Ultra rare, ultra shiny custom BBS RS rims are just the icing on the cake with this throttle-bodied valver Mk1

Words: Matt Zollo | Pics: Lennart Dijkstra

If you’ve been to any major European show over the last few years (and why wouldn’t you) and have more than a passing interest in Mk1s (definitely why wouldn’t you) then you might well have drooled over this particular, particularly gorgeous example already. It may live across the sea and over the other side of the Netherlands, in Gescher, Germany, but that hasn’t stopped owner, Dirk Wierczeyko, from showing off the car whenever and wherever the opportunity arises, Edition38 in rarely sunny Northampton included.

This is for a good reason, of course, not simply a flagrant act of automotive ego massaging – Dirk uses the Golf as a promotional tool for his company, Felgenpoliererei Gescher. Felgenpoliererei is a wheel refurb business (Felgen = Rims; Poliererei = Polisher) that breathes new life into any and every kind of wheel (within reason), but anyone who knows Dirk will know that he loves his split-rims, so that’s what the company specialises in and what he uses this Golf to demonstrate. He’s been doing it for six years now and during that time has only ever used Mk1s to exhibit his products.

“I bought the car in 2006 [for 200 Euros] because my beige Golf 1 [you can check that one out on his website too] that I’ve had since 2004 was in an accident and I couldn’t get it finished for that year’s show season,” he says. “It was going to just be a temporary replacement originally, but the colour was so popular and unique that I built this car instead and presented it in Holland at Speed.NL that year. I still have the beige one but it has 70ps and is an auto, so it is only occasionally used. Also, it’s not even done 64,000km.”

The car was on the Felgenpoliererei Gescher stand at Essen in 2009 and 2010, and will be there again this year. It was shown at Edition38 in 2010 as well, but since then has had another transformation – with new engine, interior and wheels – which was shown off at Wörthersee this year, where you may have seen the car sharing space with seven others (including a Kübelwagen, for contrast) on the back of a car transporter. It’s been about, then.

PROFILE

NAME:
Dirk Wierczeyko
LOCATION:
Gescher, Germany
OCCUPATION:
Owner of www.felgenpoliererei-gescher.de
DREAM CAR:
Don’t have one
FAVE MOD:
Wheels
TOP CHOONZ:
Sound of Music

THE KNOWLEDGE

MODEL:
1979 Mk1 Golf GL
 

Engine:
ABF 1984cc 16-valve, Jenvey 45mm individual throttle bodies, Passat W8 ignition coils, stainless-steel exhaust manifold and full system, chrome components including starter motor, alternator, valve cover, engine mounts and brake servo

Transmission:
Standard 020 five-speed gearbox, Sachs Racing clutch

Suspension:
H&R Rebound 80 coilovers, adjustable top mounts (set at 1.5- to 2-deg negative camber), polyurethane bushes, 5x100 to 5x130 15mm front and 20mm rear adapters

Brakes:
G60 setup front and rear

Wheels & Tyres:
BBS RS E50 6.5x17 (ET60) front and 7x17 (ET65) rear split-rims, 0x17 mirror polished outer rims, gold centres and black bolts, red BBS centre caps, polished Porsche wheel bolts; 165/35/17 Nankang tyres

Exterior:
Body restoration and respray in original VW Samt Orange (LA2A), single headlight grille with diesel chrome surround, chrome bumpers,’74 chrome headlight surrounds, chrome side and boot trims, chrome filler cap, chrome wipers, Porsche 944 chrome door handles, Post Golf rear light clusters, bronze-tinted glass including opening front quarter light windows,’74 model bonnet with grille-located lock mechanism
 

Interior:
Full retrim in dark brown leather, including original seats, door cards and dash, original GTi Spittoon steering wheel, Post Golf seat belts and boot sill, alloy door sills, GTi instrument cluster

Thanks:
Thanks to my friends Rainer G, Nico W, Hendrik D, Peter S, Markus V and Christian M

To read the rest of this feature see the December 2011 issue of Golf+.

Back issues available here.