Long shot: Looking for an old Golf expert in Spain

[Derish]

Hi,

I was wondering if you had any connections with classic VW enthusiasts in Spain, specifically in the Barcelona area.

The story is that a local buddy of mine recently showed me his daily 'old beater', which turned out to be a very well preserved (at least cosmetically) G60 Mk2 Golf. Whilst the car looks nice and solid, it apparently has a habit of breaking down every few months, and during a short test drive I could feel badly adjusted idle RPM and smell an overly rich air-fuel mix.

Said buddy is unfortunately not a car guy, the Golf has just been passed down to him from a relative. He didn't understand the importance of maintaining it in specialist garages, and his current generic mechanic sounds like an idiot. I'd like to bring the car to an expert who could take a proper test drive, get it up on a lift, and thoroughly assess the situation. Depending on the investment required, the owner would then be interested in bringing the car back to good shape, or perhaps it's too far gone and then he'll need to look at scrapping options, in favour of something more reliable.

Question is: where do I find that expert?

My ability to help here is as limited as my Spanish, so I thought it might be a good idea to start by asking my fellow PH'ers and see if you guys could refer me to any local clubs/communities. In parallel, I'll see if I can find any classic VW magazines that might have advertising for such businesses. Your recommendations, as well as any other ideas, are welcome.

Thank you.

[markrtw]

The idle issue is probably a failing idle valve. You may get away with cleaning it out with carb cleaner. Running rich may be a vacuum line or boost leak somewhere, unless it has been remapped at some point.

Edited by markrtw on Friday 6th July 21:51

[Derish]

Thanks, but this is bigger than my mechanic skills. If the car breaks down that often, it indicates a need for a root canal, rather than just another filling.

[Dr G]

I don't know of anyone but there's definitely a classic VW club based in Barcelona; whilst they appear to cater mostly to aircooled cars I did see a window sticker on a MK1 Polo whilst I was out there recently. You can bet at least one member will be able to make a recommendation.

You could also try one of the camper van hire places; they tend to be English speaking and will certainly have experience with older VWs or know who does.

[Swampy1982]

I know it sounds too simple to be true, but please replace the fuel filter, it's a really simple job and cheap, that's what happened to mine (was a mk1 though) and transformed the idle.