Highlights

• Unmodified and highly original
• Just two owners from new
• Superb V.A.G approved service record with 33 stamps up to 2006
• Off the road since 2009
• Ideal candidate for light restoration

The Appeal

The History and Paperwork

• First registered in January 1983 by a doctor at 59 years of age
• The car was declared a ‘Cat D’ by the insurance company in 2003 after some light car park damage to the near-side rear quarter panel, which the then owner chose to have repaired
• Purchased by the vendor from the doctor in February 2008 when he was 84 years of age
• The car has been SORN, stored in a heated garage and started regularly since 2009
• Given an MOT and four new tyres in 2018 when the vendor briefly considered selling it
• 111,709 miles from new, verified by the service record
• Unmodified and original
• Extensive service record – 33 V.A.G approved stamps, with the last at 107,485 miles in June 2006
• Comprehensive file of invoices and maintenance records
• Owner’s handbooks and two keys

The Interior

• Original red and black cloth seats
• The front seats show some wear, with the driver’s seat being in poor condition, but the rear bench looks to be in very good order
• Black carpet runs through the cabin and appears to be in pretty good condition, just requiring some refitting to the passenger side
• The vendor would like to stress that the car has not been professionally valeted, and they believe the interior will come up very well with a deep clean and valet
• The black vinyl door cards show nicely, with no tears or sagging we could discern
• The black headlining looks to be taut and undamaged, with no sagging in evidence
• An original period Panasonic radio-cassette system is fitted
• All of the controls and switchgear wear a light and appealing natural patina, with wear commensurate with the car’s age and mileage – overall it’s nicely preserved
• At the back, the rear parcel shelf is intact, with no speaker holes having been cut
• The boot itself looks solid and clean, with a full-size spare and a wheel brace present

The Exterior

• Desirable three-door bodyshell
• Original Mars Red paintwork with black side stripes
• Highly original and unmodified – the car is still wearing its supplying dealer plates
• Overall the paintwork looks to be in fine fettle, with some light blemishes and stone chips, as you’d expect and a little scuffing to the edges of the door shuts
• The bodywork presents well, looking clean and straight with no notable damage or significant corrosion on show
• We did note some bubbling to the rear arches and there is a hole through the off-side rear valance
• Underneath the car is clean and tidy, with a little corrosion showing under the spare wheel well
• Original factory 13-inch wheels, wearing some light scuffs to their rims and shod in a matched set of Avon tyres

The Mechanics

• 1,780cc naturally aspirated four-cylinder
• Five-speed manual transmission
• Front-wheel drive
• Very well maintained, with a fine record of servicing
• A new fuel filler neck – a common issue with these – was fitted at 70,396 miles
• The vendor tells us that the car requires a little effort to start, but once running drives very well with no issues to report, although they believe some recommissioning is in order

Summary