I've been on the look out for a cheap VW and I was offered this the other weekend and just couldn't say no. I think it's going to be quite an expensive bit of fun, but when SWMBO said I had approval to buy it I didn't wait for her to change her mind

It's a tatty looking alpine white 1985 mk1 GL convertible.

It's a 1600 carb and well in need of a new roof and new fuel filler neck! The heater doesn't work making it pretty darn chilly on the vinyl seats at the moment!!

Other than that it seems pretty tidy, no major rust (that i've found yet!).

Nice car, it doesnt look that bad really. The roof shouldnt need replacement, just needs a good clean with a decent convertible roof cleaner.

You fooled me with your thread title - thought I should get to see pictures of an Octy Mk1 convertible :woohoo:

Looks nice! And very white Winter solstice today - summer will be here shortly

The roof shouldnt need replacement, just needs a good clean with a decent convertible roof cleaner.

If only.....there are several large holes in it around the rear window with a few other smaller ones starting to appear.

The roof's should last 10 years apparently and from the receipts with it it's not had one since 1995.

It's not too wet inside, theres a fair bit of tape on the roof to keep it sealed in the meantime. I'll probably change it for a black roof in the new year.

Very nice.

I want a convertible and can't decide whether to buy a sensible main car and then a golf for weekend fun , or just buy a nice modern convertible when I replace the octy. I'd miss the practicality of the Octy , but it would avoid two lots of running costs and an overly crowded drive

Very nice, thats a few of us with mk1's on here now

cool,i love the mk 1's:thumbup:

Mk1 Cabby's are nice

Zoidburg: Audi A4 Cabby!

Lovely car , gotta love early 'wasserkuhle' VWs!!

That is just sex on wheels!!!!

Do you mind revealing how much you paid for it???

Cheers, I paid £300, but bear in mind that it desperately needs a new roof which will be in the region of another £400-600. and it has no MOT.

Zoidberg an A4 cab would be my choice of modern convertible too. Especially with the 2.5 v6 diesel

There was a program a while back, Wheeler Dealers iirc, where Mike Brewer and Ed China restored a MkI GTI, which although was a hard top it does give some good insight as to what might need looking at.

Nice car btw , would love to attempt something like that but I'm too lazy

My brothers old golf Karmen, Love Em!

Cheers Steve, i'll have to take a look at YouTube to see if I can find it

Thanks Mluton, those pictures are inspiring that cars so clean!!!

Cheers Steve, i'll have to take a look at YouTube to see if I can find it

Thanks Mluton, those pictures are inspiring that cars so clean!!!

If there's any bits you need a hand with just gimme a shout Been messing about with Mk1's for years

This is mine, unfortunaltly she doesnt look like this at the moment!

Cheers, I paid £300, but bear in mind that it desperately needs a new roof which will be in the region of another £400-600. and it has no MOT.

Zoidberg an A4 cab would be my choice of modern convertible too. Especially with the 2.5 v6 diesel

cheers. that sounds reasonable. I'd love to have a go at one of these one day, i really like the look of the mk 1. Was there a mk1 gti convertible? that would be pretty special.

Yeah there was a GTi version, it uses the same engine as this one but it was fuel injected rather than on a carb.

Cheers all for the offers of advice, it's surprising just how many people have owned a mk1 at some point!!

There was a program a while back, Wheeler Dealers iirc, where Mike Brewer and Ed China restored a MkI GTI, which although was a hard top it does give some good insight as to what might need looking at.

That was a good one

I sold Velma for £600 to a mate in March of '06 with less than average mileage, very clean inside and out but with a problem with the fan not working and therefore over heating. The roof was in ok nick.

Oh yeah, the cleaner I used to use for the roof was an autoglym one. If you come over to the IOW meet you can have it as I sadly have no use for it anymore. I look forward to seeing pictures of the end result

Yeah there was a GTi version, it uses the same engine as this one but it was fuel injected rather than on a carb.

Cheers all for the offers of advice, it's surprising just how many people have owned a mk1 at some point!!

excellent! I guess they would fetch a hefty premium for the badge / prestige etc. I'd love to have a nice example of one of those to run around in during the nice weather though.

I've got one of the aforementioned fuel injected GTi cabriolets. They were all 1.8 litre 8 valves like mine I think. Mine's in really good condition (highlighted by me going to the barn where it's stored the other day and it starting first time after being stood for 2 months in the bleak Yorkshire mid-winter) and I love driving it.

It's the old school cool looks of it that do it for me, and the involving (and somewhat physical with no PAS or ABS) drive.

The first thing I did (after putting the original wheels back on) was get a new roof on it, and I really recommend that mate. It totally lifts the whole car. It's not cheap, but it's certainly worth it.

Good luck with it, good choice.

Btw, if you have any problems with it drop me a PM if you want - I might have had a similar one (I've had a few in the 15 months since I got mine!)

Nice Old Golf's are the best Golf's

Bit of an update for you, progress has been annoyingly slow, the good old British weather hasn't helped when working outside...

The car's almost ready for an MOT to get it back on the road, just got to work out why some of the rear lights don't work (I've tried the bulbs). Could be an earthing problem or split cable somewhere.

It's just had:

A new waterpump, thermostat and belt

New fuel pump, vapour seperator and some fuel lines

New fuel filler neck

Coolant change

Oil change

Flat tyres have been pumped up

All the wheels have been off to inspect the brakes and then gone back on with some locking wheel nuts.

The roof's been cleaned (it was filthy!), the whole cars been hoovered, clayed, polished and waxed.

So looking forward to getting it road legal

Looks good

For the rear lights try taking the bulb board out and checking the tracks, they often corrode and cause a bridge to another track, a soft cloth and circuit cleaner sorts it.

Not sure about the earths on the cab but the rear panel has one on the tintop

For the rear lights try taking the bulb board out and checking the tracks, they often corrode and cause a bridge to another track, a soft cloth and circuit cleaner sorts it.

Cheers, I'll give that a go then break the multimeter out if that fails