Monkey's 1981 Golf GTi 1.6 project - rust is lighter than carbon fibre

Hi everyone, my father an I are beginning to prepare his Mars red 1981 X-reg 1.6 Golf GTi which has been sitting in a garage, so it is ready to be insured under classic insurance for my first car. He's always been telling me that the Golf is quite rare, especially the wheels.

After a bit of digging around it seems to me that the car is a campaign edition golf.

It has a sunroof, original pirelli p slots, leather bound steering wheel, altered door lock caps, the altered fuel filler cap and the aerodynamic wiper blade kit, plus the quad lamp grille.
Now, from what i have seen, campaign edition golfs were only available after 1983, which has me confused a bit!
VIN is 17BW701***

Can anyone help me out here? Cheers


EDIT: Started to clean the old girl up, so the thread pretty much starts on page 2 

Sounds like a fake Campaign, someone's added the campaign parts to a 1981 car. Well, some of them. I guess they stopped at installing a sliding sun roof?

Of course, they might have just added all the stuff quite innocently, because it needed it or they wanted to, with no desire to try replicate an actual campaign.

might have had a few campaign bits put on it over the years, but all campaigns are run out models before the mk2 was launched so Areg 1983

paul_c said

Sounds like a fake Campaign, someone's added the campaign parts to a 1981 car. Well, some of them. I guess they stopped at installing a sliding sun roof?

Of course, they might have just added all the stuff quite innocently, because it needed it or they wanted to, with no desire to try replicate an actual campaign.

It's got a sliding sunroof too?

Great to have a Mk1 as your first car, all other cars thay may follow will be sadly a bit dissapointing…Have Fun !

Here's the Campaign Guide

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=7

DoubleOSeven said

Great to have a Mk1 as your first car, all other cars thay may follow will be sadly a bit dissapointing…Have Fun !

Here's the Campaign Guide

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=7

Had a look at that guide buddy, everything points to it being a campgaign down to the tinted glass and filler cap.
They are mk1 p-slots too
Had the car sine '92, wouldn't have thought the previous owner would have gone to such a length to make it look like a campaign and then not mention anything to me dad?
From the looks of it the 1600's didn't have the quad light grille as an option?

The campaign is just a run out model that had all the options added. They were all 1.8 and 1983 (or later registered) models. That doesnt mean your car doesnt have most of the options added and it certainly doesnt mean that you dont have a very nice mk1. The 1.6 is considered by many to be the engine of choice.  Good luck with your car!

Possibly whoever originally bought it paid for every extra plus added some later when they became available.

Underneath all that dust lies a mk1 gti in faboulous condition

Nice little project mate, like the guys have already said, the 'Campaign' was just the run out model that had the trim options to essentially use up the parts.

A lot of the parts were available and fitted prior to VW launching the 'Campaign' model. I had a Y reg with all the correct spec but it wasn't a Campaign as VW hadn't started their final sales campaign by then.

From looking at the pictures you've posted that isn't a Campaign fuel cap though, it should have a plastic tab spring hinged over the lock. Also the wheel centres aren't the original Pirelli logo ones - the ones on yours are Mk2 ones.

Still it will be a very nice car, but don't get hung up on the Campaign nonsense, it's of no real importance! If yours is a good one it's worth just as much and in years to come possibly more!

Good luck with it.  

Ah ok, thanks for the heads up fella.

I'll still enjoy her just as much though! I'm taking the wheels off and storing them somewhere, i have some polished snowflakes and some 5 soke wheels i might fit on.

Not doing anything else to her though, she was running perfect before being put in the garage, but 10 years in a garage has taken its toll on it, so I'll be sanding back any surface rust on the wipers and trivial parts

Looks like you need a bit of T cut

the wheels look like mk2 P slots, Look at the part number on the wheels if they end with 1 A they are mk1 & if they end with 2 A's they are mk2's.

Haha just a tad!

Out of curiosity, anybody else seen the vinyl rear spoilers fitted? I've never seen another mk1 with them on

Nosmonkey said

Haha just a tad!

Out of curiosity, anybody else seen the vinyl rear spoilers fitted? I've never seen another mk1 with them on

seen them on, but not many as a bit like marmite love or hate them.

I sold my zender spoiler for 80 bucks.

Wish I had it back tbf.

Lol my old tin top had the same spoiler, where it's fixed on the holes will no doubt be rotted. Moral, don't remove lol

funk-star said

Lol my old tin top had the same spoiler, where it's fixed on the holes will no doubt be rotted. Moral, don't remove lol

100% this.

My tailgate had 4 rusty holes in it which I got welded up, along with 2 holes at the top of each rear quarter. My back end is looking super rough (So to speak) but i'm telling myself it's the look i'm going for.  :mrgreen:

i have recently brought a zender spoiler.  i love them! but as said like marmite.

Went to the garage yesterday. I got an old Astra ready to get skipped for Wednesday, and tried starting up my golf but it seems like the fuel pump isn't working, but I need to bring it home before i can actually have a proper look at it. But the ignition on abut there was no buzzing or idication that the pump was working, all the electrics, radio etc. seem OK.

Got the Dolomite Sprint to start up (surprisingly, just needed to connect up a fresh battery!) and dad was busy unseizing the engine on the E9.

Scrap metal merchant is giving me £160 cash in hand, and i am selling the cat for another £50. That's £200 towards the golf fund which should be more than enough to get it towed home. In comparison, i was offered £50 from a scrap car dealer, so scrap metal merchants are the way to go!
Unfotunately, the garage roof was leaking, so there is some minor rust bubbling on the sunroof and some surface rust on the bonnet. These will need to be sorted out. :dontknow:
On the plus side though, my mate is giving me a pipercross panel filter for free, so that's a bonus!

Some random pics i took, i think there is so much dust in the garages, combined it weighs more than the cars, Red T-Cut for my birthday please Dad!!!!




Bmw doesn't look that bad i guess?


As does the engine…..



Bollocks  8O


Starting to remove 12 years of dust and crap…. fun fun fun :evil:

Looks like there could be a very nice little Golf hiding under all of that dust!