Mk1 gtd 1979

[Tweedz]

I came to Australia about three years ago and missed my MK1 that much I had to buy another.....so here she is.

Bought it about a year ago and so far it's not missed a beat or broken down once. Not done anything to it since I bought it apart from servicing, a new horn, a battery and two new tires. It's a 1979 GTD with about 215000 Km on the clock. I found her on car sales.com and was pretty impressed with the photographs, couldn't see any rust and the previous owner swore it was in mint condition. I had some doubts....but thought it was worth the risk and flew down to Melbourne from Sydney.

The guy I met was selling it on behalf of his dad who recently passed away but the car had been in the family and extended family since it was bought new. He had all the service records and stamps which was reassuring.

The previous owner gave it a GTi 'make over' in places and added a double head lamp grill, Pirelli P Slots, disc brakes, an anti roll bar, GTi shocks and steering wheel. I'm not sure if the turbo was fitted after but the son thought the engine was totally original. It's got the boost gauges as well which both work and the turbo works nicely giving it some extra umph up hills, doesn't throw you back in the seat but you do feel it.

I had a long long look at it in Melbourne and gave it a good going over but couldn't find any rust in the usual spots which I was expecting and also noticed a fair bit of wax oil instead which made me smile as this is a good product to use on the car back in the UK to keep the damp out, so knew it was well maintained and looked after. Couldn't see any leaks either which I was pretty adamant I'd find. All the gaskets seemed to be doing their job and in general the engine was clean and free of leaks.

I made an offer and the deal was done. But I didn't have enough money to ship the car back so had to drive it from Melbourne to Sydney on my own with no road side assistance cover, but, the guy swore on his late farthers grave that the car would make it with no problems whatsoever…. and that I should trust him.....So, I took the car on her maiden voyage and trusted him….. It was a smooth ride, a bit hard with the GTi shocks, but handled pretty well, no play in the steering rack, gear box was tight and everything electrically worked pretty well apart from the horn and one of the lights which didn’t help in the dark. I filled her up to the brim and got about 64mpg out of her.

Since that trip, I recently drove down to Adelaide and back and managed to get about 68mpg out of her with no mechanical problems whatsoever. Safe to say she’s been my most reliable car I've owned to date and the most efficient. I still miss the GTi power but it’s a happy compromise to keep me happy over here in Oz in the meanwhile.


Rabbit by Tweedz80, on Flickr


Untitled by Tweedz80, on Flickr


1.5 DT by Tweedz80, on Flickr


IMG_6771 by Tweedz80, on Flickr


IMG_6794 by Tweedz80, on Flickr


IMG_6777 by Tweedz80, on Flickr


IMG_0038 by Tweedz80, on Flickr


IMG_6783 by Tweedz80, on Flickr


IMG_6788 by Tweedz80, on Flickr


IMG_6791 by Tweedz80, on Flickr

These links should take you to my flickr account.