Oh look, another mk1 project.

Hi all. My name is Mat and I recently bought a mk1 golf. I’ve loved these cars for a good while now and I’ve had my eye out to buy one for the best part of this year.

I found that they are rare and the good ones are rather pricey.

So I had a look on eBay over the weekend, as I always do, and a blue 5 door popped up for 2k or best offer. I thought I’d just offer him 1,200 expecting to really
Meet him half way and see what he thought.

He called me back and agreed to the offer as it doesn’t start anymore.

Here she is.

I asked around on the local mk1 page for what I should look out for when I get down to look at it.

The general concensus was that rust is what I should be looking out for.

Apparently engines and gearbox’s are plentiful and it then leaves to door open to some pretty interesting conversions.

So I made the 6 hour drive to see the car and I was actually quite impressed with its condition.

The owner had parked it undercover in 2010 and left it there. He lives inland so I guess that contributed to the overall decent condition of the shell.

Only a spot of rust at the rear window.

Sounds like a good buy , welcome aboard Sir


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The interior is a great colour and the door cards have trim on them which is awesome. Not sure if they all do, but I would think it was quite a fancy touch 30 years ago- especially for a city run about.

Even the dash is in good shape…

jamie8v said

Sounds like a good buy , welcome aboard Sir


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Thanks. So I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with her. First thing is to get her running which I’ll suss our this weekend. Then go from there.

So I guess the purpose of this all is to document this all, as well as tap into the wealth of knowledge that will be on here.

For instance, I don’t even know anything about this engine.

The code, displacement etc etc. so if it comes time to order bits and bobs that would be handy.

Any ideas ?

Nice I've got a set of cabby seats in that material.. very dirty but could imagine would be nice went in good condition.
Repair panels and cuts are about, Mark Carter raja and crazyquiffs can help

I’m also not sure which road to take as far as the actual scope of works go.

Do I want to keep it clean and original. I do.

Or am I better off putting in a later model motor and gearbox and taking the performance angle ?

Ultimately I’d like to hang onto this car for a while.

Mat_watts said

So I guess the purpose of this all is to document this all, as well as tap into the wealth of knowledge that will be on here.

For instance, I don’t even know anything about this engine.

The code, displacement etc etc. so if it comes time to order bits and bobs that would be handy.

Any ideas ?

One of the best things I bought was a heynes manual loads of info spanning quite a few models and variants with lists of part numbers and I also use https://www.volkswagen-classic-parts.de which is available in English so you can find relevant part numbers .


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Yep I’ve got one of those actually.

Nice one mate! 👍🏼

I'd just to take a deep breath now and think long and hard about what you want, it's your Mk1 not ours. 😉

I'm in favor of keeping them all original because originals are getting so much harder to find now no matter what year or model.

Or go the other way and Mod the heck out of it.
But I and know you plan on keeping it for a long time but when you mod it you won't see anywhere near the time and money you've invested into it back. 👍🏼

Do keep us updated on what you do with lots of pictures please.

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I’m sure I’ll just run with standard** . I haven’t got the time or patience to start going too crazy with it.

But yeah, I’ll post as it all unfolds.

Had my first fiddle today. Just a look in the engine bay to get familiar with it all.

I’m not very mechanically experienced, but I’m technically minded so I suppose I’ll be ok.

Checked over hoses since it’s been sitting for 7 years. I popped them off and ran water through everything as well as checking the condition of all the hoses. They were stiff but loosened up and I couldn’t see any cracks which suits me just fine.

I noticed a clear plastic plug on top of the gearbox… is this some sort of filling point ?

Oh and there’s lots of rain scheduled for the next few days. The car was parked undercover once she had finished her duty, so I’d like leave her outside in the weather to see if there are any leaks.

Good luck….

What's with all the odd characters?

I’m not sure.

Was gonna ask about that actually.

Any type of punctuation presents strangely once it’s  posted.