THE OLDEST surviving UK GTI? AS NEW 1977 Mk1 Golf GTI LEFT HAND DRIVE
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- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2022
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Follow Graham Welch on Instagram @welch_graham
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In this video I show you around the oldest known surviving UK supplied GTI, a 1977 Left Hand Drive Mk1 Golf GTI that has just been fully restored by the owner.
This car is currently for sale for £35k, please get in touch via www.volkswizard.co.uk if you are interested
Please visit the Mk1 Golf Owners Club - their annual AGM event is 29-31st July 2022 (the weekend this video was uploaded), in Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire
APOLOGIES ABOUT THE AUDIO QUALITY WHEN I'M TALKING TO GRAHAM - I THINK THIS IS RELATED TO THE GOPRO WIFI CAUSING INTERFERENCE WITH THE RODE RADIO MIC - I USUALLY TRY AND KEEP IT OFF BUT THIS ISN'T ALWAYS POSSIBLE
vwgolfmk1.org.uk/
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE HERE AND GET ME TO 50K (big thanks all those that have got me to 40k)
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A big thanks to the chap who restored it. To me all the MK1's were and still are the best Golf GTI's, you can never beat the original incarnation of most cars, the MK1 Ford Focus is another example of it.
Thankyou😁took me bk to my apprentice days at metalbox worcester.. first car..Mars red golf driver series1...then a 82 Mars red gti 5 speed tsr followed by an 84 gti campaign....loved them all...the good old days!
Wonderful. Back in 1987 when I was 23 I bought a W reg, 1.6 GTi in Mars Red and still miss it to this day. Sold it to my best mate who ran it until he bought a MK2 GTi. What an amazing restoration and this brings back so many fantastic memories for me. Thank you.
Thanks for the memories Simon, glad the video evoked good feelings 👍
This is superb Andrew! What an amazing car and what a privilege to drive it and show us it!! I have a deep love for early water cooled VWs as they take me back to my childhood and memories of my dad….he was a VW man through and through and would NOT drive anything else 😊 He had had 4 air cooled VWs, 3 Beetles before I was born in 72 and then the earliest car I remember which was a 71 Fastback, then he moved onto a beautiful 1974 2 door Mk1 Passat LS, the coupe/fastback shaped one with the boot lid, which I just adored as a young boy and sealed a lifelong obsession with Volkswagens, especially the classic air and water cooled ones. I especially love the steel wheels on this Golf and Mk1 water-cooled VWs, my Dads Passat had the same and I distinctly remember thinking they looked “happy” and that they were like a square hole version of 70s air cooled steels with the oval holes….how does a wheel look happy ha ha…..the imagination of a child. My much bigger sister also married a guy with a Mk1 Scirrocco GLS which had the same steels and I used to just stare at this thing….it was a custard yellow colour, LHD as he was in the RAF posted in Germany, single wiper, Kamei front spoiler…..it was the stuff of dreams to me and further cemented my love of Volkswagens. Christ I am rambling lol……awesome video again Andrew! More of the older VWs would be amazing!!
Cheers mate
Great that Graham has put in the time and effort to save all these significant early cars
My 1st ever car was a Mk1 Golf and i have owned and loved them ever since, number 8 is currently sat in my garage 👍🏻
Used to love my 1600 mk1 GTI back in the 90s... much more characterful engine than the later 1800... more like a 16v the way it came on came at 4k rpms. :)
What a great restoration and insight into these small changes between 1977 and 1979. The most annoying thing with RHD cars in addition to the brakes and switchgear was the wiper mounts whereby LHD cars had recessed mounts but RHD cars didn't and were fudged with a plastic spacer leaving nasty LHD recesses in the metalwork under the windscreen. Had the same seat belt mounts in my 1978 Scirroco GLS which I still think were better as easier to put in but since replaced in 1988 with a 1983 1800 Golf GTI which I still enjoy with its Beetle grab handles and handbrake. The 1977 car was years ahead of sports cars of that era. I recall that VW had a mars red GTI press car MKT 512R but assume it's long since gone!
BEAUTIFUL car. Never understood why they didn’t add VDO gauges in the MK2. Adds a level of sportiness to differentiate it from a normal golf. Little simple touches like that make a big difference
I remember seeing a "P" reg red golf gti at a show a good while ago. I must remember the talk to you about it tomorrow. Lovely car and looks fun in the fast corners. All the best, John.
I bought a 1983 (A Reg) 1.3 Driver in Mars Red back in 2003. Loved it, like a go kart. Also bought the 3 spoke Wolfsburg steering wheel seen in this video, paid about £50 for it, now they sell for over £300 on ebay.
My best mate had a Sand metallic 1983 Driver too so I know them quite well. Red would be nice as GTI colour
The list of changes 77>80 were almost all cost reduction. I love the purity of Mk1 golfs, bought a GL new in 1979 and traded it for a P911 in 1982, an expensive mistake.
I had a 1979 T reg black GTI when I was 19 and absolutely loved it..(36 years ago jeees) ..followed by a silver 83 which was mint and some uninsured plonker pulled out in front of me a wrote it off ..even the Police officer was gutted for me because he was a GTI fan!…this brings back some memories though so thanks for the vid
That hole in the middle of the steering wheel could be handy for storing some Mint Imperials 😄
I'll get Graham to try that😁
My sister bought a brand new one in 76 in Belgium and bought it back to the UK around 1980, that was regd on a R plate. I had a MK2 Escort RS2000 at the time and didn't think much of the Golf being FWD. But I ended up buying the GTi off of her and have owned several MK1 GTi's since over the years.
There were indeed some R cars imported but none of these have surfaced recently so safe to say corrosion killed them off when prices were low and not worth restoring.
@@volkswizard definitely. Our old one hasn't been taxed since the late 80s so has probably been several washing machines by now!
Brilliant video. I have an early Mk2 and it's great to see where it all started.
Brilliant Andrew. Great to see the car that started it all. Would I be driving a performance Golf today if I hadn’t seen one of these all those years ago? I didn’t get to own one but I’ve made up for it since. 👍
Great video, what a rare car. Always preferred the swallow tail rear lights on the MK1.
Thanks Scott. I've become a mk1 nerd thanks to Graham, and the swallow tails were pre-GTI with a different pressing to the rear panel. I used to think a small rear light Mk1 was a swallow tail but it turns out this is another area they fiddled with not long after the Mk1 was launched in 1974. Sorry, nerding over 🤓
Great video, fantastic to see such a historic car restored (& driven, as opposed to being locked away in a garage).
I'm guessing the twin headlamp grille wasn't available until the series 2 came out? Does look better with twin headlamps, but it also should be historically accurate too
What it started indeed. Very interesting. Thank you Andrew. Thank you Graham. 👍👏
Glad you enjoyed it Graeme 👍
Brilliant video mate! Very enjoyable but that sound is doing it an injustice!
Wow.. would love a restored one if I could afford it. Were steelies standard when launched? Tires look really fat. A 79 golf was my wife and I's first car together and I put Scirocco wheels, dash and steering wheel along with the plastic bumper to dress it up (took a HUGE amount of rust repair to be road worthy). I never knew about that interesting seatbelt arrangement. Also amazing the detail differences in just a couple years - had no idea. I think though, that the MKI Scirocco was my favorite car of all time at that time in my life (I had a 78' bought a couple years after the Golf)
For sure steelies were standard for few couple of years, VW Germany's white press car has got them. We discussed the chubby tyres and concluded there was a lot more metal in the alloy wheels which came out further in the centre by the bolts which made tyre look less bulky. They are exactly the same size so tyre sits the same on both. I'd love one too
Wonderful car. My best friend had a mk1 ,my father a mk2, I had a mk2 16v and today I have a fantastic mk7 Gti. We need these videos cause we kike iconic cars.
Great video - I have another one of the 22 LHD officially imported in ‘78 - would be great to connect with Graham Welsh (?) to swop notes
Thats me! And yes Id be interested to see your car. We have a FB database going trying to find both dead and still alive early S1 GTI's.
Had a v reg right hand drive, dizzy cap with points and fuel injection 1.6tlr in silver..lots of issues with the timing. UK registered car.
What was the reg and do you have any photos for our FB database on these early GTI's?
I love this film ! and the car ❤
I’m glad there are people like Graham around, brilliant vid 👍
Love the mk1
Hi Andrew. Great to see some interesting VW content. This guy is an artist who just happens to channel his talent into restoration. These cars could be lost forever without this level of enthusiasm and dedication. Amazing.
congrats Graham!
Excellent video really enjoyed it and would like to see more of the same
Bloody love the mark 1! It looks better every year true beauty ❤️
The only mk 1 golf GTi I ever went in ,was a cabriolet in white, nice car, owned by a friend of my ex girlfriend, lunatic driver at the time.
Not a car I'd want to have a crash in!
@@volkswizard I agree, not much crash protection or safety features compared to a modern golf, although a lot of drivers these days rely on them too much in my opinion.
Just love those seats! Fond memories of my A reg (not so much the Y reg which was rotten!). Thanks for that Andrew great stuff 👍🏻
Glad you enjoyed it Greg, great to hear from you again, miss our chats on Twitter 👍👍
@@volkswizard me too Andrew, hope you’re ok and doing well 👍🏻
Does anyone know what year VW stopped using asbestos in their cars?
Are you exporting to AUS by any chance?
@@volkswizard No
Thank you for sharing this with us Andrew, as always Long live the GTI. I can't see myself driving anything else. Also I hope you both recovered and are well now. 😊👍🏼
Happy days
Awesome video man, love your content ❤
So good to see a significant car from the 70s that escaped the crusher. Loved the signature air-intake glimpsed briefly at the end. (The mix of content works fine for me, for what it's worth.)
Its cars like this that keep you interested in Car's imo, modern cars with their ipads everywhere are getting a bit bland
Superb and wow! My VW journey started a long time ago with a mk2 gti. Love this style of VW content, keep up the good work Andrew
Great article with input from a very knowledgeable expert. The black Mk1 that appears in view at 9:61 is the same 1983 GTI 1.8 I had as my second car from 1985-87. Looking on the DVLA website its last V5C was issued 11/8/04 & tax expired 1/2/05. No MOT history available: I would love to know what happened to it.
my knackered old mk 1 was nothing like that (it was red and mainly rust) BUT i'm now on gti number 10 🥰
Great surviving GTI's here the 1977 car and the 1980 car 👍👍👍👍
Wow , what a gem.
well done andrew a fabulous video graham has excelled himself again a fantastic restoration and so lucky to have that car still here i can’t believe how much changed between the 77 and 80 car in a fast space of time proves the phrase continuous improvement!
graham has an amazing knowledge and collection of these cars and credit to him for keeping them alive
Thanks Daniel, yes indeed Graham is an encyclopaedia of Mk1 info. I was amazed by how much changed so really wanted to get it on record as so unusual to have these cars together with the same owner who knows all the differences👍
Cracking video, love the mk1 content. Some Irish connections about it.
Brilliant content what a machine!
To be honest I love the current mix of content - bit of both for me!
I had a 79 T reg rhd gti in the early 00's unfortunately had to sell very big regret. Had a Tim stiles engine very light, ratty but I didn't care. Mine didn't have internally adjustable mirrors.
Lhd mk1 early models had better brakes, not different it was the way the brake and clutch cable (another weak point) was routed for rhd.
where it all started love a old golf amazing what his done with this 💪👍
The b pillar grab handles were on all early model golfs. I had a base 1.0 golf in the very early 90’s that had them. Wow fab car, shows how far all cars have come, but also just how good they looked at the time, I remember driving early fiestas and escorts and they were all dull awful things as was pretty much everything.
Memories of my 1993 Citi Golf 1300 carb Mark 1 and my 2004 Mark 1 1.4 fuel injection South Africa 🇿🇦
Wow my sister had a white mk 1 GTI. Love them....
Best®
1st car I can remember was a Mk1 GTI which my old man owned … it was a 1983 1.8 version. Not sure why he chopped it in for a Cavalier. I wonder if it is still around. The reg I can remember is TRX681Y .
Its a left hand drive, Maria.
Love early Golfs. I've got a 79 LS with 18000 miles on it and a letter from Neil Birkett rubber stamping it's condition. It won't be leaving my possession. I couldn't afford a GTi nowadays. Great video and a knowledgeable, talented chap .
Very cool! I've said it before, Mk1 GTIs, especially series 2s are relatively common, it's the non-GTI derivatives or the very early GTIs that get me excited. Having said that, seeing any Mk1 on the road is a joy these days
Amazing and love the detailed differences as mk 1 series 2 didn’t come down under and first GTI here was mk 2 GTI 8v post unleaded fuel. However all mk 1 Golfs here were LS/GLS and with 1.6 and were considered euro performance hatches and with the Alfasud were front drive performance cars that made everything else look very outdated in local market - which responded by putting an optional 2 litre engine in mk2 Escorts GL and above to compete in ‘77. First with GTI badge here was actually the Pug 205GTI 1.9 in ‘87. There are a few uk mk1 gti imports in Oz brought here by enthusiasts:)
Love the VW content. I learned to drive on the mk2 GTI, so this kind of video works for me
Glad you enjoyed it Neil. Cool learner car that for sure
Wonderful car - great to see some of them being kept on the road.
Glad you enjoyed it James👍
Would really like to see some Wolfsburg content, maybe mk2 G60 😬
That fuel cap 😍
Great video Andrew, an old mate of mine used to have an early Mk1 GTI (I don’t remember the MY) it was RHD but had a LHD scuttle and wiper set up, could that have been a strange post 79 pre 80 car do you think?
Thanks Carlos. Weird, one for Graham, I was surprised Mk1 had the correct scuttle for RHD. Actually, I know what it is, it would have been a LHD conversion, apparently loads were done before the RHD versions arrived.
Great video Andrew, I purchased 1979 VW Polo L , new with the same type of seat belts as those above
Bl Metro says to the VW Golf see you in 5 years time , Golf says you will have rotted away by then and i will be in the scrap yard in 20 years time.
Fantastic video Andrew👍👍
That was brilliant thanks Andrew, those cars are in very safe hands with Graham too, he's done great work with the restoration on them.
A particular favourite feature of mine is the old style front seat belt buckles, they were exactly the same in my grandads mk1 1979 polo L and i loved that car.
I actually found a lovely red early series 1 gti for sale in disley near stockport at a small garage back in around 97 i think it was. it was mint had the early dash (x reg i recall) obviously and i knew it was pretty rare even then, i wonder what happened to that one?
Great video , interesting to see what the very original car looked like, was expecting the charcoal headliner, black tailgate surround and black grille badge would have been added on later models but VW were way ahead of the times back in the mid 70's.
I've got a Mk8 Clubsport and it would be a dream to own this Mk1 as well. Probably not easy for me to drive though because I'm 6ft4!
It would be cool to own the two together. I think Clarkson can fit in a Mk1 so you should be ok. Maybe no sunroof in.these early cars help 👍
My dad had one of the first Golf GTI's in Sweden, must have been late '77 or early '78, he said that when new if parked somewhere there was always a little crown hovering around it. I have faint memories being driven around in it as a small child. KKC858 was the plate
I'd love to go back in time and see what the buzz was like about the Mk1 GTI. It must have been fuelled by the car magazines of the day as there was no social media. Also the motoring TV programmes will have been all over it. To get such a cult following in the days before social media must have been extraordinary but the car justified it.
Brilliant video Andrew. Really enjoyable. I would like to see you test a mk2 gti so we can hear your thoughts 💭
Thanks Marc, glad you enjoyed it! It's weird that Mk2s were so influential to me yet they seem to elude me now, I am just waiting for nature to take its course and one to come my way but might be waiting a long time :)
@@volkswizard are you particular to what mk2 you would test ?
Great video - Love these video's. Can we have another Corrado video? - I've just bought a 16V
Thanks! I've still got my Corrado so might do an update video soon. Enjoy your valver 👍
Brilliant as always love the vw content 👍🏻
Great content Andrew 👌🏻
Thank you Karl, very much appreciated, glad you enjoyed it🙌
Great video. Love everything Volkswagen.
It sounds amazing!
My first car was a 1977 Golf 1100. I still remember those seatbelts!
great film ! what a beautiful car!
Hi Andrew, sorry i forgot to ask this earlier:
based on your experiences, mk1 gti or mk2 gti???? thanks 👍👍
Easy peasy, Mk2 all day long. It's a better car, Mk1 was effectively a prototype. So many things were sorted with Mk2 like brake servo correct for RHD and that's kind of important. I've driven 100s of Mk2 but mainly 88 on however a 86 8v still is a fond memory as it had the K Jet injection from the Mk1 and it's true what the reviewers said when the car moved to cleaner Digifant injection in '88, the razor sharp throttle response was gone. However pre 88 cars didn't seem to age so well so I'll take a 92/J Mk2 Golf GTI 8v 3dr, must be 1992 model year with 15" BBS, rainbow trim, half tint rear lamps -basically a 16v without bee sting aerial, lowered ride height. Pearl grey, Oak green is a bit too obvious (though still cool as it was only on 8v for 1992 (apart from 10 millionth limited edition in 1988) while 16v had it for 1990 and 1991 and 1992). Not driven one for years which considering I have sold literally hundreds is a crying shame. I should stop wishing they were £3k again and pay good money for a good one I think
@@volkswizard wow great reply many thanks for taking the time 👍👍👍👍. I tend to agree 110% with what you said!
The mk2 has had me hooked since i was about 11 years old. There were still a fair few cooking mk1 golfs around in my neighbourhood owned by then fairly mature (elderly) owners and you simply couldnt ignore that car for its shape and quite often the very period colours, lofotengrun, lemongelb to name but a few ❤👍, but the mk2 gti was just amazing, especially in a sea of xr3i's.
My own experience is alot more limited than yours 🤣, i desperately wanted a mk2 gti, my first one was an F registered 8v digifant 3 door in helios blue which had actually been quite professionally kitted out in a genuine 90 spec trim, bumpers and interior. It was such a good looking car that i had absolutely no trouble selling it, i was actually followed by a group of lads in a battered old astra and subsequently ended up in a petrol station forecourt fearing a car jacking many years before that was an actual thing!
Turns out the main chap was desperate for a mk2 gti and couldnt believe his luck when he saw me out and about and followed me! i made it work in my favour mind and more than doubled my money!
My next one was also an 8v gti, this time a genuine H 91 registered in black (non metallic) 3 door ofcourse. i paid more than i should have from a dealer in altrincham but that car was superb too, but not quite volkswizard good! . Trouble was my peers had 16v cars and insisted that the 8v was pony. Now, they weren't in to the vw cars quite like i was, a copy of vwac wasnt to be found in their possession shall we say, and i felt pretty damn certain that quietly i had made the correct choice.
Like most though, it seemed to me that the 16v thing was being rammed home by nearly everyone.
I ended up in an audi 80 (b3) 16v sport in emerald green, then a nice mk3 vr6 in windsor blue which i still have 20 years later!
11 years ago i got my hands on a pearl grey 3 door mk2 gti 16v with what to me was definitely a kr motor. I didn't go through the car with a fine toothcomb i instead popped the bonnet, saw the legendary inlet tract and everything else tied up well, bodywork, paint, bbs 15inch ra's , rainbow interior, you know when you just know you are having a car! for the money i couldn't not really. It even had a genuine from factory rear bench with headrests (rainbow interior). Ive still got the car here and i used it for years on the daily commute in every weather condition you could name!
It developed the dreaded idling issue which im yet to rectify but i fully intend to. Oh so it turned out that the motor was actually an abf from a 96 mk3 but it had retained all of the kjet hardware and ancillaries, i was a bit downbeat about this and would have preferred a kr really, hence my assumption it was a kr 🙈🤣. Im pretty sure that for me though the 8v digifant cars i had were actually better suited to me, they had a certain zip about them and although i like the abf /16v i think a nice 8v would be just as enjoyable.
I think ive told you this before but my best friend still owns your old red mk2 16v track car! the one which was owned by a bank manager and was a fully sorted hillclimb car, with Amd engine of Geoff Everett (rip) vintage, full cage, white speedlines and bucket seats, G660 VGS what a wonderful car!
Thanks for your much valued insight and opinion Andrew, i have often been tempted by a mk1 gti as my friend has owned well in excess of 20 plus mk1 gti's and i do love the look of them too.
My own current mk2 is sadly a cat c vehicle but i have no idea as to what the actual damage it suffered was and all seems well with it if im honest even 11 years after i bought it, its a shame really but is it that important on a 30 year old car?
My next headache is : my mk2 gti 16v or my mk3 vr6 (93)...... ive got a feeling even with the category on the mk2 it will still come out the winner 👍
many thanks again 🙏 best wishes 👍
I didn't know about all the variations during the mk1 production period
I don't think many people out of Wolfsburg did and most them have probably sadly passed away now seeing as this car is 45 years old. So pleased I record it for posterity.
Great video. What a lovely car!
Thanks Spocksgoat, I was sorely tempted but even man maths feel a bit short :(
Perhaps if I can hold on to my TCR until I’m 90, I can sell it as a classic 😂
A late friend owned a silver Mk1 GTI back in the early 90s, always thought it was a special car, unfortunately ended up in a hedge and he bought a Volvo ! Eventually inspired me to buy a Mk2 GTi then a Mk3 VR6. Currently hoping my next car will be a Mk7.5 GTI, it gets in your blood.
It does indeed, 7.5 GTI is a stonker just make sure it's a Performance model (trust me😉)
Great video 👍
I had an imported Mk1 30 years ago. V reg.
Will there be a mk2 golf gti episode of 45 years of gti ??
I restored my 1982 mk1 gti over 2 years that had 1 lady owner with just 68k on the clock she gave me all the mots fro the first & also every tax discs from 1983 it was fitted with a de badged twin headlight grill made by a company called D&W i also had it featured in a magazine called VW Motoring
You gave it some stick 🤣
Brilliant intro man 👌🤙
Thanks Tony, the car inspired my creativity 😁👍
It's literally a piece of motoring artwork
Keep the VW content coming. These were quite pricey back in the day…... Over 50% more than a regular Golf, which is a similar mark-up as for the mark 8 GTI….quite a bit for a basic, if well-engineered car.
Hi volkswizard
Great video Andrew! So interesting to see that restored MK1 GTI. And as you said in the video "here it all started". I am happy to see you back "on track" after covid. All my best from Sweden! 😊👍👍
Thank you Bernt🙌 I very much appreciate your kind words all the way from Sweden and so glad you enjoyed the video 😎