So I thought it was about time I did a little semi-project thread here, considering I've been faffing around long enough with the car...
Back in April 2009 I got sick and tired of driving the Rover 214 I subjecting myself to after returning from a year in Canada, and decided to get a proper car. After spending many hours at work researching the options (and doing the occasional bit of work, of course
), I narrowed it down to two Mk2s on pistonheads - one big bumper 90-spec local to me in Bristol, and an 87 small bumper all the way oop North in Preston.
After seeing what my brothers and friends thought, I made up my mind and went further North than I've ever been before (seriously, I'm a Somerset country bumpkin at heart) to get the small bumper 87 GTI. The ad was went into a lot of detail, so when I took a look at it I was sold on the spot. Giddy with excitement I plopped down the cash and drove away fast enough so the buyer's remorse couldn't catch me. While stopped a mile or so down the road to check out a few bits and bobs, I got a flash and a wave from a nice red Mk2. Purchase vindicated!
Here are a couple of pics just after I brought it to it's new home in the sunny westcountry. Fun fact: while I was taking these, the farmer just over the way came over to make sure I wasn't about to burn it out - about 100m further down the lane there was a burnt out shell of a stolen car
Overall, it was in good condition. The body had very few signs of rust, and despite some of the questionable mods stuck on by the previous owner, seemed to run well enough. Only worrying thing was a switch in the dash that turned the radiator fan on - which got me a bit worried about coolant problems... More to come - a lot's happened in the last year and a half!