the slightly earlier (T plate) version with the smaller rear lamps. This led to a succession of Golfs every couple of years (it was normal to change cars regularly then), an '81 mars red Golf N, an '83 Golf Driver 1300, an '85 Golf GL with racing steering wheel and GTI 4 grill headlights, and wheel trims! (I waged a campaign on my dad to make sure it had these extra's.) The racing steering wheel was possibly a mistake as they were non assisted back then and my mum did her shoulder in. Then she bought a '88 Golf GTI 8v, also without power steering (so the lesson was learned there then). Being a second car in the family, none of them were sold with more than about 10,000 miles on them. The GTI was ace and I would love to track it down. F820AWW where are you now?

[Lowtimer]

Amizade said:

Sweet memories - my first car was a Mk1 1.4 GLS

The mark 1 GLS was a carb 1.5, with a mighty, throbbing 70ps. I used to *dream* of having one of those.

[conkerman]

BWE 940T IIRC.

My first car, pretty much that car apart from the colour and what an utter turd. I still think of it fondly though, lots of good stuff happened in it

Died of terminal rust in 1993.

[Triumph Man]

The fact it's now called "DIY" driving makes me sad...

We do need to keep a mint condition example of every car, even the crap ones. 1.3 basic Sierra, Metro etc

[mechagran]

well gentlemen this is my advert and for those saying it is overpriced a deposit was taken this morning. less mint ones of these left even compared to Gtis. One step closer to my 996 turbo!!! someone buy my C4S!! :0

[Ahonen]

This is almost identical to my first car in the early '90s, except my MK1 1100 was green. It was a brilliant car and while my mates' fancier Fiestas, Beetles and things were quicker or cooler, the Golf never broke down and never failed an MOT in the nearly 5 years I owned it - and it had 145000 miles when I sold it, which was quite a lot for an old car with only 50bhp, 4 gears and a maximum speed of a tickle over 80mph. It must've left quite an impression on me because I've only ever owned VAG cars ever since.

As an anoraky aside, there must've been a change between the '82 and '83 interiors, because mine definitely showed the full 145000 miles on the odometer and even had a trip, which the one above doesn't.

[Carfield]

I think I'd like this one even more:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C490974

A bit more poke and a nicer colour.

Coincidentally, when I were a lad, my Dad had a black 1.5 GLS, followed by a GLD in the same colour as this one (so it's a bit of a mash up of the two). Fond memories of both, particularly driving both around car-parks at the age of 9 or 10. The diesel was biblically slow though...

My first car (showing my age) was a yellow 1.3 LS. Rusty, but good fun.

I have to admit, it's nice (and unusual) to see some Golfs of this age that haven't had that 'scene thing' done to them - I'd love one, or a Scirocco but the image really puts me off these days. Can't help thinking that in one with normal ride height / tyres, you just look as if you're on your way to the broken suspension / stupid rims shop. Come to that it puts me off the modern ones too.

[kambites]

I don't really understand the obsession with the mk1 Golf. Sure the GTi is, with hindsight, iconic but the "normal" car was just another boring hatchback with little to recommend it compared to its competition.