Just knock on his door and ask him how much he wants (within reason) for the Mk1 and get it before he realises what a gold mine he's sat on. My Mk2 16v goes in next week to put the suspension back to standard and get rid of those ridiculous Koni dampers and springs that it came with. I can't wait as it'll be fantastic when that and a couple of other little jobs have been done. Mine only gets driven in the dry but it's great fun and it gets so many admiring glances and comments - far more than the Mk6.
By the way, on the subject of reliability, I've been driving 20 years and have only ever owned Vauxhalls, VWs and Saabs. I've had several of all three makes and the Vauxhalls have definitely been more reliable than the VWs. Having said that, my unreliable VWs were crappy diesel Mk4 GT TDis. If I don't include them both makes have been pretty similar to be fair. VWs feel nicer inside but the Vauxhalls haven't rattled or creaked any more. Vauxhall showrooms are tatty and drab so I don't think that helps them if they want to get rid of their run of the mill image. Conversely I've generally found Vauxhall salesmen not as far up their a*** as VW salesmen - the latter can be so patronising sometimes it's unbelievable.
