Shed Of The Week: Volkswagen Golf Ryder

A PHer's postponed project could be worth preserving - classic Golfs won't remain Sheds for long!

Many years ago, in the early 2000s, Shed paid big money for a 1976 BMW 1502. Why? Because the 25-year-old eco-BMW had less than 100 miles on the clock. Some Italian prince had bought it in expectation of not being able to drive his Ferraris, what with the Gulf oil crisis kicking off and everything.

Turned out he never used the BM. A quarter of a century later it came up at a Scottish auction Shed was attending. The evocative whiff of unsullied plastic covers over blue velour seating was too much to resist.

After a few months commuting it around damp old Edinburgh, the first nobbles of oxidisation began to appear on the pristine silver bonnet. Unable to bear the sight of this fine example of German engineering dissolving before his eyes, Shed consigned it over to the main BMW dealer in Edinburgh for them to display and hopefully sell.

Which they duly did, to an American chap whose intention it was to replace the asthmatic 1573cc carb-fed four with an M3 motor. Shed got his money back, so it was all good. Some might wonder at the bastardisation of a classic, turning a car into something it was never intended to be, but Shed was cool with it. The car would have died as a 1502, but its transformation into a more valuable M3, even a false one, secured its future. For all Shed knows, his pumped-up 1502 is still sprinting around in the States somewhere.

What's this got to do with this week's Shed, a Mk2 Golf Ryder? Well, this VW is not quite as pristine as Shed's BMW, but it's basically sound. We're suggesting this as a canny investment because, whether you're a fan of the Mk2 Golf or not, the supply of sound Mk2 Golfs is drying up. The ones that survive are going to go up in value as the numbers dwindle, just as the Mk1s have. It's simple economics.

The owner of this one was planning to lob a VR6 engine into it but has now abandoned that plan in favour of restoring a Mini. Each to his own and so on. Be that as it may, his plan could now be your plan for the measly outlay of £695 or less. Of course, you could simply carry on driving this Golf as it is, topping up the gearbox oil as necessary, but it's only a 1.3 so you'll be overtaken by most things up to and possibly including a Sinclair C5 with no battery; so that's probably not much of an option.

You'll note a bleb or two of rust on the driver's door bottom. It failed its MOT in 2011 on rusty seat belt anchorages, but apart from an advisory for oil misting on a front damper in 2012 it's sailed through every test since with no advisories. Your vendor very honestly confesses that it will need welding to get through the next one, but isn't specific about where. Most likely areas will be the usual sills and arches, but rust will also pop up around the screen, jacking points, battery tray, rear beam mount points and front chassis legs. Bodies tend to let the water in, and flexy four-doors like this one are especially susceptible to leaks. Good panel gaps are important, and this one's look decent.

Heater matrixes and rear wipers often go AWOL, and there'll almost certainly be some degree of clunking from the CV joints and strut top mounts. Subframe bushes go and they're not that easy to replace. This is an old car, remember.

Funnily enough Shed has also owned a Mk2 Golf in rather nice condition. His one was a 1.8 Driver in black with steelies. Nothing went wrong with it, it was a nice thing to drive, and he eventually sold it to a delighted young man from the Midlands for a bit more than he paid for it. Everyone was happy. That's the thing with simple old classics. They make a lot of sense on a lot of levels. Sadly, judging by the MOT records anyway, the Driver's new owner killed it off within a year. C'est la vie, or la mort in this case.

Anyway, back to this one. If those are genuine Pirelli alloys, and they look like they are, you'll probably clear your costs on them alone if you end up breaking it. But, like Shed and his Mk2, and a few other things in his life, don't go making hasty decisions you might end up regretting.

Here's the ad.

Mk2 Golf Ryder in light metallic green. 1.3 carb. 4 speed. Bought this car to do vr6 conversion. Been offered a classic mini to restore so the golf needs to go. It's mot till Feb 18 and has 96000 miles on the clock. It has had rear wheel arches repaired which arnt the best. Has had some welding done, will need some for next mot. Has oil leak from gearbox. I have just topped it up. Is a good rolling resto project. If it dosnt sell, will just restore when I get round to it. Any questions please feel free to give me a shout.