12 years later - My new Mk2 GTI

[jackpe]

Well a few years ago, 12 to be exact, when I first came to London I was renting a room and one of my housemates had an immaculate Golf GTI 8V Mk2. Tornado red, never thrashed (cautious driver), he looked after it and kept it totally standard. He bought it second hand with 33,000 miles on the clock. I always told him to tell me if he was ever to sell it and when I bumped into him on the tube in June he mentioned he was getting rid of it and did I want it? Car had 82,000 on the clock, full service history and I will be the 3rd owner. He said I could take it off his hands for £300 as it had been in his garage since October and was not MOT'd!!! I had just bought my Porsche 964 so this was an extravagance but at the price I could not leave it, especially since it is so clean.

Already done:
-Replaced starter as solenoid stopped working
-Replaced gear linkage bushings
To do:
-Car has 14" BBSs on it but I want to get a set of 15" RAs so if you have any in good shape, preferably with tires then let me know.
-Taking off the tow hook
-New Dampers - not sure if should replace with same or better quality?
-Sorting out wheel alignment
-Minor rust on bottom of windscreen, in the shop now to be sorted

I know some don't consider this a classic but it is for me. 22 years old and THE archetypal GTI..







Rust.. solid underneath, not gone through s will be an easy fix apart from having to take the windscreen out. No other rust on car.

[Arthur Daley]

You jammy git!

[sodslaw]

wow looks great, bet you're pleased with the £300 outlay

[uk66fastback]

Lovely. Old man had a new one in '87 - E reg - in white though so not the best colour - but my mate had an H reg GTi - swore by it - lovely colour as well, like a maroon his was. Pity it was stolen.


Bargain though at £300!

[r4_rick]

Absolute bargain, you ll make on that at sale time, for sure.

[Vince70]

Thats the Bargain of the century, it looks fantastic and it's in the best colour, I'm totally jealous.

[jackpe]

r4_rick said:

Absolute bargain, you ll make on that at sale time, for sure.

Well I did not buy it to make money but I have seen cars like this go on eBay for £1.5-2k. That's roughly what the car will have cost me in a year's time- insurance, tax, Mot, bodywork stuff, wheels, dampers and the other things I have done. But it really is mint apart from the windscreen rust so well worth it. Plus I had it serviced rather than do it myself for the stamp. Be a shame to break the full history now!

Edited by jackpe on Tuesday 25th September 15:19

[jackpe]

Just got the car back from the bodyshop. The light rust around the screen has been fixed and while I was at it I got the tow hook removed and the resulting hole in the rear bumper filled and painted. Has cleaned up the back nicely.

[uk66fastback]

Very nice mate. A credit to you - look after it.

[coppice]

I had a similar car in Fern green with BBS alloys in 88; it was one of the few cars of times past which really was every bit as good as the Classic car press hype would have you believe. Brilliant all round package- had some great drives in France along Route Napoleon etc in mine. Far better car than the flawed Mk1- enjoy it!

[lordlee]

Very nice and top marks for the rolling resto. I used to have a 1990 Royal Blue 8v GTI with the rare electric Recaro seats. It was so well built and a great follow on car from my 205 1.9. I can highly recommend Koni adjustable shocks for it. Leave them on their softest setting and they're perfect.

[jackpe]

In keeping with my plans to subtly improve the car I have changed most of the gear change bushes and upgrade the relay shaft ball. The original wobbles on the shaft giving a spongy change:



Has been upgraded with a part made from nylon bar (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160808716782?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 . Got this from eBay USA but he does not normally post to the UK), original ball taken off:



The parts came from the US with instructions saying to glue the new ball in place. I preferred to viden the groove above the ball and then keep in place with a circlip, allowing it still to spin:



And now in place in the car. This mod has made a huge difference to how the gears feel. Even with all new bushes they were a bit vague and mushy, now a real pleasure!



Next on the list is getting some 15" RAs. Also want to take it to someone to look over the engine. Feels a little rough to me and like it might benefit from a proper tune. Then new adjustable dampers, but am not going to slam the car, want to keep it looking original.

Edited by jackpe on Monday 15th October 09:27

[soxboy]

I need to look at sorting the linkage on my mk2 as its lost 5th. Is it an easy home spanners job or would I be better taking it to the local garage (who happens to be a VW specialist)?

[jackpe]

soxboy said:

I need to look at sorting the linkage on my mk2 as its lost 5th. Is it an easy home spanners job or would I be better taking it to the local garage (who happens to be a VW specialist)?

Hey, not a difficult job, there is a good guide here:

http://www.clubgti.com/showthread.php?129347-THE-M...

You don't need to bother with the gearstick housing unless it is very worn, just pull the gear knob up and if there is no movement it should not be worn. I thoroughly recommend changing the relay ball to an upgrade though, has made a huge difference.

[jackpe]

Some pics of when I picked her up... pretty dusty..

[Raoul Duke]

Considering what that has cost you to purchase and sort the niggles it’s an absolute steal!
I’m also of the opinion that the mk2 is the best of the breed, in my mind it’s the high water mark in hot hatches and one things for sure, keep it nice and original and you certainly won’t lose money on it.

[Chunkychucky]

Lovely car mate My dad had an F plate 8 valve 5 door in Tornado Red with big bumpers, single headlight conversion and 15 inch RA BBSs 12 years ago which I learnt to drive in at the tender age of 10, so have a real soft spot for these... RE: your suspension query I would be tempted to replace the dampers with some of Bilstein's B4 dampers (OE quality) in order to keep the standard experience

[iSore]

Raoul Duke said:

I’m also of the opinion that the mk2 is the best of the breed

Yes. They were a lot better than the Mark 1 in terms of handling and brakes, and far more 'classic' than the Mark 3. This one is a Digifant model, and they respond well to a bit of tweaking. I would invest in an alarm/immobiliser as they are still quite nickable. Also get an agreed value classic policy in place - I reckon that must be a £3000 example - very few nice non - 'scene'd' examples left.

[jith]

jackpe said:

Pity it wasn't K-Jet.

J

[jackpe]

Guys,

I've decided I can't run two cars, especially as I have to pay a neighbour to use his space to park this one. So am considering selling this now. I've spent £600 on the body, £400 on MOT and service so car is pretty much perfect and original. I'm the third owner, previous owner had it for 16 years. FULL service history with receipts and stamps. Mileage is around 82000 if I remember correctly. How much should I try to get for it? MOT'd in July.