We’ve seen some pretty serious vintage VWs here recently, including the restored MkI Scirocco and tuned MkI GTI, both in the $14k-range. While those are lust-worthy and amazing VWs, that is a hell of a lot of money for 25-30 year old Volkswagens, cars that are supposed to be affordable and tuneable German machinery.
Which brings me to today’s MkII GTI, the kind of car that shows the level of fun possible with moderate investment in a VW. Turbo fun on the torquey ABA 2.0 and “almost-there” aesthetics for under $3,000 is what Volkswagen tuning is all about.
From the seller:
Up for sale is my 1989 Volkswagen GTI. The 8v, 2.0 liter ABA engine currently has right around 57k on it. The chasis has about 177k on it. The car is in remarkable shape. The body is near perfect. No dents, dings, scratches. The car has a borgwarner t3/t4 S200 .60 trim turbo currently running right around 6 psi. It also has a Revtec FMIC, Blitz BOV, and Eurosport exhaust. It runs great and makes good power. The front left wheel bearing (which I have) needs to be replaced. It has Weitec springs and Koni shocks. The paint is faded on the roof, but is very alive on the rest of the car. The hood is now primed black. The interior is also in good shape. It has Monaco seats, and a Momo wheel. The sunroof works, but leaks a bit when closed, i’m sure it needs new seals/stripping. It also needs a headliner. Its a very solid car, and I would certainly trust it to drive anywhere. Its great to drive, and gets a lot of attention. It has no AC, but the heater works perfectly. The car has been very well maintained. I only used royal purple when doing oil changes. Thanks for looking!
57k miles on the new ABA! Yes, there are some minor, non-mechanical issues to deal with like a leaky sunroof and lack of headliner (both common GTI afflictions), but I consider those part of the fun part when you’re getting a swapped and turbo’d GTI with a lot of quality cosmetic things going for it, e.g. wheels, straight body, and perfect single-crosshair and GTI-lined grill. This is MkII Volkswagen at its best, with some great work already accomplished; a little work and personalization could make this a show-worthy VW with a fraction of the investment of any other comparably-fun German auto.
-NR