Mars red GTI found in a shed.

Oh no! 

Those of you who know me will know that I'm having kittens!!!

Picture one excitement at another prime unrestored example turning up. Then a shot of the engine ripped out, my heart sank and that's no exaggeration.These cars are soooo hard to come by in good condition that it is really questionable if it's wise to modify such a clean example.
Please don't think I'm picking at your decision but 'any' old car can be modified to a degree. Rust free, totally standard and unmolested examples have the rightly deserved title of 'rare' these days.

Before you go too far with things PLEASE have a think about what you have in your hands and what it will mean in the future. 

Sermon over. Amen!

Aaaaahhhhhahhh!!! 

Early-1800 said

Each to their own but think I'd have left as is, minty originals making big £ and no effort involved.

Totally agree,love a original I know I was going to go down the big engine route but I thought I wanted a mk1 GTI so il keep her that way, lol I also got a complete, driving moted and road worthy corrado G60, if anyone fancy a engine conversion, was going to put the lump in my mk1 but thought to keep her original 

That last pic you put up Charlie_mk1_g60  looks spot on.

Do a search for posts by campaignjerry  His MK1 is looking very similar, always looks fresh and one of the most known and respected MK1s on the 'scene.' He's owned the car for pushing 30 years if I remember rightly (I know it's 20 something! lol) and his mods are subtle and reversible.

Hoping you're taking our comments in the right way too Charlie. We're not slating mod'd cars at all - that's a huge part of our community and there's some amazing cars out there. But as mentioned, preserving the original, unmolested ones is also part of our ethos and truly important now that numbers are dwindling so much.

Keep us updated on your thoughts  

DONT PAINT IT !!!

please…..

clean it right up and go with your last idea, mars red gti's are the best (not that I am biased!!) keep it as original as you possibly can……

just my 2p worth!!

more inspiration for you:

Great find very lucky,  shows  they are still out there !What was wrong with the original engine to need a rebuild? surely at that mileage a top end rebuilt would sort it right out.

 

Lol think we should all go and lay on top of Charlie's gti lol till we all change his mind so he can keep it original lol don't forget the " ORIGIONAL " banners 

I was thinking  what have I started here.. I am going to continue to do the g60 conversion but I will leave the car unpainted in it's original condition! The wheels are only on there so I could do the brake conversion I do not like them but only cost £100 I will be looking for some nice bbs.  15s. The engine will be kept and over the time I will rebuild it myself so I can fit it when the g60 goes bang… I never thought there was such a popularity for keeping it origanal! I appreciate all the criticism and thanks for the nice comments..

Forgot to say it's a 1982 I was told this was a special year?.

Engine conversion, yes 
Upgrade brakes, yes 
Shiny as wheels,  yes 

She looks soo tidy man, Polish it right up and she'll be awesome!!  
More pics please 

Charlie_mk1_g60 said

Forgot to say it's a 1982 I was told this was a special year?.

'82 was the start when you could buy either a 1600 or an 1800 5 speed. Yours is what could be deemed as the rarer of the 2 being a 1600 on a "y"  plate as most people going for a gti would have opted for more torque of the 1800.

Or in laymans terms - another reason to keep it original!

Soz - had to get that one in!   

Haha reading though this was like talking a man out of jumping from a building it got a bit emotional at times ah well glad you came to your senses a g60 swap aint so bad as long as you keep and rebuild the 1600 to put back in just dont do what previous owner of mine did and butcher the car to fit a vr6.

Did you buy the car to make money at a later date or did you buy it to enjoy?

As long as everything is reversable then do what you want to do.

Cheers

Paul

Ok thanks I will be definitely be keeping engine. I brought the car to keep and injoy with no internet of selling her had 2 10 years ago then sold them. Never again not even to make money..

You'll have an appreciating asset in your hands there.

When I got my cabby 13 years ago there were 'wildly' modified versions all around me at shows. I felt very out of step at the time because I chose the standard route to go down. It was very tempting to follow suit but I resisted.

Now, when the club comes together at the AGM there are very few 100% original cars there. They either have lowered suspension, different wheel, re sprayed in a different colour, engine modifications etc. - even slight ones.

What you have is potentially a 100% original car that you intend to keep. Have a long think which directing you want to go in.

As the guys have said, it's your car and you do what you like with it but as an appreciating classic how gutted would you be if you began welding in different engine mounts etc only to have the 'shoulda, woulda, couldn'ta' feeling.

Good luck with it though. 

Nice car and looks to be a great find. I would be of the opinion that subtle mods that are reversible would be the way forward. Good standard cars are getting rarer.

Glad you're coming around to the original way of thinking!

Looking forward to your updates  

Hairyarse said

That last pic you put up Charlie_mk1_g60  looks spot on.

Do a search for posts by campaignjerry  His MK1 is looking very similar, always looks fresh and one of the most known and respected MK1s on the 'scene.' He's owned the car for pushing 30 years if I remember rightly (I know it's 20 something! lol) and his mods are subtle and reversible.

Hoping you're taking our comments in the right way too Charlie. We're not slating mod'd cars at all - that's a huge part of our community and there's some amazing cars out there. But as mentioned, preserving the original, unmolested ones is also part of our ethos and truly important now that numbers are dwindling so much.

Keep us updated on your thoughts  

Thank you Andy for the mention…Like many here I was grinning from ear to ear after seeing another "Barn Find" turn up and thinking another one saved but upon seeing your intended mods I was shaking my head.
Again,it is your car and you are free to do as you wish but many of us "old folks" know a true gem when it's  found. I,like Dano resisted the many "in" mods at the time and am grateful to this day as the ones I did do are reversible but also I feel improve upon the spirit of the original. I do not intend to sell mine so no issues with values but I would rather look at an original rather than a heavily modified…My 2p….

What a great fine. Is so hard to find a solid Mk1 not to mention an original Gti. As others have said its your car to do what you want with but I would definitely keep it standard with maybe some reversible mods if you must. I've just done a full restore and although not a Gti mine will be as original as possible with maybe the addition of a slightly lower suspension and different wheels. But nothing that cant be changed back easily.

All mods will not be over the top…. I will have her looking like she has just come out of the show room with different wheels slightly lower with a g60 inside for now! But still a lovely Mars red I will let you no how she is getting on next week 😊

Charlie_mk1_g60 said

All mods will not be over the top…. I will have her looking like she has just come out of the show room with different wheels slightly lower with a g60 inside for now! But still a lovely Mars red I will let you no how she is getting on next week 😊

Nice one Charlie, sounds like it's going to be a stunner once finished!