Never throw anything away!

[JimD]

The passenger side speaker in my 86 X kept cutting out, or crackling, or growling or sometimes actually working. Today I finally decided to do something about it. I pulled the speaker out to test the connections and noticed immediately that one of the two spade connectors on the speaker was quite flimsy, like it was about to snap off. Back in the mid 80s I had a Rabbit GTI and I put a nice stereo in it. When I traded it in I pulled the stereo and stuffed it all in a box. In an incredible coincidence, the speaker from the GTI was the exact size as the speaker I pulled out of the 86 X. I put it in the X and it works great even after being boxed up for over 35 years.

I think I spent more time getting ready to test the X's stereo system than I did fixing it. I located my multi meter and test probes, got the AC turned on in the garage, got the garage PC booted up in case I needed to search info. I guess I should have checked the speaker first. It just seemed like it was a wiring issue more than a speaker issue, so I was prepared to dig around for an hour or so. Of course, it was a wiring issue, just directly at the speaker. Anyway, it works now.

One other funny note I just remembered. The GTI stereo gear was in the garage because I had wired one speaker into the radio in the 124 Special when I owned it. The 124's stock speaker was not working, so I wire nutted the GTI speaker to the radio and dropped the speaker into the 124's pass side foot well map bucket. Sorry Chris, I reclaimed my speaker before I sold it.

Never throw anything away! I have one more spare speaker and even a fancy stereo, albeit a cassette based system form the 80s.

 

[NigelProdrive]

Its not hoarding if your stuff is cool.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

Wow, in a box since the 80's. I thought I was a hoarder but I think that beats me.

You do not want to know what that GTI is worth today.

 

[kmead]

 

[JimD]

Wow, in a box since the 80's. I thought I was a hoarder but I think that beats me.

You not want to know what that GTI is worth today.

Oh I have seen the GTI prices. I think lots of middle age guys have fond memories of our GTI Wabbits. I had been hunting around for another "memories" car like my Xs a few years ago and a GTI was on the radar. Everything is pretty pricey these days. I finally decided to just stick with the Xs I already had in the garage.

 

[dragonsgate]

I just built some shelves for my wife with wood strips that has been stored for all most 20 years.
Have a pretty good stack of vintage wood. In the 80's I used some black walnut that my dad cut on a steam powered sawmill in 1947 for some open beams in the first house I built. I still have a couple of boards from that batch. I keep saying I'm going to do something with that one of these days. I better hurry up because I was born the same year that wood was cut.

 

[Ernie]

I know the feeling. I was born in '46. I have slabs of black walnut my dad gave me maybe 20 years ago. He told me at the time they were 60 years old.

I took a belt sander to one of them about 10 years ago, thinking if the grain looked good I would make some wood dash and console pieces for one of my 124 spiders. I wore out the belt on the sander before I could get a read on the grain. Unbelievable how hard that stuff is.

 

[JimD]

Walnut Ernie? Teak is the way to go.

 

[kmead]

Damn we have a whole roomful of these jokers.

 

[johnph]

Damn we have a whole roomful of these jokers.

There is a ratty 124 wagon parked for years at a local small repair shop. Maybe someone can make it into a faux woodie. Pix soon.

 

[carl]

When you have a nice house but on the typical 1/4 acre lot you really don't have too many options for storing stuff. I do have a storage room in the basement with 124 stuff on one side an X stuff on the other. It is fun to go through the stuff once every five years or so and do some headslapping on cool parts you totally forgot you had. Otherwise I am the type of guy who throws stuff away if I haven't used it in five years. That's why I gave away all the kids toys when they grew up only to go yardsailing to buy the same stuff back for the grandchildren.

I do have Thor, my dad's Jag XKE knockoff hammer in a display case in the living room but that's more a memory thing than storing old parts.
I had a silver 84 GTI back in the day. They were geared so low that even in fifth they revved higher than my 128s at highway speeds. I now have a 2017 GTI which is about as perfect a daily driver as you can get.

 

[BEEK]

Hello, my name is Randy. I am a hoarder! Now that I said that, I have my own junk yard in the back yard for parts. Glad my neighbors dont care. (I live way out in the country)

 

[carl]

That, of course, is every classic car guy's dream. There is an article in the Latest Hagarty magazine about keeping parts cars.

 

[bjwhite]

You do not want to know what that GTI is worth today.

Not THAT much. It's a Westmoreland, PA produced Rabbit---great cars, but the interiors are garbage compared to the European GTI counterpart. So yeah, they are nostalgic, but aren't worth all that much. If you want a "real" GTI, get a European version--with the proper interior, and no square sealed beam headlights like the American-produced ones.

I had a black 84 just like that.....no sunroof, burgundy interior (yuk). I bought it right after I graduated high school.

 

[kmead]

Not THAT much. It's a Westmoreland, PA produced Rabbit---great cars, but the interiors are garbage compared to the European GTI counterpart. So yeah, they are nostalgic, but aren't worth all that much. If you want a "real" GTI, get a European version--with the proper interior, and no square sealed beam headlights like the American-produced ones.

I had a black 84 just like that.....no sunroof, burgundy interior (yuk). I bought it right after I graduated high school.

You would be surprised what they are now going for. Agreed the interiors and switchgear were garbage but its a nostalgia piece.

Grab a Cabrio with a nice set of seats, the IP and so on and you can make the Westmoreland cars pretty close to the ROW GTIs.

 

[bjwhite]

You would be surprised what they are now going for. Agreed the interiors and switchgear were garbage but its a nostalgia piece.

Grab a Cabrio with a nice set of seats, the IP and so on and you can make the Westmoreland cars pretty close to the ROW GTIs.

No I know...I've seen them. Still.

Before I got rid of my 84 GTI the second time (I sold it to a friend, bought a 1992 Corrado VR6. Three years later sold that car and bought my 84 GTI back......then welded a trailer hitch to it, and packed everything I owned into it and a 5x8 utility trailer and drove from Louisville to Seattle....been here ever since.).....I did end up putting in a German-production dash (from a Cabriolet, as you mentioned). While it bolted right up, many other things weren't quite right---ducts were slightly off, little things here and there. But yeah, it is possible.

I also removed the square headlight core support and fenders on mine to convert to proper round headlights--but I didn't do anything to the rear--those American tail lights are different too, although I kind of think those actually look good.

And while the interiors were kind of gross, support-wise those seats were actually quite amazing. I did love that car. But I just can't get nostalgic for a Westmoreland GTI. Maybe others can.

 

[bjwhite]

A friend of mine still has a completely original other than being a DSP-prepped autocross car silver on blue sunroof 83 GTI. It's quite nice except for hazed silver paint, although it is original.

He still has the 1986 8v Scirocco he bought when he was 18 too....Recaros from a Jetta GLI, European headlights, and repainted BMW carbon black. It's quite gorgeous but hasn't seen the light of day in at least 10-15 years. Just sitting in storage waiting to be re-discovered, alongside the GTI.

Great era, great cars. I actually saw a Corrado the other day in traffic and I had to do a triple-take. So rare to actually see one in the wild.

 

[kmead]

A friend of mine still has a completely original other than being a DSP-prepped autocross car silver on blue sunroof 83 GTI. It's quite nice except for hazed silver paint, although it is original.

He still has the 1986 8v Scirocco he bought when he was 18 too....Recaros from a Jetta GLI, European headlights, and repainted BMW carbon black. It's quite gorgeous but hasn't seen the light of day in at least 10-15 years. Just sitting in storage waiting to be re-discovered, alongside the GTI.

Great era, great cars. I actually saw a Corrado the other day in traffic and I had to do a triple-take. So rare to actually see one in the wild.

All three of those cars are ones I would love to own again. A 16v ’Rocco would be nice as well. My Scirocco was an 82 8v which though slow was a great car, it delivered 42mpg and more than a few autocross trophies.

 

[bjwhite]

All three of those cars are ones I would love to own again. A 16v ’Rocco would be nice as well. My Scirocco was an 82 8v which though slow was a great car, it delivered 42mpg and more than a few autocross trophies.

BUT! It had a single windshield wiper like the first gen cars! That always made the 82s great.

 

[tvmaster]

The better half came home with a pizza oven. Yeah! No stand. Boo. Off to the garage, where piles of wood fragments I couldn’t bring myself to throw away lept to life. Never throw anything out. Pizza was delicious btw…