"Lucky Number 9" MK1 Golf Tintop Resto

So a few weeks ago i was driving through a village a few miles from my house, the roads where congested and i tried to take a short cut to skip the traffic. I dont know about you but whenever im driving im always having a glance on peoples driveways in the hope that one day il find a little gem parked up that might be for sale. That day was my lucky day.

There sat on a drive was a completely original 1982 Mars Red, 3 door MK1 Golf 1.1 C and apart from the usual paint fade and some rust on both front wings it looked immaculate. I knocked on the door and there was no answer so decided i would come back later that evening as i guessed the owner was out. Later that evening i knocked and again no answer….great. Then as i was about to get in my car a little old lady from next door came out and asked if she could help and i explained about wanting to buy the car. She told me that the owner was now in a home and the house was due to go up for sale. The neighbor told me she didnt realize he still had this car until the day before as it hadnt been on the drive in years. As it turned out she knew the car was for sale as the owners nephew had been round the day before to push it out of the garage to take photos to sell it. The bad news was she didnt have his number. I was now convinced that the guy would sell it before i had a chance to make and offer and the best i managed to do was leave my number with the neighbor who was going to keep and eye out for me.

The next day i was on my way home from work and the Ebay app on my phone sent me the saved search notification i have set *new item listed under "mk1 golf" so following my normal (and probably sad) ritual i looked to see what had gone on….and there it was i couldn’t believe it. Starting bid £100 and already after 10 mins 2 bids. Straight away i messaged the seller and agreed to meet him at the car the next day.


By now i was buzzing and already making plans to shift my current MK1 project to make room. The next evening i met the guys nephew who couldnt have been a nicer bloke. I looked over the car and documents and it got better and better 60k on the clock he was the owner from new. full history and every mot from new. The car was on the original dealer plates and the keys still had the original dealer key ring. Interior wise it was all intact and apart from the drivers seat which was tatty the rest was MINT because according to his nephew he had never had passengers in it. The roof lining doesn’t have a single mark the door cards are factory fresh and the only think that lets it down is the carpet. although it will clean up im sure. After a bit of bartering on the price as it was a non runner we agreed on £600…BARGAIN. I left a deposit and agreed to come tow it away the following day.
The following evening i roped my mate and brother into giving me a tow the 3 miles home. As far as i could tell there was no reason the car shouldnt start as it had only driven 10 miles since its last MOT so on the off chance i took a can of petrol and a new battery and after a bit of messing with the manual choke she coffed and spluttered into life. I didnt risk driving is as it wasnt taxed or mot'd so just let her idle to have some brakes. With my mate towing me and my brother following behind i made the short journey home grinning like a cheshire cat the whole way.

So theres the intro now il start with what we all love best…the pictures. Apologies in advance as they are only iphone pictures but il break out the camera going forward. Plans are to make it look like its just rolled out of the showroom and have both a set of standard suspension for concourse shows and a set of coilovers and splits for day to day driving and other shows.
The saving has began for a respray but in the mean time there is plenty of bits to be getting on with and resurrecting so stay tuned.
As i found her on the drive.



When i got her home









Original key ring from the dealer



All the old mots up until it came off the road in 2008





The fun begins.



Apologies for the terrible pics there all iphone. il break out the camera soon test mop with just 1 compound il go through the full stages next week



1 section of the bonnet



1 side done (have left both wings as their being replaced)



tail gate done. you can tell the colour difference to the lower panel



before



rear quater done again only 1st stage tho



and the last i did before we had a power cut

Really pleased with how shes come up concidering. it looks more pink in these than it actually is but im still going to send her for a respray to make her fresh.

il post more pics soon. i hope you enjoy 

That's brilliant, definitely looking forward to updates on this  

Looking good. Keep up the good work and the updates coming

Looks good  

Well done in saving this one. Brilliant find.

Thanks for all the feedback. Took it to the guy thats painting it on Saturday and he had a good look over it and couldnt beleive how solid it is. Its getting a full respray after christmas inside and out as well as all the wheel wells.

I didnt have much time on my hands this weekend but i did go out and buy a whole heap of parts to make her look and run like new, this included - all new belts, dizzy cap, rotor arm, plugs, filters, ht leads, gaskets, water pump, fuel pump.

Also i had some bits lying around from my other mk1 project that i have abandoned for this. Had this radio in the cupboard for a year now so put it in….still not sure if i like it tho hmm.

Never seen one of those radios before mate.  

I know me either. When i bought it i was told it was from and Australian MK1 Golf Series one. The sticker seems to suggest that but weather or not they where fitted as standard out there who knows

Nice buy  

Love the radio, AWA were Amalgated Wireless (Australasia) & ended up as Clarion.

Zeus said

Nice buy  

Love the radio, AWA were Amalgated Wireless (Australasia) & ended up as Clarion.

You learn something new everyday.  

There you go learnt something new cheers for the info

It's amazing how one can become so envious in such a short space of time  well done.. Well bloody done lol

Nice find !! Any plans for it ?

Wow what a find. And the story of how you came to buy it and at that price, great stuff Have you got any pictures of the interior?

What a great find and nice story. Amazing to come across a mk1 with such a low mileage, and luckily garaged. Any pics of the engine and interior ?  Whats the black around the outer edges of the wheelarches - not seen that before. Good to see another 1.1 discovered. Keep the updates coming.

Thanks for all the comments i didnt think anyone would show that much interest in it I have some bay and interior pics but there not the best il get some better ones up soon. The bay is 100% rot free its just grime Drivers seat needs replacing if anyone has a mint one. the rest of them are mint and the rear of the car was never sat in  and passenger seat only a handfull of times.













the lines arent marks just raining haha











more to come

Great find! And looks great after a quick polish.  

Matt

Lovely little mk1 mate, your doing a great job cleaning her up.

Thanks I'm moving her to the garage Friday so more to come

Looks like she's polishing up really well The previous owner probably had no clue how nice she could've looked with a bit of love!