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Whoops, Another Mk2 Jetta
So, backstory; the white Jetta has a few panels that are in less than desirable condition and its also missing a few little random bits. I saw this abandoned, Gambia Red, 1985 Jetta GL on Facebook for cheap so I figured it'd make a good parts car. Right? Well, when I got it towed back to the barn I immediately decided that it was too clean to rip apart, and thus, I found myself in the interesting situation of now having two Mk2 Jettas to deal with as well as still kinda needing a parts car... I did a quick once over and couldn't see why it wouldn't start, so I threw in a fresh battery, cranked it, and it fired right up! Yeah... at that moment I was definitely sold on saving this car.
As previously mentioned, this is a 1985 Jetta GL, so its an early small bumper car, with a 1.8 8v mated to a 5 speed manual, controlled by the Bosch CIS mechanical fuel injection system, a setup carried over almost unmodified from the Mk1 GTI. This car is complete, has extremely minimal rust, and unlike the white car, runs and drives perfectly fine! It also has an interesting combination of options. It is a non-sunroof car, with crank windows, but it has central locking. Surprisingly, the vacuum operated central locking is still somehow 100% functional. When you lock the drivers door handle, all the other three door handles lock, as well as the trunk, and even the gas cap! Additionally, it has manual, but heated seats. As far as issues go, the only minor problems are that the brakes feel a little vague, the tail light is smashed, and the shifter is very worn, its hard to tell the difference between reverse and 1st.
The best part of this car though, is that its bone stock, save for the round headlights and grille (the car came with the original rectangles too, in good shape). Everything on this car has remained Stock in the 34 years its been roaming around Canada, its actually quite amazing.
When parked next to the white one, its quite interesting to see the subtle differences between the early, and later Mk2s. I never noticed that the front windows and rear plate tub were different. The sideview mirrors are even mounted in a completely different place. I must say though, I think I prefer the look of the big bumper Mk2s.
A few days ago I moved the red Jetta from the barn to my driveway so I could work on it easier. Here are some detailed shot of the cars current condition. The paint is extremely faded and oxidized, but the body is overall in pretty good shape. I think this car will turn out looking quite sharp once I'm done with it!
I started off with giving the engine bay a thorough clean as it was quite disgusting looking. Unfortunately I'm an idiot and forgot to take pictures of it unmolested, I only remembered after I applied degreaser, and scrubbed it a bit. Oh well, I think the pictures still capture the difference it made.
I've done a bit more work than that on the car, but I don't have time right now to type it all out. One last thing about this car, I actually have it "pre-sold", the car is spoken for, but its still under my custody until I finish up some work on it. This will be a new and interesting experience for me haha.
As previously mentioned, this is a 1985 Jetta GL, so its an early small bumper car, with a 1.8 8v mated to a 5 speed manual, controlled by the Bosch CIS mechanical fuel injection system, a setup carried over almost unmodified from the Mk1 GTI. This car is complete, has extremely minimal rust, and unlike the white car, runs and drives perfectly fine! It also has an interesting combination of options. It is a non-sunroof car, with crank windows, but it has central locking. Surprisingly, the vacuum operated central locking is still somehow 100% functional. When you lock the drivers door handle, all the other three door handles lock, as well as the trunk, and even the gas cap! Additionally, it has manual, but heated seats. As far as issues go, the only minor problems are that the brakes feel a little vague, the tail light is smashed, and the shifter is very worn, its hard to tell the difference between reverse and 1st.
The best part of this car though, is that its bone stock, save for the round headlights and grille (the car came with the original rectangles too, in good shape). Everything on this car has remained Stock in the 34 years its been roaming around Canada, its actually quite amazing.
When parked next to the white one, its quite interesting to see the subtle differences between the early, and later Mk2s. I never noticed that the front windows and rear plate tub were different. The sideview mirrors are even mounted in a completely different place. I must say though, I think I prefer the look of the big bumper Mk2s.
A few days ago I moved the red Jetta from the barn to my driveway so I could work on it easier. Here are some detailed shot of the cars current condition. The paint is extremely faded and oxidized, but the body is overall in pretty good shape. I think this car will turn out looking quite sharp once I'm done with it!
I started off with giving the engine bay a thorough clean as it was quite disgusting looking. Unfortunately I'm an idiot and forgot to take pictures of it unmolested, I only remembered after I applied degreaser, and scrubbed it a bit. Oh well, I think the pictures still capture the difference it made.
I've done a bit more work than that on the car, but I don't have time right now to type it all out. One last thing about this car, I actually have it "pre-sold", the car is spoken for, but its still under my custody until I finish up some work on it. This will be a new and interesting experience for me haha.
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