Stunning 1983 MK1 Golf GTi Cabriolet - £1200

Model: MK1 Golf GTi Cabriolet

Spec/Trim option: 1.8 8v

Year of manfacture: 1983
Mileage: 145,000
Price: £1200
Location: Bridgnorth, Shropshire
Contact details: 07843136658 / mikechesterman@yahoo.co.uk
Condition: Daily Driver, Very good
Service history: None
Mot expiry Date: May 2012
Taxed or sorn:Taxed Until December 2011

Description:























Re-advertising this with a price drop.

I originally bought this car from a specialist auction. At the time it wasn't driveable due to a gearbox fault. It was ok to drive around a car park, but finding any gears was a job which took two hands! The car was very easy on the eye though and the engine ran and sounded sweet.

Due to buying from an auction, I had no contact with the previous owner, and there was very little in the way of paperwork, but it was obvious that the car had been subjected to much recent expenditure.


Firstly, the car has had a respray which looks quite recent. I'm not sure of the exact colour, but it is a very nice shade of blue. Looks similiar to Nissan Bayside Blue or the Blue that some Skoda VRS models come finished in. It is a nice metallic with a slightly green tint in direct sunlight. The original colour of the car would have been white, which is still visible in the engine bay, boot area and on the underside. All the door and roof shuts etc though have all been painted blue. Overall, a good job has been made of the finish. The only real let down is the bonnet. I'm not sure whether there was rust on the panel or whether there's just a bit of bad prep, but the bonnet has some marks, bubbles and orange peel in several places. It's a shame as the rest of the bodywork is VERY good indeed, but it's only the one panel.

For a 28 year old car it is excellent I would say. Again, I don't have anything to back up the extent of the work carried out, but both rear arches appear to be brand new and there is no visible rust anywhere on the bodywork. The panel gaps all appear to be perfect and the underside of the car is absolutely solid. I don't think there can be many daily driver MK1 Golfs as solid as this one out there.

Secondly, the car comes fitted with a brand new black vinyl roof, which is of course unmarked and really lifts the overall appearance of the car. It fits excellently and lets in no water or wind as you'd expect.

Aside from this there are a few little extras. The car is equipped with fully adjustable FK Automotive Coilovers all round. Again, these look like a recent addition. It also has a single wiper conversion, new smooth single headlight front grille, new clear front headlights and euro spec tail lights to give the car a fresh look. The black plastic arch trims also look like new items and the Falken Tyres all round clearly haven't covered many miles either. Another addition is the front splitter from a MK1 GTi hatch model.

When I bought the car, it was also stated that it had been recently treated to an engine rebuild/refresh. Again, I have nothing to back this up, but have no reason not to believe this as the engine runs as sweet as a nut. It sounds fantastic and is a really lively performer. Part of this rebuild/refresh included fully braided fuel lines, which are certainly there to see, which also helps to back up the claim.

All in all, it's clear that a lot of money had been spent of the car not long before it came into my ownership, but it appears that the gearbox problem had caused the previous owner to throw in the towel on what looked like a very good, 90% completed project. It was also said that a new clutch had just been fitted. Presumably he thought this may have been the problem, but clearly wasn't.

Anyway, once I collected the car, I sourced a replacement gearbox. I bought a second hand 'box, but one which had been bought as brand new parts in a reconditioned case last year (covered only 2000 miles) and at the same time replaced the gear linkage and fitted new, uprated bushes etc as I knew this to be a common weak point on MK1 GTi's. At this point, with the old gear box removed, I could confirm that the clutch was indeed a new item also. One other point to add is that the throw of the gear lever has also been shortened.

Overall, the car is fantastic to drive and a great deal of fun. It handles superbly and the engine is excellent. I've been using it ever since when the weather has been favourable, with the roof down and it's fantastic to use on the country lanes.

Aside from the aforementioned bonnet, the only bad points are that the drivers seat has work through on the bolster and the rear seats have some black specks on them. A like for like replacement would be cheap enough, but a new owner who really wanted to bring the car up to A1 spec may prefer a nice leather interior or such like. Also, the 3 centre gauges don't appear to be functioning correctly and the speedo looks like it's over-reading.

A couple of weekends ago I took the car on a 350mile round trip through Welsh B-Roads and it never missed a beat. A fantastic little car which is amazing to drive.