In honour of Chris-R’s summer haircut and this week’s new found sun we thought Shed’s weekly £1k budget should go on a snazzy convertible. However, we couldn’t find one so we had to plump for this £700 Golf.
Fear not though, Shed hasn’t gone all hairdresser and bought any old rag-top Golf, we have uncovered a GTI in what appears to be an unmolested state.
First unveiled in 1979 at the Geneva motor show, the Golf filled a hole in the Volkswagen line up left by the Beetle convertible that ceased production at the beginning of 1980. At first only GLI models made it on sale in the UK, but a few years later GL, GLS and GTI models had all been added to the range.
All Golf Cabrios were built at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, where for 14 years thousands of MkI Golf Convertibles left the gates. Despite the introduction of the MkII Golf hatch in 1984, the MkI remained in production in convertible guise until the introduction of the Golf MkIII, during which it became the world’s most sold convertible.
Nearly 18,000 MkI Golf Cabrios were sold in the UK, with most of those sales being GTI or Clipper models.
All major parts came straight from the Volkswagen factory, but because of the added strength built in by Karmann, the convertibles were significantly heavier. Hatchback GTIs tipped the scales at 810kg giving 1.8-litre models a decent power to weight ratio of 138bhp per tonne, whereas the convertibles models weighed over 150kg more and had no more power. The raw simplicity of the Golf GTI Convertible, however, still makes it feel like a quick car, even if by today’s standards it isn’t.
This Mk1 Golf GTI Karmen [sic] convertible looks in great shape and still apparently wears the original alloys. Aside from the fuelling problem and the rust spots this original, classic Golf convertible looks in rude health. There’s no mention of tax, but it does have a full year’s MOT, and at £700 it’s got to be one of the bargains of the summer.
Volkswagen Mk1 Golf GTI Convertibile
lovely mk1 for sale
white
new hood
new m.o.t 1 year
original karmen model
original rare alloys
brilliant speaker system in the car!
runs well
Classic car insurance! (v Cheap)
real head turner!
Must see!
fuel metering head leeks (needs replacing)
Worth (£1200-£1500 when fixed)
runs hot and cold fine
few small rust spots
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