UK car- Jetta GT Special

[re2]

after chasing this car for a while, I finally managed to get it- a bit more £ than Id hoped as the pics I was given dont match the current condition anymore, but its all straight and honest and need a light restoration. My 16v KR will kindly be donating a few parts to repair the GT and there are a multitude of very small light rust patches all over the place









The original steering wheel is there as well as the original fogs too. I beleive its a zender Z6 kit with a zender grill (corrected ta Ant). The car previously belonged to a chap called Mick who has known this car for years and it has previously featured in the now defunkt Revs magazine (id love a copy but they stopped publishing in '05). The car used to belong to the directors wife of Milton Keynes and has probably had the grill on right from the start. I have all the spares I need to restore it to standard as in the flyer below



Here is an article about one of its brethren from Performance Car May '86

[phaeton]

There was also an article in Volkswagen Driver a couple months back.

[re2]

ive also got that article too. Apparently the car ive bought was in an article many moons ago, but the previous owner was a bit sketchy about the date and the mag is no longer published

[phaeton]

ive also got that article too. Apparently the car ive bought was in an article many moons ago, but the previous owner was a bit sketchy about the date and the mag is no longer published

I'll look it up

[re2]

i think it was in Fast Car or something like that- Ill email the previous owner and try and find out. Im always interested in GTI Engineering stuff if you ever come across it too
thanks!

[anthony]

The Jetta 2 was a classic car,and put VW firmly on the map in China,South Africa,and America.
Is still the top selling car in China,with over 200000 units sold last year...

[re2]

It took me years to convince my brother that his jetta syncro was a quality buy, but he just didnt want a boot!

I remember that the mag was Revs magazine

recent pics












Here are some pics I was sent when it was a little prettier

[re2]

well...... what an absolute bloody nightmare that was!!!!!

Leading up to the collection day id had this romatic vision of my 16v towing the GT on a trailer and what a sight that would be! Yeah..... thats not quite what happened. The day had turned wet and rubbish, and I wasnt able to collect the car until 2030 near Bedford way. Id been lent my girlfriend's, brother off-road racer trailor that their dad made. its a bloody good trailor built with Discovery wheels, and a good 20ft long. However, it realy wasnt suited to a lowered Jetta and so it skipped along behind me on the way down at a bit of an angle. It also needed ramps and was devoid of a winch. It was pretty dark when we got there (my girlfriend came along for a drive), and we couldnt get an answer from Micks phone. after some panicking, we got hold of him and the mission continued. The ramps id been given were plasic extendable ones used for large ride-on lawn mowers. Id extended these to their full legnth but the rear valance caught, so i had a cunning plan- I removed the pin and extended them further. Unfortunately that plan wasnt all that cunning! As Mick was reversing up the ramps, he booted it and instead of the GT majestically arriving on said trailor, all that happened was the front sections of the ramps seperating from the rear sections rather rapidly and the front of the Jetta nose-diving into the gravel. Oh f**k- quite a lot! So i had the car half on its nose and half on the trailor. Once the swearing has subsided, we jacked the car up as far as we dared on the front tow eye and then put a block of wood under the sump to keep the height. With the extra height, the trolley jack could get under the front of the car and with another block of wood, the car was jacked up as high as we dared. The trailor was lifted as high as we could with the dolly wheel- this resulted in the rear wheels of my 16v a few inches of the ground, and the general feeling of unease continued to grow! The ramps were put back together, and we started once again. The side skirts rested on the ramps, but what choice was there! it was getting darker and the drizzling rain had finally stopped for a while. We went for it and continued to reverse the GT up the ramps, but then there was a massive snap and bothe the ramps broke in the middle! Oh F**K!!!! F**K F**K F**K ! Luckily the car was far enough up the ramps to be encouraged up onto the trailor. By the time the car was strapped down and ready to leave Bedford, it was 2300 and the rain had started enthusiastically yet again. It was a long drive back at 45-50mph until we finally got back to Lincs, dropped the trailor at 0045 and I still had to drive to Derby. Needless to say there was some heated discussions about it all on the way home, but sometimes sh*t just happens. It was 0300 when i finally went to bed after a well deserved beer. Not the best adventure Ive had by far.

[re2]

so long as you wipe it off and dont let me see you sex wee on my car! :blink:

Heres some camera-phone pics from the crappy collection night










and heres a pic of the 16v with its arse off the floor (looks like a Country!!)




Heres some pics just prior to unloading (2 weeks after collecting it)

















I ended up backing up to a corn-dryer which had a 6" higher floor than the yard, and letting all the tyres down on the trailor, and then using some shorter metal ramps. I then gave it a rag along the farm track to celebrate!!

[re2]

Here are the two together

[re2]

Well, things have moved on a bit. I rang the painter the other day to let him know Id still like him to do it, and llo and behold, he only wants it to arrive asap! ****e! Here the start of I just dont know what kind of journey with this project.

Ive stripped most of the external furniture and made a start on the internals. Atm Im leaving the engine in as i only want a light restoration and to try and keep as much as possible original. Paint, an interior refresh, and replace anything that needs it now. Ive started to make a list, and as soon as Ive found where I put it, Ill post it in the Wanted section.









It hasnt all be positive. Theres rust on every sill upper where the door rubber joins- some worse than others. 3 out of the 4 manual winders have rusted solid, and at some point theres been a wet boot episode leading to too much corrosion on the rear panel seams.













However, as many have already seen with my Syncro, Im better at taking things apart than putting them back together again........ but at least i drove the Syncro around for 2 months, and so far Ive only driven this 5 miles!

[re2]

oh, and I think Ive also deciphered the original reg under the crossed out window etching

C990 WTL

[phaeton]

Can't wait to see finished product

[re2]

ok, so its time for a catch-up

The GT was finally stripped out about 2 and a bit weeks ago and taken from darkest Lincs to Bradford for its new coat







I dropped it off with Simon along with the trailer and thought it would be a good idea to blag a brew at Junior's- especially as weve not met up too often this year. The trailer had to be back in Lincoln for 5pm, so it was only just over an hour since Id left the car and I returned to see Simon had cracked on quite a bit!















Already the effects of a bodykit on the car for 23 years were starting to show, and I knew by the next visit there would be more........ However I wasnt expecting to arrive to a recent fire at the paint shop and a burnt out Suzuki jeep!

There had been an intense fire in the night that had started (been started??) by the metal doors. Luckily there really wasnt alot that was flammable, but the fire had reached the 2 storey roof and gone along its length. The fire brigade had arrived pretty sharpish and put the fire out. As they were fighting the fire, they blasted some doors and bonnets which fell off the wall and onto the car. Luckily the spray booth door took the brunt of it, but theres still some damage.

[re2]

I also inspected was was left of my rear panel, sills and wings. The sill I saw looked like a giant cheese grater









All of this is fixable, except as I was leaving Junior's to come home, Simon rang to tel me that the 4 arch trims that were stored upstairs had been warped out of shape! No good!!







So Im now on the look out for these trims. There are listed as Zender Typ 4529013. Please help if you know where any are!