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:

[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.

[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.

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.



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.


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.

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

[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...

Me, I just love my early II.