Wassitwerf? Contains Golf content.

[phil_lihp]

OK, quick question for the VWers.  I have spotted a 1982 W-reg VW Golf GTi dissolving on a driveway with a very faded For Sale sign stuck to the windscreen.  All I can make out is the mobile number.  DVLA says it's a 1.6 and was last taxed in 1996, Google street view shows it wasn't there in 2009, although it looks like it has been, the tyres are very, very flat and the paintwork is green.

 

It's very much like this and the same colour:

 

 

Except for the condition.  All I think I know about these is that this is an early one and potentially worth a few £ to the right crowd.  From a distance it doesn't look totally rotten, the bonnet is mottled with surface rust but I can't get close without opening the gate and walking right up to the house so a phone call would be needed first.

 

I'm tempted to phone up, find out more and if it's not a complete basket case I'd throw in an offer but I have no idea what condition it's in yet underneath and I also have no idea what would be a sensible value for one of these given the scene appeal with that badge on the front.

 

Any suggestions on a) what to look out for apart from the usual rust and rot and what would be a good price?

[Junkman]

In the condition you describe it's worth scrap value plus three pints.

[Wilko220]

Polish it and photograph it in a white room though, and the possibilities are endless...

[nacho man]

The dubbers seem to pay mega £££ for crap so get it and flog it them.

 

Plus add "barn find" to a ebay advert to guarantee success when selling.

[Partridge]

Depends on if it’s complete/original. Maybe even break it? The VW crowd seems to love stuff like the tartan seats and OEM alloys, as kids like to put them on/in their Lupos, Polos etc.

Even the splitter would probably go for something, if it’s half decent.

 

I’d think this is more the Blue Forum’s domain though?

[Partridge]

OMG SWALLOWTAIL JIZZ PARADE

Say what?

[Rusty Pelican]

Swallowtail is the early rear end panel i believe.

Much wantage from all Dubbers 

[Partridge]

Ah. I was thinking maybe Swallow Tail Jizz Parade was a kind of deviant Japanese porn.

[maxpower]

Banger race it

[vulgalour]

No tax, no test and obvious neglect would probably put it in the sub-£500 bracket.  Serious rot pushes it into sub-£300.  However, if it's a genuine early swallowtail GTi that's not been modified it could be £800-1000 even for a basket case.  Prices on these Golfs seems a bit odd, but unmolested very early ones with a few OEM optional extras seems to net the biggest profit.  It being a 1.6 rather than a 1.8 will probably have it of more value to classic enthusiasts rather than dubbers and they'd be looking for non-rotten and low mileage.

 

If it's got serious rot around the gutters it's going to be a lot of work.  Lower bulkhead, particularly where the clutch cable routes, can lead to annoying repairs.  They rot in a hidden spot where the top back edge of the wing meets the scuttle and can go all the way down the A pillar, this is usually only evident when you open the door or remove the wing.  Sills can rot for fun inside and out but that's usually easy to spot and tailgates can rot quickly enough for rear windows to literally fall out.

 

Things to look for are originality above all else.  Original graphics, unmolested door cards and parcel shelfs and original interesting fabric seats seem to be the best bits to have.

 

I think that's everything.  It is probably a bit more blue forum than brown forum but what do I know, people seem to like my Mk1 Golf here for some reason.

[phil_lihp]

Wow VA, thanks for the details!  Wat's response had me confused too for a while - alas it is too late to be a swallowtail model, I didn't know Golfs went back so far, some half-baked Googling tells me that the first ones on N and P plates around 74-75 are the only ones with that design so it's not particularly desirable from that perspective.

 

I realise this is more of a RR thing but didn't want to start getting excited dubbers foaming at the mouth demanding to know where it is/why I haven't bought it yet/etc. and, well, you chaps seem to know your stuff.  I don't have much interest in VWs in general but anything old and abandoned tends to attract my attention and it's quite unusual to see a car left like that on the driveway of an otherwise immaculate house.

 

I'd still be interested to speak to the owner so will swing by there this week and try and write down the number, give them a call and see what the situation is.  Probably on a hiding to nothing but worth a go.

[phil_lihp]

Polish it and photograph it in a white room though, and the possibilities are endless...

 

What, like this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volkswagen-Golf-Mk1-GTi-Campaign-SOLD-SIMILAR-REQUIRED-/121040374366?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item1c2e918a5e

 

Wow.  Technically the one I've seen is 'similar' so if I do end up with it, I'll give it a quick wash and sell it to these guys for a few grand.  Perfect.

[Pillock]

W won't be a Swallowtail. In fact I don't think any GTIs were, they changed the panel before the model was introduced.

 

There's enough good ones out there still to mean a rotten one is barely above bridge money. Good ones go for big coin but that sounds like it'd absorb lots of money first.

[londonm]

The first Golf GTI was 1976, so 1982 isn't particularly early. Show us some pics, if it's been parked on grass for a few years it'll teabag when you move it. To be honest, I'd prefer it went to a proper restorer and not some trustafarian tosser who gives it the old 'rat' look (or twat look as I like to call it).

[Partridge]

I’m not a fan of the rat look at all, but it’s got to be better than it sitting there rotting, no?

[Cavcraft]

No. They're not that rare yet, so 'ratting' them is just blindly following some other talentless gobshites.

 

 

The sign being faded tells me it's probably stupidly over-priced, probably because some bum nugget has told the owner they're worth £11,000 and that's why it's been there so long.

[Partridge]

No. They're not that rare yet, so 'ratting' them is just blindly following some other talentless gobshites.

 

 

The sign being faded tells me it's probably stupidly over-priced, probably because some bum nugget has told the owner they're worth £11,000 and that's why it's been there so long.

That opinion +1

[phil_lihp]

The sign being faded tells me it's probably stupidly over-priced, probably because some bum nugget has told the owner they're worth £11,000 and that's why it's been there so long.

 

More or less what I suspect, I reckon it can't hurt to ask though.  

[fordperv]

The sign being faded tells me it's probably stupidly over-priced, probably because some bum nugget has told the owner they're worth £11,000 and that's wihy it's been there so long.

I experienced this when I enquired about a beetle that was sat rotting, it was nowt special, bridge worthy rotten, engine knackered but the Mrs saw something in it, spoke to the owner they wanted to sell when came to price I asked what they were looking for and the answer was..... £2000 because the usual my friends cousins dog had one once and said it was worth that, I politely declined and it ended up at a local scrap yard

[phil_lihp]

Well, I went round again and managed to get the phone number down off the windscreen on the second attempt.  The seller seems like a decent chap, apparently a mechanic, very helpful and pleasant, however he wants £1000 or close to buy the car.

 

That's not quite so outrageous when you get the Golf, a spare shell, spare engine and 'many boxes of bits and parts' but it's still a lot of wonga for a rusty old car.  I politely declined saying it was well out of my means and obviously quite a big project, he came back to say that the car is complete and 'just wants a little work to get on the road'. 

 

Terrible photo:

 

 

He told me it was meant to be a full bare-metal restoration which now can't be completed (or started, judging by the car's completeness).  I've no reason to disbelieve him but it's probably going to be a bigger project than he would like to think, it surely has to be given how long it's been dormant.

 

If I had the space and the time and he'd come down on the price, I probably would consider it, I would like to rescue it from that driveway but it's never going to be a weekend with a can of WD40 and a few spanners to get it roadworthy regardless of what he says.  If anyone is interested, I can pass on details but I suspect this is an ambitiously priced project unfortunately.

[Station]

The problem is, you will need to spend thousands to get it right again so that it will be worth 1/2 of what you could sell it for.

As much as Top Gear magazine claims these are the best cars ever made in their cliched 'Best cars ever made' things, I can't see the point in them, apart from the pleasant body design.

[Rocket88]

Of their time, they were great............as long as you could put up with the almost complete lack of brakes. I've always preferred the Mk2.