VWwA Used Car Guides Golf (Type 17) 1974-1982

[phaeton]

1974-1982 Golf LS, GLD or GLS

If you have owned or own one of the models above please state your experience with the Golf, negatives and positives

Also fill in the below blanks


example
Model: Golf LS
Engine: 1.6 55kW
Year: 1975
Any Problems ?: tyres fell off etc

[gtimk5]

Well, I'll start the ball rolling. I bought my first golf in 77. It was a 76 LS 1.6, 3 door and I did a lot of competing in dirt events. It was the first Golf in Tassie to have the firewall tear where the clutch cablle goes through it. I had Koni reds in it and I kept seizing the lhf strut. Wasnt bent as Koni rebuilt it constantly under warranty but it caused the floor and under car to split badly. I had to weld and plate it.
I ended up selling it to my brother 4 years after I bought it. I did 335,000 kms in it in those years!
My brother still has it, though it only sits in his backyard.
Andrew

[syncro]

1974-1982 Golf LS, GLD or GLS
Model: Golf LS
Engine: 1.6 (pre ADR 27A)
Year: 1976 5D Auto
Any Problems ?: Typical body problems of an Australian assembled Golf.
Large crack in left inner guard near strut due to poor factory welding. Opened up to 25mm when accelerating and closed during braking. (Steered right when accelerating and turned left under brakes)
Water leaks everywhere leaking onto fuse box causing problems.
Fuse box replaced as fan circuit burned out.
removed old masking tape from under back seat and found no paint underneath as this must have been factory tape.
Dash cracked and sagged in middle, and vent window locks missing.
Head had to be replaced due to corrosion. (due to neglect)
Seats in '76s were very bad horsehair type.
Accelerator very hard to press as it was an automatic with the solid "cable" instead of the bowden cable used in the later models.

Positives: Very good on fuel being an early engine.
Golf auto boxes are bullet proof. (Had no oil in it when I bought it)

[syncro]

1974-1982 Golf LS, GLD or GLS
Model: Golf GLS 3D
Engine: 1.6 (ADR 27A with air pump)
Year: 1977
Any Problems ?:Windscreen washers operated intermitently due to design fault in wiper/indicator switch.
Valves guides and seals replaced.
Most problems were caused by modifications by previous owner. Weber/Holley/Solex 2 barrel on adapter plate to standard manifold.
Wiring faults caused by bad modifications.
Australian made sway bars hit on exhaust.

(This was my first Golf)

[syncro]

1974-1982 Golf LS, GLD or GLS
Model: Golf GLS 5D
Engine: 1.6 (ADR 27A no air pump)
Year: 1978
Any Problems ?: Engine pinged badly until I had distributor modified and 98 octane went on sale.
Typical rust in bottom of windscreen.

(Best Golf 1 that I ever had)

[Satanstoenail]

1976 Golf LS - 1978 Golf GLS

Model: Golf LS
Engine: 1.6 55kW
Year: 1976
Any Problems ?: Plenty. This was my first car, an auto, I bought it cheap with no rego to work on myself and got a whole lot more than I bargained for because I didn't know what to look for. It was only once I got it home that I discovered the rust in the front passenger footwell, and then the rust in the firewall. Once I got everything repaired and got it on the road it wouldn't idle, I tried to get that fixed but it kept happening, then about 3 months later I smashed it in a double end collision, it was still drivable, but then a few weeks later it blew the head gasket and the head cracked. That was the end of that. Next Golf:

Model: Golf GLS
Engine: 1.6 55kW
Year: 1978
I bought this car (a manual this time) damaged off my mechanic and transferred all the good parts off the auto onto that car. It had hardly any rust, the motor was great, and it lasted me years. I loved that car. SO fun to drive. I only got rid of it after the motor ended up getting smoky and the head gasket went about 5 years after I bought it.

[Oneofthegreats]

Model: Golf GLD
Engine: 1.8 GTI CIS, 5 Speed Close ratio
Year: 1979
Any Problems ?:

This was my first car & conversion. Nearly travelled just shy of 500K.
Never had a major problem with this other than rust in the usual spot's. Especially around the windsceen & onto the vunreble fusebox & the clutch cable firewall area.

One other problem was on a stinking hot day on a long trip the fuel pump would cavitate the fuel & stop (Also kill the fuel pump too). Really needed a swirl pot, but never got around to it.

Other than two fuel pumps, two waterpump's, heater core blow up, a stuffed outer C.V. joint, blown up gearbox, one clutch all over the space of 11 year's is good if you ask me.

The car didn't owe me anything. If anything, I owed the car.

Model: Golf GTI Campaign
Engine: 1.8 GTI CIS, 5 Speed Close ratio
Year: 1983
Any Problems ?:

None to date. I reckon once I start abusing it, some will pop up.

Also had various year mk1's & model's but never had them long enough to have prob's other than the rust issue.

[gldgti]

Model: Golf GLD
Engine: 1.5 37kW
Year: 1979
Any Problems ?: Bought in bad state, bad cosmetic rust, nearly no structural, usual places. electrics bogded by previous owner. brake light switches renewed. tie rods flogged out and replaced at around 270,000km. exhaust system kept braking at hte "flexible" joint at the bottom of the downpipe. replaced exhaust with custom job. at 250,000km blowby became an issue, oil consumption crept up. re-ringed fixed the problem. replaced glow plugs at 275,000km. 310,000 km alternator bearings failed, siesed. repeated use of bad biodiesel/good biodiesel, bad diesel and good deasel in roughly equal qhantities, but always given regular oil changes with penrite. steering rack replaced at 300,000 km, totally stuffed.
320,000 km leaks causing electrical havoc
330,000 km blew 3 bottom radiator hoses in 2 weeks, faulty hoses.
350,000 km, leaky injector pump causing problems making coolant hoses soft.

car has been living on nasty roads and driven REAL hard. bloody fantastic car. would do it again and again and agian.