The Mk1 Golf That’s A Breath Of Fresh Air

Whilst stalking the halls of this year’s Ultimate Dubs I noticed a few interesting liveries that pay homage to retro race and rally cars from days gone by. It’s a trend that’s been on the show scene for a couple of years, and one that I first remember seeing on a pair of UK-built TRA Kyoto E36s in Austria. Personally, I love it. It can add that extra element of design that makes all the difference when you want to stand out.

A word of warning before we go on – I literally cannot resist a good pun. I’ll do my best to restrain myself, but I’m making no promises. You’ll grant me the title though, I’m sure?

The Mk1 VW Golf is a popular choice at present in the show scene, and there must have been a dozen or so gleaming examples that I could’ve brought you from this year’s Ultimate Dubs. However, Dan Guirey’s striking white Berg Cup-inspired example stood out amongst the crowd, so I had to take a closer look. It turned out to have further appeal than just some fancy stickers too; peel away the wrapper and you soon realise there’s a lot more to chew over (sorry) than first meets the eye.

Dan’s owned this car for around 3.5 years and it’s actually been wearing the Wrigley’s 1977 rally car livery since 2014. At the time it was relatively stock-bodied and running a rare 8v Callaway turbo kit from the US, so it was pretty cool already. However, it wasn’t until recently than Dan decided to evolve the Golf into something truly special by beefing up the motor, interior and exterior all in one go.

A lot of work has gone into the engine in particular. Lift the bonnet and you’re now greeted by a 1.9-litre forged G60 block running a 2.0-litre 8v Beetle crossflow cylinder head. Inside, the engine has been fully ported and polished and there’s a Kent cam and valve train. Power is boosted by a Turbonetics T3 60 Series turbo which is top mounted on a custom manifold. Spent exhaust gasses are expelled via a custom stainless system which has been fitted with an electronically-controlled diverter valve operated from inside the cabin. This allows Dan to switch between a more civilised full system or a raw hidden side-exit exhaust at the flick of a switch. Dan thinks the magic number is circa 300bhp and, now that the car is almost finished, he is looking forward to driving it as much as possible on the road, track and quarter mile.

A custom inlet manifold was fabricated to accept the fly-by-wire throttle and the car runs off 20vT management firing a 2.0-litre 8v single coil pack. The ignition system was designed and fabricated by Tim at VW tuning specialists The Phirm; he mounted a 20vT cam sensor on top of the distributor and fabricated a 20vT trigger wheel to fit to the crank pulley, allowing Dan to run a crank sensor. It’s a very clever amalgamation of parts which works well. Meanwhile, Dan took on the task of welding up all of the unnecessary holes in the engine bay for a tidier look, and relocated the brake servo so that it sits in direct contact with the pedal.

Inside the cabin, a full cage and pair of Sparco R333 seats and Sparco harnesses keep everyone safe. A custom dashboard houses a Race Technology display alongside all the relevant knobs, switches, dials and buttons.

The Golf features an 02J gearbox from a Mk4 1.8T, feeding a Peloquin differential. Dan stirs the ‘box via an imposing but beautifully-crafted CAE Ultra Shifter, and there’s a hydraulic handbrake too. In the boot, a custom Forge Motorsport aluminium fuel cell fills the spare wheel well.

Recent changes saw the Golf’s previously slim lines bulk up thanks to a full Berg Cup kit. The car was in mint (I can’t help it) condition beforehand, so Dan said that the initial cutting of the arches was daunting, but he’s glad he did it now.

The quad Hella spotlights on the front add to the retro rally vibe. Sitting over a set of Compomotive wheels, the car has a wide and purposeful stance – not too low, just right. Sadly, I didn’t hear it running at the show, but I can only imagine it sounds epic – especially switched to the hidden side-exit.

And then of course there’s that livery. It’s pretty fresh, right?

Jordan Butters

Like most nostalgia drag events in the USA, the annual March Meet at Famoso Raceway is dominated by American cars with American engines. But that doesn’t mean you won’t find a few people racing cars of the imported variety…

This year there was a large contingent of street legal, air-cooled Volkswagens that were taking part in the action; some with naturally aspirated engine setups sitting under their deck-lids and others with turbochargers. As you can see in the lead photo, Jeff Newcomb’s 1955 Beetle falls into the second category.

But even before you get to the engine, there’s something downright cool about this Hot Rod Eliminator class competitor. It starts with the ground-hugging stance and a subtle gray body that’s devoid of any decals or graphics.

And while the lightweight drag wheels are there for function more than anything else, they look quite good tucked beneath the fenders, fitted with full slicks in the rear. Also note the trick Wilwood wide-five hubs.

But it’s really the fully built flat-four engine that raises the eyebrows when you see this car. However, you almost forget about the motor itself when you see the wild forced induction setup.

There’s a massive Garrett turbocharger with a Turbosmart Ultra-Gate38 external wastegate feeding a big DaVinci carb, and the whole setup is so large that it actually sits completely outside of the original engine bay. For as subtle as the Bug is, a sleeper it is not.

The cockpit is pure function, with a full roll-cage along with a pair of Kirkey racing buckets and a detachable steering wheel. And like most Volkswagen drag cars, it gets down the strip with a manual gearbox.

Unfortunately, I missed seeing the Bug run down the Famoso quarter mile, but it was running a 12.40 dial-in. After checking out Jeff’s car in the pits I feel a very strong urge to get out to one of the West Coast all-VW drag events very soon. What say you?

Mike Garrett

More Volkswagen related stories on Speedhunters

Plucked From The Skies & Plonked In a Riley

As I alluded to in my main Leadfoot Festival story, the event is a celebration of driving in its absolute purest sense. Jump in a car. Strap yourself in. Thrash it from the start line up a tree-lined hill. Have a barrel of fun.

All throughout the weekend I was pondering a question: Which of the assembled cars most accurately embodies the spirit of the Leadfoot Festival?

After some thought, a spot of head scratching and of course taking in the many possibilities, the steady thrum of Robert McNair’s 1931 Riley Special announced I’d found the answer. And so the decision was made to head to the pits and track down the man responsible for piecing together this beautiful bespoke build.

Robert is an aircraft engineer and an avid vintage car enthusiast, and this Riley is the result of a combination of two passions. If you haven’t guessed by now, the ’31 Special uses an aircraft engine to propel it along at speeds belying both the age of the car and the subdued tone of the 6.1-litre Tiger Moth-sourced four-cylinder. This particular combination came about due to the desire to own a Brooklands Riley – essentially the competition version of the base Riley 9 saloon used for the Special project. And yes, it’s quick.

Quick enough in fact to take out the honours for the event’s Pre-1960 Top 10 Shootout. Streaking up the Leadfoot hill in 64.1 seconds, it put many cars, many, many decades its junior to shame.

Beginning with the cockpit, the aircraft origins of the Riley are evident with the choice of instruments and controls. Of note is the large brass knob sitting smack bang in the center which is used to pressurise the fuel tank, essential in ensuring a constant fuel delivery. Slightly obscured to the left of the beautiful steering wheel is the ignition advance lever, while the Jaguar ‘Moss’ 4-speed gearbox sourced from a Mk VII saloon is visible in all its cast aluminium glory in the absence of a central transmission tunnel.

In keeping with the 1930s style, Robert’s Riley features a swooping set of exhaust primaries, exiting high from the upper engine cowl – usually held in place with leather straps – and running along the side of the car, dumping just below the driver’s right elbow.

Compared to its original orientation, the air-cooled Tiger Moth engine has been rotated both upside down as well as back to front; just imagine, the output shaft would have normally been driving a propellor at the front of the aircraft. This necessitated a bespoke oiling solution and the addition of a wet sump setup and a custom pressure fed feed to the rocker boxes. The engine’s good for 130hp at 2100rpm and 300ft/lb of torque at only 1000rpm, meaning the Riley propels itself down the tarmac faster than the revs would suggest.

The creation of ‘specials’ is something of a Kiwi institution; cars traditionally born of the need for performance with a finite budget and available materials. This kind of ‘shed build’ mentality has led to some exceptional craftsmanship emerging from garages across the nation; Robert’s Riley no exception. It’s all in the details, with none spared.

This craftsmanship extends to the one-of-a-kind, boat-tail styled bodywork. Inspired by Bugattis of the era, Robert has added a riveted spine that runs along the center-line of the Riley, while the hand-formed coachwork is swathed in the thoroughly appropriate shade of British Racing Green.

The Riley badge is one that is sadly lost to time; the marques last production car rolled off the factory production line in 1969. However, with individuals like Robert continuing to carry the torch, it’s clear the nameplate isn’t going to be forgotten any time soon.

And what a way to ensure the Riley marque is enduring – throwing an 85-year-old car up a hillclimb at one of New Zealand’s most auspicious motorsport occasions of the year, winning the class and then driving a few hundred kilometres back home. If this isn’t embodying the spirit of motoring, I’m not sure what does.

Richard Opie
richy@speedhunters.com

Bonus Images

Fuel Injection Not Required

The great thing about time attack at a grassroots level is that it’s something you can totally make yours. To assume that everyone is in it to break records is pretty silly; most are in it for the fun, the thrill of driving and the satisfaction of slowly evolving ones car without fear of being looked down upon.

It’s because of this that we see so many weird and wonderful things come out of Japan, and the Total Car Service USUI Mazda Roadster is just that.

Call it the result of years of evolution, because this is an NA-chassis Roadster like you’ve never seen before. Power and performance aside, the owner and the shop entrusted to build and maintain it have addressed every single aspect of the Mazda, starting with the aerodynamics.

On top of the underlying aero additions, which you could classify as bolt-on or off-the-shelf, much one-off work has been added to help the little lightweight Mazda slice through the air.

That treatment extends to the sides and onto the rear with the extractor you can see here. It’s all constructed out of sheet aluminium, as carbon fiber would be far too exotic for a grassroots project like this one.

Nothing is left to chance, so each time the car was waiting in the paddock for its next outing atBattle Evome last weekend, the owner wrapped the tyres up in heat blankets.

Because, why waste a couple of laps to warm up your rubber when you can head out with tyres almost up to the perfect temperature.

The cockpit is Star Trek-worthy to say the least. There is so much happening, perhaps more than there needs to be, but this is how the owner envisioned it, and this is how he arranged it all. If he’s happy, who is anyone to criticise?

His passenger is a little custom-made aluminium fuel cell, which carries just enough gas for a few hot laps around Tsukuba.

Under the carbon vented bonnet is a fully-built motor that breathes through a pair of side-draught Weber carburettors. I was told this gives amazing response and throttle adjustability when negotiating the trickier bits of the circuit, and as you can imagine the sound is pretty wild.

The aero packages is completed with a massive GT wing that’s supported and connected directly to the chassis via a pair of aluminium stays.

So what does all this custom work equate to? The best lap the owner/driver managed on the day was a 1’01″164 – a great result for what is quite an underpowered car in comparison to the majority of the Battle Evome field. 26th fastest out of 45 entrants is one successful day at the track if you ask me.

Dino Dalle Carbonarefrom speedhunters