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A question about Sciroccos


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A fella in the garage o'er the way is selling a Scirocco he has just acquired from a 'house clearance'. He also got an Ascona. He's selling the Scirocco for 250. It's a Scala, 1.6 carb I think? It started on the button after being laid up for 12 years in a garage, interior is immaculate. Overall engine sounds pretty good (no tapping etc) and looks really nice tbh. There's a hole behind the rear window, and someone cut a hole in the door to steal it about twenty years ago (piece of plastic glued over it).

I know the general consensus of VW's is they're really good marketing disguising mediocre cars (but if you ask anyone in the VW community they're all amazing), but are these any good? I've always fancied one as they're the only VW I'd look twice at. I'm not arsed with blazing performance, handling. If I'm not interested, is anyone else here?

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They aren't bad, but aren't worth anything. A 3-door Mk2 golf of similar vintage is worth 10x what a scirocco is worth which just seems bizarre.

 

I had a heavily tweaked one which went through various owners and is now owned by a friend of Triggers, was a good car but ultimately ran its bearings and lost all oil pressure which was a crying shame.

 

I think the 1.6 is probably a bit glacial, but whack a twin-choke weber 32/34 carb on it and you'll liberate some more oomph and probably not increase your insurance premium.

 

They are less sporty than they look.

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I've read in the past they're pretty awful, no matter what you read on VW forums, especially compared to Celicas and Calibras, etc, but they are nice looking cars. I'm sure it's a carb 1.6 which I'm guessing is absolutely horrible, it's a D reg. I don't understand why they're completely worthless and unloved though.

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My time to shine.

 

As people have said it won't be worth much. £500-1k with MOT, 2k if it's low mileage.

I think the price discrepancy betwixt it and a golf of similar vintage is down to original buyers. Golf gti's were what a lot of people remember as their first sporty car. Scirocco's were more touring motors for the older gent with spare cash. People get nostalgic about Golfs.

 

At £250 I doubt you'd lose money on it, and if you don't want it, PM me the details and I'll pass it to the SciroccoRegister Forum. They're very active, friendly and provide loads of advice.

 

As cars, the ones being produced in the late 80s and early 90s can't be compared the Calibras and Celicas of comparable age. Compare the Corrado.

Mk2 Sciroccos are based on the mk1 Golf A1 platform, designed in the 60s, produced from the 70s. VW never really improved the mechanicals, just reskinned them and updated the look. The engines are basic, but strong and will do 200k+ happily with no rebuilds. Oil change intervals are 6,000 miles. Gearboxes will do similar. Clutches are strong and can last 100k. Drivetrains are tough. A 1.6 won't be quick, but they're economical for their age (expect 40+ MPG), and with the right gearbox will happily keep up with motorway traffic. My 1.8 with a caddy gearbox cruises at 3k RPM at 80.

The clutch mechanism has a small hole coming through the bulkhead, with a weak mount. These can pull through, so look for signs of damage around the cable site. The 1.8 injections are much quicker, and much more sought-after.

Brakes aren't great so now, but weren't bad for the 80s. VW designed it for LHD, and couldn't fit the actuator into the tight space on the right hand side, so there's a complicated linkage to activate the master cylinder on the left hand side. As such the feel is a bit doughy. Fronts are discs, rears drums. 

Driving position is low and sporty, as fits the shape. Seats are comfy, even for long distances. Bolsters wear and collapse. Look for damage to the drivers side bolster by the door. The dashboard decays and cracks if it sees the sun, telltale signs are cracks around the screen demister vents.

Rust - not a huge amount TBH. Check the sills. Check the drivers rear wheel arch. The fuel filler neck runs through the arch and acts as a grot trap. Filler necks then rust through and drop rust into the fuel tank which leads to all sorts of running problems. Doors can drop, but just need shims. Boot doors leak water when the seals deteriorate. Windscreens can leak as the seals deteriorate and drip water onto the fusebox. None of these are difficult fixes.

Suspension is tough, but is more set for comfort than sport from factory. Spend £150 on a set of strut braces and the car becomes instantly chuckable.

 

Essentially, they're cheap to buy, relatively economical, simple to repair, cheap to tax and insure, and quite fun to drive. 

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My brother had a 1.6 Mk2 years ago, at the same time I had an Alfasud Sprint and it was interesting to compare the two cars.

 

The Alfasud was a much more involving drive, the engine was urgent and the chassis responsive.  However the Scirocco was a much nicer drive over long distances, a comfortable driving position and more economical.

 

I don't think you'll lose money so give it a try.

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I had a 1.8 Scirocco a few years ago. It went quite well, as I recall, and was fairly comfortable.

 

I had two problems with it: part of the clutch cable assembly pulled through the bulkhead on the way home one day and also it decided to start ticking over at about 2,500rpm at one point due to a split vacuum(?) pipe somewhere under the bonnet. That aside I had very little trouble from it.

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Christ.

That is rare.

It's a very early phase 1 Scala in Paprika red.

The interior with the Carmine Red seats and door cards are like hens teeth. I've been looking for some for 2 years.

The Avus Snowflake alloys with matching red paint are also rare. Worth £100+ on their own.

The engine could be injection or carb, the early models were changeover so it could be either.

 

More info here:

http://website.lineone.net/~dr.dub/scala.htm

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A D reg Scala will be a 1.8 injection.

Get that shit bought.

 

I'd expect it to be carb, early Scalas were Pierberg carb, they switched to injection around '88.

 

I've had 2x injection Sciroccos and still have one. I did 80k miles in one in 2 years and it only needed routine maintenance. Great cars, proper sports car driving position, cavernous boot. Not particularly quick, but slightly stiffer suspension and a lower front strut brace they handle quite nicely.

Personally I don't like carbed 'roccos, but at that money it's worth a shot, injections have more power, better economy and in my experience are more reliable.

 

Buy it, and if you need any spares drop me a line as I have loads.

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Going rate is MORE than 10 times the £250 asking price.

 

Not for Scirocos, mk2 Sciroccos are not worth much unless they are special for one reason or another.

 

There's an early mk2 I consider a bit special going for £800 with long MOT at present on another forum. I just wish I had the spare money/space for it but can't buy it atm.

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Guest Breadvan72

My late brother had a D reg Scirocco in this colour, but with steelies, IIRC.  He loved it, and blatted it like a nutter.  I have sometimes pondered buying one in his memory, but am not sure if I would get much use from one.

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My faither had an E-reg Scala in white 20 years ago. Nice to drive, it had a 1.8 carb engine that was only happy drinking Super Unleaded. The original front struts featured dampers that ran directly in the strut, and could be rebuilt (as he did) using 15w/40 multigrade instead of monograde damping oil.

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Get it bought! I had a 1987 GTX which I loved.

 

First car I ever drove on track (Knockhill).

 

First lap pulling hard up the big hill and thought I had fvcked it - then looked at the rev counter and it was banging off the limiter

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That's nowhere near knackered enough for the £250 tag, especially if it fired up.

 

I loved my Storm, the 1.8 K-jet and short gearing made it a demon off the line, they aren't linear at all - I found it a bit breathless flooring it from 50mph f'rexample and you don't want to spend too long at 80mph+ if you like your hearing. But the acceleration is enough to keep it interesting, especially if you do a lot of around town driving. Practise your reactions and go traffic light drag racing. Some parts are getting a bit rare if they're Scirocco specific but the register is really helpful - anything oily is Golf and available everywhere.

 

I would say "let me have the details" but I appear to be five hundredth in line.

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