Hello from Bournemouth

 

So I thought it was time I introduced myself as a new member, my names Matt and I've just moved on to my first MK1 Golf from previously owning a MK1 Caddy.

I got into VDUB'S a few years ago after going to Run to the Sun and a few other events.  Before i passed my driving test I bought myself a 1989 Mk1 Caddy which was a total project.  I spent just under two years fixing her up doing everything from welding and body work to full resprays and various mechanical changes.  I drove her for a year and loved it going to multiple events such as VDUB at the Pub, Dubbin in Dorset and Beach Buggin, but in the end she just proved impractable for what i needed.

I sold the Caddy on Ebay at the end of January and got much more then i expected for her so was able to move onto another MK1 but a Golf this time for the space and extra seats.

I was incredibly lucky and found a fantastic Golf GX in Worcester which i got for a fantastic price.  This Golf is very original, it has just over 62000 miles on the clock which is great for a A reg 1983 car.  Its had 3 owners and a great history.  It originally belonged to a doctor in scotland that just did local house calls with it and kept it in perfect condition.  When he passed away he had done approx 50k miles and gave the Golf to his neighbor's who were good friends of his.  They had no need for the Golf and barely used it so it wasn't altered at all and spent most of its time garaged.  They then sold the car to their son in law who i bought it from.  Again appreciating the originality of the car he has kept it as is only changing the wheels, the clutch and a new silencer on the exhaust.  He also sent it for a full service where the normal stuff was updated.  He then had no time to work on her so after another year sat in a garage he decided to sell it.

I bought her for £1270 on Ebay and picked her up a few days afterwards.  When i turned up i found a mint but filthy Golf sat in a barn waiting for me.  She started and ran fantastically and i was amazed by the condition.  He guy gave me all the original documents including the buyers manual it came with from factory.  He also gave me the steel wheels with chrome hubs that just need a refurbish and a few other spares too.

I drove her back from Worcester to Bournemouth and she ran sweetly the whole way and now having given her a full valet to see what im actually dealing with, i am pleased as punch with my purchase.

My plans:

Replace the aged chrome trim with fresh chrome.
Fix the gear box as presently its out of sync and has no first gear.
Get the brakes more efficient.
Have her fully overhauled so she is running sweet, get her on the rolling road for tuning too.
Have the body work tidied so dents popped out, paint work tidied where it has been badly resprayed previously.
Refurbish the steel wheels and get the on to replace the out of place wheels on atm.
Either refresh or replace the bumpers which are faded and aged.
Tidy up the engine bay to make it looking as new.

I want to keep her as original as possible and i hope to have her for show this summer with most the needed work done before May.  Here are a few pictures of the Golf and also the Caddy, and there is also a video from the Valet i had done just go to this site, - YouTube.  This was completed by Dave Hiscock of Bespoke Valeting Bournemouth.  He's a good friend of mine running his own company in Bournemouth Valeting everything from show cars to forecourt cars and general vehicles.



Anyway i hope to see you all at the VDUB events this year and if you see the Golf come say Hey.

Matt

Welcome aboard fella,
that looks a nice and tidy example and good mileage for the age of the car too.
My preferance is standard as it just appeals to me.
Borrow an aqua vac and you can really get the seats clean.
Not sure how bad the chrome is, but it should not be do difficult to sort, maybe a good polish with Autosol cleaner paste.
As for the bumpers being faded some of the models actually came with grey bumpers instead of black, so ask on here which ones.

Cheers

Hi chortle,

Im glad you like the car she is very tidy and original.  The seats are incredibly clean already but i do need to get onto the general interior.  Most the chrome bits will either tidy up or are easily replaced so no worries there and the bumpers are grey naturally but they've both faded and been attacked with some bad polish or something which has damaged all the colour.  I have bought some plastic dye however which should totally get the colour sorted out, i'll put before and after pics up if they do!

Matt welcome to the site  

The golf looks a great find  8)
Not too sure on the wheels

Hi, yeah the wheels were totally wrong, i've now had them changed, give it a look http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=97591&highlight=

thanks for the welcome though!