Mk1 golf takes 2nd in targa west classic division

[Volksee77]

As the title states guys we just competed in the Targa West Tarmac rally in WA over the weekend and managed to take out 2nd outright in the classic division. We were beaten by a seriously built and driven race 911 with over 300hp so very happy with our performance as we saw off a triumph TR7, torana and a Jag. On a couple of stages we even rounded up and passed a ferrari 575 which was priceless. On a couple of stages we even beat the porsche, most notably the western ranges stage which we were 30 sec faster over the 10km course. The car had only just been completed 4 days before and ran faultlessly over the 960km being revved to 7500rpm in every gear all day. The only damage we sustained was a broken sway bar mount which was the result of a locked rear brake and a spin into a drain whilt approaching a downhill chicane. The golf dragged the sway bar for the rest of the stage before we could repair the mount at the next service interval. Despite that we brought the car home without a scratch and posted some great times, beating hsv's evo's and a porsche gt3 in ssome very wet and slippery conditions. Here are some pics with more to come

The car, three nights before the event finally running and ready to drive




sorting out the final bits


tyre pressures adjusted


Brake bleed up


Ready to rally!

[Volksee77]

arrival at prologue


great weather conditions..........not for r comp race tyres


The car being weighed and passing final scrutineering


last minute checks before firing the first shot

[Volksee77]

Pics from the official start in the perth city


The volksee following an R32 on the road.......we were actually faster in prologue hence starting behind them


stickered up and waiting




me


the official start


the rally begins

[Volksee77]

the first day of racing in what was best described as boating there was that much water on the raod and the rain just didn't stop all day


Into the Left 4


using every bit of brake the 280mm rotors could give me (gotta say those pagid pads were mint all weekend)


The missus getting arty for some reason


down hill into a slalom in the wet.......... tricky at best to carry good speed on cold race tyres

[scoob02]

Congratulations! I bet it makes the hard work in building the car all worth it and would of certainly surprised a few people in the performance capabilities of an 'old golf'

What sort of hp is the engine producing?

[Volksee77]

The volksee at the night time car display next to the race porsche which beat us in the classic division, hardly seems fair when he's packing what he quoted as 340hp in 1200kg race prepped car




The golf proved very popular which surprised me, heaps of photos were taken and lots of people were asking questions about the old girl

[Volksee77]

more shots of the golf giving every last one of it's 128hp at the wheels


The sway bar being welded back on after I spun her through a chicane and curb by locking a back brake in the wet. The only repair the car needed and entirely my fault, the car never let me down despite some serious abuse by yours truly


Refuel in progress 960km of rally and 200L of fuel, not the kind of economy to brag to the diesel brigade about


Leaving service in front of a GT falcon, he never got close to catching us


The welding repair during service, what a service crew

[Volksee77]

The start of day 2


Volksee leaves for another day of big hp head hunting, we passed a ferrari 575 this day by stuffing the golf up the inside of a series of fast corners


Transport to the next stage


having a go




Lunch day two

[Volksee77]

Bindoon service park, with all the rain it was a mud pit and almost a special stage in itself just to get in and to your service crew




Bit of help to keep it moving

[Volksee77]

Back to racing


some action shots







those KUMHO's sure do grip even in the wet (KUMHO sponsored us for the event so some wicked race tyres giving plenty of confidence in the wet

[quozl]

Great result and great photos congrats you must have had a blast. You don;t happen to have the VW logo in EPS or PSD format do you, I need to get some made up for the ATC next week and the EPS file I have is rubbish. If you do let me know and I will PM you my email address.

Cheers Al

[evorobin]

Congrats on a great result against tough competition guys. That 8v is carrying some serious firepower huh. What suspension is that it's a bit high?

Superb shots too

[Mika]

Well done on the car and the result!

[Volksee77]

last stage coming up, it's all smiles now


Ready to ring the neck out of the engine one last time (we passed two cars this stage which is awesome considering we are released 30 sec apart)


Team manager giving us confirmation we have second wrapped up at the finish line


Lined up for the finish with the r32


The volksee officially finishing Targa West 09


Hand shake from the event organiser and finishing medallions




shaking the old mans hand, how we made it with his note calling is a miracle




The celebration beers


all over and done with..... bring on next year and a KR turbo for the golf will be starting it's transplant next week

[Volksee77]

yeah the "little 8v that could" has got a 1.8 gti crank in it and has been bored to 1856cc, we have a 290 deg cam in it and titanium valve train so she revs really hard with a Weber 45DCOE and big jets feeding it a S_@t load of fuel and exhausting through a 4-2-1 extractor system and lukey 2" exhaust. The valves and head are surprisingly stock as i wanted a heron head but haven't found one as yet nor had the time to strip down the stock one and have it ported and flowed so it makes a bit of power but ideally i would like it to pack 200 hp at the wheels (hence the KR turbo in my w/shop ) the suspension is bilstien shocks and springs at yes you guessed right standard ride hieght, This was deliberate as the roads in targa west are littered with big dips anf lumps in the road from trucks and tree roots so i kept some good clearance to prevent the need for a new sump or early retirement. I have coil overs which will go one very very soon but i only had my appendix out 2 weeks ago so it kind of stopped me from doing everything i wanted to the car before the race.