Zonas Golf! My 1995 VW Golf 1.4

[Zona]

Hello chaps,

Here is my proper first car, a 1995 Volkswagen Golf 1.4 in Tornado Red.

Only one pic of it so far, which was taken at the garage after my dad took it down to get MOT'd.

The car cost me £650, only had 2 owners (3 if you include me) and has only covered 16,000 miles (yes that's right, 16,000). The guy we bought it off was a PT who bought it off a client who's mother had passed away, it was originally for his son but his son didn't make an effort when it came to learning to drive so he sold it to us .

The golf is completely clean underneath, no rust no replacement parts, no nothing. It hasn't even had it's first service yet (that's booked in for next Thursday).

So, here are my plans for this beast.

Exterior:

• Fix up paint work (car has a few scratches and dings).
  
• Replace bootlid (have found a gti bootlid in the same color in the local scrappy for cheap).
• Team Heko Wind deflectors.
• Bonnet Bra (cause scene points yo).

Interior:

The interior is original, hasn't been smoked in or used a lot so it's very mint. But future plans (when insurance goes down) is Recaros up front, stripped out back, cage, nardi/omp wheel
and up rated pedals.

Engine:

I'll be keeping the engine stock for now but in the future I plan on adding a VR6 engine to it.

• Air Filter.
• Shiny bits.

Chassis (suspension/brakes/wheels etc):

• Coilovers (KW or similar).
• Strutbrace.
• Higher Spec brakes (has discs up front and drums out back.
• Wheels of some sort (rotiforms/bbs etc).

More pics to come, and will be in the posts below.

 

[Zona]

So I took some more pictures of my car after I got back from my driving lesson (I have my test next week).

 

[Bc4]

Nice car and at a great price (at least it would be here) and good condition

I like what you want to do to the car but why the stripped out back and cage?

 

[Zona]

Nice car and at a great price (at least it would be here) and good condition

I like what you want to do to the car but why the stripped out back and cage?

Because I plan on using the car for trackdays and hillclimbs.

 

[eiriksmil]

Cause scene points
Do the VR swap before the cage though.. Or a 20v swap, to make it less nose heavy than a VR one.. Coils should be number one priority.. KWs are good but expensive and don't go low, H&R goes low and rides well but expensive, FKs leak oil, TuningArt/etc go low but ride badly. ECS and some other retailers sell 4-lug disc brake conversions, if you go OEM you go 5-lug swap. Be careful with hood bras on Tornado red (although it looks darker than T-red), mine didn't like it (single stage paint), haven't been able to buff it up..

16k miles is crazy though.. Should basically only be on coils and wheels and not be driven much, get another one to go crazy with.. IMO..

 

[Cano]

16k miles is crazy though.. Should basically only be on coils and wheels and not be driven much, get another one to go crazy with.. IMO..

I'd have to agree with Eiriksmil here, the thing is a survivor, keep it clean and find a shell to make it your track car. You'll still strip it and won't use the original engine and what not so it should'nt be important if it has 16k or a million miles.

 

[Cano]

Dah, disregard.

 

[Zona]

Thanks for the feedback. I might not turn this one into a track beast just yet, there are plenty of other golfs out there for that. This will most likely be a stance queen.

For wheels, I think I might choose the Klutch SL1's.

http://www.klutchwheels.com/wheels/sl1-black

Just gotta save up a few pay checks for these.

I was thinking about changing the interior, but it is in mint condition!!!

 

[Bc4]

^^ Sick wheels !! would look sweet if stanced

will you keep it the same color?

 

[Cano]

Oh, those wheels rock. Doit.gif

 

[Zona]

^^ Sick wheels !! would look sweet if stanced

will you keep it the same color?

Oh, those wheels rock. Doit.gif

Yes, It will stay Tornado Red Just need to sort out the paint on the hood because somebody did a poor repspray on the fender and where the masking tape was, the paint got peeled a bit so that will have to be sorted out.

There is also a small dent in the boot, but luckily I have sourced a VW GTI Bootlid, front and rear bumper in the next town over so those will be picked up on Saturday 👍

The Klutch SL1's are my all time favorite wheels, so they are a must have for this car!!!

 

[Zona]

Here are some pictures of my mint interior:

 

[Katiegan]

Great first car! Seems like you got lucky as well with it being in such good condition and low mileage. I agree with what's already been said about track days and hillclimbs, this one is far too perfect to throw around a track. Maybe a few track days at car shows, but not a regular racer.

The MK3 Golf has always been my favourite gen, so I'll be looking forward to the updates in this thread! 👍

 

[Zyla]

That is one clean MK3! I love it. I expect this thread to be full of awesome updates in the future.

 

[Zona]

Great first car! Seems like you got lucky as well with it being in such good condition and low mileage. I agree with what's already been said about track days and hillclimbs, this one is far too perfect to throw around a track. Maybe a few track days at car shows, but not a regular racer.

The MK3 Golf has always been my favourite gen, so I'll be looking forward to the updates in this thread! 👍

That is one clean MK3! I love it. I expect this thread to be full of awesome updates in the future.

Thanks guys I think for a track car, I'll pick up a Mk3 GTI so I can swap the VR6 into that. This one will be lowered on coilovers, some better alloys and fixed body work (replaced with GTI parts).

 

[eiriksmil]

Sounds good. Body work wise there are no differences between GTIs and other cars, apart from the splitter and arch trim. Even my 1.6 has color coded bumpers, trim and hatch plinth..

Also, I wouldn't roll the fenders on this.. You got some mounting holes for arch trims on the inside. Rolling the fenders makes for some interesting dents if you do it wrong, plus if the car is rust free, chances are it won't stay that way with rolled fenders

 

[Zona]

Alrighty, here's my vision for the Golf:

It will still have the Team Heko wind deflectors and full GTI kit. I might get some clear or smoked indicators for it as well as some red and clear tail lights and some morrettes or hella front lights. Also planning on getting a color coded grille.

 

[Katiegan]

What's the insurance like for it? I know many insurance companies are funny when it comes to modifications for a young new driver, especially lowering and stuff like that.

 

[TouringBubble]

If those are actual Porsche wheels, they will likely be a little larger than the photo. I like it look though.

 

[Zona]

What's the insurance like for it? I know many insurance companies are funny when it comes to modifications for a young new driver, especially lowering and stuff like that.

Currently, it's £630, but that's because the insurance started before my test which I passed yesterday so I need to inform my insurance company that I am no a fully licensed driver. I still need to talk to my insurer (GO GIRL) about mods.

 

[Katiegan]

Currently, it's £630, but that's because the insurance started before my test which I passed yesterday so I need to inform my insurance company that I am no a fully licensed driver. I still need to talk to my insurer (GO GIRL) about mods.

Ah, I see. I was just wondering because I wouldn't mind a MK3 Golf as my first car . Although, I'll probably need a newer car that's completely reliable, as the college I'm planning on going to is a 2 hour drive away.

 

[Zona]

Ah, I see. I was just wondering because I wouldn't mind a MK3 Golf as my first car . Although, I'll probably need a newer car that's completely reliable, as the college I'm planning on going to is a 2 hour drive away.

Luckily mines only done 16k miles so it's practically a brand new car. I took it in for it's virgin service this morning and the mechanics were just amazed by it

 

[homeforsummer]

Alrighty, here's my vision for the Golf:

It will still have the Team Heko wind deflectors and full GTI kit. I might get some clear or smoked indicators for it as well as some red and clear tail lights and some morrettes or hella front lights. Also planning on getting a color coded grille.

As it's your car, feel free to disregard all of the following. But given the condition of your car, here's what I'd be doing:

1) Keep the standard bumpers, but attack them all with some Back To Black or similar to bring back the original blackness. It'll instantly make it look as new as the mileage suggests it is.

2) Wheels. It's hard to do anything on a Mk3 Golf now that isn't a bit played out. Boxster rims are nice, but my personal favourite are those off the 928:

...which just seem to suit the shape a little better. I'd not go for the polished look though. Just the base silver would look good on your red car with newly-shiny bumpers.

3) Lows. That black Golf above looks about right to me on those wheels.

4) Interior. Leave it standard. That really does look mint and it'd be a shame to change too much of it. At a most, I'd be going for a pool-ball gearknob just to throw in a bit of colour. The size and shape of them is nice to hold too and they rarely look too out of place.

5) Headlights. Eh, VW did actually stick Morette lights on UK GTIs as standard for a while so they must be okay, but I'd be trying to play to the originality of your car rather than swapping everything. Though on the plus side, headlights are easy enough to swap back if you changed your mind. I'd keep the rear lights with their orange sections too - bit of a retro vibe to them now.

And of course, as Katie mentioned, insurance can get rather expensive for a young driver when even simple mods start being included. So really I'd just be driving it around for a year or two as it is (and appreciating the condition it's in) before playing around with it later.

 

[Zona]

Alrighty, happy new years everybody, just a few updates on the Golf and me (no pics as weather has been terrible).

• Passed my driving test on the 18th of December woop!!! And I have just been driving to work and back but I love this thing (60mph in 2nd gear lol, the roads were wet and empty + i didn't go over 60mph).
• Got my MightyCarMods and UKMK3's owners club stickers through the post, fitted the UKMK3's but haven't done the MightyCarMods one as I'm still deciding where to put it.
  
• Ordered some Team Heko Wind deflectors today so those should be here by the weekend!
  
• The dents can be sorted out by a mate of mine who is doing body repair at College.
• I have also managed to source some white over red rear lights locally on the UKMK3's classifieds.

In March/April the car will be going for a full respray.

 

[Zyla]

Glad to hear the car's health and modification process are doing well.

 

[Zona]

Got a few updates:


Driving test passed!!! Been mostly driving to work and back, but tomorrow I'm going up near Oxford to pick some white over red taillights.

Had my Team Heko Wind deflectors arrive today so they will be fitted tomorrow along with my mightycarmods sticker and the taillights.

I have decided to avoid the JOM Coils due to mixed reviews, so have settled for some Eibach Springs (shocks will be upgraded at a later date). I have also chosen to get some Dare RS (BBS RS reps) in Black (will be picked up in the summer).

Will get pics of the car tomorrow.

 

[Zyla]

You made a good choice with the Eibachs.

 

[Zona]

You made a good choice with the Eibachs.

I'm trying to decide if I want to lower it 30mm or 45mm. hmmmm. Springs will be ordered in feb.

 

[Zyla]

If you want the car to be lower but still high enough to allow body roll, say, if you do lots of fast cornering, or maybe even visit your local track occasionally, go with the 30mm. It will also be nice to have ground clearance over bumps and potholes. If you want it to be tucked and give off a flashy look that's not good for anything but being looked at, which in most cases is also false, go lower.

 

[Turtle]

Really cool car, congratulations on it! First, I'd like to agree with Zyla, 45mm is pretty impractical, which takes away one of the best things about the Golf. If you want to go that low, and keep it practical, you're probably going to want the fancy-pancy air ride/air bag suspension things. The second thing I want to say is that you may want to consider these two wheels: The Borbet Type A, and the ATS Classic, both of the look good, aren't done to death like BBS wheels are, and should be compatible with your car. Personally, the latter is my favorite, and I'd put them on a Golf if I had one in a heartbeat. Also, keep it close to stock, normally I'd say mod it a ton, but with such low mileage and in the condition it's in, I would do some wheels, tires and minor suspension modifications.

Just my two cents though.

Borbet Type A

ATS Classic