Dubsquad's '82 GTI

G'day Gents,

Thought i'd share a few pics of the mk1 I got a few months back. Always wanted one but due to away work always missed out on em and in a land with only a few mk1 GTI's  they rarely pop up for sale.

Here it is… 1982 GTI with sunroof in Silver. It's got a ARX 1.8T with 02A gearbox in it. 280mm front brakes and rear disc conversion, FK coilovers with front and rear eurosport strut braces.

Pics from when i got it to what it looks like now.






What it looks like now…





Don't worry the RS's will be back on, just rebuilding them with some wider lips. The fronts had a 15mm spacer on to clear the brakes but the rear had a 5mm spacer on which made it look a bit odd as front sat flush and the rear was hiding in the arches. It also rubbed alot in front on hard cornering so they were the 1st to come off. The specs on the D90 are 16x8 et27 and et22 with no touching/rubbing anywhere.
Replaced the rattling 3" exhaust with a 2.5" stainless steel with magnaflow mufflers.
Never was a fan of the crystal taillights so they were next inline to be replaced with the fronts as well. Got some semi- smoked rears and smoked front headlights. Got smoked front indicator lenses but looking for the OEM housings as the crystal ones in there now is one piece.
Most important for me was to get red grille trim and big duckbill back on asap. It's just not a GTI without it.

Still alot left to do but will keep posted as I go along.

Cheers
Leigh

Welcome Leigh! That's a really nice looking MK1.

Good call on the red stripes and duck bill  

Keep us updated on your progress and enjoy driving it  

Hey Leigh - Nice car….!

We're interested in the car's history, the engine conversion and the performance of the 1.8T  

Suspension changes, exhaust, LSD etc…..

ConvictGTI-No.1983EW said

Hey Leigh - Nice car….!

We're interested in the car's history, the engine conversion and the performance of the 1.8T  

Suspension changes, exhaust, LSD etc…..

Cheers gents!

Mate, the conversion was carried out back in 2007 by a VW addict in Tasmania.

He then sold it to a guy in Sydney that never registered it and soon after it was sold to a mate down in South Australia. He had it for sale 1 or 2 times but always held on to it till i contacted him over the xmas holidays. Flew over, checked it out, drove it to the depot the same day as per the 1st pic!

Also, for some reason it was registered as a '81 but when you decode the Vin it comes up as '82?  


The ARX engine was from a Bora mated to a VR6 gearbox with pelequin LSD and B&M shifter. Currently pushing 19Psi on Qpeng management. Not sure what hp its pushing tho. He actually did a brilliant job with the conversion and didn't take any shortcuts.He upgraded the brakes all-round with bigger brake booster etc. even the front brakes is from a corrado with hubs, discs, carriers etc. Suspension wise it handles like it on rails, but looking into upgrading to thinker swaybars and the eurosport 4 point lower front brace.

When I got it, it had a few issues like horn, reverse lights not working, torn steering boot, exhaust rattles, those lights and a slight miss in 4th when put your foot down. I slowly worked my way down the list and all of that is now fixed. Don't know what the issue was with the miss cos I basically replaced everything electrical on the engine all at once.

Interior-wise the rear seats was taken out at some time of its life, fronts seats was replaced with recaro's, also the centre console was removed to accommodate the shifter box. I try to get a pic up soon of it.

The BBS's got some sticky Toyo R1R's on and I can see why the previous owner went with them cos the el cheapo 16" tyres its got on now just light up at the wiff of boost!

Next goal for me is to get it rego'd in WA…

Sorry for this very long post!

Cheers
Leigh

Some interior pics…



Anybody know where i can find vents with the red trim?

Are you going for full registration or just club?

Do you intend to recover the interior seats to the genuine GTI strip or tartan? Some of the other cars on this site have done so and those Recaros look smick!

The red trim dash and vents were a USA look from memory. I can't recall seeing a standard UK Mk1 GTI with that dash trim/paint as a factory option…?

it may have been an "after market" option like some of the spoilers, gear knobs etc.

Going full rego mate, WA's club scheme is a bit different/limited than other states.

Yes, re-trim in semi-leather with Jacky or Tartan cloth, but I got another set of heated mk3 recaro's in the shed that i'll modify/recover.

Not sure, but wasn't that trim a option on the sportline cabrio's?

lovely motor!!    looks mint!!!

good call on the rear lights and deep spoiler! much better  

couple things for you,
seats are exactly as mine were when i got them, id recommend silver striped down the middles, to match the rear seat, though i guess you'd need to find one as you say its been removed.



all i had done was just the centres, the outsides are as they were:



silver striped ones with red RECARO would be sweet as !!

also, the red stripe vents were in uk gtis for the first year of series 2 big lamp ones. W plate and a few X plate had them, so 81 model year i believe.. for some reason the later ones didn't have them!
good luck finding some, i do have one slightly cracked one, as a last resort for you  

Thanks richievr

You might be onto something there, that would look way better! I'll be on the scout for a rear bench when i'm back in town.

Those vents are rare as… if you see any of them pop up on your side, please let me know.

Cheers
Leigh

I'll keep my eyes open for you..  

also, vr6 in the garage too????  

Thanks mate!!

Yeah, but sold it on that day the picture was taken. Don't have the space for 2 projects.

Finally got home after a long stint offshore. Did most of the suspension last time so needed wheel alignment done first.



Took her out for a lil spin but keep popping the boost hose right after the turbo when holding boost in 4th or 5th. Other than that… sweet drive!!




Got a call from the VW dealer a few days ago…



Next on the list is getting a Haltech Management fitted!! So watch this space!

Cheers
Leigh

Good to see 

What happened to the black gti that came over to WA. from Victoria?

That was a nice car!

Thats was Shane's car, He sold it on to a collector a few months later.

That was Shane's car, He sold it on to a collector a few months later.

Did the car stay in WA or was the buyer from the East coast. Thanks

Yes ConvictGTI-No.1983EW , pretty sure it stayed in WA.

Been a bit busy the last few months but managed to get a few things sorted!!

Few pics before going back to virgin spec to get rego…




Lifted it 1.5" front and back, slap some cheap narrower wheels on, turn the boost way down and hoped for the best!! Ready for 1st inspection!


1st test was a fail, had to get modification permits for coilovers and pod filter, BOV was too loud so I took it off, had to get a weigh bridge cert, front wipers wouldn't self park and the inspector couldn't find the VIN number.

Took a few days to get sorted and was back there a few days later!!



Finally full WA rego!! Lowered it down with D90's on immediately after!!
 

Looks quality mate!

Glad you passed, looks fantastic!