Why do you own a mk1?

Why do you restore/drive/race/love the mk1 golf?

For me the reason stems from my dads mate, he had a white mk1 GTi in about 1981 (i was 6)
I loved it as it was a fast car and all young lads love fast cars.
So from then on VW golfs were the car to have.
I well remember the mk2 coming online and not been keen on it!!
My dad also had always had VW vans and at one point a beach buggy.
So we always had a v-dub in the family.
Fast forward to 1996 and I bought my 1st mk2 Gti
I had this for 6 years, modded it and showed it in england and europe.
(My brother soon got a mk2 soon after, and now has had 3,inc a 280bhp 1.8t, he now ownes interiorwizzard trimmers)
Sold that mk2 then got another, at the same time got my mk1(the one I am restoring) also then bought anoter mk1 because it was cheep!
Then sold both mk1-2 and bought a mk3.

So 2xmk2 2xmk1 1xmk3

But I always wanted a mink mk1, the original and the best hot hatch.
The way it re-wrote the rules in a small performance car will never be repeated.

Why did you join the V-Dub club?

My mum used to have a black x reg GTI called rolf which I always loved in the end she sold it for parts because it was costing too much to repair.

I loved it and always wanted one, my 1st car when I passed my test a was a 1.3 G reg Mk2 which I drove for about 6 months before I bought my mk1 one whos named Littlerolf because hes only a 1.5 and a year younger then my mums was so is his little brother sad weird strange I know!
had my mk1 for 3 years this month and hes just retired this week from been my daily drive very sad moment but hopefully he's going to be getting some TLC now and maybe some new toys!

You cant help but love them.

also chriswizz where in yorkshire do you live I just moved to leeds this week hence the car retiring now joined the train commuting gang! not that theres been any this week stupid rain!

Some people collect stamps.

I am over in Otley mate. North Leeds. Just before the north yorks border.

I did a piece about this in "rabbit" the gti owners club mag years ago. Basically I'm so old that I was an impressionable teenager into cars when the golf GTI first hit the scene. It completely and utterly blew away the competition. Most of the supercars were not that much quicker at the time and normal sports cars were miles behind the 0 to 60 that the GTI posted. It really was groundbreaking. Just watch the intro to the cars the star and Quentin Wilson's words. They sum it up. Also the editor of "car" on there, Steve Cropley, I remember reading his piece in the magazine at the time where he was testing a ferrari (512 bb ??) and he admits he was quite embarrassed at how quickly the GTI that was following him caught him up when he was trying it out on A roads arond yorkshire or scotland…somewhere. The Mark 1 golf GTI changed the face of motoring forever and that embedded on my impressionable young mind. The rest is, as they say, history.

By the way chriswhizz my brother in law lives in Otley on Leeds Road. Might see you around up there when we visit.

When I was looking for a car it was between a mk1 and a mk2. It really wasnt that hard a decision….

I love the 'ethos' of the mk1, and the presence it has on the road. Every one I see driving about is a tribute to their build quality and hardiness.

Long live the mk1 8)

i love all the old skool motors because thats what was out when i first started to drive :wink:  :wink:

bought my 1st car a 1500gls mk1 golf in 1991 then had a mars red gti which ended early through a wall ops: . you cannae beat them really 8)

When I needed to buy a car four years ago I wasn't looking for any particular make/model - something comfortable, trustworthy, large enough to seat 4, efficient and economical to run.  Obviously, that all went out the window when I bought my cabbie of my friends brother who was going to scrap it.  I've had great fun with it with many highs but just as many lows.  Just before I settled on the golf, I had been interested in a 'R' reg high mileage Renault Laguna - thank god I didn't buy it!
It was only when I started various maintenance works on the car and discovered this site that I came to appreciate how much of a classic the car is and its immense following.  OK it is a cabbie but a MK1 none the less.

I was going through a load of old photos just before my wedding and found a picture of me pleased as punch sitting at the wheel of a Mk1.  My mum told me what happened a few months after the photo was taken… My parents had parked the golf on a hill at a petrol station and being my inquisitive self, I decided to reach forward and release the handbrake.  I got a cut on my head (still have the scar) after being flung forward into the dashboard.  The car was worse off and had to be sent to golf heaven as the wall the car hit collapsed and crushed the front of the car.

I think me saving my cabbie from the scrappies has equalled out me killing the first one.  

Thankfully, I'm not so inquisitive or accident prone anymore.

i couldn't tell you why. my first gti (mk1) was one of them cars i just loved to drive. i mean LOVED to drive. it was always a buzz to get behind the wheel. even to pop to asda's. they just seem to have a sort of character that i can associate with. like a very good friend. you love them, warts and all.

I got the Golf bug from my Dad.  He loved his VW's.

Sadly I lost my Dad recently and I have to say there is something very special about my little Golf now, even more so than before.  Not only do I love driving him, but he brings back so many happy memories.

wooders said

they just seem to have a sort of character that i can associate with. like a very good friend. you love them, warts and all.

think that sums it up personally…they have a character, no new car i have ever been in gives you the same tingle when you jump in or twist the key. Its an awesome feeling and i love it!

The mk1 Golf is a very pure car.  None of these unnecessary frills and driver aids.  They're not perfect by any means - but they have a good chassis, punchy engine, and great looks. What more do you need?

And to think, I nearly bought a mk4 1.6 Golf instead.   8O

saw one one day slammed to the deck on bbs rm's gold ones and thought i want one plus it done my dad over at delting hill in our old red astra happy days

got my first gti in 1989 black series 1 hence the user name !
totally standard apart from a sebring stainless exhaust which sounded fantastic my pride and joy at a tad under 18 years old .

never got another mk1 gti until about 7 months ago and another one a month ago .funny really just like buses

will never sell them either ,wont make the same mistake twice that would be silly.

buy it - fix it - love it

ppc229w said

buy it - fix it - love it

then break it and fix it and hate and love it and fix it and fix it and love it and break it and hate it and fix it and love it………………………………

get the jist.

I remember on my bedroom wall i had a poster of a BBS kitted Lhasa green with gold BBS wheels and said to my cousin," im gonna get one of those" to which he replied "no you aint" ..I did, and 21 years later i still have her...Nuff said...... 8)

i lve mk1s cos mk2`3` are crap