Got a plug for our club...

The journalist for 'Classics' has confirmed he will give us a small 'box' in the article about the mk1 owners club, with contact details etc.  8)

Mission accomplished then!

Cheers,

Drew.

Well done drew  

Excellent news Drew.

Look forward to the article when it comes out. I have subscribed to the mag anyway so should get it when it comes out.

More publicity the better.

One question. Do the editors/article writers know that we do not cater for heavily modded Mk1's? Got a feeling you may have to blackball a few as our publicity train gathers speed. Hopefully not, but you will know from the traffic on the forum what type of folk are coming on line. We did have a long discussion on the forum about CGTI and the style of cars it caters for, hence the need for our separate club.

Is it worth a line in the article to say that we only cater for Mark 1 golfs (in all their derivatives) that are basically standard/subtle mods or for people looking to standardised their modded cars, rather than the glary show scene?

Just a thought :wink:

Is it worth a line in the article to say that we only cater for Mark 1 golfs (in all their derivatives) that are basically standard/subtle mods or for people looking to standardised their modded cars, rather than the glary show scene?

I gave him the line that we were 'filling a gap in the market' by concentrating on classic, standard and restoration issues, not to be different for the sake of it, but to simply cover an area that is not covered anywhere else.

I hesitate to go so far as to say that owners of modified cars aren't welcome, as there are some great modified mk1s out there with knowledgeable, friendly and enthusiast owners who could and do contribute a lot of knowledge here.

I think we will be self selecting as in the past. What we offer here simply won't be of much interest to the 17" rims, blue neon washer jets brigade.

Folks like Dubboy and DarrenW are exactly the kind of 'modified' owners we don't want to turn away,

Cheers,

Drew.

Point taken. I would be one of the first to agree with you.

However my concern is that we get "hijacked" by CGTI (MK1 owner) folk who see us a specialist club for the "modded" MK1 in addition to the standard set.   

I think what you quoted to the magazine defines what we are about so hopefully should be OK.

I know this club has derived from the campaign register and I respect that but this is a very dangerous line to go down.

Having previously owned vauxhalls, I have noticed a significant amount of brand/modification snobbery in the VW scene.

As Drew has said very well, the forum should be self selecting, if people visit and decide that they are not interested in what is going on here then they wont take part and that is fair enough.

Surely the whole point of having diff sections within the club/forum is so people post/use the area that is of interest to them? would it be such a bad thing if eventually sections for 'standard and restoration' and 'upgrades and modifications' became ness? the bigger the member ship of the bigger the knowledge base any way, someone who knows about making/fitting bodykits would prob also be very good at advising on repairing damaged std bodywork for example.

If it is going to be the kind of club where people are actively discouraged from joining then i'll take my interest elsewhere. Hardly much of a 'register'.

I thought this looked so promising as well. ironically mine is hardly modified (performance exhaust, coilovers and random alloys as they had better tyres on…all done by prev owner).

If it is going to be the kind of club where people are actively discouraged from joining then i'll take my interest elsewhere. Hardly much of a 'register'.

Agreed. Rest assured, that won't be happening.

This is a Mk1 Golf Owners' Club, enthusiasm for the original Golf is the only requirement for membership.

I will continue to set the tone along the lines described before (i.e. the primary emphasis being on restoration and classic values) because I believe that the first duty of an owners' club is to actively preserve as many models of the car in question as possible, in their original form.

But! If people want to join and find it a useful site/organisation then they are welcome regardless of what condition they like to have their mk1 in, as long as they stick to our guidelines on conduct as posted in the 'New Folks' forum.

On the other hand, I do not intend to make forum sections to cover every conceivable level of modification out there. Firstly, this is covered elsewhere anyway. Secondly, and more importantly, a club has to have a distinct focus, without which it will fizzle out (one of Club GTIs major issues at the moment IMHO). The focus of this club will be to act as an agent of preservation for the Mk1 Golf, and this ultimately does mean subtly discouraging excessive modification of the remaining available pool of mk1 Golfs. This will not, however, involving barring people from joining dependant on the condition of their car or personal inclination to modifying.

For example

Retaining information on how to transplant a R32/Subaru Impreza drivetrain into a Mk1 Golf shell would not be acceptable content here. A Mk1 Golf so configured could never be effectively restored, and whilst interesting, does not fit in with our objective.

Information on setting up a Mk1 Golf for trackday use would be appropriate, as this information as a lot of bearing on how the car works in practice and the Mk1 Golf has a fine history of motorsport success which is part and parcel of the Mk1 Golf story.

On a personal level, I plan to make a few reversible mods to my campaign (in order to preserve the original parts mostly). It would be a bit of a bugger if I had to leave the club 3 weeks after starting it up!

Cheers,

Drew.

Spot on Drew.

You cannot discriminate against modifications because the term "modification" has to be defined. From the strictest definition of non-VAG nuts and bolts, through to a back window "club" sticker, period accessories to ending with wild colours and bodywork.

I have one modified car which has cost me the most. I bought it because I just loved the combination of an subtle early Golf in pastel white with chrome parts and a hot motor (after seeing it on US Bugs many years ago). BUT it would be the first to go if I had to cut down….I am a stock guy at heart, always will be.

drew said

…Information on setting up a Mk1 Golf for trackday use would be appropriate, as this information as a lot of bearing on how the car works in practice and the Mk1 Golf has a fine history of motorsport success which is part and parcel of the Mk1 Golf story…

Cheers,

Drew.

Phew…

This whole issue can be very delicate. The balance between recruiting and retaining members and ensuring the club continues in the intended direction is very fine and will presumably become more difficult the bigger the club becomes.  
I have recently joined this club as I will hopefully be soon purchasing a Mk1 Golf.  It will remain as I buy it until I can afford to make modifications that will make it more suitable for track day/fast road use.  I intend on retaining the original appearance and character of the car whilst upgrading various parts to increase it's performance capabilities.  Whilst I have yet to tap into the wealth of knowledge that exists here (mainly because I haven't got the car yet!), already I begin to wonder if this is the right place for me.  Whilst this may be of no concern, if the intention is to expand the club then surely a slightly broader base of members views can only be helpful?

A Mk1 is a Mk1 even if has a Cossie whale tail spolier and 3 spoke alloys.

Surely its upto the individual? If they come on this site and see what actually is 'Cool' and the way most of us are going with our cars then they may get converted.

If its a Mk1 club then it should cater for all Mk1's…….

No "sorry mate you cant join because you testarossa style air intakes on you doors" its a Mk1 underneath.

If someone is being a complete 'Chav' then rest assured i will be ignoring them as i am sure most will. that should not stop them being a member one day the cossie spoilered 3 spoke testarossa may get restored to original spec.

Hey is that Kilroy over there……….

Gareth
Talent scout for Jerry Springer

Nobody will be barred from membership on the basis of having a modified car.

Ok ? :wink:

Remember this is about the Mk1 Golf, not just GTIs and performance. One of the main reasons behind the club is to get non-GTI owners out of the closet. All this talk of modifications is secondary to the clubs' objectives.

Looks like we're going to need some articles of incorporation before too long!

Cheers,

Drew.

Well that has cleared the air and sorted that issue out.   

I like all you guys will welcome anyone to this site standard or not. I also like the thought of some motor sport side of the club. I have few vids of 1980's saloon car racing and also Slick 50 series. MK1 Golfs feature a lot in these and are brilliant to watch.

I also like some of the mods that are done - some I don't I admit.

My initial point was that we don't loose focus on what the club is about and that is MK 1 Golfs whatever they are. I was merely stating that some of the posters on the main CGTI forums (which Drew made reference to in his post "May get some flak for this…")  may be tempted over to this site cos they have a MK 1. I personally don't want to see Gaydon as a stereo loundness competition  :x . There is a huge amount of knowledge out there that we want on this site which will go a long way in defining our presence in the car club scence.

As you say, the forum will be self cleansing anyway and any "problem children" will find it isn't the place for them.

Friends again ?  :cry:  :cry:

I think a lot of the concerns will turn out to be unfounded as the forum seems to "self-regulate" in many ways.

Most people here are either into restoring / running Mk1's in one form or another, and many I think would be looking at handling mods (even Drew has said he will be looking at this!). I just don't think the forum would interest people into wild "fast n spurious" type mods that don't in some way improve the handling of the car.

Personally I'm looking to restore and keep things fairly original, but that doesn't mean I won't maybe be after advice on better anti roll bar setup or improved alignment settings  8)

Chris

sorry guys, prized the lid on the worm can a little open there didn't I

Didn't mean to question your motives Drew, as has been said the forum won't attract that type of person anyway.

On a personal note I have noticed that in general, mk1 Golfs attract a different type of enthusiast to later VWs, tending to be more interested in the car themselves than just modifying for the sake of modifying.  I would say that by being a mk1 owners club it automatically filters to a degree, when was the last time you saw a mk1 with huge stereo, LEDs all over the shop etc?!?! maybe one in 20, if that.

In fact come to think of it its vary rare that i've been to a VW related meet where people have been wacking stereos up, even CGTI megameet, e38, e1k, No-Rice etc are relatively sedate.

Now timeto move the thread back again I think, good work on the forum publicity.







….by the way, anyone know how to fit LED washer jets to my late '83 1.8 GTI?