RE: Shed Of The Week: Volkswagen Golf Ryder
Discussion
Meh, apart from being a bit old and you dont see many Mk2's any more, zero interest in non GTI Mk2's.
Also, being a 5 door it isnt much use for conversions to a more interesting engine, all MK2s tended to be a bit flexible but as the 3 door had two less holes cut in the shell it at least made an effort not to flex along its length when jacked up such that the doors wouldnt open properly, they were very floppy.
However, a MK2 3 door with a TT 225 BAM engine and supporting mods could be fun, especially if it as hair shirt as this.
Also, being a 5 door it isnt much use for conversions to a more interesting engine, all MK2s tended to be a bit flexible but as the 3 door had two less holes cut in the shell it at least made an effort not to flex along its length when jacked up such that the doors wouldnt open properly, they were very floppy.
However, a MK2 3 door with a TT 225 BAM engine and supporting mods could be fun, especially if it as hair shirt as this.
Colonial said:
How much for a VW Golf? They must be dreaming. I remember back in the day when they were a tuppence and you still had change for a turnip.
Sadly that's life. In the early 2000s I had close to a dozen mk2 golf Gtis all bought for between 200-1500 quid. The last gti 16v I bought in 2008 cost me 375 quid. If i had done nothing with if at all in the last decade it could sell for 1500 I'm the current market. How many 1.3 Escorts and Astras do you still see... Hardly any which shows how durable the mk2 golf is!
Nobody calling this slow has ever experienced the delight that was the 1.6 naturally aspirated diesel model. All 54 throbbing bhp of it.
My father-in-law had one from new for many many years. It had no performance at all. The only way to drive it was to use the accelerator pedal in a binary fashion, although it semeed to run on fresh air which was handy during the fuel blockades of 2000. He used to fill the thing up about once a month.
The mk2 was a good car in its day. Didn't need welding for MOTs from 5 years old unlike the Fords and Vauxhalls of the time, and the general build quality was way ahead of the French competition. I also think the later big bumper GTIs still look as fresh as they did back in the day.
I'm not sure a base model has much interest in 2017 though. This is just going to be a slow and generally unremarkable old car.
My father-in-law had one from new for many many years. It had no performance at all. The only way to drive it was to use the accelerator pedal in a binary fashion, although it semeed to run on fresh air which was handy during the fuel blockades of 2000. He used to fill the thing up about once a month.
The mk2 was a good car in its day. Didn't need welding for MOTs from 5 years old unlike the Fords and Vauxhalls of the time, and the general build quality was way ahead of the French competition. I also think the later big bumper GTIs still look as fresh as they did back in the day.
I'm not sure a base model has much interest in 2017 though. This is just going to be a slow and generally unremarkable old car.
Tend to find young lads who want a Retro GTI see the insurance and negotiate down into one, my eldest spent a while showing me pictures of stuff like this, dont think he realises that though the GTI's were fairly good fun this would be less fun and slower than the Citroen C1 of ours he was using at the time.
All predates car safety being a big issue as well so they tend to fare badly in an accident, no airbags, ABS, ESP or strong shell, I know someone will be along to tell us how nine of them used to travel to festivals in an original Mini and never died but it is a consideration, especially for a new driver, a crash that in say a modern Clio is them being shaken up is potentially death or injury in old stuff like this and I wouldnt want one of mine driving it, even compared to a C1.
All predates car safety being a big issue as well so they tend to fare badly in an accident, no airbags, ABS, ESP or strong shell, I know someone will be along to tell us how nine of them used to travel to festivals in an original Mini and never died but it is a consideration, especially for a new driver, a crash that in say a modern Clio is them being shaken up is potentially death or injury in old stuff like this and I wouldnt want one of mine driving it, even compared to a C1.
J4CKO said:
All predates car safety being a big issue as well so they tend to fare badly in an accident, no airbags, ABS, ESP or strong shell, I know someone will be along to tell us how nine of them used to travel to festivals in an original Mini and never died but it is a consideration, especially for a new driver, a crash that in say a modern Clio is them being shaken up is potentially death or injury in old stuff like this and I wouldnt want one of mine driving it, even compared to a C1.
Perhaps if they realise and accept that, they might be less likely to crash?This car should be bought solely as an engine swap recipient, the 1.3 is trash. Strip out the engine and gearbox, throw in the 150hp ABF lump from the mk3 Golf Gti (of which there are plenty), upgrade discs all round and sort out the welding and you'd have a quick and quite cool car. Lower it on some cheap coilovers and chuck on some wider BBS replicas with new rubber. I used to absolutely love working on Mk2s, go together like Lego and parts are so cheap.
Limpet said:
Nobody calling this slow has ever experienced the delight that was the 1.6 naturally aspirated diesel model. All 54 throbbing bhp of it.
My father-in-law had one from new for many many years. It had no performance at all. The only way to drive it was to use the accelerator pedal in a binary fashion, although it semeed to run on fresh air which was handy during the fuel blockades of 2000. He used to fill the thing up about once a month.
The mk2 was a good car in its day. Didn't need welding for MOTs from 5 years old unlike the Fords and Vauxhalls of the time, and the general build quality was way ahead of the French competition. I also think the later big bumper GTIs still look as fresh as they did back in the day.
I'm not sure a base model has much interest in 2017 though. This is just going to be a slow and generally unremarkable old car.
Ah yes, the 1.5 & 1.6 NA diesel, I had a mk1 Caddy with the 1.6, that really was slow. I was lucky if I was still doing 40 mph by the top of inclines when doing 60+ at the bottom. My father-in-law had one from new for many many years. It had no performance at all. The only way to drive it was to use the accelerator pedal in a binary fashion, although it semeed to run on fresh air which was handy during the fuel blockades of 2000. He used to fill the thing up about once a month.
The mk2 was a good car in its day. Didn't need welding for MOTs from 5 years old unlike the Fords and Vauxhalls of the time, and the general build quality was way ahead of the French competition. I also think the later big bumper GTIs still look as fresh as they did back in the day.
I'm not sure a base model has much interest in 2017 though. This is just going to be a slow and generally unremarkable old car.
Love mk1 & mk2 Golf's but agree with most people here that this example isn't very interesting at all.
Although I did have a 1.3 while at uni many years ago, then a 1.6 driver which was much better. Bought a GTD for the missus as her first car in 2006, that was a great little thing, paid £540 if I remember correctly. Wish I'd kept that, they're rather rare now and generally advertised for £2k plus when they crop up.
Currently have a mk2 gti with 2.9 VR6 and wide track conversion in oak green, although it's off the road at the moment and doing a few jobs on it before putting back on the road. Not sure whether I'll keep it, don't really have the space.
Edited by dollyboy on Friday 30th June 11:28
TooMany2cvs said:
J4CKO said:
All predates car safety being a big issue as well so they tend to fare badly in an accident, no airbags, ABS, ESP or strong shell, I know someone will be along to tell us how nine of them used to travel to festivals in an original Mini and never died but it is a consideration, especially for a new driver, a crash that in say a modern Clio is them being shaken up is potentially death or injury in old stuff like this and I wouldnt want one of mine driving it, even compared to a C1.
Perhaps if they realise and accept that, they might be less likely to crash?Its a bit like the Gun Control debate really this one.
Murphy16 said:
This car should be bought solely as an engine swap recipient, the 1.3 is trash. Strip out the engine and gearbox, throw in the 150hp ABF lump from the mk3 Golf Gti (of which there are plenty), upgrade discs all round and sort out the welding and you'd have a quick and quite cool car. Lower it on some cheap coilovers and chuck on some wider BBS replicas with new rubber. I used to absolutely love working on Mk2s, go together like Lego and parts are so cheap.
Rusty Lego 
God, I sold my last one ten years ago and it was not long for this world.
I can see the appeal of a nice GTI but a 5 door Frankengolf would be a lot of work and still not worth much
Makes me nostalgic for the days of my red/pink/white 8 valve 5 door GTI.
It had all of rust foibles mentioned but did at least come with a rev gauge and central locking.
By the time the auto-reaper beckoned his bony finger, pretty much everything on it was cream-crackered but some of the posts here make me think that I should have stuck it in my parents garage and argued that classic status was only a couple of years away
It had all of rust foibles mentioned but did at least come with a rev gauge and central locking.
By the time the auto-reaper beckoned his bony finger, pretty much everything on it was cream-crackered but some of the posts here make me think that I should have stuck it in my parents garage and argued that classic status was only a couple of years away
Actually for the money this isn't all that bad. Although it's not really proper SOTW stuff.
My thinking is the way you need to approach a "cooking" VW Golf Mk 2 is as a DIY repairable old runabout. If you're only half-hand with the spanners this is the sort of car you can run for very little, especially if you do low mileages.
My thinking is the way you need to approach a "cooking" VW Golf Mk 2 is as a DIY repairable old runabout. If you're only half-hand with the spanners this is the sort of car you can run for very little, especially if you do low mileages.
Track Rod said:
Is there any sight more miserable than a big, analogue clock where a rev counter should be?
That's luxury, that is.Our 1990 205 was too low-spec to even have a clock there. It just had a big blanking plate with PEUGEOT on it. Speedo and fuel gauge, that was your lot. No clock anywhere, didn't even have intermittent wipe.
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