possible projects mk2 golf ?

Parts are easy to get. The Blue car looks pretty mint but I'd guess it's had a respray. It's definately had a respray if it's got no sticker around the rear window. The 1.8T looks a bit ropey to me. You're unlikely to learn much about mechanics from one though, as they don't break much.

Post 87 Digifant 8V MK2s are dirt cheap to run. 35mpg is easy and they're pretty quick. 16Vs are quick, but you lose a good 7 or 8 mpg easily for your extra 27 horses. 8V specific bits (ie, HT leads, oil pumps etc.) are a lot cheaper than 16V parts, both engines are pretty bombproof.

Rust is generally quite rare, but the critical area is nigh on impossible to inspect, but both my Golf's have rusted there - my '89 rather catastrophically. The area is up at the top of the wing, and even without an arch liner fitted, you'd still need a torch and a mirror to check it. If there's a hole in the inside of the rain tray (area where the Chassis number is stamped and heater intake lives) by the wing, then it's going to be horrible once the wing's off. The other bad bit is under the driver's side wheelarch - this quite often goes below the filler and is a pain in the arse to repair due to the proximity of petrol - have a good poke, there's a lot of seam sealer and if it's at all flakey, it'll need doing if you're picky. Other spots that go are tailgates (get dirty and stay dirty) and door bottoms, and occasionally bits under the arch kit.

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Thanks for the post Doki, very helpful.

I really like that blue one aswell. The asking is £2,600 is that a fair price ? I have to be honest I saw this and thought wow!

They look ace, those mk2/mk3's look really cool to me always liked them. I believe there is a big following for them aswell.

Been looking for a project car to have a go on just small things to begin with, start familiarising myself with engines etc. Seems like a good engine ?

Has had a lot doing to it that blue one.

Been looking through google and looking for a car to get messy with :) don't fancy going down the boy racer typical chav cars something like this says a little more about a persons taste. I know what I like but I obviously don't have a wealth of knowledge mechanically. Going to do a bit of my homework on the mk2 golf side of things.

Thanks for the post given me hope yet of starting a project that hopefully won't cost me millions :)

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forgot to ask how long do these engine last for one of those advertised has done 112k I think.

Is there a rusty puddle in the footwell or am I seeing things?

Longer than that. I had a 1.6 carb Golf- the engine is very similar. I bought it with 118K, sold it with 150K, with very little trouble. It didn't burn oil either.

I thought MK2/3 GTis were chav cars? They were when I was younger. What do you want out of it? Every weekend in the garage or just washing it?

Plus I can't beleive =A32600 for a 1989 car!

I wouldn't pay that kind of money for it TBH. It's a nice car, but £2500 is the kind of money I'd expect to pay for a mint, one or two owner FVWSH car. For a start, the car is on a G plate. A G plate isn't a pukka 90 spec (90 spec consists of "big" bumpers and wiring that's compatible with the MK3, known as CE2). A G plate has the large glass windows (came in 88) and so they don't look too "off" with big bumpers, but it's never going to be worth a tonne as it's a meddled with rather than standard car.

If I were looking for a project car, if it were for rally, it'd be a 205 GTI, no question. Possibly a 205 GTI too for fast road and track, but if I knew I had to drive it every day and long distances, it'd be the Golf every time. However, if I were going to go for some sort of nutter lunatic project Golf, I'd just buy a scapper of a 16V and the mintest 3dr CL shell I could find (no sunroof you see) and transfer all the GTI specific bits over to the other car, so as to start with the most rigid shell available and know that it's sound. You've also got the advantage that IMO a CL shell is less likely to be rusting under the wings as it looks as if that area rusts because of flex caused by high suspension loadings, and a CL on 155s is much less likely to get hammered. What kind of project are you on about doing anyway?

Engines are very reliable. Only weakness I know of is that the oil pumps can be a bit lazy in the 8v. 16V (KR) head on a 9A block (Passat 2l) is the way to go for cheap big power.

£500 worth of suspension, power steering rare and worth £100, same for windows. Wheels IMO don't suit it. Seats are rainbow and untorn, which is rare and they're worth a few bob. A lot of work has been done on it, but I don't think it justifies the asking. I know if I owned it, I'd not be trying to sell it above £1500.

matey-matey has a pretty good buyer's guide. Google for it.

And FWIW, the front bumper irons look rotten on it. You could probably pull the bumper off by hand.

Could be. Door membranes get hacked up and let in moisture...

If that were a genuine 90 spec car, it'd be about as desirable as MK2 Golfs get. TBH I don't like Oak Green, I'd much prefer one of the metallic blues, but everyone else seems to love it. The RAs are the right wheels for the car, and it's got power steering (Golfs only really need it for parking though).

In news: snipped-for-privacy@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com, adder1969 wittered on forthwith;

CHEEKY BASTARD!

Well, Mk3s, probably....

I've just sold a 1984 car for £11000.

Check out the prices of Mk2 Escort RS2000s then. You'll probably have a major thrombie. A mint Mk1 Escort RS2000 will now fetch over £10k.

I've got two Golfs at the moment and I've just sold a Scirocco.

My Mk1 GTi has done 178k miles or thereabouts Mk Mk2 GTi has done 148k miles The Scirocco had done 137k miles The last Golf GTi I had before the ones I've got now was closing in on 250k miles when I sold it, I imagine it's still going strong as it had no issues when I sold it and I didn't drive it gently.

I'm just looking to get my hands dirty and learn about a specific car, and kind of spend a little time every week building a nice car up, kind of restoring it. Bit of a tinker person. Have some time on my hands and want to spend it doing this. I have very little mechanical knowledge but there is so much info online and here I can ask and learn from manuals, books etc just trying to get a foot in really. I really like the mk2 golf I like the 205 gti but know very little about it. Will google it a bit. I read already about them that they are quite hard to find a decent one that hasn't flown over a hedge or been thrashed. I want to a project to occupy time and creat a really special car I love. Sounds a bit soppy but thats it really. I welcome any advice or warnings of not to bother :)

Does seem a little expensive.

Ok, found it. Thanks

Thanks

OK. My number one piece of advice is don't buy a car that needs paintwork doing to it. It's an absolute pain in the arse. TBH more 205s are likely to have been crashed (tendency for oversteer if you lift off). Avoid any MK2 that's showing any rust too. They're pretty well rustproofed and you can afford to be picky if it's going to be a project.

Ok , so a) choose the car that you like most, then b) buy a reasonably straight one cheap from auction or whereever and use the money you saved to do it up. If you *don't* want to do any work on it but polish it then do listen to the others and avoid the crappy ones.

Never buy a 1.8T conversion that 'just needs finishing' - like the one above.

The reason why it is being sold is that the current owner has realised that 1.8T transplants are horribly complex requiring in-depth knowledge of VAG-COM if you are to get all the instrumentation working without the dash lighting up like a Christmas tree.

If you're good with computers and an electronics genius, then you may be able to work it all out - as a first project car, it'll drive you insane before you get it all working.

Supercharged VR6 transplant is a much better idea.

Especially if you have a reg that starts "G60" and has "VR" in it.. like a certain rather nice GTi....

Or you just buy a kit from QPE...

Well, yes. But would you now want to spend nearly 1500 quid on the kit

*plus* have to sort out the nest of bodged wiring on the eBay car that 'just needs finishing'.....

There's a good reason why QPE charge so much for the kit and a bloody good reason why a 1.8T conversion shouldn't be attempted without one.