the 1.6 is much more rev happy than the 1.8 and the 4speed box has a taller 2nd gear than the 5speed so you only need 1 change to hit 60

fingers crossed its not bad at all, i would expect there to be fuel issues if not started for a long time, also do an oil change before trying to start and turn engine over by hand with plugs out and put a few drops of oil inthe cylinders
have a search on here there's a thread knocking about of recommisioning stored vehicle or it maybe on mk1golf
where are you btw?