After Volkswagen’s roaring success with the MK1 Golf, they decided their product lineup needed a sports coupe… well, sort of. Let us explain. You see, in the mid-70’s traditional sports coupes (which has been so successful throughout the 60’s) were on the wane. Hatchbacks had appeared on the scene, and their practicality, low cost, and pin-sharp handling meant buyers were flocking towards them over traditional coupes.
Despite this, there was still market share to be had in the coupe sector, and the German manufacturer’s solution was a clever one. In 1974 they created a hatchback derived, sports coupe. Based on the MK1 Golf, this new car would be named – the Scirocco. Designed by the infamous Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Scirocco was lower and sleeker than the Golf, and of course, featured a fast back boot, and three doors.
In 1976 the Scirocco GTI was released to much fanfare. The GTI featured a four-cylinder 1.6 litre, mechanical fuel-injection engine with 110bhp. It was also treated to stiffer anti-roll bars, ventilated front disc-brakes and included some styling changes such as a larger front splitter, and the now infamous red-framed grill.
In 1981, VW released the MK2 Scirocco. The car featured increased interior space, and was slightly longer and wider than its predecessor. Despite this it achieved a lower drag coefficient. For the MK2 luxury trim options were made more readily available such as leather interior, electric windows and air conditioning. The biggest change from the MK1 though came in 1985 when all Scirocco engines became available as 16-valve units. Power output for these engines increased significantly with over 130bhp for the larger engined cars.
The Scirocco continued on sale until 1992, where it was replaced by the Corrado. However to many VW enthusiasts surprise, in 2008 VW released a MK3 Scirocco (again sticking to the “tried and tested” formula of being based on the VW Golf).
What Bobby has done to this car is quite astounding. What’s more astounding is the fact Bobby isn’t a car customiser by trade, he’s a police officer. Somehow (we still haven’t worked out how) he has managed, in just four years, alongside his day job, to do pull off one of the biggest restoration and customisation projects we’ve seen yet!
Please note, photo credit on some of these picture goes to G60 Rahul!
Volkswagen Scirocco MK2 (1984)
It could be argued that the Scirocco created a new category of car, the hatchback sports coupe. Based on the humble MK1 Golf, the Scirocco took a hugely successful base, and made it sexy.
Modifications
- Engine has been stripped down and rebuilt with added upgrades. Cylinder head, stripped down, all chambers de-coked, head skimmed and rebuilt with new valve sets, valves de-coked and new gaskets.
- ABF reground to 276 degree schrick profile cams. Block has been stripped. Pistons & conrods lightened to match each other.
- Crankshaft, clutch plate and flywheel, lightened and balanced.
- 4 branch manifold, 2.5 inch Custom exhaust system and back-box.
- Alternator upgraded to ribbed belt setup then stripped down and casting polished then chrome plated with new bearings. Starter motor, stripped down, body painted body colour with added sparkle, polished head and new bearings fitted. Engine and gearboxes engine mounts and various other components polished and chromed.
- Suzuki bandit carburettors stripped, jetted and clean and painted. Custom polished ally radiator, black silicone hoses, upgraded ignition system using MK2 golf KR set up with upgraded power leads, bespoke green hydro dipped carbon covers and plenty more.
- AN6 Fuel lines, Oil breather and catch can hidden behind radiator. Engine wiring wrapped, sleeved and hidden externally outside of wing, through the cross member and internally within the car.
- Custom made bespoke finned rocker cover designed by Bobby to make the bay different to other 16v carbs engine bays and inspired by the HTN 8v cover.
- ABF CDA gearbox, stripped down and parts of the casing have been smoothed off. Primered, flattened and painted body color with added sparkle, new stainless steel bolts which have then been polished. Upgraded hydro clutch slave cable conversion using a G60 Corrado shifter, tower and cables. Cables wrapped in aeroplane wiring sleeving to compliment the body colour. Various chrome /polished parts fitted.
- Brand new Coilover suspension with new top mounts. Polished Ford ST stubby master cylinder. Upgraded 9inch servo stripped and painted body colour. Corrado G60 fully refurbished callipers and carriers with custom brackets. Rear MK2 golf disc conversion with upgrade handbrake cables.
- Full body restoration; ground up. Deleted badge holes, aerial hole, washer jet and rear wiper. Bumpers & door handles; stripped and de-textured and painted gloss black. Colour change from sliver to green. Battery relocated to the boot and bottles all removed.
- Audi A6 Wheel pepper pot winter wheels. 16inch with slightly stretched tyres.
- Mk1 Scirocco tomb stone front seat with original MK2 rear seats. Reupholstered using leather and Harris tweed with studs pressed into the tweed. Rear parcel shelf has been leathered as well as the side shelfs. Custom polished speaker grills to match the finned rocker cover in the engine bay. Custom roof lining with Harris Tweed covered visors.
- And really… much, much more. Read the owner interview below to see the immense work that has been done on this car!
Interview with the owner
- Well this might just be our most modified car… when did you buy it Bobby?About 4 years ago!
- What made you buy this make and model in particular?Although there was a particular reason at the point of purchase, it was more of a “lets see what I can buy the car for” ….let me explain. So, whilst sitting around a table at a restaurant with my mate, I was being anti-social and surfing eBay when I came across the car….I read the description and carefully looked the photographs, noticing all the goodies on the car which outweighed the price of the car. I stupidly stated to my mate “I bet I can get this car for £X” he was like “yeah right your dreaming” ….Again stupidly I telephone the seller and discussed the issues around the car and made the offer…at first the seller wasn’t sure about my offer and then later stated “ if you come up tomorrow with cash, you can have it” stupid me…agreed! Please note I quote myself as “stupid” well (A) I didn’t need another car, (B) I had no where to put it and (C) why the hell a Scirocco ?? ok (C) I can answer, I was looking for a car to learn bodywork on including the desire to always want to paint a car….at the price, I couldn’t say no, as breaking it for parts, would have earned me more then what I paid for it ….what’s the saying? “winner, winner, chicken dinner” I looked at my mate across the table and said “I bought it …but I need to collect it tomorrow” …he said …”right then, lets do it” …..off we went to York…once the car was collected and some “chicken & chips” from the local chippy, we made our when back home.
- What's it like to drive?It was a non-runner to start with ….so the drive (or more accurately… the push!) was pretty crap. The tracking was off and some seriously dangerous welded wishbones made it hard to push around the unit.What’s its like to drive now?….if I say it's a little pocket rocket… I've not fully tested the car to its full potential as I’m still running the engine it…but she fast and furious and fun.Everything on the car has been either replaced or refurbished, so handling and cornering is nice and tight.
- Do you know the current BHP?Unknown at the moment ….. but freshly built engine with plenty of upgrades.
- Ok, so this has clearly been a MASSIVE project, tell us what you've been up to….Full body restoration. I tried to keep the outside modifications to a minimum and I loved the shape and lines on the car. As I said earlier, the car was purchased on the basis that I did all the work myself including welding, bodywork and painting…. god, I was fooling myself and now have a better appreciation as to why body shops take ages to restore a car – they are truly skilled people.Although I had the car for 4 years, that doesn’t necessary mean that I worked flat out 4 years on her. I have worked and built a few cars in-between; as well as noting that I’m not in the car trade more a policeman by trade and this work is simply a hobby.The car was built ground up… underneath was stripped back, removal of wishbones/ exhaust / tank / brake lines/ fuel lines and beam. Any repairs taken care of correctly, before the underside was waxoyled. Newly blasted and power coated, wishbones, tank, filler neck & beam, with polybushes all around. Newly stripped & galvanised bolts for the tank and beam. New upgraded brake disc conversion to the rear with new handbrake cables, pad, disc, rear disc plates, bearing etc… you name it, its was done…no expense spared.Doors, wings, bonnet, bumpers, glass and tailgate all stripped off, bodywork repaired, primered, flattened and painted. There were previous dodgy repairs to the panels which I had to strip and do properly….all in the learning curve of bodywork and correcting other peoples mess, which is a bigger headache then I thought. Hours spent flatting filler, primering then flatting again to get the body where I wanted it to be before paint. This process was also done to the inside of the car.The most horrible place to do bodywork? Underside of the bonnet by far…. remove rust and get you poor fingers into small areas to rub down primer….jeez it was a nightmare and pretty much changed my fingerprint identification for life.Other things I did, were to delete badge holes on the rear end, delete the rear washer jet and remove the aerial from the front wing.
- Wow. How you've managed to do this alongside a full time job is a mystery. We take our hats off to you Bobby. Ok, so let's discuss the mods now. Let's start with the bit everyone is most interested in, the engine. What have you done to it?The engine has been stripped down and rebuilt with added upgrades. Cylinder head, stripped down, all chambers de-coked / cleaned, head skimmed and rebuilt with new valve sets, valve de-coked and new various gaskets. ABF re-ground to 276 degree schrick profile cams. Block was stripped. Pistons and conrods lightened to match each other. Crankshaft, clutch plate and flywheel, lightened and balanced.Alternator upgrade to ribbed belt setup then stripped down and casting polished then chrome plated with new bearings. Starter motor, stripped down, body painted body colour with added sparkle, polished head and new bearings fitted. Engine and gearboxes engine mounts and various other components polished and chromed.Suzuki bandit carburettors stripped, jetted and clean and painted. Custom polished ally radiator, black silicone hoses, upgraded ignition system using MK2 golf KR set up with upgraded power leads, bespoken green hydro dipped carbon covers and plenty more.AN6 Fuel lines, Oil breather and catch-can hidden behind radiator.Engine wiring wrapped, sleeved and hidden externally outside of wing, through the cross member and internally within the car.Custom made bespoke finned rocker cover designed by myself to make the bay different to other 16v carbs engine bays and inspired by the HTN 8V cover / Schrick oil pan.
- What have you done with the gearbox?ABF CDA gearbox, stripped down and parts of the casing have been smoothed off. Primered, flatted and painted body colour with added sparkle, new stainless steel bolts which have then been polished.Upgraded hydro clutch slave cable conversion using a G60 Corrado shifter, tower and cables. Cables wrapped in aeroplane wiring sleeving to compliment the body colour. Various chrome /polished parts fitted.
- What have you done with the suspension?Brand new Coilover suspension with new top mounts.
- What have you done with the brakes?Polished Ford ST stubby master cylinder with MK2 16v bottle; smoothed and painted gloss black. Upgraded 9inch servo stripped and painted body colour with added sparkle. Brake bar rods and pivots chrome plated with castings blasted and power coat gloss black with additional modification work to house the hidden coil. Goodridge braided lines and hidden hard lines in chassis legs or internally. Corrado G60 fully refurbished callipers and carriers with custom brackets. All callipers painted body colour. Rear MK2 golf disc conversion with upgraded handbrake cables.
- What have you done with the bodywork and paintwork?Full body restoration; ground up. Deleted badge holes, aerial hole, washer jet and rear wiper. Bumpers & door handles; stripped and de-textured and painted gloss black. Colour change from sliver to green, still keeping it a VAG colour. Fully smoothed engine bay with many, many holes holes welded up before bodywork. Battery relocated to the boot and bottles all removed.Full glass out, panels off paint inside and outside job. This was all done by me and this is the first car I have fully painted myself without any help.
- What have you done with the wheels? (what are they?)Imported 4 years ago from Germany, these are Audi A6 pepper pot winter wheels. 16inch with slight stretched tyres. I had the wheels refurbed by a local company as I wanted a diamond cut finish on them.
- What have you done with the interior?Mk1 Scirocco tombstone front seats with original MK2 rear seats. Both were reupholstered using leather and Harris tweed. I then came up with the idea of having the studs pressed into the tweed which again I did myself. I also made my own matching door cards to suit with upgrade Alpine sound system. Rear parcel shelf has been leathered as well as the side shelfs. Custom polished speaker grills to match the finned rocker cover in the engine bay. Custom roof lining with Harris Tweed covered visors. USB ports added to centre console and boot compartment with battery voltage digital meter.
- What else have you done?USA spec headlights, Kamei metal mesh front grill, Zender rear spoiler, carbon dipped mirrors and spat covers, lower strut engine brace, rear boot strut brace & custom rear lights (sanded smooth, tinted all red and highly polished).
- Is the car a "keeper" or will you sell it one day?The car is for sale at the moment… contact us here to find out more
- Do you own any other interesting cars?Several MK1 golfs including a swallowtail, Corrado VR2.9 6 Storm, Corrado VR6 2.8 and a Mk1 Scirocco Storm!
Gallery
Bobby would like to give special thanks to:
Tal Rahman – for the mechanical side of things and listening to me moaning!!#bestie!
Brad Mckee @53fab – for making the finned rocker come alive
Ben Hudson @bhperformanceuk – tuning god
Reeves metal finishes – for the chrome work
Nathan @nathansrestoration – help with rocker painting
Adam – @ADMpolishing -for tons of metal polishing (washers, nuts and bolts etc)
Dean & Phil @john-griffiths tool & co engineering – for putting up with my last minute demands
Max – the man with hidden car parts stash!!!
Joey ribbons @jrsdubgarge – paint expertise guidance and positive encouragement
Matt – @mccbodyrepair– paint expertise guidance and positive encouragement And anyone else I have missed – thank you all ❤️🙏🏽
Brad Mckee @53fab – for making the finned rocker come alive
Ben Hudson @bhperformanceuk – tuning god
Reeves metal finishes – for the chrome work
Nathan @nathansrestoration – help with rocker painting
Adam – @ADMpolishing -for tons of metal polishing (washers, nuts and bolts etc)
Dean & Phil @john-griffiths tool & co engineering – for putting up with my last minute demands
Max – the man with hidden car parts stash!!!
Joey ribbons @jrsdubgarge – paint expertise guidance and positive encouragement
Matt – @mccbodyrepair– paint expertise guidance and positive encouragement And anyone else I have missed – thank you all ❤️🙏🏽
