So here's some of the second generation Golfs and Jettas that have passed through my hands over the years......they're listed in no particular order.....
First up is Christine, named because she continued to drive for miles while the engine was on fire, as I raced towards my pal Joe's workshop and his lovely bank of fire extinguishers! HAHA! This is the car that got me well and truly hooked on Mk2's, which are still my favourite veedub....3 engines, 2 gearboxes, and just about every nut and bolt was replaced on this car in the 10 years I owned her......I found her rotting away under a tree in a back garden in England....rebuilt, resprayed, and generally brought back to life....once the parts receipts topped €10,000, I stopped keeping them! Every day for 8 years I drove her....and she put a smile on my face every time. She never let me down once in all that time......some might say it was down to mechanical skill on my part.....I call it luck!
My first Mk2 Jetta, nicknamed 'Asal', which is native Irish for donkey! Slow, steady, would go forever on a sip of diesel.......bought as a cheap runaround while I was rebuilding Christine......I still ended up throwing a couple of grand into her on G60 steels, shocks, brake overhaul, wheel bearings, fluids, filters and belts. I regretted selling her within days of letting her go to her new owner, who still uses her regularly.....that's part of the satisfaction for me...rejuvenating cars and seeing them get a new lease of life.......
Next up....my next Mk2 Golf Gti......found in a field about 15miles from home, bought for a song and again did my usual of throwing a shitload of money into her! Will I ever fucking learn????? Ehhhhhhh, no, probably not....that's the beauty of these cars, they're a constantly evolving hobby........easy to work on, easy to source parts (a trade discount helps too) and uber-reliable when you do things right.....
So anyway, this is Carrie.....named after we discovered the evil within......within the engine to be precise.............................worn thrust washers meant the crankshaft danced around like Fred Astaire on ecstasy when you gave her a shot of revs.......engine rebuild time! Oh Shit! More big bills!
It was around this time a few years back that my health took a kamikaze nosedive for a while, so a fellow VW/Audi nut and all round good guy called Geo did a full engine rebuild for me......when my health improved, I made the 80 mile journey to his garage and drove her home....man that trip home was sweet....she ran better than when she left the factory.......credit where its due...this man knows his shit when it comes to old VW's......and he's always on the end of the phone ready to help when I invariably fuck something up! Thanks George!
Sadly, she's now also gone to a new home up north of our little country, where she's getting the pampering she deserves....
How I found her....
...and how she ended up with some mechanical work and a lot of tlc....
So what do you do when you've sold your 100+bhp Mk2 GTi? How do you replace the sharp handling, solidly built, finely tuned and fettled hot-hatch?
You buy another 55bhp diesel plodder, that's what!
My most recent road-going Mk2....another Jetta diesel.......the original owner (from new) asked me did I know anyone who'd take her, as she didn't want her to go to the crusher........I said of course I'll give her a new home.....
So off we went again, replacing parts, fluids, belts, brakes...does it ever end? No, actually....it doesn't! Why do us VW nuts do it.........dunno....we just DO....and we love every fuckin' minute! My good mate Alan did Trojan work on the bodywork, spending two full nights cutting back the original paint a few layers.........the transformation is unbelievable....just look at the pics below.......he did such a fantastic job, I was asked on numerous occasion s had she been repainted! When it comes to detailing and cleaning cars, this man knows his shit! Nuff said!
I did a bit of shed parts-bin raiding on this one to give her a bit of an individual look....and I don't think she turned out too bad......interestingly, when I advertised her for sale, after a couple of hours I had to turn off my phone because I was getting so many text messages and phone calls! Loretta De Jetta has been given a new lease of life and is now gone to her new home in the West of Ireland, that windswept, rainy region beloved of poets, scholars, and rain-gear-wearing tourists, eager to trace their roots and drink overpriced beer while wearing itchy wool jumpers!
here's how she looked the day me and Mel picked her up......looking a little tired, forlorn, and cowshit stained from 20yrs in the countryside...
How she ended up after we worked a little magic on her....fitted first with Porsche Teledials which got a €50 home refurb...
...and then some hand polished Porsche Design 90's which we swapped the 'dials for with a friend....
So now....that's just some of the Mk2's that have passed through my driveway......most never made it to the road and became parts donors, some just dropped by for a visit........like the mint one-owner-from-new small bumper early Mk2 in brown, with matching brown tweed interior that I loaned to a pal and never got back.....
.....or the GTD that melted a piston while being driven around Ireland by two sour-faced French lesbians on holidays, so I offered 'em 100 quid for it.......funny story, that one actually.........remind me to tell you some other time.....
OK, that's all for now....
RV.
