The car is a 1981 1.4L Golf MK1 GLS with well over 100 000kms on the clock. It has a black and faded brown interior with the less common flared chrome bumpers (opposed to the thinner chrome bumpers). It smells of smoke and damp carpet from its years as a run around car for an elderly lady and from getting parked outside day in and day out. The weather has taken its toll on the paint and an accident with a truck has left its one eye slightly crooked. With that being said it is what we have for a starting point.

The plan

Refurbish it back to factory specifications with the exception of a fuel injected setup (for reliability, seeing that the donor engine is a 1.4L) and a new colour. Fortunately a lot of the hard to find parts are reusable, however the body is really badly damaged from rust.

We are yet to see what the extent of the rust damage is as we haven't peeled back many of the layers. The car currently runs as it was a daily driver up until it got sold to us.

The worst of the damage...

Jetta MK1 steelies mismatched with Golf Mk1 steelies! Will have to hunt down a matching pair

The larger, flared, bumpers. Some nice patch work done, with what appears to be some kind of silicone, tape and house paint

Super excited to get underway and start refurbishing!