Discussion
Here's my Golf GTi, purchased in April. It’s a 1986 3 door in Atlas Grey metallic with red and grey interior trim. I used to own a 1984 MK2 GTi that was sadly written off and although I replaced it with a low mileage Porsche 944 I just didn’t bond with it. I missed owning a Golf MK2 so as soon as I bought this car I sold the Porsche and it’s now on its way to Australia. The Golf has a manual sunroof and a Fischer cassette storage box but no other factory extras that I am aware of. It even has the basic 14" steel wheels. It had one lady owner from 1986 to 2019. The car was supplied new by Bristol Street Motors (BSM) in Nottingham. In 1987 BSM were bought out by Arthur Prince and many of the BSM staff moved to Arthur Prince in Loughborough, which is where the car was then taken to for servicing and where it eventually became an exhibit in their showroom. The same VW Master Technician who PDI’d the car in 1986 carried out all the servicing and MOTs from 1986 to 2017. When Arthur Prince eventually sold the car it was recommissioned by the same Master Technician with a full service, a full exhaust system and a new fuel pump.
The interior is in excellent condition. The boot area is unmarked, with an unused space-saver spare wheel, jack and toolkit. The headliner is perfect. The recorded mileage is approximately 74,000. I believe the car is still on its original clutch.
The car was awarded ‘Best Golf’ at the Thoresby Classic VW Show in August - the car’s first ever award.
In early September I took the Golf to the monthly Car Café breakfast meeting in Nottingham, which was a great event. Afterwards I went to meet Ann, the car’s original owner who lives south of Nottingham. Ann is 81 and for many years had a driving school which always ran VWs, mostly Beetles and then Golfs. When she retired she was a Class 1 HGV Examiner. Ann has owned 3 Golf GTis over the years; 2 MK1s and this MK2. They were for personal use and not for the learner drivers thankfully. She is quite a character and was very pleased to see her old GTi again, which she had named 'Annie' as the car was originally registered 3 ANN. We chatted for ages over tea, looking through photographs of all the VWs she had owned over the years and she kindly gave me a few spares for my car that she had kept in the garage. When I was about to leave she asked if I could wait until she replaced her hearing aid battery as she wanted to hear the exhaust note as I drove off!
Since buying the car I have had it serviced, replaced the cambelt and tensioner, replaced the fuel pump (again) fitted a new aerial (a pig of a job on an early MK2) and a period Blaupunkt ‘Bristol’ radio cassette. It's been reliable and fun to drive despite only having 112BHP. I still have a few jobs to do like with many old cars, but if I can keep it looking like it does now without major expenditure I will be happy.
The interior is in excellent condition. The boot area is unmarked, with an unused space-saver spare wheel, jack and toolkit. The headliner is perfect. The recorded mileage is approximately 74,000. I believe the car is still on its original clutch.
The car was awarded ‘Best Golf’ at the Thoresby Classic VW Show in August - the car’s first ever award.
In early September I took the Golf to the monthly Car Café breakfast meeting in Nottingham, which was a great event. Afterwards I went to meet Ann, the car’s original owner who lives south of Nottingham. Ann is 81 and for many years had a driving school which always ran VWs, mostly Beetles and then Golfs. When she retired she was a Class 1 HGV Examiner. Ann has owned 3 Golf GTis over the years; 2 MK1s and this MK2. They were for personal use and not for the learner drivers thankfully. She is quite a character and was very pleased to see her old GTi again, which she had named 'Annie' as the car was originally registered 3 ANN. We chatted for ages over tea, looking through photographs of all the VWs she had owned over the years and she kindly gave me a few spares for my car that she had kept in the garage. When I was about to leave she asked if I could wait until she replaced her hearing aid battery as she wanted to hear the exhaust note as I drove off!
Since buying the car I have had it serviced, replaced the cambelt and tensioner, replaced the fuel pump (again) fitted a new aerial (a pig of a job on an early MK2) and a period Blaupunkt ‘Bristol’ radio cassette. It's been reliable and fun to drive despite only having 112BHP. I still have a few jobs to do like with many old cars, but if I can keep it looking like it does now without major expenditure I will be happy.
RC1807 said:
I was about to post exactly the same thing.
The original owner’s Toyota now has a plate worthy of the cool plates thread, too.
She bought a Morris Minor for £75 in the '70s, put the plate on her Beetle and then sold the Minor which had been re-registered XXX FAY.The original owner’s Toyota now has a plate worthy of the cool plates thread, too.
Those were the days!
Gandahar said:
Fantastic lady, fantastic story. and ... fantastic car.
It's still so fresh. The windows are so "deep" you can actually see out of them !
I drove the original back in the day, it tolerated lift off moments far better than the Astra GTE. Now that was a scary car on it's old skool ditchfinders.
The Golf looked after you a bit more, it should be epic on modern tyres, what are you running ?
The car has recent Continentals which seem OK but I haven't really tested them. It's still so fresh. The windows are so "deep" you can actually see out of them !
I drove the original back in the day, it tolerated lift off moments far better than the Astra GTE. Now that was a scary car on it's old skool ditchfinders.
The Golf looked after you a bit more, it should be epic on modern tyres, what are you running ?
Edited by Gandahar on Sunday 20th October 13:38
My previous MK2 GTi came with period Pirelli P600 tyres and they were very noisy with zero grip!
LankyLegoHead said:
Wow, some excellent pics there. You did a great job with that. 
rickygolf83 said:
Beautiful mk2 there sir! I have an 88 16v in atlas grey and an 88 2.0 8v.
Very rare to have an early one with all the correct details still intact and the car in perfect condition!
Atlas grey is such a beautiful shade when it's spotlessly clean and the light bouncing off it.
Do you have any plans for the car or is it ready to enjoy as it is?
The colour reminds me of BMW Dolphin Grey, which was a favourite paint colour of mine.Very rare to have an early one with all the correct details still intact and the car in perfect condition!
Atlas grey is such a beautiful shade when it's spotlessly clean and the light bouncing off it.
Do you have any plans for the car or is it ready to enjoy as it is?
I bought it needing very little apart from a service and cambelt due to it being stood for long periods. I have covered over 1500 miles so far and it's been fun and reliable, returning over 35MPG according to the computer.
I am considering replacing the steering wheel with a period 1985 Momo Cavallino steering wheel that I had fitted to my 1984 GTi. It's got a thicker rim which I prefer due to an operation on my right hand which affected my grip. It certainly helps when parking.
Other plans include fitting a better radio, cleaning up the engine bay and detailing the paintwork which has a few marks here and there.
rickygolf83 said:
That is a cracking looking wheel. Do you have the one from your old gti or keeping an eye out for one?
i have a Martini Racing one from an Integrale in my valver and a random momo shanner in my 8v!
I kept the Momo when I sold the remains of my '84 as it was a gift.i have a Martini Racing one from an Integrale in my valver and a random momo shanner in my 8v!
I also managed to find a genuine Momo VW horn push in Japan.
helix402 said:
soxboy said:
What radio did it come with originally? Were VW fitting radios at the time or were they always extra?
I think it may have been a Blaupunkt.
I've not driven the Golf much over the winter and did SORN it for January and February. The car passed its MOT last week with no advisories. I also had it serviced and the only issue is a slight oil leak from the bottom of the engine which could be from the sump gasket as I had the same issue with my previous GTI.
Pics are from a Sunday morning drive around the Peak District just before Christmas - a rare dry day!
Pics are from a Sunday morning drive around the Peak District just before Christmas - a rare dry day!
GreatGranny said:
Fantastic!
Used to go for drives in the Peaks in my 1992 MKII GTI 8v 5dr when I lived in Sheffield.
Perfect roads for it.
Most memorable was a rare traffic free drive over the Snake on a perfect Sunday morning on my way to see the folks in Cheshire.
Sold it 13 years ago and still regret it.
Is that surprise view or around there?
Down the hill from Surprise View, turn right towards Ringinglow and it's at the top of that road.Used to go for drives in the Peaks in my 1992 MKII GTI 8v 5dr when I lived in Sheffield.
Perfect roads for it.
Most memorable was a rare traffic free drive over the Snake on a perfect Sunday morning on my way to see the folks in Cheshire.
Sold it 13 years ago and still regret it.
Is that surprise view or around there?
The worn metal hatch lock button on my GTI has always bothered me so last week I finally did something about it, as I didn't want to replace it with a later plastic button and the only new ones available are aftermarket and not great quality. After removing it, along with the plinth and number plate lights, I took the lock apart. It took a while to work out how to actually remove the button but after that, it was pretty straightforward after removing the lock barrel.
The button's original coating was well-worn and suffering from minor corrosion around the lock. I took the button to a local powder coating company that I usually use for restoring wheels. They stripped it, sandblasted it and then powder coated it in satin black. I am very pleased with the results. When re-fitting the lock to the car I used a new foam seal from VW Heritage as the original seal had become wafer-thin. I also replaced the very rusty plinth and number plate light screws with stainless steel versions.
I also had the car's rear wiper arm powder coated as the paint was flaking off in a few places. This cost just £7.50 and it now looks as good as new.
I changed my wheels on Saturday - first the steering wheel for a period Momo Cavalino, which feels so much better to me than the thin-rimmed original, especially with the heavy steering at low speeds. It features a removable padded boss but I prefer the look with it fitted. This steering wheel was fitted to my previous MK2 GTI.
I then replaced the 6x14 VW steel wheels for a set of period 7x15 Zender Turbo alloys. I think the Zender Turbo's plain design really suits the MK2 Golf. The original steel wheels need some minor restoration and with the alloys fitted I can take my time in getting them sorted properly.
Whilst the front wheels were off I also replaced the wheel arch liner bolts and washers as they were the originals and very rusty. I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the car is underneath.
Next jobs on the lockdown list are to replace the period rotary speaker fader switch with a VW fader switch, fix a minor oil leak and give it a polish.
The button's original coating was well-worn and suffering from minor corrosion around the lock. I took the button to a local powder coating company that I usually use for restoring wheels. They stripped it, sandblasted it and then powder coated it in satin black. I am very pleased with the results. When re-fitting the lock to the car I used a new foam seal from VW Heritage as the original seal had become wafer-thin. I also replaced the very rusty plinth and number plate light screws with stainless steel versions.
I also had the car's rear wiper arm powder coated as the paint was flaking off in a few places. This cost just £7.50 and it now looks as good as new.
I changed my wheels on Saturday - first the steering wheel for a period Momo Cavalino, which feels so much better to me than the thin-rimmed original, especially with the heavy steering at low speeds. It features a removable padded boss but I prefer the look with it fitted. This steering wheel was fitted to my previous MK2 GTI.
I then replaced the 6x14 VW steel wheels for a set of period 7x15 Zender Turbo alloys. I think the Zender Turbo's plain design really suits the MK2 Golf. The original steel wheels need some minor restoration and with the alloys fitted I can take my time in getting them sorted properly.
Whilst the front wheels were off I also replaced the wheel arch liner bolts and washers as they were the originals and very rusty. I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the car is underneath.
Next jobs on the lockdown list are to replace the period rotary speaker fader switch with a VW fader switch, fix a minor oil leak and give it a polish.
tumble dryer said:
Talking of Zenders...
I had an Oak Green 8v (I think) that came with dealer fitted Zenders from new. Looked the dogs.
It was two years before I realised that the pattern/style on the nearside was differenf to those on the offside.
That's brilliant! I had an Oak Green 8v (I think) that came with dealer fitted Zenders from new. Looked the dogs.
It was two years before I realised that the pattern/style on the nearside was differenf to those on the offside.
I had no idea there were variations.
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