Okay, the big news this week is that we have launched our new Golf Mk1 catalogue – and it comes at just the right time because it seems the original Golf is continuing on its upward trajectory in terms of gathering more and more retro cool classic status. That said, for many the love affair never really ended and a growing band of ‘born again Dubbers’ are getting back into the Mk1 Golf scene after years behind the wheel of other models.

Take Malcolm Rae who bought his first Golf, a 1977 three-door 1600 GLS in 1978 when he was stationed in Germany with the British Army. He owned it for almost five years and imported it into the UK in 1980.

An expanding family forced Malcolm to swap the Golf for a 1978 Audi 100 LS and later a 1978 Passat GLS. He then purchased a brand new tax-free 1988 Golf Mk2 1.8 GL when he was re-posted to Germany.

After some 13 years, the Mk2 Golf went to his daughter and Malcolm went out and bought a six month old 2001 Mk4 1.6 Golf SE. Meanwhile the Mk2 came back into his possession following a third party rear end accident.

He had the Mk2 repaired, added power steering and a few other mods and continued to drive it every day for many years, his wife taking charge of the Mk4 until it was swapped for a Lupo 1.4S.

Malcolm admits that the Mk2 was the love of his life for 17 years and 155,000 miles before he finally parted company about a year ago. “It was immaculate, with subtle mods, full service history, the lot,” said Malcolm. “It was even featured in VW Motoring.”

Malcolm replaced the Mk2 with a 2003 Polo 1.4 FSi which he hated. “It just wasn’t anything like the Golf and after 11 months I swapped it for a 2004 Golf Mk4 1.6 Match.”

But his love of earlier Golfs hadn’t diminished and while playing car swapsies he’s had a secret project going on in the garage. “About six years ago I acquired a 1983 silver Mk1 1.5 five-door with blue interior and just 64,000 miles on the clock. I have been gradually refurbishing the car, sorting out the rust spots and even enrolling on a DIY welding course at Southampton City College to help move things along.”

Apart from taking the engine out (which he will eventually do), he has stripped the car to a bare shell removing the seats, dash and just about everything else. “Until just recently I had been turning the engine about one a month and running him for half and hour or so. The battery eventually died and has since been replaced,” added Malcolm.

All seats, door cards and carpet have been cleaned using a carpet cleaner, the front seats dismantled and covers removed. “The front covers have also been washed in the washing machine and came up brilliantly clean, unfortunately the thin sponge lining within the material washed away! I have yet to come up with a solution to remedy this. I can see needle and thread coming out!”

Many items have been cleaned and stored away, and many new/secondhand parts have been acquired for eventual installation.

So while old Golfs never die, neither it seems does the enthusiasm or amount of sheer love and dedication Dubbers are willing to spend fettling them.

To keep your Mk1 project ticking along be sure to get your hands on the Mk1 Golf catalogue. Email sales@vwheritage.com with your name and address and we’ll get a copy in the post for you.

I sometimes wonder where my ’83 GTi ended up. I only hope it’s fallen into the hands of someone as keen and dedicated as Malcolm!

Ian