BBS RF 1.6 Litre 1978 Volkswagen Golf Mk1

While manufacturers are obsessed with making everything electric these days, most enthusiasts seem more set than ever on keeping the gasoline dream alive.

Words: Bryan McCarthy

Photos: Zak DePiero

STUCK IN TIME

While the longterm goal to electrify everything seems to have sent their RSVP in late for the automotive nuptials of Needs and Wants, the eventual walk down the aisle is inevitable. There just aren’t enough drunk Uncle Chucks to stand up and slur their objections and stop the proceedings. That’s why a good portion of the enthusiast collective are turning towards other relationships to satisfy their own desires.

Enter the barn find, a long forgotten relic of an earlier era relegated to spend the rest of its carbon life behind closed doors. While this MK1, perpetually sleeping under a hay blanket prior to its awakening, may just seem like a quick polish, suspension and wheels job, it’s far more than that as Scott Morton tells us. The 45-year-old logistics pro from New Haven, Connecticut has been playing the Volkswagen game since his early 20s and has amassed a garage full of Wolfsburg’s water-cooled fauna. Fun fact: one of his previous MK2s was featured in our October 2000 issue as well.

“I bought the car from my friend Chris in Kentucky who had gotten it out of a hay barn,” says Scott. “It was literally buried in hay. I bought the car straight from the barn without it running, super moldy, and full of mice.” Those mice also left behind some of their DNA via an unhealthy heaping of excrement.

Scott’s owned the MK1, a 1979 Westmoreland-built Rabbit, for over thirteen years and in that time frame he’s gone through the car top to bottom to make sure it remains in preserved condition. One peek inside for a glimpse at the odometer will reveal just why it’s important to maintain its original integrity. “That's the original mileage!” he exclaimed when I asked him if it had rolled over. “The car has all the original paint on every panel. I call her Thirteen actually because when I got her it only had 13k miles on the clock.”

For those unfamiliar with Volkswagen’s Westmoreland plant, allow a moment as we drift into a Wikipedia meets Cliff’s Notes rendition of Thorton Wilder’s Our Town. Just kidding. In an effort to reduce the cost of their automobiles sold in the US by building them there (currency stability and lower labor costs), VW of America purchased Chrysler’s partially completed New Stanton Plant in Pennsylvania and renamed it Westmoreland after the county it was located in. The first completed vehicle rolled off the line in April 1978, and for the first eighteen months things were good.

Then, competition caught up as the market realized that people buy Volkswagens because they appreciate the German feel of the car. The Americanized products lacked the appeal and Germanic character of their overseas counterparts, instead succumbing to a softer ride and the colour-matched interiors that every 80s car was inflicted with. The positive momentum ran out and despite a freshening of the exterior in 1981 and the introduction of the GTI in 1983, the manufacturing complex was losing money, and lots of it. It remained open for a few more years, producing the MK2 Golf (no longer called a Rabbit) and MK2 Jetta. It closed in July of 1988. In total, VW built over 1.1 million vehicles at the site.

Ok let’s get back to the Alpine White MK1 strewn across the pages in front of you. Being nestled in a barn for an extended slumber not only worked to protect the exterior from aging, but also prevented the US-built Rabbit from rusting away. As Yearbook Girl in Can’t Hardly Wait exclaimed “These are memories frozen in time, people!” That, and the original application of Rusty Jones Rust Preventer also helped. If you look closely, you can still see remnants of Rusty, which will remain as its removal may ruin the paint. “It's always been 2-door Golfs for me,” Scott answers as to why he chose this car.

“I've had some other models with more doors as beaters or daily drivers but never for builds.” Let’s agree that some creative license was used in the definition of ‘build’ in this instance. “The styling was always going to be 100% OEM plus on this car. Like the German cars I see all the time which are clean AF, but slammed on some wheels. That's the major reason to switch to the early Euro small bumpers to get that look. Also to just preserve the car in general because of the super low miles and rarity of it being an early Westy model made in the USA.”

Before those Euro bumpers could be installed, the exterior needed to be cleaned off, allowing the original paint to shine. If any horses and goats hung out with the mice, it was clear they didn’t want anything to do with the Rabbit, as there aren’t any obvious dents or dings. All body molding is intact and accentuates the time period from which it was installed. Open the doors and you’ll notice the tags, both factory and service center applied, are still there displaying glorious patina.

Pop the hood and you’re presented with another time capsule. Almost. “Every single metal piece of the fuel system was rotted and rusty. Every single rubber piece was split and cracking,” Scott says, almost wincing at the amount of effort it took to locate replacement parts. “The OEM replacement exhaust was on a shelf somewhere forever!” The standard 1.6L has had every piece of rubber replaced, since the factory hoses and such had deteriorated from age. The fuel system received a new tank, pump, level sender and all hoses, among other serviceable items. The four-speed gearbox remains stock. “It was difficult sourcing all the parts and then getting it running once all the parts were on there.

The car was mechanically restored by myself,” beams Scott, who also does his own stunts. You can’t help but notice the blue interior when looking through the clear glass, the dashboard being particularly striking. We can assure you it didn’t always look that pretty. “The interior was so crazy moldy. Everything was removed, scrubbed and cleaned. Thank goodness it was an all-vinyl interior Rabbit C model. The original steering wheel was also sticky and super stained with something or other which also pushed me to the small MOMO wheel like the Germans.”

Sitting in the driver’s seat and taking in your surroundings gives an idea of what the employees at Westmoreland must have felt when those first Rabbits drove off out of the factory. “The interior has been restored by myself and looks practically brand new. Even though on occasion a mouse turd will still fall out from underneath the dash.”

Back outside and to probably the first thing you noticed beyond just how clean it is — that perfect Euro-bred stance hovering just above the colour-matched 15-inch BBS RFs, in staggered width 7” and 7.5”. The arches are rolled to prevent any damage from tyre on wing interaction.

“All the suspension modifications were something Tobias and I discussed at length,” says Scott. The individual he mentions is the one and only Tobias Aldrich, another friend of the mag. “The car originally started out on H&R Ultra-Low 1's but they couldn't get the car low enough for my liking so I switched to the lower Ultra-Low 2’s,” continues Scott. This wasn’t just a case of ‘add to cart’ lowering though, as Scott and Tobias tackled all the components of the suspension system to return harmony to its drivability. “You can't just lower a MK1 this low and not have issues without addressing slumber not only worked to protect the exterior from aging, but also prevented the US-built Rabbit from rusting away. As Yearbook Girl in Can’t Hardly Wait exclaimed “These are memories frozen in time, people!” That, and the original application of Rusty Jones Rust Preventer also helped. If you look closely, you can still see remnants of Rusty, which will remain as its removal may ruin the paint. “It's always been 2-door Golfs for me,” Scott answers as to why he chose this car.

“I've had some other models with more doors as beaters or daily drivers but never for builds.” Let’s agree that some creative license was used in the definition of ‘build’ in this instance. “The styling was always going to be 100% OEM plus on this car. Like the German cars I see all the time which are clean AF, but slammed on some wheels. That's the major reason to switch to the early Euro small bumpers to get that look. Also to just preserve the car in general because of the super low miles and rarity of it being an early Westy model made in the USA.”

Before those Euro bumpers could be installed, the exterior needed to be cleaned off, allowing the original paint to shine. If any horses and goats hung out with the mice, it was clear they didn’t want anything to do with the Rabbit, as there aren’t any obvious dents or dings. All body molding is intact and accentuates the time period from which it was installed. Open the doors and you’ll notice the tags, both factory and service center applied, are still there displaying glorious patina.

Pop the hood and you’re presented with another time capsule. Almost. “Every single metal piece of the fuel system was rotted and rusty. Every single rubber piece was split and cracking,” Scott says, almost wincing at the amount of effort it took to locate replacement parts. “The OEM replacement exhaust was on a shelf somewhere forever!” The standard 1.6L has had every piece of rubber replaced, since the factory hoses and such had deteriorated from age. The fuel system received a new tank, pump, level sender and all hoses, among other serviceable items. The four-speed gearbox remains stock. “It was difficult sourcing all the parts and then getting it running once all the parts were on there. The car was mechanically restored by myself,” beams Scott, who also does his own stunts.

You can’t help but notice the blue interior when looking through the clear glass, the dashboard being particularly striking. We can assure you it didn’t always look that pretty. “The interior was so crazy moldy. Everything was removed, scrubbed and cleaned. Thank goodness it was an all-vinyl interior Rabbit C model. The original steering wheel was also sticky and super stained with something or other which also pushed me to the small MOMO wheel like the Germans.”

Sitting in the driver’s seat and taking in your surroundings gives an idea of what the employees at Westmoreland must have felt when those first Rabbits drove off out of the factory. “The interior has been restored by myself and looks practically brand new. Even though on occasion a mouse turd will still fall out from underneath the dash.”

Back outside and to probably the first thing you noticed beyond just how clean it is — that perfect Euro-bred stance hovering just above the colour-matched 15-inch BBS RFs, in staggered width 7” and 7.5”. The arches are rolled to prevent any damage from tyre on wing interaction.

“All the suspension modifications were something Tobias and I discussed at length,” says Scott. The individual he mentions is the one and only Tobias Aldrich, another friend of the mag. “The car originally started out on H&R Ultra-Low 1's but they couldn't get the car low enough for my liking so I switched to the lower Ultra-Low 2’s,” continues Scott. This wasn’t just a case of ‘add to cart’ lowering though, as Scott and Tobias tackled all the components of the suspension system to return harmony to its drivability. “You can't just lower a MK1 this low and not have issues without addressing the other suspension components. It will ride and handle like absolute garbage.” Tucked behind those wheels are disc brakes from a Scirocco 16V, although scrubbing off speed is probably not an issue. “It's definitely not a performance car but dang does it look good,” Scott muses while acknowledging the car also drives great.

The Rabbit has seen its fair share of the scene in the time that Scott’s possessed the title. Among show attendance, it’s been down to Ocean City, Maryland for H2O (remember that one?). “It used to take up five or five and a half hours to drive there until I drove this car there and it took over seven hours. It’s so slow with the 4-speed gearbox.” Scott also had the pleasure of smashing the pan not once, but twice on a single journey home from a show with his brother, Kirk. Apparently it’s the second hit that gets ya. “It took two direct hits before it started leaking all the oil out. It left us waiting for a tow truck, but that was the only time it left me stranded.”

Just like cars themselves, a project never remains stationary, regardless of whether it’s “finished” or not. So what’s next for the little hatch then? When queried on the future of the MK1, Scott offered two different possibilities. It’s either getting a 5-speed or being sold on. “I'm probably going to try and sell it to the right person because it's so super original and to modify it more feels sacrilegious.” While we would agree to the latter, it’s comforting to know that this isn’t the Rabbit’s last dance.

DUB DETAILS

• ENGINE: Standard 1.6 Litre, standard 4-speed trans, but every piece of rubber under the bonnet has been replaced. And everything else under there is completely serviced. Still coated under the bonnet and floors in the original Rusty Jones Rust Preventer. New fuel system including the tank, pump, level sender, in tank filter and all hoses. OEM replacement exhaust
• CHASSIS: BBS RFs 15x7 front and 15x7.5 rear. 165/50-15 tires all around. Colour matched Alpine White centres with polished lips and black barrels. H&R Ultra-Low 2 Coilovers. Scirocco 16V 10.1” rotors, calipers, and larger bearing steering knuckles. Scirocco 16V hybrid axles, 100mm outers, 90mm inners. Larger brake master cylinder. Heavy duty upper front strut bearings. Lower suspension stiffening K bar. Tie Rod flip kit and ball joint extensions to eliminate bump steering
• EXTERIOR: Lots of reconditioning! Early European Small Chrome Bumpers. OE style thick bumper rub strips. Modified front indicators for the US parking/driving light. Rolled arches front and rear
• INTERIOR: Lots of cleaning! MOMO 320mm Monte Carlo steering wheel and hub SHOUT: My wife Crystal who lets all this VW madness continue on. Tobias Aldrich who I constantly bounce ideas off. And the Not Right Shop crew of Kevin MacD, my brother Kirk and Terry

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