Hi There

Hi folks, having just ducked out of the yank muscle car scene, I have deceided to go for something a bit different. used to have a 1970 Charger R/T 440-6, but now? Well, negotiating on buying a nice little 91 GTI Clipper conv. Needs tidying (dont they all) but I wont be going the full professional resto route like I did with the charger. Never again! Looking forward to a bit of fun in a retro motor.

Good choice - glad to see another floppy top being kept on the road.

hi there and welcome along to the forum. Good luck with the purchse. Stick some pics up if you get her.

Hello mate wecome stick some pics up   jj

Welcome aboard,

put some pics up. Loads of knowledge on here so just ask away.

Enjoy…..all we need now is a summer lol.

cheers

chortle

Thanks for the welcome guys - I'm in need of some freindly advice.  Right, I can't post pics just yet, so I shall explain. I have the chance of buying an H reg GTi convertible with clipper kit. It has less than 100k on the clock, hasnt been on the road since 2009, knackered hood (big holes on either side panel but top ok) but it has been sat outside for a few years. No visible rust (dunno whats under the plastic arches n sills n stuff). The paint is totally flat all over, two flat tyres on drivers side (porous alloys?) interior ok, supposed to run and drive fine - but - it looks pretty neglected. The price is circa £600. My GF's brother has a lovely 87 model and knows these cars well. He says walk away (based on a couple of camera phonme pics). Question is, am I getting into a whole heap of trouble even at this price? I dont mind it being rough as long as the shell is solid, but, apparently its wet inside, but I am told there isnt any rust. Not sure about that. Opinions please?

Personally I'd walk away - I picked up mine for a good price but have ended up spending more than the purchase price again just keeping it going without even thinking of a resto. That said I wouldn't change it for the world as I love my car but its a money pit to be honest and mine is in not too bad nick. With a car that already sounds a bit knackered and hasn't moved for 4 years I'd keep looking and wait. If the car had been kept dry and not damp then maybe worth a good look over. Just my opinion of course but its how much work do you want to do and how big a hole is the cash burning in your pocket !!!

Thanks for the input Fathammer. I know what you mean. My last 'venture' started off with what I though was a good solid daily driver at 11k that got 7 times that spent on it after a full bore resto (ok, it was show quality) but I got burned badly and dont want to go back there. I sold the car on 2 years later and got a massive punt in the knackers.

So is this old girl really a bad buy at £600. There is something about it that makes me think it is saveable, for a reasonable price. Mechanicals dont bother me in the slightesdt. So I was wondering if she really is solid, give it a go? Can to advise where the obvious places are to loook for rot? floor pans, bulkhead, foot wells etc? Are they known to be rot boxes or are they pretty sturdy? I dont mind a fixer upper - I think this car needs a lot of work but I cant see it needs that much to get a summers fun out of it before she goes under the surgeons kniife? Surely she isnt just fit for parting out, or the scrapper????

If you're handy with a spanner and shes tweeking the the right buttons ….. well,  as you say 'a bit of summer fun' at the end of the day if it feels right for you then you've already made your decision !!!

Good luck mate and hope all goes well.  

Welcome Clive and look forward to the pics of your MK1. It would be rude for you not to put pics up of your R/T too

 Hows this? The picture was taken on an industrial estate, and the car cut n paste onto the desert background by Dave McBride. It was the cover car for Classic American Magazine in March 2010. 7.2 litre and tripple carbed beast. Top quality resto. Professionally done. cost arm and leg. Never again. :-)

Im going to look at this old Mk1. If its solid, I'm going to go for it. Its calling my name  

Good man .... its all down hill from now !!!

Wicked photoshop pic mate. I bet that thing flew along.

Good luck with the MK1 viewing.

Hello and welcome, go and have a look, that doesn't cost anything. For £600 expect to do some work. You can always sell it on/break it, if it's too much. It's part of the fun bringing them back to life and putting your stamp on it!

Andy.

Nice R/T - bet it was a great driving experience though.

Good luck on the MK1

Thanks for the encouragement guys. Spoke to to owner last night, going to see it tomorrow. Apparently it failed its MOT last year on the old 'clutch cable / bulkhead corrosion' issue. Apparently it had £800 worth of metalwork done???? Bloke is saying 'its a Karmann Clipper - its worth money!' I understand clippers wrent fuel injected????? Anyway, it has a value but whjatever the cost, it has to be right - but I am 'feeling it' :-)

The Charger was very fast. supposed to hit 60 in just over 5 seconds with the six pack. But it really came into its own from about 30mph. Kickdown, it took off, then outboard carbs opened on vacuum, and it lurched off again. Real trouser browner. Trouble is, its brakes were pony and it cornered like the Ark Royal so you had to be on top of it all the time. Anyting over 60mph on the motorway would make your ears bleed, did 16 to the gallon, 7 driven hard. Fun car, totally impractical. I had a brown 69 Charger too with a 318 and 3 speed manual. Much easier to live with, and it was rough so it didnt matter getting it ragged about.

Sounds like fun  

Where in the UK are you? Maybe if there's a member close enough to you (or the car you're viewing) they'll come and join you to make sure you don't put the rose tinted specs on lol

Just try not to get sucked in by the owner giving it the big un, if it was worth so much money he wouldn't be selling it for £600 !!
Be careful, and as Hairyarse says, take someone with you who has a neutral perspective - preferably someone who has a Mk1 or knows about them - you don't want to end up with a lemon !!

Good luck

At that money it's not to bad.
The Cabriolet came in two versions the "Clipper" was the base model, carbed engine. Then you had the cabriolet GTI.
With the injection engine. Post 88 cars were the facelift model. All cabbies were made by Karmann they are not specials and only worth what someone will pay. So that's killed that myth lol.
Generally GTI cabbies are worth more.

Hood issues can lead to water damage if the car isn't covered over.
So if it's uncovered the interliner and padding etc could be ruined. It's not cheap to do the roof properly but hey you wouldn't neglect the roof on your house for obvious reasons. Check the interior for mould etc if the car had been closed up. Most cabbies are salvageable I guess it depends in what you can do or what costs are involved. 

You can easy spend a few hundred on the roof alone. Good quality hood in mohair £300 plus. Then the other bits all add up.
Look on e bay to give you an idea of prices etc. Been some good buys of late at around or under the £500.00 mark.

Whereabouts are you based?