What got you into MK2's then???

[MrD]

I bought my mk1 gti back in 1989 to replace a broken Hillman hunter 1725gt.
Had secured a 4 year apprenticeship training to be a chef at Pembroke college in Cambridge,decided it would be a good idea to get out a 2 grand bank loan,and look for a more suitable car,family wanted me to get something sensible,economical and cheap too insure
Spent a few weeks looking through the Cambs eve news,until i spotted the mk1 KWJ 990W.
So arranged too go and see it,took a mechanic friend of my mums,as 2 grand back then was a lot of money ,when you only earn £87 a week.
Soon discovered it was no ordinary mk 1 gti,full Koni yellow top adjustable s ,4,2,1 manifold,various other mods.
Was hooked from that min onwards,the mechanic who took us out for a drive warned me it was far too quick for an inexperienced driver,no rubbish i thought .
Cost me £950 to insure 3rd party.
I was a top bloke,everyone wanted to be out in my car,it lasted for just over 3 months,i had the suspension set on it`s hardest setting,was coming back from a petrol station visit one rainy night,filled with fuel,and just washed,hit a huge puddle doing about 65,down a country road,aquaplaned span 3 times narrowly missing a ditch,hit an electric pylon which snapped half way up,came down on the roof in a shower of sparks,and rolled off the bonnet onto the road,i smashed the drivers side window with my head,car looked like a banana
Police got there and he was shocked to see us both alive.Ended up paying the loan off for 3 years,and went back down the ladder to a mk4 cortina

Then a vw free few years,back in 1992 i spotted a mk2 gls for sale,which i bought,this cfar was a pig,i never did get it too run right,owned it for about 3 months then got sick of it,did pay a company in Nottingham (The engine fit centre) Over a grand to rebuild the engine,went to collect it too weeks later,and i had been ripped off,they had not touched it ! Trading standards got involved,but a dissgruntled customer beat me too it,and fire bombed the place ! Wrote it off as a loss.
Then another vw free few years ,back up too 2005,when i was looking in Friday adds and spotted the current one up for spares or repair £100,was on the phone to him,and collected it that weekend,spent loads buying all the go faster stuff,instead of fixing the things it failed it`s mot on.then ran out of money,so it sat on my drive for 3 years,before my wife said fix it or scrap it.
So with the help of this forum i got too work fixing it,been on the road for a couple of years now,and even with the mods i have done too this current engine,it`s only just as quick as my first one,the mk 1 used to do 0 to 60 in just over 6 sec.
IU will never get rid of it,i love it too bit`s.
Would love another mk1,but they are now a lot more than i paid back in 1989...

[HotSoutheastWind]

What a great story!!! Sorry about what happened to your MK1, must have been a belter (what colour was it, any pics?) but thats great youve stuck with Roccos!!! Bet the MK4 Tina was a pain after the GTi!!! I used to have a MK5 1600GL - not the most engaging car to drive!!!

[james butler]

heres some pics of ma baby, obviously has just been washed. the alloys need a refurb as the laquers peeling. its my next job on the list

[HotSoutheastWind]

James thats a cracker - i LOVE the colour!!! :)

[MrD]

It was metallic silver,sorry no pics at all,was years before camera phones came out .
Friend did take some pics after the smash,but never did find the film with them on.
Ended up breaking it for spares,it was parked up round the back of my step dads joinery business,and believe it or not one of my mates ended up living in it for at least a month,when he got chucked out of home !!
The cortina was a pig,i went through 2 engines in that,what a downgrade,took me a good few years to catch up really,the mk 1 was the best car i had had .Still think that now,although this current one is a handful,i drive it completely differently though ,i drive this one harder than anything else i have driven,well apart from the Saabs i have owned

[HotSoutheastWind]

It was metallic silver,sorry no pics at all,was years before camera phones came out .
Friend did take some pics after the smash,but never did find the film with them on.
Ended up breaking it for spares,it was parked up round the back of my step dads joinery business,and believe it or not one of my mates ended up living in it for at least a month,when he got chucked out of home !!
The cortina was a pig,i went through 2 engines in that,what a downgrade,took me a good few years to catch up really,the mk 1 was the best car i had had .Still think that now,although this current one is a handful,i drive it completely differently though ,i drive this one harder than anything else i have driven,well apart from the Saabs i have owned

Hey MrD, Silver would have looked lush. I could think of worse places to kip - lol.

[Reverend Frog]

I'm a bit like you Russell, my dad owned this when i was a baby




and i always loved it, even when I was four years old (that's me on the left). Dad got a B3 Passat after that and it just wasn't the same!

When I was 18 I suddenly became gripped by the need to have one of my own. The first time I test-drove one I was blown away at how torquey and powerful it was compared to my one-litre Clio! Although, of course, the brakes scared a few nasty smells out of me.

So,when I was 19, and in fierce opposition to my parents, I saved up all my wages from Christmas and bought this in an auction:




It stank, it leaked, it didn't idle properly and it contained more nicotine than Dot Cotton, but I loved it. However, it had to go after only three months because I had other things to pay for.

Until Jan 2005, when I bought this on eBay for 360 quid. 58k miles and in mint condition, minus the 'tasteful' mods.




and in my four years of ownership turned it into this:




I was so gutted to see it go, but i will return......mwahahahahahaha

[MrD]

Crashing mine is one of my biggest regrets Ironic that i was not driving like a nut case when i smashed it.
I used too hang out up the local green,causing trouble ect ,when i was a kid,was sat up there one night in the roc,bloke in a Triumph acclaim starts shouting out his window how he would wee all over me in a race !
I told him to grow up,and does he know what my car is ?
Well long story short,we devised a route,i gave him a couple of mins head start,had a mate who raced sat in with me,telling me when to change gear ect,was past him within mins,he didn`t know what hit him when i went past him like he was standing still !!
Went over a hump back railway bridge doing 110 mph and took off big time,landed a good 50 yrds from the top,bounced and got air again !
I think i prob wouldn`t be here now,if i had not have smashed it when i did.

[HotSoutheastWind]

Mate that is a fabulous memory and great early pictures - absolutely LOVE your Dads Rocco and your current one is just sweet!!!!

[HotSoutheastWind]

Crashing mine is one of my biggest regrets Ironic that i was not driving like a nut case when i smashed it.
I used too hang out up the local green,causing trouble ect ,when i was a kid,was sat up there one night in the roc,bloke in a Triumph acclaim starts shouting out his window how he would wee all over me in a race !
I told him to grow up,and does he know what my car is ?
Well long story short,we devised a route,i gave him a couple of mins head start,had a mate who raced sat in with me,telling me when to change gear ect,was past him within mins,he didn`t know what hit him when i went past him like he was standing still !!
Went over a hump back railway bridge doing 110 mph and took off big time,landed a good 50 yrds from the top,bounced and got air again !
I think i prob wouldn`t be here now,if i had not have smashed it when i did.

That is a fabulous memory about the race - absolutely brilliant!!!! A Triumph Acclaim indeed - like that was going to beat a Rocco!!!!!

[Reverend Frog]

Mate that is a fabulous memory and great early pictures - absolutely LOVE your Dads Rocco and your current one is just sweet!!!!

I'm afraid I sold it in April 2009...bought for 320 quid, sold for 1300. Although I dread to think what i actually spent on it during my ownership.

My Dad's CL had a bright red interior. The REALLY early CLs with just the single door mirror, no arch guards and no fog lamps must be one of the rarest Roccos about. If I found that car again I'd crap myself. But it's been off the road since 1997, so I doubt it's still about :(
I also happen to know that my second 'Dot Cotton' Rocco was broken a couple of years ago, so I asked the guys doing it for the rear numberplate, which I have hanging up! I know I'm sad but there you go.

[jonGTX]

Don't know why but I've always had something for the mk2's, my mum's parents were complete dub-nuts (shame my grandad isn't here...) camping many times in a T25 and T3 Campervans and then with my nan in a trailer tent with her mk2 GT11 (it was a F reg and either black or blue, can't remember)

I also get at what Alex is banging on about, the fact that the 'scene' in general hasn't latched onto roccos the same as golfs or corrados does it for me and it means my mk2 is just the way I like it, on the floor, on sexy wheels and loud as turnip!

[HotSoutheastWind]

Reverend - ahh gotchya now didnt realise youd sold it. It looked awesome anyways. Not sad at all about having a number plate - nice keepsake. I bet the CL's interior was early 80s tastic - bright red - superb, As you say can only be a handful left like that.

Jon - your car is absolutely gorgeous mate, always admired this one. Bet it sounds lush. Nice family Veedub memories galore by the sounds of it!!!

[jonGTX]

Cheers bud, most shows I always seem to get the 'nice rocco mate!' comment, got it several times at SpringFest at Santa Pod as was on my local club's stand and it was right at the bottom meaning had to work my way down cheeky little video from then for you http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x18/ ... 0005-1.flv

Can't wait to hear comments on the new wheels, its down for both days of Inters as a show and shine entry so fingers crossed!

[Funky Diver]

Short and simple for me really... an Army Air Corps Pilot took me for a hoof around Middle Whallop in a beat up red GT in the late 80's. Musta been an early one as it didn't have the body kit... we stopped at the local VW garage so that he could put his down payment on a new "one" (I don't remember which model it was) but all in all it was a wonderous experience... especially being holed up in the back with his sister late that evening to take her home after a night of snoggin' and general adolescent investigating.

I've always like the shape and the look of a Rocco... so now I have one (technically 2) and intend to try and bring it up to what I feel are modern "luxury" standards in keeping with the GT tradition!