what's it worth

[mr.h]

hello all,

don't know if you wonderful people can help me out here - and i know it's tricky without pictures, but here goes anyway ...........

i have been offered a mk1 cabby - 83 reg. i've had a look at it and driven it and all seems ok - i'm sure you'll soon gather that i havn't too much of a clue though.
there's not a great deal of history with it that i've seen, but i beleive that it began life as a 1.8 gli - not 100% on that, but doesn't matter too much as now it has...........

16v 2 litre GTI lump, Rebuilt 16v Gearbox, Drilled Air box with K&N Panel Filter, Ashley exhaust – 16v conversion .......
Avo Coil overs fully adjustable .......
Standard 16v Gearbox, Short Shift kit ......
Rear disc Conversion, up rated Master Cylinder, and 22mm Servo, front 285mm big brakes......
15” wheels TSW Imola.......

the other fella told me that lot!! doesn't mean a whole lot to me to be honest.

anyway, assuming that all of that info is accurate and that's enough for people to go on - what kind of money should i be looking at paying??

i do realise how difficult it is for people to make a judgement given that there are no pictures and the limited info that i've given, but any help would be appreciated.
i will add the car looks superb as i said, as good as any that i've seen on here. no rust that's visible to the naked eye (underneath too).hood in great nick.interior vgc, apart from a few little 'pulls' in the fabric on the driver's seat.

cheers guys.

[gibby]

Cor ! Where to start  First of all welcome to the site.  I think you already know that we could do with seeing some pics but even then cars can look great in pics but not so good in the metal, Anyway, I think if it was a GLi originally it will have been a 1.6 rather than a 1.8, the GLis were just what they were badged as in the early days before GTIs but that's by the by now as the engine has been converted. I'll try and explain what some of the things are that have been done to it.

16V 2 litre lump - Probably a 1.8 16v from a mk2 that's been bored out to 2ltr, a popular conversion but I think the pistons need to be upgraded for this though but not 100% sure

rebuilt 16v gearbox - Makes sense if converting the engine to a 16v, again probably from a mk2

Drilled airbox - This just means that they've drilled holes, usually in the wing sideof the air box to give more air flow to the engine, some say this makes a difference, others are not convinced (myself included). Also gives a more throaty roar when accelerating

K&N Panel filter - A better filter than the original to increase air flow again and these are about £30 - £35

Ashley exhaust 16v conversion - Sorry dont know anything about it

Avo coilovers - Replacement suspension that you can adjust so make the car sit higher or lower as required as they are adjustable, some say that if you dont adjust regularly the bolts seize up anyway. These will give a harsh ride.

Standard 16v Gearbox, Short Shift kit ...... - Gearbox as above and the short shift will mean that the gear stick will not travel as far making it easier and quicker to change gear thus making acceleration slightly faster and easier

Rear disc conversion - Mk1 brakes were originally drums and not the best so makes sense to uprate these if doing an engine conversion

uprated master cylinder - Makes sense when uprating the brakes

22mm Servo -  sorry, dont know anything about but I guess inconjunction with the brake upgrade would make sense

285mm front brakes - I think the mk2 G60 has this size brakes and means better stopping on the front too

TSW Imolas - Dont know much about these either

It sounds like a lot has been done to the car and what he says makes sense but has he got any proof of this being done, receipts etc or has he done this himself ? I'm guessing that he's probably got this up for about 3 - 4k and if done right then it's probably worth it especially if the bodywork is as tidy as you say. How much does he want for it ? Are you prepared to pay what he's asking for it ? I think if it was me I'd get an AA inspection done on the car or get someone who knows what the guys on about to go and have a look at it.

I'm not really technical myself and the answers I've given are what I have found over the years of using this site, if you do some posts in the garage section you will get more technical answers from people about the conversions to the engine, gearbox and brakes.

The upshot is that something is worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it, I'd also speak to your local garage that you use and tell them the info and make sure that they have the skills to look after the car with the bits that have been done to it.

Here's a good website to look around to see if you can get any further information --> http://www.matey-matey.com/ This is supposed to be a good one too --> http://www.vwvortex.com/

If anyone else reads this and would like to correct me on anything then please do. 

[Agreeable Slick]

only thing i would correct would be that the 285 discs are not from a G60.

G60 and VR6 (early models) had 280mm discs the latter models (M reg onwards i think) moved up by 8mm to 288mm discs.

16v discs are 256mm so not too sure where the 285mm measurement has come from.

[DubFan]

The 16V 2 litre lump, could be from a Mk3 16v GTI as this had a 2litre engine.
Or it could be an 2litre bottom end with a 16v top.

Boring out a Mk2 1.8litre 16v to make it 2litre would be a little dodgy, most people only bore out 1.8 engines to 1.9 because going any bigger pushes the block too much.

If the car is in good condition, then with a plain engine it's probably worth £2-3k, with that engine conversion, probably £3-4k.
But I'm not a cab expert.

[Agreeable Slick]

Boring out a Mk2 1.8litre 16v to make it 2litre would be a little dodgy, most people only bore out 1.8 engines to 1.9 because going any bigger pushes the block too much.

Not so. If it is done correctly then the engine is just as reliable as a normal non tinkered 1800. Mine is a bored out valver engine to 2000cc.

If all the relevant parts are done correctly then it will continue to run just as it should. Mines pushing 190bhp atm and not had a single problem with it. Even blasting down the strip at santa pod all day at spring festival. 

[gibby]

Just as a guide, if an 83 reg was standard and mint it would probably be worth between 1.5 - 2k.