80's Hot Hatch - Good idea or rose tinted glasses
Discussion
Relocation and acquisition of a garage has got me thinking about a weekend car. I've been reminiscing about the golf gti I had in the late 90's. It was a total snotter but great fun and ever since I've thought about buying a minter and garaging it for use at the weekend.
trouble is, I drive a E90 330i now and I'm kind of worried that a 80's golf gti might seem a bit lame and I'm just looking back through rose tinted glasses and I might be better of saving a bit more money for some kind of 6-8 cyl roadster...
Any pearls of wisdom to share?
trouble is, I drive a E90 330i now and I'm kind of worried that a 80's golf gti might seem a bit lame and I'm just looking back through rose tinted glasses and I might be better of saving a bit more money for some kind of 6-8 cyl roadster...
Any pearls of wisdom to share?
In the 80s I had a Scirocco GTI and in the 90s a Scirocco GTX (non-injected) and even then I thought the time lapse made it feel dated.
I recently had a Golf 3 GTI for 3 years and that was a snotter and while the Mk 3 is held in lesser regard, it was still a "good car" but I wouldn't be rushing to buy another and the Fiesta ST I replaced it with is an eon better, faster, sharper and way more fun though the Golf 8v engine had more character.
I recently had a Golf 3 GTI for 3 years and that was a snotter and while the Mk 3 is held in lesser regard, it was still a "good car" but I wouldn't be rushing to buy another and the Fiesta ST I replaced it with is an eon better, faster, sharper and way more fun though the Golf 8v engine had more character.
dooosuk said:
Depends what you're after. I had a 90 spec big bumper Golf GTI 16v for over 10years. Changed to an E46 330ci Sport over 3 years ago and I still miss the GTI now. I'll probably get another one, one day.
That's good to hear! What I want is to own a gti for a bit, then get something more suitable for a mid life crisis ;-), just not sure if I'll be disapointed with the gti. I think its probably faster and with sharper handling in my memory than in reality!djglover said:
That's good to hear! What I want is to own a gti for a bit, then get something more suitable for a mid life crisis ;-), just not sure if I'll be disapointed with the gti. I think its probably faster and with sharper handling in my memory than in reality!
I guess it depends if you get a good one or a bad one. My H plate was much quicker than my mates J plate...both were 16v's etc. Happy hunting...you'll always be able to get rid if you buy wisely and it's not for you.Not quite a hot hatch but I own a Corrado VR6 as a weekend car, and have something more modern as a daily.
It depends what you want from a weekend car really. I find my Corrado still performs very well, and you're certainly well aware that compared to a lot of stuff on the road it's lower / smaller / narrower.
However I've found now that I can afford a daily car that's as quick as the Corrado, my interest in using it as much has waned a little.
And they're at that age now where you really need to spend money on preventative maintenance unless you're happy to run it into the ground.. so we're talking body work, bushes, worn suspension, potentially things like a head rebuild, etc etc. If you don't want to spend money on it on a reasonably regular basis, it might not be for you.
But it's fun to see how much attention older cars get in amongst all the boring stuff on the roads. I took it to a Classic Car event in 2011 - and my dad went in his lovely 1967 Daimler V8 250. I had more people coming over to ask about the Corrado (and not younger guys - blokes 40+) than went to speak to dad about his car!
I should imagine a nice MK2 Golf GTI would get even more interest!
It depends what you want from a weekend car really. I find my Corrado still performs very well, and you're certainly well aware that compared to a lot of stuff on the road it's lower / smaller / narrower.
However I've found now that I can afford a daily car that's as quick as the Corrado, my interest in using it as much has waned a little.
And they're at that age now where you really need to spend money on preventative maintenance unless you're happy to run it into the ground.. so we're talking body work, bushes, worn suspension, potentially things like a head rebuild, etc etc. If you don't want to spend money on it on a reasonably regular basis, it might not be for you.
But it's fun to see how much attention older cars get in amongst all the boring stuff on the roads. I took it to a Classic Car event in 2011 - and my dad went in his lovely 1967 Daimler V8 250. I had more people coming over to ask about the Corrado (and not younger guys - blokes 40+) than went to speak to dad about his car!
I should imagine a nice MK2 Golf GTI would get even more interest! Edited by Chicane-UK on Friday 24th August 15:24
I have owned mk2 Golf GTIs for the best part of 7 odd years now and even though I've had company cars plus other much newer cars I still enjoy the feeling of getting back into a mk2 or almost any 70s/80s early 90s hot hatch.
I'm down to just one Golf GTI now as my current prize possession from the same era is a Corrado G60, again I've driven more modern cars with twice the power which feel numb in comparison due I guess to better sound deadening, more insulation, incredibly light PAS plus over servo'd brakes.
That said, I do find that when driving the older cars my senses are always more finely turned to any unusual feeling/sound that makes me think "something may have just broke" where as in new cars I just turn the key and go.
I'm down to just one Golf GTI now as my current prize possession from the same era is a Corrado G60, again I've driven more modern cars with twice the power which feel numb in comparison due I guess to better sound deadening, more insulation, incredibly light PAS plus over servo'd brakes.
That said, I do find that when driving the older cars my senses are always more finely turned to any unusual feeling/sound that makes me think "something may have just broke" where as in new cars I just turn the key and go.
Chicane-UK said:
Not quite a hot hatch but I own a Corrado VR6 as a weekend car, and have something more modern as a daily.
It depends what you want from a weekend car really. I find my Corrado still performs very well, and you're certainly well aware that compared to a lot of stuff on the road it's lower / smaller / narrower.
Good shout on the Corrado, lovely chisled jaw and mean looks, that spoiler eggs you on. 16v, g60 or vr6 are all lovely in their own right. Best seating possition of a car i've ever had.It depends what you want from a weekend car really. I find my Corrado still performs very well, and you're certainly well aware that compared to a lot of stuff on the road it's lower / smaller / narrower.
Edited by Chicane-UK on Friday 24th August 15:24
Clio williams, 205, r5. So many calls for hot hatch wonder. why limit it just to the 80's the 90's are amazing.
If you buy a good 'un then it could well be a right laugh.
Thing is, finding and '80s hot hatch in reliable form that hasn't had its balls kicked in every day for the last 30 years is going to be tough. Try joining a forum for the car you want, look at the FS threads and also check out the owners history on the forum to find out what has been done and what has gone wrong.
Buy a duffer and they become a wallet opener.
Thing is, finding and '80s hot hatch in reliable form that hasn't had its balls kicked in every day for the last 30 years is going to be tough. Try joining a forum for the car you want, look at the FS threads and also check out the owners history on the forum to find out what has been done and what has gone wrong.
Buy a duffer and they become a wallet opener.
Prof Prolapse said:
If I can't get mine going again I may do this conversation...
Did you do it yourself? Was it a b
d?
Was pretty easy. Engine fits straight in on the mounts. You need to change the front mount though to a solid one. Change the gearbox to an 02a cable change from a Corrado or Mk3 golf. Stand alone management is available from various places but I used QPENG. They have great quides. Did you do it yourself? Was it a b
d? http://www.qpeng.com/conversion_guide.html
I've had a 205GTI on the side now for 13 years - can't beat it for a bit of fun, although modified mechanically it looks completely standard. (213bhp / ton!)
We just went on a 3000 mile road trip down to the South of France in it, pretty much sapped up the mileage allowance for the year!
We just went on a 3000 mile road trip down to the South of France in it, pretty much sapped up the mileage allowance for the year!
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