RE: PH Heroes: VW Golf GTI

[DamonDash]

Best cars in the world...

I have been a mechanic/tech for 12 years (jag and aston so no reason to pick vw), and have owned and played with many golfs over the years, (went to germany and bought a g60 once) i still own 2, one mk3 gti that i drive daily and dont really care about, and one mk2 1992 J-plate gti 16v in oak green i have had for 7 years now locked in the garage...

I have to say my favourite was a 1991 mk2 8v 3 door 100% standard in black.
They are great standard, but you can do so much with them it just keeps you interested forever!

and for anyone comparing them to other `hot hatches` of the day ie. pugs, xr3i, gte, etc WHERE ARE THEY NOW???

Edited by DamonDash on Wednesday 12th December 19:45

[Silver993tt]

I had both a 1.9GTI Pug (F reg) in white and MK II Golf 16v in Oak Green with the big bumpers (H reg).

Both were company cars at the time and I put 60k miles on the Pug without any issue whatsoever. The same goes for the 16V VW, 80k miles and still perfect. Different cars really, Pug a bit more fun but tiring on motorways but the VW was much better built and the quality showed and it was still great fun to drive.

[wiz 1]

If there well maintained and set up right there great cars to drive, practical too. Had an early mkII C plate a few years back in white, small bumpers, original spec 120000+ Replaced rear callipers, re bushed mountings, new shocks and springs lowered by 20mm (the least i could as I'm not a fan of lowered cars normally). Then had the geometry set up by a vw golf specialist. The difference was massive. Bought the car as a temporary hack and ended up running it for a year.

[pbirkett]

I had a mk2 golf GTI 8v big bumper.

Not a great example mind you, reliability was crap quite honestly.

But when it works, what a hoot it was. Not quick at all, but it felt alive, as it weighed next to nothing. I thought it handled well personally. Very easy to drive at the limit.

I thought it was more fun than the clio 182 that replaced it despite the fact the clio was a much faster car in every respect.

[jas xjr]

i had 3.a 1987 8v in jade?green got written off by my sister.140k on clock,no major probs
a 1990 8v lowered massive ice install 156k got stolen
a 1991 16v standard apart from wheels 120k no probs.got written off

would deffo have a 16v again. i dont think they are the best at anything but a good all rounder.getting on a bit now but were good back in the day

[tinman0]

RacingTeatray] said:

Thin spacing between cyclinders (16v) - you what? I had three of these and can honestly say I have no idea what you are talking about.

It does have thin walls. But then that just stops you boring the engine out. However, if you want to bore the engine the main problem is screwing the oil galleries up. Halfmil rebore is about the max you can get on the block, and the pistons cost a fortune. I should know



edit to remove the dumb smiley. this was not a sarcastic post.

Edited by tinman0 on Thursday 13th December 15:38

[RacingTeatray]

tinman0 said:

RacingTeatray] said:

Thin spacing between cyclinders (16v) - you what? I had three of these and can honestly say I have no idea what you are talking about.

It does have thin walls. But then that just stops you boring the engine out. However, if you want to bore the engine the main problem is screwing the oil galleries up. Halfmil rebore is about the max you can get on the block, and the pistons cost a fortune. I should know

Ah.It never crossed my mind to bore out the engine in all honesty.

[Mk3Escy]

Heres my opinion having owned a Mk2 GTi, Escort Mk3 XR3i & Peugeot 205 GTi. The Ford was fun but abit harsh engine wise & liked to rust. the golf was stodgy but sure footed. The peugeot was very excity/tricky to control & I hated the rattles. The pug got written off 4 days after I sold it, the ford isnt taxed 3 years after I sold it & the golf is still registered. The golf had more miles than both put together & its still going strong according to the dvla.

Who cares about the speed/power it about handling & fun. The peugeot wins this aspect but in reality the golf wins hands down as you feel more confident as its more stable & less skittish. Would I buy either of those 2 now? No, Id get a 309 GTi.

[Otto]

DamonDash - you didn't used to own a Royal Metallic Blue Mk2 16V did you? G-Reg? Just that I picked one up for peanuts recently, and it has Aston Martin number plates / tax disc holder etc etc!!! Guy I bought it from in Huddersfield said it had sat for a while, and was previously owned by an Aston technician, who bought a Mk3 GTi off him. It needed a few things sorting out, but it's running very sweetly now as my daily runabout!

It is a real hoot to drive - worlds apart from the MR2 (and less than half the power) but I actually think I enjoy the Golf more.

[Marquis_Rex]

Firmly in the Golf GTi camp here also.
However I think it was the 139 Bhp 16v Mk2 that were seminal. 112 Bhp in the mk2 is barely bearable for me. In Germany the catted cars go down further to 107 Bhp and 129 Bhp.
The G60 is excellent. With the 68mm pulley and modifed fueling and airbox- it is very fast even in present company.
I gave mine a blast last night around the windy roads around here. The steering has feel (may be not in the old BMW league or 911 Porsche league) and although the gear change is somewhat notchy- it's reassuring (I have the cable change not fitted to many Mk 2s). Getting back into my almost new Punto, I dont understand people who spend so much cash on heaps of rubbish like this (I won mine) when they could buy a Golf Mk2. The Puntos steering is not reassuring, has no feel and the car feels its on tip toes and the engine doesn't sound harsh but like an industrial appliance. The GTi 1781 cc engine is jewel like.
Yeah, read a few posts of how the Peugeot 205 Gti was a better looker or handler. Not suprisingly, one of those was an MGB fan, so probably had no understanding of the need for durablity, relaibility and solidity

[Marquis_Rex]

disco1 said:

Rusty filler caps
Rear bushes
Seized rear calipers
Rusty vents
Leaking sunroofs
Leaking in the boot
Weak bottom end (8v)
Thin spacing between cyclinders (16v)

I thought the missus Ford Ka was more fun

Thin spacing between cylinders? What? Are you an engineer?
The bore to bore distance is greater than many BMWs and they have no problems.
The 8v golf doesn't have a weak bottom end, and a similar bottom end is used in boosted applications of future evolution of this engine. Perhaps you've been reading posts of people who've drained their oil and driven off?
Most of the other 'ailments' you describe are endemic of old cars, which you have to keep on top of. In any case Golf 2s fair better than other cars of a similar age. Just because the Golf 2 has a good solid reputation for an older car, it doesn't mean you can buy one like you can a new car and forget about it. That's just stupid.

[900T-R]

My Saab 900 Turbo had a rusty filler cap when I bought it at 8.5 years old. Didn't seem to have any impact of the rest of the car, as it's now well into its 23rd year and still structurally rust-free.

ok, I have had the LH rear wheelarch flare repaired at one point as it had apparently touched one of these Amsterdam poles (the dark green ones that have a somewhat phallic appearance) early in its life and the dealer's bodyshop forgot to properly seal the flange where inner and outer wheelarch are spotwelded together, from the inside. I found out about that, because they also installed the wrong bumper extension piece

[2Munkys]

Mk 2 Tornado Red Big Bumper 8v with 15" BBS; best car I've ever had. Owned for 10 years: FUN, practical, cheap to run and reliable. A Classic. Oh Yea!

[morgrp]

Marquis_Rex said:

disco1 said:

Rusty filler caps
Rear bushes
Seized rear calipers
Rusty vents
Leaking sunroofs
Leaking in the boot
Weak bottom end (8v)
Thin spacing between cyclinders (16v)

I thought the missus Ford Ka was more fun

Thin spacing between cylinders? What? Are you an engineer?
The bore to bore distance is greater than many BMWs and they have no problems.
The 8v golf doesn't have a weak bottom end, and a similar bottom end is used in boosted applications of future evolution of this engine. Perhaps you've been reading posts of people who've drained their oil and driven off?
Most of the other 'ailments' you describe are endemic of old cars, which you have to keep on top of. In any case Golf 2s fair better than other cars of a similar age. Just because the Golf 2 has a good solid reputation for an older car, it doesn't mean you can buy one like you can a new car and forget about it. That's just stupid.

Thin spacing? Sounds like something you've looked up on an enthusiasts website - A mechanical engineer I know reckons that provided they are looked after, the 16valve engines are pretty much indestructable - He said the 8valves weren't quite as good but way better than most for reliability - He raves about both because they are so good to work on, so little goes wrong and they are very easy to set up.

[disco1]

Marquis_Rex said:

disco1 said:

Rusty filler caps
Rear bushes
Seized rear calipers
Rusty vents
Leaking sunroofs
Leaking in the boot
Weak bottom end (8v)
Thin spacing between cyclinders (16v)

I thought the missus Ford Ka was more fun

Thin spacing between cylinders? What? Are you an engineer?
The bore to bore distance is greater than many BMWs and they have no problems.
The 8v golf doesn't have a weak bottom end, and a similar bottom end is used in boosted applications of future evolution of this engine. Perhaps you've been reading posts of people who've drained their oil and driven off?
Most of the other 'ailments' you describe are endemic of old cars, which you have to keep on top of. In any case Golf 2s fair better than other cars of a similar age. Just because the Golf 2 has a good solid reputation for an older car, it doesn't mean you can buy one like you can a new car and forget about it. That's just stupid.

Not an engineer but someone who was suckered in to the whole VW thing for many years til I realised they make boring 'beige' cars.

You obviously don't know as much about them as you think.

Don't tell me, your one of the planks who buys 'rare oak green' GTi's with 150k+ for £4k? Most overated/overpriced cars in history.

[900T-R]

disco1 said:

Don't tell me, your one of the planks who buys 'rare oak green' GTi's with 150k+ for £4k? Most overated/overpriced cars in history.

I think you'll find that 'plank' works in engine development for a major car manufacturer in Germany.

[RacingTeatray]

disco1 said:

You obviously don't know as much about them as you think.

Looks to me like a case of "Pot, Kettle, Black...."

[cg360]

disco1 said:

I too belonged to this 'club', owned a number of normal Mk2s, Mk2 GTI and Mk3 VR6. Then all of a sudden I realised they are all pretty lame cars, slow, can't handle and fall apart.

"All of a sudden"?

After "a number of normal Mk2s, Mk2 GTI and Mk3 VR6"?

Not the quickest, are you?

[disco1]

cg360 said:

Not the quickest

And neither are your post contributions


VW Golf fanatics are like god bothers'. They just wont be told any different regardless of the facts put in front of them

[Orangecurry]

disco1 said:

cg360 said:

Not the quickest

And neither are your post contributions


VW Golf fanatics are like god bothers'. They just wont be told any different regardless of the facts put in front of them

wow - you have proof that god doesn't exist?