There’s nothing quite like being offered an ex-feature car shell halfway through a build, but it’s all turned out ok for Dave Dickinson who, with the help from his dad, has created this Mk1 gem from the confines of a lock-up...

At GOLF+ we’re often asked what happens to all the cars we feature a few years down the line. The majority would appear to stay on the show circuit for only a couple of seasons then just vanish completely. Gone. It seems a crying shame that a show winner from 2007 that had everyone’s jaw dropping to the floor at the time would just disappear off the face of the earth.

So what happens to all these amazing show cars that once took everyone’s breath away? A few would seem to survive with minor upgrades such as a change of rims or even an engine transplant, but sadly the majority get broken for their highly sought after parts never to be seen again. After all, who wouldn’t want those retrimmed Lambo seats that once rested in that trophy winning Mk4 Golf?

Back in June 2008 we ran a feature on Mark Evans’ Golf Mk1 G60 and were blown away by its simplicity and Mark’s attention to detail. The red leather interior, flawless blue anthracite paintwork and old skool Revolution rims made the car stand out. And then there was the engine; that G60 just looked so at home in that decluttered bay, we just couldn’t find fault in Mark’s project. It was a Mk1 masterpiece!

And then the unthinkable happened, (though maybe we should be getting used to this by now!) Mark decided to strip the car back to a bare shell and turn his hand to other things.

Meanwhile, Kendal based Dave Dickinson was cracking on with restoring a Mk1 Golf GTi and had even got to the stage of installing a 20 valve turbo engine in it, “I’d had loads of VAG cars before, including four Mk2 Golfs, an R32 and a 1980 Mk1 but I really fancied building a 20v turbo Mk1,” he recalls. “I’d got as far as putting an AGU engine in a restored shell and driven it just 20 miles when Mark’s Mk1 shell came up for sale.”

OWNER PROFILE

NAME:
Dave Dickinson
AGE:
28
LOCATION:
Cumbria
DREAM CAR:
Porsche 911GT3 RS
FAVE MOD ON CAR:
Wheels
TOP CHOONZ:
Foo Fighters

THE KNOWLEDGE

ENGINE:
AGU 1.8T with shallow sump, five-speed O2A gearbox, Omex 600 management, Forge adjustable boost valve, custom inlet and boost pipes, front mount intercooler, Series 1 top fill radiator with twin cooling fans, Qpeng conversion downpipe mated to a Jetex 2.5in system, battery re-located to the boot, scuttle tray removed, smoothed engine bay
 

CHASSIS:
Hot Tuning coilovers, fully polybushed, zinc dipped rear beam, front and rear Eibach anti-roll bars, full GTi wishbone, hub and brake set up with drilled and grooved discs and Pagid fast road pads, complete new GTi rear drum set up, RH 7x15 mirror polished deep dish wheels with modified Borbet centre caps, flush fit valves, 165/50/15 Bridgestone Potenza tyres

STYLING:
1978 small light Mk1 Golf finished in anthracite blue, chrome flag mirrors, chrome trim grille, stainless steel replica Series 1 bumpers with smoked indicators, smoked crosshair headlights, Series 1 LS chrome side and sill trims, Porsche script door handles, chrome fuel cap, rolled and smoothed arches, de-badged and smoothed tailgate

INTERIOR:
Porsche C4S electric leather tombstones with optional headrest crest, cabriolet leather rear bench modified to fit, series 1 GTi dash, centre console, door cards, parcel shelf and parcel shelf supports, chrome door locks, Wolfsburg steering wheel and door pins, chrome golf ball gear knob, TIM boost and oil pressure gauges, Trimsport rear strut brace

Thanks:
Andrew Dickinson (dad) and the rest of the family, Ian and the guys at Kendal VW Centre, Mike Whittaker, cumbriavag.co.uk and the people who helped along the way thinking it would never get finished! Alan Billington at www.mjworkwear.co.uk for the photo location

To read the rest of this feature see the February 2012 issue of Golf+.
Back issues available here.