RE: VW Golf GTI Mk2: PH Carpool
Monday 16th April 2018
VW Golf GTI Mk2: PH Carpool
Remember the PHer with the E92 M3? Here's his classic project!
Name: Jason Easton
Car: 1986 VW Golf GTI Mk2 8v
Owned since: April 2017
Previously owned: Renault Clio GT, various VW Boras, VW Golf Driver Mk1, VW Golf GTI Mk5, Mazda Roadster RS, Alfa 156, BMW 330Ci, Skoda Octavia vRS, Toyota GT86. Currently have a BMW E92 M3 and 2017 Golf GTI.
Why I bought it:
"I'd wanted an early small bumper Mk2 GTI for quite a while; I particularly liked the 'Typ19' cars. These are the earliest models, you can tell them apart due to the fact they have left-hand drive wiper blades and a quarter light in the door. Anyway, one quiet lunch break at work and one trigger happy eBay finger meant I finally bought one. It was by far the cheapest I've seen with an MOT, I only had a few sketchy photos to go off and I was picking it up that weekend. Whoops.
"My very understanding girlfriend was on taxi duty, and the guy assured me it would make the trip back to Oxford from North Weald. I was greeted by a dented, patchy and faded car which was pretty much as per the advert. It was obvious someone had been trying to look after it at some point in its life, there were lots of new mechanical bits and some questionable body touch-up repairs. Either way it was now mine, and I had to make the trip back to my storage place. Remarkably it drove great, with only the smells of the neglected interior to bother me the whole way back. In fact, I was so pleased with it, I decided then and there it had to be saved. And thus begun my restoration of a 173,000-mile car with little to no value..."
What I wish I'd known:
"Whilst I am a self-confessed VW geek, there was always going to be a few things that caught me by surprise. Due to the popularity of Mk2s there are an awful lot of parts available out there, both replacement and upgraded items. However, being such an early car, and because my aim was to go 100 per cent original, I was shocked at just how many things tripped me up. One of the more extreme examples was when I ended up driving to Norfolk before Christmas to pick up one rain gutter trim. Thanks to Matt at Mk2 Spares UK for saving me on that one!"
Things I love:
"For the most part I love the way it drives; it's raw enough to give the old school feel but not a complete buzzbox like my Mk1 Driver was. It's actually surprisingly refined for its age, it has no issues cruising at motorway speeds and you could drive it every day and not get annoyed. I think most would want the power steering offered to later vehicles, but personally I prefer the non-assisted feel.
"I also love its mechanical simplicity. Whilst it was advance for its time, it's super easy to work on by modern standards. I've had one breakdown in it, which turned out to be a fuel pump, and just doing the simple checks I managed to diagnose and fix it myself without too much of a headache. No laptops, no electrical gremlins."
Things I hate:
"I hated it a lot when it broke down the other week, that's for sure. It managed to die in between two blind bends on a country road, the day before its first outing as a freshly resprayed car. In the process of trying to fill it with more fuel to get it going (which didn't work) I scratched it with my coat. Many swear words were had with myself.
"The fact I don't get the chance to use it! I'm lucky enough to have access to the fantastic Oxford Car Storage, so at least it's being kept nice. However, the main draw of the car is how it drives, so I can't wait for some nicer weather! Since the respray in December it's only been out three times, and that's just criminal."
Costs:
"This is a bit of a scary one; whilst I've kept track of restoration costs I try to bury my head in the sand as much as I can. The purchase price of the car, the respray, purchasing spare parts and refurbishing the factory steel wheels all adds up. It's quite scary how even a simple resto job can spiral, but I don't regret it one bit! There were areas I could've saved money, for example doing the bodywork prep myself, but I just don't have the time with work."
Where I've been:
"Well, unlike my M3 this thing has been the garage queen so far! But I do plan on using it as much as I can during the summer and would love to get it to some events."
What next?
"I'm hoping this one's a keeper. I'd like to continue tidying it up, keeping it clean and keeping it running. The idea was always to have a usable classic that wasn't too mint to enjoy, and I think I'm almost there in that respect. I just need more excuses to go for a blast in it!"
Want to share your car with fellow PHers? Course you do! Email us at carpool@pistonheads.com
Discussion
I've had my big bumper Mk2 for 12 years now - I bought it for £1500 as a runabout, but over the years have spent a lot on a re-spray and an interior retrim, including the headlining, as well as replacing lots of things myself - the heater matrix was possibly the worst job.
I had two of them back in the early 90s and I've always loved them.
As stated in the article they are so easy to work on and parts are easy to get and often quite good value.
My next project is a full suspension refresh.
Despite owning a complete and roadworthy car, I still find myself looking at project cars and weighing up the cost of a restoration. If you buy a runner you can do a lot while the car is still useable.
Well done!
I had two of them back in the early 90s and I've always loved them.
As stated in the article they are so easy to work on and parts are easy to get and often quite good value.
My next project is a full suspension refresh.
Despite owning a complete and roadworthy car, I still find myself looking at project cars and weighing up the cost of a restoration. If you buy a runner you can do a lot while the car is still useable.
Well done!
I bought one of these new in 1988 (F-Reg) it was the first of the right hand wiper / no quarter light model with the Digifant engine...how I loved that car.
It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
I'll have to dig out my pictures some time and scan and post them.
It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
I'll have to dig out my pictures some time and scan and post them.
Edited by Klippie on Monday 16th April 12:19
v15ben said:
Good to see this car looking so good.
I've followed your progress on CS/Instagram over the time you've owned it.
How does it compare to the Mk7?
Gday! Yeah a interesting comparison, with a lot of similarities. You can definatrly trace the bloodline back, a lot of styling cues (past the golf ball gearknpb and stuff too!). I've followed your progress on CS/Instagram over the time you've owned it.
How does it compare to the Mk7?
Jumping between them is a bit odd but I drive them both exactly the same way. You really can throw them around and just trust the grip, both will happily swing the back round with some lift off oversteer. Other than the massive weight difference, and turbo power, the main thing that feels different on the new Golf is that front E Diff.
Cassius81 said:
Lovely car and a very interes ting project.
Can't help but notice the dark red Mk 7 in the background. Perhaps someone can help me as I've never seen modern GTI in that shade - is that a factory special order colour? Looks stunning...
That is the standard colour. My 2017 car is a cheap lease job, no options. Just has all the toys standard! The colour is black Rubin. It goes from purple, to black, to brown. Can't help but notice the dark red Mk 7 in the background. Perhaps someone can help me as I've never seen modern GTI in that shade - is that a factory special order colour? Looks stunning...
Klippie said:
I bought one of these new in 1988 (F-Reg) it was the first of the right hand wiper / no quarter light model with the Digifant engine...how I loved that car.
It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
Indeed your car would have been an 88 model year upgrade which would have started in May giving enough time for build/registration for a F plate in August that year.It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
I never knew Teardrops were so expensive, I have given sets away in the past an swapped teardrops for bottletops/RAs an all sorts. I've got some MK2 Brochures and adverts from 86,87, 89, 90 but no the price books to go with them but in some car magazines from the late 80s BBS RA/RM/RS alloys start from £300 for 15x6.5 RMs with tyres up to around £1000 for 3 piece RS which would be bargain today!
I've had quite a few of the early Typ 19 cars and by far my favourite was a 1986 16v , it was one of the first ones in the country an came in silver with grey interior an bottletop wheels. For me the early 16v are cracking, no PAS, 14 inch wheels an made to be chucked around.
OP: that's a wonderful restoration, not too over the top and retains a lot of the correct parts that are harder to get hold of these days. Being super niggly the rear wiper is in the wrong position an should be upright. However it does look better in the lay flat position.
LankyLegoHead said:
v15ben said:
Good to see this car looking so good.
I've followed your progress on CS/Instagram over the time you've owned it.
How does it compare to the Mk7?
Gday! Yeah a interesting comparison, with a lot of similarities. You can definatrly trace the bloodline back, a lot of styling cues (past the golf ball gearknpb and stuff too!). I've followed your progress on CS/Instagram over the time you've owned it.
How does it compare to the Mk7?
Jumping between them is a bit odd but I drive them both exactly the same way. You really can throw them around and just trust the grip, both will happily swing the back round with some lift off oversteer. Other than the massive weight difference, and turbo power, the main thing that feels different on the new Golf is that front E Diff.
Cassius81 said:
Lovely car and a very interes ting project.
Can't help but notice the dark red Mk 7 in the background. Perhaps someone can help me as I've never seen modern GTI in that shade - is that a factory special order colour? Looks stunning...
That is the standard colour. My 2017 car is a cheap lease job, no options. Just has all the toys standard! The colour is black Rubin. It goes from purple, to black, to brown. Can't help but notice the dark red Mk 7 in the background. Perhaps someone can help me as I've never seen modern GTI in that shade - is that a factory special order colour? Looks stunning...
aka_kerrly said:
Klippie said:
I bought one of these new in 1988 (F-Reg) it was the first of the right hand wiper / no quarter light model with the Digifant engine...how I loved that car.
It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
Indeed your car would have been an 88 model year upgrade which would have started in May giving enough time for build/registration for a F plate in August that year.It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
I never knew Teardrops were so expensive, I have given sets away in the past an swapped teardrops for bottletops/RAs an all sorts. I've got some MK2 Brochures and adverts from 86,87, 89, 90 but no the price books to go with them but in some car magazines from the late 80s BBS RA/RM/RS alloys start from £300 for 15x6.5 RMs with tyres up to around £1000 for 3 piece RS which would be bargain today!
I've had quite a few of the early Typ 19 cars and by far my favourite was a 1986 16v , it was one of the first ones in the country an came in silver with grey interior an bottletop wheels. For me the early 16v are cracking, no PAS, 14 inch wheels an made to be chucked around.
OP: that's a wonderful restoration, not too over the top and retains a lot of the correct parts that are harder to get hold of these days. Being super niggly the rear wiper is in the wrong position an should be upright. However it does look better in the lay flat position.
Dale487 said:
You don't really need any options on a Golf GTI (but some are nice to have) - even just seeing Black Rubin in the back ground it looks a nice & interesting colour (but I'm weird I like brown and purple cars - but not usually together), the VW configurator doesn't do it justice - did you go for Black Rubin because it was the only free colour/the car was in stock?
As standard it has heated seats, radar cruise, DAB, Apple car play, European nav, digital dash etc! It was semi that yes, and that I really liked the look of it too ! Like you I like odd colours haha Lovely. I had an 89G 8v in Jade Green and on teardrops back in the early noughties. One of the last small bumpers I guess.
Alas, my early-20s thrashing skills and lack of mechanical sympathy meant it only lasted about 6 months with me. Bought for £725 and sold after it failed its MOT within 5 minutes when the tester spotted the OSF turret was trying to separate from the rest of the car. I seem to recall hitting a pothole a few months earlier at the sort of speed one carries in a 30 at 3am when you've just dropped off the future Mrs PB and you're a 23yo eejit.
It still made an impression though and I'd love to have another one day. I've had a few VWs since, including a Mk3 8v which was good fun too and a VR6.
Alas, my early-20s thrashing skills and lack of mechanical sympathy meant it only lasted about 6 months with me. Bought for £725 and sold after it failed its MOT within 5 minutes when the tester spotted the OSF turret was trying to separate from the rest of the car. I seem to recall hitting a pothole a few months earlier at the sort of speed one carries in a 30 at 3am when you've just dropped off the future Mrs PB and you're a 23yo eejit.
It still made an impression though and I'd love to have another one day. I've had a few VWs since, including a Mk3 8v which was good fun too and a VR6.
I love that you think its "not too mint to enjoy" - these cars are built to be used and I hope you do manage to use it a bit more, especially as we approach the summer months.
Do you have a thread / blog on the restoration project for this? I'd love to get into some of the details.
I've had my Mk2 Driver for 13 years (couldnt afford a GTI when I was 16!!) and am currently mid Respray - would love to get any advice or lessons learned along the way.
I'm blogging on here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Do you have a thread / blog on the restoration project for this? I'd love to get into some of the details.
I've had my Mk2 Driver for 13 years (couldnt afford a GTI when I was 16!!) and am currently mid Respray - would love to get any advice or lessons learned along the way.
I'm blogging on here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
LankyLegoHead said:
aka_kerrly said:
Klippie said:
I bought one of these new in 1988 (F-Reg) it was the first of the right hand wiper / no quarter light model with the Digifant engine...how I loved that car.
It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
Indeed your car would have been an 88 model year upgrade which would have started in May giving enough time for build/registration for a F plate in August that year.It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
I never knew Teardrops were so expensive, I have given sets away in the past an swapped teardrops for bottletops/RAs an all sorts. I've got some MK2 Brochures and adverts from 86,87, 89, 90 but no the price books to go with them but in some car magazines from the late 80s BBS RA/RM/RS alloys start from £300 for 15x6.5 RMs with tyres up to around £1000 for 3 piece RS which would be bargain today!
I've had quite a few of the early Typ 19 cars and by far my favourite was a 1986 16v , it was one of the first ones in the country an came in silver with grey interior an bottletop wheels. For me the early 16v are cracking, no PAS, 14 inch wheels an made to be chucked around.
OP: that's a wonderful restoration, not too over the top and retains a lot of the correct parts that are harder to get hold of these days. Being super niggly the rear wiper is in the wrong position an should be upright. However it does look better in the lay flat position.
Dale487 said:
You don't really need any options on a Golf GTI (but some are nice to have) - even just seeing Black Rubin in the back ground it looks a nice & interesting colour (but I'm weird I like brown and purple cars - but not usually together), the VW configurator doesn't do it justice - did you go for Black Rubin because it was the only free colour/the car was in stock?
As standard it has heated seats, radar cruise, DAB, Apple car play, European nav, digital dash etc! It was semi that yes, and that I really liked the look of it too ! Like you I like odd colours haha Dale487 said:
LankyLegoHead said:
aka_kerrly said:
Klippie said:
I bought one of these new in 1988 (F-Reg) it was the first of the right hand wiper / no quarter light model with the Digifant engine...how I loved that car.
It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
Indeed your car would have been an 88 model year upgrade which would have started in May giving enough time for build/registration for a F plate in August that year.It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
I never knew Teardrops were so expensive, I have given sets away in the past an swapped teardrops for bottletops/RAs an all sorts. I've got some MK2 Brochures and adverts from 86,87, 89, 90 but no the price books to go with them but in some car magazines from the late 80s BBS RA/RM/RS alloys start from £300 for 15x6.5 RMs with tyres up to around £1000 for 3 piece RS which would be bargain today!
I've had quite a few of the early Typ 19 cars and by far my favourite was a 1986 16v , it was one of the first ones in the country an came in silver with grey interior an bottletop wheels. For me the early 16v are cracking, no PAS, 14 inch wheels an made to be chucked around.
OP: that's a wonderful restoration, not too over the top and retains a lot of the correct parts that are harder to get hold of these days. Being super niggly the rear wiper is in the wrong position an should be upright. However it does look better in the lay flat position.
Dale487 said:
You don't really need any options on a Golf GTI (but some are nice to have) - even just seeing Black Rubin in the back ground it looks a nice & interesting colour (but I'm weird I like brown and purple cars - but not usually together), the VW configurator doesn't do it justice - did you go for Black Rubin because it was the only free colour/the car was in stock?
As standard it has heated seats, radar cruise, DAB, Apple car play, European nav, digital dash etc! It was semi that yes, and that I really liked the look of it too ! Like you I like odd colours haha Pretty sure a 3rd article and I’m on the payroll at PH, right Matt? 
.
I have threads about for all the motors somewhere.... a lot of it spans my instagram @jasoneaston
Managed to find the Golf one anyway!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=16...
. I have threads about for all the motors somewhere.... a lot of it spans my instagram @jasoneaston
Managed to find the Golf one anyway!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=16...
Cassius81 said:
Dale487 said:
LankyLegoHead said:
aka_kerrly said:
Klippie said:
I bought one of these new in 1988 (F-Reg) it was the first of the right hand wiper / no quarter light model with the Digifant engine...how I loved that car.
It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
Indeed your car would have been an 88 model year upgrade which would have started in May giving enough time for build/registration for a F plate in August that year.It annoyed me they never came with alloys and the Teardrop's were a £1000 extra on a car that cost £10k new, they were worth it though as it made the car look stunning.
I never knew Teardrops were so expensive, I have given sets away in the past an swapped teardrops for bottletops/RAs an all sorts. I've got some MK2 Brochures and adverts from 86,87, 89, 90 but no the price books to go with them but in some car magazines from the late 80s BBS RA/RM/RS alloys start from £300 for 15x6.5 RMs with tyres up to around £1000 for 3 piece RS which would be bargain today!
I've had quite a few of the early Typ 19 cars and by far my favourite was a 1986 16v , it was one of the first ones in the country an came in silver with grey interior an bottletop wheels. For me the early 16v are cracking, no PAS, 14 inch wheels an made to be chucked around.
OP: that's a wonderful restoration, not too over the top and retains a lot of the correct parts that are harder to get hold of these days. Being super niggly the rear wiper is in the wrong position an should be upright. However it does look better in the lay flat position.
Dale487 said:
You don't really need any options on a Golf GTI (but some are nice to have) - even just seeing Black Rubin in the back ground it looks a nice & interesting colour (but I'm weird I like brown and purple cars - but not usually together), the VW configurator doesn't do it justice - did you go for Black Rubin because it was the only free colour/the car was in stock?
As standard it has heated seats, radar cruise, DAB, Apple car play, European nav, digital dash etc! It was semi that yes, and that I really liked the look of it too ! Like you I like odd colours haha Dale487 said:
Particularly as it is an as it comes model, I think it'll confirm if it really misses not having any of the options (such as electronic dampers) - my question is are the digital dials any good? I think I'd rather have the keyless entry & the nice clear analogue dials the last of the Mk7 GTIs had but lost when they moved to MK7.5, but that is really splitting hairs on spec.
A few points here which will make me seem like I'm trying to justify getting *just* a standard GTI...Firstly, electronic dampers. Personally never enjoyed them on most things I drive, at least at this level. I wasn't fussed about getting them on my M3 either! Personally think the sportiest setting never gets used, but I can see how someone might want them for more comfort perhaps? Reality is back to back you may notice, but day to day the standard dampers are well tuned in my opinion.
I didn't actually rate keyless when I had it on my GT86, but it was a nice touch. Recently I've had more than a few friends a bit scared with their keyless entry systems due to the theft risk, personally I'm not that fussed either way!
As for the dials, there's a lot of resistance towards them which I find odd. I think they look great and theyre certainly very clear! The novelty of having a nice clear display with all the data there how you want it hasnt worn off yet, and it is actually quite handy being able to throw the map in there when the Mrs wants to use her phone on Apple Car Play.
Overall I found the MK7.5 a massive jump from the MK7, the whole interior feels like its been pushed way more into the premium sector now. Granted its not perfect, the massive satnav screen looks great but I dont like that they've added touch buttons to the side so now the whole thing is covered in fingerprints. But other than that, which to be honest is probably my only niggle, the car is fantastic. Looks great too!
Anyway, MK2's are still better (See how I got back on topic there? Genius).
LankyLegoHead said:
Dale487 said:
Particularly as it is an as it comes model, I think it'll confirm if it really misses not having any of the options (such as electronic dampers) - my question is are the digital dials any good? I think I'd rather have the keyless entry & the nice clear analogue dials the last of the Mk7 GTIs had but lost when they moved to MK7.5, but that is really splitting hairs on spec.
A few points here which will make me seem like I'm trying to justify getting *just* a standard GTI...Firstly, electronic dampers. Personally never enjoyed them on most things I drive, at least at this level. I wasn't fussed about getting them on my M3 either! Personally think the sportiest setting never gets used, but I can see how someone might want them for more comfort perhaps? Reality is back to back you may notice, but day to day the standard dampers are well tuned in my opinion.
I didn't actually rate keyless when I had it on my GT86, but it was a nice touch. Recently I've had more than a few friends a bit scared with their keyless entry systems due to the theft risk, personally I'm not that fussed either way!
As for the dials, there's a lot of resistance towards them which I find odd. I think they look great and theyre certainly very clear! The novelty of having a nice clear display with all the data there how you want it hasnt worn off yet, and it is actually quite handy being able to throw the map in there when the Mrs wants to use her phone on Apple Car Play.
Overall I found the MK7.5 a massive jump from the MK7, the whole interior feels like its been pushed way more into the premium sector now. Granted its not perfect, the massive satnav screen looks great but I dont like that they've added touch buttons to the side so now the whole thing is covered in fingerprints. But other than that, which to be honest is probably my only niggle, the car is fantastic. Looks great too!
Anyway, MK2's are still better (See how I got back on topic there? Genius).
Keyless entry for me would be helpful as I have a toddler & all stuff they require which inevitably means my hands are always full.
The TFT dials just seem to be a natural progression of the configurable display between the dials - I'm just concerned they'll look dated in a few years when analog dials will look more classic (but hey, your car is leased anyway).
The radio seems to be progression for progressions sake to me.
Also back to the MK2, if you'd have asked me a year ago I was a big bumper MK2 person but the early car looks great, really delicate & obviously how it was originally designed
Dale487 said:
I wasn't being derogatory by saying it was an as it comes GTI, personally I hate the concept of must have options - particularly if they have a dramatic effect on how the car drives or performs - why aren't they standard?
Keyless entry for me would be helpful as I have a toddler & all stuff they require which inevitably means my hands are always full.
The TFT dials just seem to be a natural progression of the configurable display between the dials - I'm just concerned they'll look dated in a few years when analog dials will look more classic (but hey, your car is leased anyway).
The radio seems to be progression for progressions sake to me.
Also back to the MK2, if you'd have asked me a year ago I was a big bumper MK2 person but the early car looks great, really delicate & obviously how it was originally designed
Haha dont worry I wasnt taking offence, just as soon as I start defending my "basic" car as it were, it looks like Im trying to justify being a tight git!Keyless entry for me would be helpful as I have a toddler & all stuff they require which inevitably means my hands are always full.
The TFT dials just seem to be a natural progression of the configurable display between the dials - I'm just concerned they'll look dated in a few years when analog dials will look more classic (but hey, your car is leased anyway).
The radio seems to be progression for progressions sake to me.
Also back to the MK2, if you'd have asked me a year ago I was a big bumper MK2 person but the early car looks great, really delicate & obviously how it was originally designed
I think there is that risk with the dials, but the 2007 M3 I have has the old iDrive system, its now gone full circle and I find it quite charming with is retro graphics.
Yeah, Im almost tempted by a big bumper as well! But its just so nice and pure looking with the small bumpers. The shape is timeless! I think now is a great time to buy personally.
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