Picking up the ‘new old’ GTI

"BlythBros." (blythbros) 03/03/2014 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

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I really had nothing to do with any of the work that goes into buying and licensing a car. I just remember receiving a package in the mail which contained a license plate and my dad calling me with directions to an import dealer in Albany, NY. I had just finished finals at school and had a week or so to kill before graduation so I was more than willing to drive the 3 hours each way to pick up my brother's 'new' 1984 VW GTI. The only tough part was finding someone who was willing to tag along and then drive my car back.

We arrived at the shop in Albany (after a lunch break at a scary McDonald's) and I walked inside and told them I was there to pick up the white !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . They then handed me the keys. That was it. Really? I had brought my passport in order to prove my identity and had figured that they would be unwilling to release the car to someone other than its registered owner. Oh well. After a quick ocular pat-down on the car I noticed nothing troubling other than the fact that it needed some air in its tires. The car started right up and sounded like it had enough power under the hood to propel the small box to highway speeds. After affixing the license plate I thanked the dealers and left.

The entire stop in Albany took about 30 minutes, so it was back to gorgeous Ithaca. I was enjoying the surprisingly comfortable seats and lack of power steering so much that I missed the turn onto 88 despite the frantic waving from my friend in my MkV behind me. This pointed us on a slower route towards Syracuse and, worst of all, left us with a higher toll to pay. The car drove straight and there wasn't as much noise as I would have expected on the highways. The only real noise was some sort of alarm tone that sporadically sounded during the entire drive, which became annoying. This turned out to be a bad relay. I also really liked the vent windows up front because I had never experienced such a thing. The car was not quite the same as my 25-year-newer version but it still was a blast to drive on some of those upstate roadways.

In Ithaca I was able to fix up a few other small items such as bolting down the rear seats as well as putting the seat belts in. There was also the requisite MkI vs MkV photoshoot. The car was in great shape overall; the headliner was in place and everything worked as it should, short of the odometer. I noticed that the exhaust was louder than it was before and looked underneath to see that one of the connections had a loose clamp. I was okay with this. There is a certain pretentious cafe on the south corner of Cornell's campus that I happened to drive past on many occasions on my way back to my apartment. Generally in first gear at WOT.

For that next week in Ithaca I didn't even touch my MkV, as the 84 GTI was just too much fun. I loved everything about its interior from the spacious trunk to the quality of the carpet that seemed relatively clean. Trips to Wegmans were much more enjoyable with people crammed in the back seats yelling as we flew down Buffalo Street, vents and sunroof wide open, in pursuit of $5 worth of groceries. The four horn buttons were also a source of endless amusement- "But why do they all make the same sound?" I was sad that I had to drive it back to York in order to start its journey to my brother in Indiana.

Graduation came and passed (boring) and my family decided on a week we would go out to visit Graham. I was to drive the GTI and they would travel in a proper automobile: a climate-controlled Ridgeline. I left a few days before they did as I knew Graham was very excited to see his car in person for the first time. My trip happened to coincide with a terrible heat-wave that forced me to drive with windows open. All this noise and heat will get to your head after 8 hours of highway driving. And little did I know that by leaving my water bottle next to the handbrake that I was also exposing it to much exhaust heat, but I discovered this as I drank my 150 degree water in order to stay hydrated.

Finally, stupidity won and I ran out of gas. I blame a mixture of a broken odometer and heat-madness. Also I never really thought that I was getting less than 30 mpg in such a small machine. Anyway, as I was cursing the sputtering engine I saw another car pulled off the road so I decided to park right behind it. I was about a half hour from the Indiana-Ohio border and a little over two hours from Graham's place, I think. As I got out of the car to walk around I noticed that the car in front of me, a third-gen Camaro, had someone sleeping on its hood. It was a (presumably) local man who was lacking a shirt and an engine, as he had overheated it doing about 120 earlier in the day. He was very friendly and offered me some gas from his car. As he dug around for some kind of hose, the best thing we could settle on was the windshield washer tubing in the hood of the GTI… so out it came. He then proceeded to try to syphon some fuel from his tank but with no luck. I was gracious of his gesture and complete disregard for somewhat dangerous chemicals.

Things got a little interesting when a police officer showed up and ran my plates and had a quick talk as to why I was there. I basically said that I had run out of gas. This was a common issue in rural Ohio, he explained. He was nice enough to offer me a ride to a gas station at the next exit just a few miles down the highway. This required a (non-ocular) pat-down and a ride in the back of a very well air-conditioned cruiser. There were only two gas stations: a BP and a Shell. In light of recent events (hint: this was summer 2010) the officer refused to support those damn oil-spillers and we turned into the Shell's lot. I then realized that I had nothing in which to pour gasoline. I asked the officer if I could run inside quick to buy a small cannister but he insisted I use the plastic bottle I had brought with me, despite all legal warnings at the pump. I purchased about $1.50 of gas in my 32 fl. oz. lemon-lime Gatorade bottle and he took me back to the GTI. I was relieved when it started right up after pouring in the fuel and then prepared to visit the same Shell once again.

Camaro guy asked me for just a quick favor before I left- he needed to call his mom to pick him up. Apparently he'd been out sunbathing on his hood for over 6 hours and just wanted a ride home. I obliged and then called Graham to tell him I was back on track. Things could have gone worse, I suppose. I made it to Columbus, IN before sunset and met an excited Graham running out from the entrance to his apartment complex. He jumped right in the driver's seat and we took off for some spirited Indiana driving. The GTI was out of my hands.

I believe that the GTI is Graham's most functional car at the moment, and whenever I visit I make sure to drive it around as it is an incredible little hatchback. Its original square headlights and bumpers suit it well, and I'm glad he's kept the snowflakes and other original pieces intact. When we take it to events such as the STPR event in Wellsboro, PA, the GTI receives more compliments than some of the cars in the competition. I'll probably end up buying one of my own someday.

You can read !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! 's post in its original format !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It must be mentioned that Taylor is the most severely educated of the BlythBros, so please highlight all errors, grammatical and otherwise, and bring them to his attention. He recently wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on our experience at the dragon with his 2.3-16 and the GTI.

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For more stories about life with our 84 GTI, 88 911, 87 2.3-16, Alfa Milano Verde, Alfa 164LS, e30s, and more, check out the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! We promise not to be too bitter. Sort of.

oldestyoungn > BlythBros. 03/03/2014 at 09:30

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I'm sorry but I like the old one better than the new one as far as looks go.

BlythBros. > oldestyoungn 03/03/2014 at 10:18

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We like both!

Big Bubba Ray > BlythBros. 03/03/2014 at 11:19

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Good old ocular pat down.

Kevin Rhodes > BlythBros. 03/04/2014 at 19:28

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I had this cars German cousin, an '84 Jetta GLI through much of college, grad school and many years after. Absolutely wonderful car! Mine even had working A/C! Highway gas mileage was definitely not spectacular, with the motor spinning at close to 4 grand aat 80.

BlythBros. > Kevin Rhodes 03/04/2014 at 20:27

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Nice. A/C would sure be nice, but with the vent windows and sunroof, it isn't too bad.

Do you have any photos of yours? What do you drive now?

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > BlythBros. 03/05/2014 at 21:11

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Dixon-Mason > BlythBros. 03/05/2014 at 21:40

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Cummins or Cosco?

BlythBros. > Dixon-Mason 03/05/2014 at 21:49

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Cummins.

There's a Cosco here? I've only seen Sam's club.

speeddemon807 > BlythBros. 03/05/2014 at 22:27

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I like the car a lot. My uncle used to have the 2004 VW GTi VR6 with a manual gearbox but traded away a few years ago. Could have been my car.

SirRaoulDuke > BlythBros. 03/05/2014 at 22:48

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A slow car is more fun than a fast car, especially when the slow car handles like a damn go-gart. I would love to have one of these. I wonder if I would feel the same as you about the heat, being that I am 42 years old and spoiled rotten now. When I was younger I had an Escort, 4 speed, sunroof, and no AC. It didn't bother me at that younger age.

I am now to that point where I want the heroes of the 80s. That GTI. A Fox body GT. A GTA Trans-Am. A Buick GN, of course. A big 560 Benz. A Testarossa would be awesome.

yitznewton > BlythBros. 03/05/2014 at 22:54

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Yay, I also had an 84 GLI in college, with 238k on the clock. A/C and sunroof too! Someone had swapped in a Scirocco tranny at some point, which had a looonnnng 4th gear, so highway was a little better, but still not great.

Grunball > BlythBros. 03/05/2014 at 23:05

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I'm also at Cummins, but unfortunately there is no Costco that I have seen. Cool story, hope to run into your brother sometime.

Nick > BlythBros. 03/05/2014 at 23:09

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I think Singer's next project should be Mk 1 GTI's. :D

Bono > BlythBros. 03/05/2014 at 23:23

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Those original GTI's are awesome, I'd love to have one. Saw a pristine, silver one just the other day and my mouth watered. Those wheels were decades ahead of their time.

Matt McIrish > BlythBros. 03/05/2014 at 23:38

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The Mk1 GTI is a great and fun little car. I have an 83 that I drive daily in all weather and it's a tank considering how ramshackle the 80's American built VW's can be. They are a lot of work to keep running well, but they will put up with almost anything you can toss at them without too much fuss. They are well worth the trouble but are not a car for the lazy.

hwyengr > BlythBros. 03/06/2014 at 00:08

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Ah, Alpine White. The thinking man's colorless color. Not blinding like Candy White, it has just enough smudge in it to look sophisticated. Like the mountain range where it got its name.

Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa > BlythBros. 03/06/2014 at 08:12

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Why this version looks so different to the one we here in Europe had?

druckpress > Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa 03/06/2014 at 08:32

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Square headlights, yuck. Otherwise it's definitely an improvement over the Mk V, new cars are TOO BIG! My mate and me used to race the Cornish B roads in the UK, him in his GTI me in my 1380 Mini Special. Good times.

SpontaneouslyCombustible > Kevin Rhodes 03/06/2014 at 09:29

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I've got a mk2 (somewhere along the lines of 80% mechanically similar) and i can attest to this. The noise at highway speeds is almost intolerable after a while.

That wont stop me from taking mine to Austin next month though ;]

bauertheburner > Shady Balkan Subject, Drives an Alfa 03/06/2014 at 09:50

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NHTSA restrictions. Basically regulations which try and discourage non-American brands from bring their cars to the US

Filmlandgrab > BlythBros. 03/06/2014 at 09:55

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Carbon copy of my first car. I need a tissue, there's something in my eye...

Vintage1982Benz > BlythBros. 03/06/2014 at 10:08

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My first car was an 84 Golf - unfortunately not a GTI - but that thing was fun as hell to drive. I learned how to drive stick on it and I used to have that rear end skipping across the pavement like a kart when I would finish a shift of washing dishes at the restaurant I was at. Had a nice little snaking driveway with a couple of 45 degree curves to get out to the main road.

It was largely bullet proof, too - never had any issues with it other than some leaky old weather stripping.

burntartichoke > Kevin Rhodes 03/06/2014 at 12:02

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More A1 GLI love! I still have my white 2 door that brought me home from the hospital when my dad wasn't soloing it at the local events. It has over 280k miles and it still going strong (aside from a right control arm failure a couple months back but that is fixed now) but alas no A/C. I was hoping for its 30th anniversary to do a frame up restoration but that might have to wait for my 30th...or its 35th...oh well, one can dream

LIGHTONFUEL > BlythBros. 03/06/2014 at 12:42

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I want one of these so effin' bad!!!!

LIGHTONFUEL > oldestyoungn 03/06/2014 at 12:54

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I agree. I'm not really a huge fan of the MKV. I felt that it was really lacking in terms of overall appearance as compared to other MK's. But then again, it really does boil down to individual preference, no?

TomMetcalf > BlythBros. 03/06/2014 at 14:09

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Nice story. I love how in NY we don't drive to the 'grocery store', we go to the Wegmans.

Matt McIrish > SirRaoulDuke 03/06/2014 at 17:50

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I completely removed the AC from my 83 GTI, since it was more money than it's worth to update it, and with the driver's window so close to your face the only time you feel the summer heat is when you're sitting still. No sunroof either.

I have bad luck with VW and working AC. My current car has no AC. My 2000 GTI didn't have working AC. My girlfriend's 88 Cabriolet doesn't have working AC. I rented a 05 Jetta once and the AC took a shit 3 hours into the rental. My 88 Mercury Grand Marquis had 265k on the odometer when I sold it two years ago and its AC was still running on a decade old charge with the original compressor. Go figure.

jmlobo > BlythBros. 03/06/2014 at 22:57

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Absolutely loved my 84 GTI. At 200K, sold the engine to a rally car guy for $750. Best car I ever had, except for that time the doors froze shut in an ice storm... Not exactly the best-insulated car ever.