Couple of stupid questions

1st off just want to say im new too all these mk1's, so can you point me to a few links to help me know what to look for when buying one, commmon rusty spots and so on.

also did mk1's come with diesel engines? i know the caddys did, if not how hard would it be to put a diesel in, im just looking to get myself a nice economicalish daily.

Welcome    

Heres the buying guide from this site.

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1

Mk1s did come as diesels too. Not as easy to come accross though.

Common rust spots are: all of the arches front and back, but the fronts go on the inside. have a good feel up in the arch, if there's a load of wet mud in the arches, it could be serious. also the spare wheel well goes very easily. the most important is probably the fuel filler neck.. have a look in the rear arch to see if its corroded, its expensive

diesels do come around every now and again.. but they're kinda rare.

hope this helps

The bit I always take special care at when I go to look at a mk1 is the front inner wings . The outers can hide a lot of rot and from my experience, even if theres only a little bit of rust showing from the engine bay side, it doesnt mean there isnt a lot more underneath.

That and rust up inside and around the filler neck hole and around the bulkhead/raintray/scuttle area are the bits I really pay attention to. Other than that its all the parts that rust on all cars like sills, arches, front, rear panels (especially where the towing eye and seams are on the rear) etc. I always lift the carpets up to see the inner sills too. They can look good outside but can be rotten on the inside.

Try and get a look at the rear axle mount area too. Can be a right mess under there

Have a search through the forum and look at pics so you get a good idea of what to avoid