Hi,
Some of you might have read my post about learning to build a MK1. Well I went to see a 83 GTI today and wanted to ask some question of you knowledgable folk before pulling the trigger on it.
The car is a black 83 GTI with a 5 speed manual. ODO reads just over 90,000. Interior was in very good condition with no tears in the seats (red) I did not see any cracks in the dash (also red). All the dials appeared to work fine. The passenger side triangular door window was taped closed and the seller mentioned that it needed a latch of some sort. One of the LEDs on the dash was on which if i remember right it was the oxygen sensor(??) it was the red LED below 2 below the battery logo. The heat was on and worked but i was told the cable the shuts off the heat was put on upside down so changing this around would fix that. The doors needed to be closed hard for them to close properly. I also noticed that the red stripe was a little off with its alignment from the door and the other body panels.
The car started first time and I believe it was from cold. The brake pedal seemed to go down a a lot before the car seemed to slow down. The clutch pedal was on the hard side to push in (compared to a 2001 car). There was also a knock/banging/looseness from the steering wheel this was more apparent when turning left to right quickly. Engine seemed to pull wheel through all gears.
Body panels: Rust holes on both from fenders by the wheels also on the back by the wheels. Strut towers where rust free. I was told the floor pans where in good condition and hole free. There was rust under the paint on the trunk. under the hood looked good with no visible rust.
The guy is asking $2500 for it and is an older guy who is a VW guy. He had 3 ghia's. One was a drag car, one was a completed project street car and the other he was in the process of restoring. He is selling the GTI to fund putting a lift in his home shop.
Are there any red flags? Is it worth what he is asking? Are the rust patches relatively easy to repair?
Thanks for reading
Dean
Some of you might have read my post about learning to build a MK1. Well I went to see a 83 GTI today and wanted to ask some question of you knowledgable folk before pulling the trigger on it.
The car is a black 83 GTI with a 5 speed manual. ODO reads just over 90,000. Interior was in very good condition with no tears in the seats (red) I did not see any cracks in the dash (also red). All the dials appeared to work fine. The passenger side triangular door window was taped closed and the seller mentioned that it needed a latch of some sort. One of the LEDs on the dash was on which if i remember right it was the oxygen sensor(??) it was the red LED below 2 below the battery logo. The heat was on and worked but i was told the cable the shuts off the heat was put on upside down so changing this around would fix that. The doors needed to be closed hard for them to close properly. I also noticed that the red stripe was a little off with its alignment from the door and the other body panels.
The car started first time and I believe it was from cold. The brake pedal seemed to go down a a lot before the car seemed to slow down. The clutch pedal was on the hard side to push in (compared to a 2001 car). There was also a knock/banging/looseness from the steering wheel this was more apparent when turning left to right quickly. Engine seemed to pull wheel through all gears.
Body panels: Rust holes on both from fenders by the wheels also on the back by the wheels. Strut towers where rust free. I was told the floor pans where in good condition and hole free. There was rust under the paint on the trunk. under the hood looked good with no visible rust.
The guy is asking $2500 for it and is an older guy who is a VW guy. He had 3 ghia's. One was a drag car, one was a completed project street car and the other he was in the process of restoring. He is selling the GTI to fund putting a lift in his home shop.
Are there any red flags? Is it worth what he is asking? Are the rust patches relatively easy to repair?
Thanks for reading
Dean
