Volgende tekst is leuk advies voor iedereen die aan een oude Golf denkt om mee te racen.
"I will just give you some general advice for a start if that’s okay and
then you can ask me more specific questions as they arise. First up it is
easiest to get the car in Germany, since in Holland there is a 40% luxury
tax on cars meaning even used ones sell at a premium compared to Germany.
Also there are many more around in Germany, so more chance of finding a nice
one.
Which car:
Mk 1’s are really cool, but have a few serious problems. They do rust,
their engine is not as reliable as the Mark II, they didn’t have a Kat so
that was/should be retrofitted and most importantly good ones are getting
very expensive because they are eligible for “young timer” championships. As
much as I love them, spending Porsche 944 money on a golf ring toy seems a
bit silly. Parts are also getting harder to come by especially interior trim
and bodywork parts, which is fine until you dent something at the ring. I
know I have ;-) So alas no Mk I, is my advice.
I myself have a 8v Mk II because they are by far the most reliable and
cheapest to run. Mine has over 250.000 kilometers and the engine and gearbox
have never been opened. I drive it on the road to the Ring and trackdays at
Spa and the GP-strecke, drive it hard all day en back home again without a
problem. (if I don’t crash ;-)) Also the pre 87’s have mechanical injection
so you can get more horsepower out of them fairly easy by changing the
fuelpump and some other bits from the scrapyard. Pre 87 means no Kat ab
Werk, so that should be retrofitted (In Holland we don’t have to, luckily).
Parts are abundant for all Mk II’s in used, imitation or new quality so that
’s great. Downside is a slight lack of power, which you notice especially on
the backparts between Adenauer bridge and Karussell. Standard is about 112
ps, simpler tuning gets you about 130 max. Since I don’t time myself and am
more interested in my cornering skills I don’t care to much, but I can
imagine you’d want a bit more power eventually.
The 16v is the most balanced with 140 ps. Most things mentioned above
apply. I decided against it for two reasons. It has an electronic injection
with a “steuergeraet” that can break down in older cars and is quite
expensive at about € 600,-. It also has problems with extended coping with
high engine heat (as in racing) which can lead to headgaskets blowing out
and cylinderheads cracking, so you need to warm them up very carefully and
let them cool down idling every few laps to be safe. You will also be smart to
get an oil-cooler fixed.
The G60 is very underrated. It has the same reliable block as the 8v and
lots of power with 160 ps. It also has bigger discs and callipers saving you
an upgrade. Only problem is the G-lader only lasts about 120.000 kilometers.
Replacements used to be incredibly expensive, but rebuilts are now possible
and a lot cheaper at about € 800,- all in. Good thing is that most G60’s
have now had their rebuilts giving you another 100.000 kilometers or so or
about 5.000 laps which should be adequate for the near future, me thinks ;-)
Don’t get a Rallye version though because the bodyparts are very, very
expensive
So my advice is to get an Mk II 8v, 16v if you are not afraid of some
maintenance or a G60 if you crave the power, and remember overall condition
is much more important than mileage which is hard to check on these older
cars anwyay.
Where to get it?:
www.mobile.de is the most obvious but also try the small ads at
www.motorsport2000.de and the local papers. You might find one with a
rollcage, belts and seats already fitted saving you lots of money. It’s
amazing how many people decide to spend thousands of Euro’s on building a
racecar, only to get bored (or a wife, baby etc) after a year or so and then
having to sell it. It is really hard to find new owners for these cars so
just make an offer way lower than they are asking for and wait. They will
mostly call you back within two weeks to accept. Finally check with the
local VW-niederlassung in Adenau. They won’t sell them second hand anymore
but at least some of their mechanics will either own one, or know where to
find you one because most do some work on the side on friends’ cars. It also
gives you some security cause you can make a deal with them to fix any
problems for you in their spare-time. In Holland mechanics can normally use
the company tools and workplace on Saturday mornings to work on their own
cars, so this might be a good time to talk to one of them.
You should not pay more than a 1000 euro’s (I paid 500 for mine in Holland) on a nice 8v, max. € 1500,- on a 16V and max. € 2000,- on a fully prepared one or a G60. Save the rest for a few necessary modifications or unexpected repairs. There’s always at least one. Get one without any exterior mods, they are still out there, as long as you stay away from the VW Scene/Max Power boys. Get an original GTI and not just a golf II with a
gti engine because only real GTI’s have disc brakes all round and also an extra stabilizer in the rear axle. Very hard to find at scrapyards and expensive at the dealership. Finally don’t care too much about small dents.
They lower the price a lot and you will dent it yourself sooner or later anyway. If you see one you like I am very happy to check it out with you. I am about 3 hours away from Adenau and I like to drive, so feel free to ask
What mods?:
On an 8v or 16v I would uprate the front brakes. Get EBC turbo-grooved
discs and EBC blue or Hawk blue pads. They last you a season and have good
stopping power. EBC Red pads are softer and wear faster, but have TUV I
think (again not a problem in Holland). Leave the rear brakes standard for
easier turn-in. Also if you strip the interior the rearend gets light so you
don’t want too much stopping power there. 0,5 cm spacers left and right on
the front axle also help turn-in as does turning the front wheels out about
10 minutes on the alignment bench. 15” wheels with 195/50/15 are an
improvement on the standard 14”. Wider/bigger tyres than that only ruin the
handling. Bigger brakes and wheels are standard on the G60 so not needed.
Braided brakehoses and Ate racing fluid are also nice. It gives a lot more
feel in the pedal, but you will still have to hit the brake pedal a lot
harder than in a modern, more servoed car. For safety I like a full cage,
seat and safetybelts all FIA-certified. I found Sandler in Bochum the
cheapest in that respect. You get an extra discount if you have a DMSB or
other racing license.
Koni yellow shocks might be an option if you want to spend more and they
can even make you a special integrated springs/shocks set with Nordschleife
characteristics for about 1000 euro’s if you want to go all out. (Bit over
the top maybe). Apart from that just take of as much weight as you can and
you will end up with a very reliable, fun, cheap and pretty fast car in
which you can embarrass a lot of the more modern stuff.
Jochie