However, the body work was now visibly rusting in the usual areas the windscreen sill was leaking along the bottom seal (and draining any water into the fuse box), base of the wheel well, bottom of the passenger door and of course, the rear arches. By autumn 2011 I had to deal with a number of niggling issues such as fixing the heater, replacing a cracked washer bottle and repairing the bulk head due to the clutch cable acting like cheese wire but nothing major. I serviced her regularly and changed the oil every 2000 miles which kept her in shape mechanically but her age started to show. I used my Golf as a daily driver for the next year and a half. New stainless steel exhaust and everything The bonnet bra has now been confined to the cupboard for corrosive reasons. Here are some of the pictures I took of the car for the insurance company. Not bad for a 27 yr old car!Īnyway, back to the point’. I arrived back in Leamington late that evening, after a six hour road trip without a single hiccup. There was no turning back I had to have her and paid the man his money. She was so much fun, even at the speed limit and smelled like my granddads car. When I finally saw her she met all my expectations, there was a little bubbling in front of the rear, passenger side wheel arch but nothing too serious (I thought), so I went for a test drive. I found myself sitting on a train to Newcastle the next morning, on my way to meet a total stranger about a car I had never driven! The advert had been posted a couple of days before I saw it so I phoned the owner, pronto, got him to stall another buyer and took a day off work. but she had a 'J' on her plate so she got called Juliet). After a couple of months of searching I found her (I know. Of course this meant I was surrounded by petrol heads for most of my working day and their passion started to rub off on me so I started to go and have a look at a few Golfs in the flesh. In the meanwhile, I moved to Leamington Spa in the February and got my dream job working on racing games. The temptation was too great to resist and I started trawling classifieds in my price range. I had a look and was surprised to find I could afford to get a tidy example and being my age (36 at the time) the classic insurance was an absolute steal. I started to think the usual list of crappy and/or practical cars but fell into a dilemma when I saw an on-line advert for a MK1 Golf GTI. That’s when the mid-life crisis really kicked in I was in the enviable position of having some money in the bank and needed transport. This meant working away from home and would need a car to commute back and forth to Derby to see my kids. When I left work I received a tidy payout, so I paid off most of my debts but still had to find myself a new job and quickly. I received the news I was to be made redundant, awful situation but it had a silver lining. Shortly after returning to work in the New Year of 2010. I lived in Germany (RAF brat) and was lucky enough to be exposed to the GTI experience at an early age and it left a lasting impression, even though I never got to drive one! Well, just under four years ago I finally got to realise my childhood wish (cliche alert but I apologise to no one) and bought a '1983 Mk1 Golf GTI in Alpine White. I've always craved owning a VW since I was a kid in the early eighties. To cut a long story short, I am in the last phase of re-assembling my beloved MK1 Golf GTI and wanted to celebrate the journey. First things first, thanks for taking some time to have a look at my thread.
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