Old skool love

[mrgolf]

I havent posted for a while due to my new (old, but thats how long its been) family addition, which reflects my involvement in my old MkII and the VW scene as well. I have done about 100 miles in the II this year due to a renewed interest in cycling so the poor thing has been sitting neglected in my garage for months.

I started it up today and it fired first kick. That gorgeous lumpy 8V sound greeted my ears with its potent and warm sounding exhaust note. K-Jet was working at its best, and the whole car sounded alive.

So, now I wont be selling it. Its not the best day-to-day transport, especially for a toddler, but it will get a run now and then, baby seat attached. The RS Octy will still bear the brunt of our K's, but the II will play a more pleasant periodic role.

So this is a fairly pointless thread other than restating my love for my little car. It recently celebrated its 24th birthday and its 9th in my care.

Plans: First up, a new steering rack. Then some general tidying up including a new headliner, right headlight and some new tyres on the old P-Slots. From there, maintaining historical value as much as possible.

Heres a refresher:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/10/GtiGolf_0126-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/10/GTIHCA1-1.jpg

[DangerDan]

Im so jealous, nice to see another golf still alive and in the right hands.

[benough]

Why is it an 8v considering it's a 2-door?

[Jarred]

Why is it an 8v considering it's a 2-door?

early model. 16V's only came out in 88/89 I believe, although still small bumper.

[OEM G60]

The first 16V GTI's were an '87 'D" reg in the UK, they had the quarter light front windows like Steves 8V too. 16Vers were 5 dr too if you thought they were only 3dr?

Nice to see you've still got it anyway mate :)

[mrgolf]

Yeah, all GTI's were 3 door at the beginning of the MkII run. Then they went to 5 doors and 16V's. Thank god for 3 doors... (except for having kids, which meant I had to trade my MkV GTI on the Skoda...)

Oh, and Ben: this has the proper 8V engine in it. The K-Jet 112bhp jobbie. This one is tweaked, too. Ask Tim how quick it was when he was down in Canberra with his Mini. :D

[ausgolfer]

Oh, and Ben: this has the proper 8V engine in it. The K-Jet 112bhp jobbie. This one is tweaked, too. Ask Tim how quick it was when he was down in Canberra with his Mini. :D

The proper engine is the 16v no offense, your engine is the proper jobbie for the mk1 Gti.

And if you're trying to maintain the originality why is it tweaked?

Great to see it in excellent condition either way.

[mrgolf]

Hmmm... Yeah, while the 16V is the lauded after engine, there is a school of thought which says the 8V is the better all rounder. The 16V is the best drivers car, but the 8V is more drivable everyday with its lower rev torque band. On serious drives, you change gears in the 8V less frequently to be in the right power band, especially for lower speed corners. But yeah, the 16V is the ultimate MkII for drivers. I love my 8V. It puts out 101bhp at the wheels, which is about 5 less than the 16V's.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/10/ps-1.jpg

My comment about the proper 8V engine was a fun dig at the later pollution restricted heavier 8V models... At least they have A/C...

As for originality, other than the mild blueprint, everything that has been done to the car is reversible. It looks stock, but with aftermarket wheels. Subtlety was the name of the game.

[Preen59]

The proper engine is the 16v no offense, your engine is the proper jobbie for the mk1 Gti.

Yeah, saying the 8v is the proper Mk2 engine is like saying the Heron is the proper Mk1 engine.. Just because it came first doesn't mean it's the best one. :emo_baghead:


Lovely looking car mate and very original. Not many Mk2 GTI's around in Aus, let along good ones!

[ausgolfer]

there is a school of thought which says the 8V is the better all rounder. The 16V is the best drivers car, but the 8V is more drivable everyday with its lower rev torque band.............. It looks stock, but with aftermarket wheels. Subtlety was the name of the game.

That school of thought is completely incorrect, the 16v has more torque throughout the entire rev range. Been proven several times on the UK forums.

Still a great car, totally agree with the subtlety, key for all golfs if you ask me.

[WABIT]

great to have you back

dom

[OEM G60]

Yeah, saying the 8v is the proper Mk2 engine is like saying the Heron is the proper Mk1 engine.. Just because it came first doesn't mean it's the best one. :emo_baghead:




I don't think he meant that Preeno, he said the proper 8V engine, i think he meant the euro version and not the Aus delivered one.

We all know the 16VG60 was the best engine in a Mk2 anyway :)

[ausgolfer]

I don't think he meant that Preeno, he said the proper 8V engine, i think he meant the euro version and not the Aus delivered one.

We all know the 16VG60 was the best engine in a Mk2 anyway :)

ha ha true that.

[evorobin]

Welcome back Steves mk2. Can't beat a k-jet 8v :cool:

[mrgolf]

That school of thought is completely incorrect, the 16v has more torque throughout the entire rev range. Been proven several times on the UK forums.



So, if there has been discussion on UK forums, it is clearly a subjective question, then... ;)

I guess it more relates to not having to ring the neck out of the engine (because there isnt a huge amount of point revving over 5500) to get the best out of it. To get the best out of a valver, you need to go above 6K. Maybe thats a better way of looking at it. Either way, the valver is the best 'power' engine. The 'proper' 8V is just a little maligned. Damn fine little unit if you ask me. And seeing that later GTI's weighed more, I guess they needed the extra power...:D

Me, I just love my early II.

[Golf Loon]

8v Kjet GTI is the one for me. The most fun you can have with your pants on.

Nice to see you and your car back Steve.

[jeanheide]

wait, puts out 101 ATW? 5 less than the 16v. maybe its just me, but at the flywheel the 8v had the GZ 112hp engine and the KR16v had the 139hp both running the k-jet no Catalytic converter.

in regards to best stock engine the 3G 16vg60 stock engine was the best ever built for a mk2 i think aswell. but thats only if you drove a AWD car.
210hp stock is quite a bit to keep on the road with 247nm at 5k rpm.
and modified engine, best ever available for a mk2 without going to 20v mk4 was the MK3 ABF 2L 16v with 150HP.
There was also a extremely modefied version of that engine built by VW Motorsport running 208hp stock. Beast of a car.
and there was a prototype engine based on the ABF aswell called A59 @275hp with 367NM.
Just my 2 cents worth of thought. :D :banana:

[Bboy_Sparx]

Hi Steve. Haven't seen you in a while!

[mikinoz]

Ah, and the debate continues! haha.

[mrgolf]

Hey Mick. Yeah, thought I would open this:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/10/canofworms1-1.jpg

:D

Jeanheide, you are correct with your assumptions on power output. No one disputed that. Mine has had mild blueprinting and runs a cam. Hence 101whp vs the generally accepted 150whp of the 16V. Makes more sense now, yeah?

Hey Bboy. How you bin? Havent seen you around for a while.

[jeanheide]

i know no1 was disputing me, but even with rework and mild tuning etc, how did you get 101hp from 112. you are running the 8v GZ engine correct? the 150hp is the 2l, the normal KR 16v 1.8L has 139hp.
from what i read i thought it said you have 5hp less than the 16v, which i thought was odd, cant really be. but its late and i dont think i am reading the right things, so sorry if im kind of all over the place. :javacomputer:

[jayjay]

so i'm guessing this was an english or SA origin car? it's nice to see a shiny 2 dr this way of the mexican border. :)

there are several 112hp 1.8 8v motors, but i'm glad it's no the silly aussie spec. are the current wheels bbs rs 001s?

on another note, i dont really care which engine is more suited to the mk2, i dont think i'd ever have a stock one anyway. :) i'm just glad it's a 2dr.

[mrgolf]

Jay, if it was SA, it would have epic holes in it by now. Wolfsburg built. :D Cheers.

Jean, what are you having trouble with? I am quoting hp at the wheels, not at the fly. Also, the engine is an EV.

just to be clear on what has been fettled, it has been rebuilt with OS pistons and the bottom end has been balanced. Top end has been ported and profiled and fitted with Neuspeed 268deg cam with a cam gear.

[evorobin]

Power at the hubs to be exact not the wheels hey steve :P

Are you driving this now or is it stuck in the shed with one square wheel?

[mrgolf]

Er, yeah, hubs... That was a weird experience.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/10/dyno-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/10/dynapack20mount-1.jpg

I havent driven it for a while, but it still rolls fine. Beautifully, in fact. God its nice to put the car anywhere on an apex you want. Roundabouts are awesome. 2 RS need true-ing still, unless I can find a couple of spare centres... Going to put the P-Slots back on for a while after the rack goes on. Looking around for a set of 15" wheels to put on so I can retire the RS for shows. (Oh yeah, Jay: they arent 001's. I cant remember their exact designation. As long as they are RS, they are allright with me.)

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/10/MkVmk2-1.jpg

God I love this pic...

[Mk1_Citi_Golf]

I owned both 8v and 16v when still in the uk and woukd have chose the 8v over the 16.. Guess I can't really comment though... now I'm driving a Mk 2 Tdi!

[GOLFBALLS]

Hey steve!
Good to see ya back man.
Still playing/teaching?
Your car is still a big inspiration for mine!:bowdown:
Wade

[Stiggy_21]

Please correct me if i'm wrong but.........

your 2dr 8v is an import? either jap or uk.
if it was a uk (no catalitic converter) it should have 112hp.
if it has the catalitic converter then it should have 90hp, therefore from jap or for some reason a 2dr Aus spec.
16v's have 139hp with no catalitic converter, but all of them in Aus (which there is probably only a dozen or so) will be UK spec ones. I know mine is!

i heard that all the 8v Aus specs were imported from japan because of the similar polution gear rules.

sorry if i repeated anything anyone said.

[Golf Loon]

Steves car is a private import from the UK with the good engine.

The engine has been rebuilt to have a few more horses.

Everyone clear on that? cool.

Just For Info all the South African cars were 5 door and all the Jap imports I have ever seen were also 5 door.

[mrgolf]

Yeah, what he said. Its a UK import with some mild work to the engine. All power quotes are at the wheels. It is said that MkII GTI's lose about 20 odd % through the drivetrain, so that should set the record straight about 8V vs 16V power. Even noobs know 16V's have 139bhp at the flywheel

Anyhoo, still enjoying the love...