1985 Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet

This is my first project car and since getting my own beginner socket and wrench set in 2020, until now. I’ve spent my time after work almost everyday to get this thing working in the first few months I had it. At the same time, I was still trying to figure out how to do anythign on a car in general. This was my guinea pig and it has been through hell and back. Literally. It caught on fire at one point.

I started with about $300 in basic hand tools for the normal project car enthusiast. Sooner or later, I collected impact wrenches, specialty bits, suspension tools, more power tools, and so on. The list of stuff that was both useful and useless is too much to bother with. You could say it was a lot of money and time gone to waste. But for my friends and family that I’ve jump started, replaced their valve cover gaskets, and countless oil changes later, this has been one of the most rewarding hobbies I’ve ever had.

And to those that have roughed it out being my passenger in the cabby, it is one of my most prideful moments to drive someone in my project car that I’ve toiled over years on end. A once decently working car that is absolutely unsafe and 100% worth the effort when it finally pulled through. Unfortunately the car got into a fire incident in late 2023. Suffering from a damaged carburetor and engine, I’ve decide to swap out the 1.8L engine for a 2.0L from a Mk3 Volkswagen.

Lately, I’ve picked up a lot more work than I can chew. But, we’ll take it day-by-day, and hopefully I can reassemble the car one more time.

Front of the cabin by Sandy Beach Park View of the cabin. March 5, 2023