Yep you’re probably right. I’d gladly attach a couple of pics but I can’t see an attach button on my i phone to post snaps (you can tell I’m not an avid poster lol) 🤷♂️Any tips anyone?
In order to post pictures on here I use a site called imgbb.com
I upload on my account which is sorted via album and use “BB CODE FULL LINKED” - copy and paste, which then provides a picture once posted.
I’ve struggled to post pics but I’ve added a link below so fingers crossed.... Today was the first time I’ve turned her over since last year and she started on the first turn of the key 👍 https://ibb.co/album/gdNZng
Yep you’re probably right. I’d gladly attach a couple of pics but I can’t see an attach button on my i phone to post snaps (you can tell I’m not an avid poster lol) 🤷♂️Any tips anyone?
In order to post pictures on here I use a site called imgbb.com
I upload on my account which is sorted via album and use “BB CODE FULL LINKED” - copy and paste, which then provides a picture once posted.
Wow! That underside looks great, you can really see it's been looked after.
Yeah it’s not all bad considering - I think I’m going to bare metal it all underneath and see what’s the crack just in case!
I'm not sure you know exactly how bloody awful that job is!! My best mate wanted to build a mk2 track car, so we put it on a spit and went about stripping it all down, so we could seam weld it. It took us weeks with grinders and scrapers and all kinds of crap just trying to get the underseal off. If I were you, I'd try a couple of localised repairs/areas first, just to get a flavour of how hard it is.
Might be a better idea, especially with my surgery Friday - I’ll dwell on it and see if I outsource that one etc! Thanks!
What is interesting is mine was made on 17th May 84 (Mars red too) so just 1 day out from yours....The VIN plate on mine is at the bottom of the inner wing by the metering head whereas yours is positioned by the ECU, interesting.
Good luck with your plans and always good to start with a sound base which you’ve clearly got with your car.
Thanks! Very strange, I wonder if it’s due to mine being a German Import perhaps? Any pics of yours?
Gave the car a quick wash so it can be put under a cover for a while. Battery is toast anyway so just need to fill the tank up with some fuel stabiliser additive and it’s good to go.
Whilst it was on the hard standing was easy to see how the underneath is - I think it’ll need at least one sill doing - floor pans will need stripping back to see what’s underneath as they’ve been painted.
Did a quick hoover of the interior and started to clean in the scuttle tray just to make sure no drainage holes were blocked.
Not much done on this today - I got the call that I’m going back in hospital next week for my operation - hopefully it actually goes ahead this time!
Took the evening to sort out and go through the service history - probably the most comprehensive and vast collections out of any of my cars! Every MOT history or SORN application - tax reminder/ invoice. You name it and it’s there.
If you swap the foam over from another car, make sure you swap it from an early one, the 90 spec ones had a slightly different configuration. Found that one out the hard way!
Thanks mate - good note because I wouldn’t have guessed that!
Two Golfs.. now that is just greedy....! Only jealous....I'd love to have a Corrado and a 190 2.6 and maybe a VR6....but we already have an Octy Scout a Citigo as well as my BB 8v moredoor!
Hope you don't unearth many surprises on the GTI. One thing I notice about the early ones is the seat covers go baggy. I know you can get replacement foam but has anyone had any success with plumping the original foam with steam, like the guy did on the Salvage Hunters Range Rover? I know Tim has done it too, Could be a cheap fix.
Haha - wish I could keep them both but I've decided that the CL is now going with the GTi being the car I have wanted for a while!
Sounds a nice collection, we are downsizing this end - A3 is going, beetle is gone. Just left are the Mk2's and an Mii.
Me neither but i think its inevitable unfortunately - I think it is likely ill uncover the seats and replace the foam on the drivers bolster. I need to work out where to get piping from too!
Looks a cracking original car there, KJets are so much more lively than digi I found, I also think the very early interior like that look the best, I also prefer the shifter bellows over the later style.
Good luck with it, that's a keeper right there!
Thanks mate, appreciate it! I prefer the earlier interior bits too!
Can you check if the drivers seat is height adjustable? I had an 85 seat for spares and it was fixed. I wasn't sure if height adjust was a age related addition or 86 onwards.
It's these little additions that help build a profile of the evolution of the car throughout the production life.
There will be lots of little things you might spot when you start to compare with the 88.
On the inside of the tailgate, halfway along the pillar you might find rubber grommets on the 84 that are not there on the 88, I guess they are to aid with access to the wiring for the heated screen. I assume that they discovered a way to improve production and these were no longer needed.
Also your boot lock, the whole body of it, should be cast aluminium not plastic.
You’re right! Pictures below:
Such strange differences I would have never noticed!
Ok so this is odd, there is a registration window of August 1983 - July 1984 for it to be an A reg.
According to online checks you have a build year of 1984 and a first reg date of 17 August 1984, check your V5. But by my reckoning that would mean it should be a B reg.
Maybe it was pre-reg by the dealer hence the late A reg. End of year models are often offered with deals to clear stock. This may have been the case ready for the 85 model.
I know you can't really go off reg date as you don't know how long a car has sat in stock, but I know you can check build week off of the boot sticker or work it out form the VIN. Regardless, but it looks like your car is from the very end of the first year run. (Bear in mind a VW production year is not a calendar year, and is slightly out of sync with registration years so sometime around June to September the 85 spec would be launched.
So it's very likely the factory floor would start to roll out 85 spec parts as this seems the trend for every other year. The cars evolved throughout their production period and it seems when VW decided on an update they started it there and then, it's only the major facelifts that actually saw them a 'new' models.
The alternative might be the dealer fitted some 'newer' parts to help the car sell once the 85 models hit the show room. So I have no reason to think the bumper or grill are anything different to how it left the showroom. How it left the factory is debatable, but either way red trim bumpers and quad lamp grills make a GTI for me so I wouldn't go changing it.
Either way, cracking car, can't wait to see how you tackle this one. Please keep us updated .... I'd start by tearing it apart.
[EDIT:]
Looking at the pics from the sale ad, that looks like the red stripe might be a stick on vinyl strip anyway. Not the red rubber insert of the later cars. Maybe applied by the dealer ??
Where did you find the for sale ad, I missed the pictures and yeah I just discovered the same thing not so long ago - it looks to be just a vinyl tape - so I’ll get that sorted.
It’s weird the boot sticker is as follows:
So it looks that the car built on the 20th Week of 1984 on the 3rd Wednesday. So, looks to be 16th May 1984. I have a delivery date of 30th May 1984 and then V5 is registered 17th August 1984.
I think it “should” have a single red stripe grill but the odds of me finding one are pretty common actually. I think the plan therefore is to keep the quads and find another grill with genuine red stripe and badge whilst removing the coach tape. Therefore, that follows a genuine A reg UK spec car rather than a German one.
Hopefully, It’ll look good at least when the car is finished!
