My 1991 Mk2 Golf GTi 8v 3-door Diary

April 2008

A warm welcome people!

So, a friend of a friend sent me these pictures when I was looking for a replacement commuter car for work....

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I have always had a soft-spot for the big bumper model, plus it was a three-door. I had always had bangers as my daily commuter, but I took the plunge with a commuter I needed to keep clean!

I went round and haggled as hard as I could.

It's a H reg, Pearl Grey, January 1991 registered, 8v GTi; engine code 'PB'. Full service history with the original 'PDI' literature from Crowsons VW in Spalding (Winsover Road). 'EG' is a Peterborough registration so it hasn't gone far in its life as i'm in Cambridgeshire.

A darn good clean revealed the following car underneath...

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No plans for her at all, apart from keeping her in order - I'm an originality geek - sorry!

The Golf completes my sub-£10k garage of Germanic bliss!

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Looking forward to taking the GTi to some shows in due course.

Thanks for reading - Jay.

 

Both very nice mate.

 

love the porka!

 

I came in here looking for Garage pics nice cars there.

 

Mate i doff my cap to ya! Swap the porker wheels to the golf though lol! Just messin... but no seriously!

Dan

 

You had me until i saw the toe bar.

Do it a job on it

Sweet bus

 

Two absolute gems, congrats.
Wierdly, I'd leave the Tow Bar on.
It actively discourages silly b!tches in Lexus Hybrids from parking near you

 

Both very clean and tidy! Good taste you have in cars there! Welcome to CGTI as well.

 

i am jealous

 

i hate both of them.... not my bag.

 

Very tidy, both of them.

Welcome!

 

wow, very tidy!

 

Thats a seriously nice collection you have there mate lovin both of them

 

Lucky boy!

 

Lol didn't see the tow bar I was too busy drooling over the rest of the car gooooorgeous Golf you have there... and most gorgeous Porsche you can buy IMO. I'm not jealous...

 

Very nice and original

 

Many thanks for all your kind comments. I guess I am a bit of an anorak in the car cleanliness stakes!

I have had the golf for a month now and love it to pieces. The steering, handling and gear change are all still tight. The car is not lightening fast, obviously, but the close ratio box and that unique mk2 exhaust burble put a massive smile on my face. If I was to criticise, I would say that the car tends to crash over bumps rather than absorb them but everything else is good. I need to have a ride in other gtis to validate that as a characteristic or a possible fault with dampers etc.

If you drive it sensibly, the MFA is saying 35 to 37 mpg which is a result its better on fuel than I thought it would be.

I have fixed the heated rear screen knackered cables in the rubber gaiter between body and tailgate sorted.
The central locking on the tailgate and release button were dodgy the lock was seized solid, stripped, lubricated and now sorted.
Handbrake warning lamp tell-tale sorted.
Rear wiper arm corroded sanded with 1200 wet/dry and sprayed satin black.
The bumpers are being continuously fed to make the black plastic black again. I have used a few bottles of gunk already gunk and not horrible dust attracting silicone spray.
Heater fan motor made a horrible squeal when used removed and lubricated now quiet.

Other niggling problems are a main beam LED that is so dim its a joke if you use lights during daylight hours (fog/rain) you could have main beam on and wouldnt know! That and I reckon the MFA is reading an outside temp a couple of degrees out. Sometimes when I start her up a hydraulic tappet makes a protest noise for a bit but then disappears. I know I will want to refurb those BBS rims one day; but I must keep reminding myself this is my mon-fri work car and not a toy! Honest!

Oh, the tow bar is staying not to tow anything but to save me filling a hole in the bumper!

Thanks for makng me feel welcome; Jay.

 

Are Mr Mills, That is a v nice mk2 you have there mate, please sell it to me check out www.eastcoastdubs.co.uk and come along to our meets, might be a bit of a treck for you though.......

 

Like the Mk2. Love the 944. Never been a big fan of the 944, especially the convertable but this is an absolute beauty man!

 

Well, 40,000 miles had taken its toll as a daily runner. Ongoing repairs in that 40k included :

• Coolant housing (for top hose and coolant temp sensors) cracked.
  
  
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• New Radiator.
• Oil breather split on top of cam cover giving a lumpy idle.
• Ignition switch which caused a breakdown would not start. No 12v live to ACC circuit. That was a pig you have to have to drift the steering column apart to get the switch out!
  
  
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• Park brake cables corroded, full of water and partially seized. Park brake would jam on with frosty mornings.
• A battery.
• Two centre silencers and a rear silencer.
• Front wheel bearings

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• Drivers door handle snapped.

This February 2012 it sat on my drive looking very sorry for itself still in daily use though. The wheels were black with crusted brake dust and it had a list of faults as long as your arm. I knew it needed an 800 injection of cash (minimum) to bring it back to some sort of glory. The car balanced on a knife edge between being placed on eBay for 850 or returning to VW Action at Pod shining again.

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It was a 50/50 split and in retrospect, I dont know why I put it up for conjecture really. I got 40,000 miles of what is cheap motoring with no depreciation and three door cars need to be saved really. Plus, you really do feel part of a community with the mk2 and every day that passes you get closer to that classic status. Seeing the values of mk1s climbing everyday, I think the mk2 is a keeper really. Doesnt make sense to ever get rid of it.

Once the girlfriend had been convinced that a dead car on axle stands for two months was a good idea; work started.

• Front Suspension

Broken anti-roll bar drop links and rotten disc backing plates. CV boot split.

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• Rear Suspension

Shock absorbers leaking fluid, coil spring top seats corroded real bad. Callipers seized. Brake pad friction material had separated from the pad backing plates due to binding heat. Rotten disc backing plates one had fallen off!!

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Snow stops play!

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• Fuel Lines and Pump

The metal crimp joints that secure the rubber hoses to the nylon hoses looked really bad. Luckily the nylon pipes have brass inserts, which means you can just cut the crimps off an re-crimp. Fuel tank dropped and all fuel pipes sorted.

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Continued...