All Cabriolet owners - look at this....

…with thanks to 'chud' for pointing me to this… :y:

In order to further your education:
if you have not already done so, bookmark the site below and
  :read:  digest thoroughly  :read:

I know it's USA based, but there is an absolute goldmine of good info here…..

Nearly everything you want to know about Mk1 Cabriolets

Moderators….any chance of making this a sticky??

Cheers

Prowler,
That site looks good. Are you doing the British equivalent for us!

Good Luck!

Dan

I now have permission from Kam (the site author) to use his stuff as the basis for the UK version. Soon.........well I have at least started !!!!

Nice one, and well done for taking the initiative and getting permission from the site owners. I will drop them a line in thanks. Well done prowler, looking forward to the UK version with the "u's" back in place and all the "isations" taken out. :wink:

Cheers,

Drew.

Drew, you have pm with his details....

OK - I bought myself a Golf Cabriolet Mk1 Karmann LHD but don't know much abou tit - have been checking out the sites and found this one to be ace.

I will get a photo of it - but essentially it is 1986 G reg German Import (LHD) .

Been told it is 1.8 - Is it a GTI? How do I tell?
It runs well but with a slight ticking in it (engine running but not engaged in hear)
It gives a bumpy ride - how do I tell if shocks are gone? Where to I get new shocks for it if so?
I totally love it and it is pure class in hot weather.
It still has Km indicator and dash board - I'd like to start to restore it to it's best - maybe a project for me to keep me busy but it doesnt need much work - starts every time
Buzzer and red light kick in every now and then but don't know what that means - any clues?

Love to hear form you all.

Hiya Netscreen

I've got a Karmann cabrio myself. Mucho smiles per hour  

The ticking doesn't sound fatal, and the bumpy ride may just be down to harder than normal GTI suspension.

To check the shocks - push down on each of the wings/rear quarters of the car, and see whether the damper returns the car to its previous position smoothly, or whether it bounces up and down a bit. If the latter - your shock is shot.

The ticking may must be the valvegear operating. I'll listen to mine next time (1985 cabrio), but as far as I can remember there is a slight tick at tickover (a ha! maybe that's why they call it tickover…).

The buzzer is oil pressure related. Mine buzzes at start up, but stays quiet the rest of the time. I neglected the oil levels for while, and they dropped below the min level (it's a nine year old car - it's going to burn oil) - but that didn't set it off. If it's going off all the time - when driving on the straight and level - then you might have probs.

Check out the Cabrio buying guide posted elsewhere in the forum. That should  give you some idea whether you've got a minter or a munter.

Also - get a haynes manual. Does the Multi-function indicator and the rest of the dash work? If not, you'll definitely need the manual to sort it.

In any case - you're likely to need the manual at some point if you're going to do a restoration job


Ali

Cheerrs for the reply - I found out it is 1990 from VW dealer who looked up the chassis number where 1986 came from I dunno! The dash is still in KM/h and the mFD is crashed - led' sall overt he place - new battery I think.

It is a GTI - and it is reasonable condition- seats have watyer stains on - top is brilliant and intact not at all leaky - driver side window lever is intermitent…

I am wanting to sell it it has 87000miles (188000Km on it.)

As for buzzer - it goes when I put more oil in. The things needs oil change and a full service - I was quote 250 quid for that from a VW garage - I said I'll else where…

As I am not an enthusiast - does it make sense to sell it?

Does it make sense to sell it….. hmmmm

You'll be lucky if you get more than a grand for it in its current condition. Maybe 1500 if it's in really good nick.

To replace it with a car that drives as well as it does (or potentially could with a little TLC) will cost you…lots. Ten grand?

If you spent three grand on it, you could get it looking really good, and it would probably last for quite a while. Probably long enough to see petrol prices reach the point where electric or dual fuel cars start looking really attractive (by which time they will probably be snapping at the heels of petrol cars in terms of performance). This of course supposes that the bodywork isn't too far gone.

And then there's spare parts - you can get a new engine, radiator and front bumper for a mark 1 gti for less than the price of a new set of rubber for some modern sportscars (I tried to check this - kwik fit don't stock rubber for the mark 5 golf gti, or for the mercedes slk - which is probably proof enough).

Plus - they're not that difficult to work on yourself. You wont need a laptop, a degree in keyhole surgey and a 100% sterile workshop,  Halfrauds spanners and a swiss army knife will do for most things.

not that I'm trying to influence you  

Ali

Yes I know the car is a lovely one - the body work is superb and it needs a new home to an enthusiast - I am no mechanic and don't have the space to start on it…

It is for sale in the for sale section and I beleive a super deal - it needs a bit of TLC and it'll go and go…

It's on ebay for under a grand…

posted that ages ago…  :?  :dontknow:
http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1518&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

…..sorry…….I missed your post, so when I found out about it I thought it was worth a 'sticky'…….