Rusty But Trusty

I never really understood why these cars were regarded, as the British might say, as a “hairdresser’s car”. They handle well, have a classic Giugiaro design, and allow wind-in-the-hair fun for you and 3 friends. They’re also the easiest remaining way to get into a Mark 1 VW. Interestingly, the market seems to agree – there are plenty of Cabriolets out there, some with performance upgrades going all the way to turbodiesel and 16-valve GTI engines. I guess that means it takes about 20 years for the market to forget who originally drove these cars. Having driven one of these (as a rental in Germany…. yes, triple-white, and no, I don’t have any issues related to that), I can vouch for the fun-factor.

Anyway, let’s move on to our subjects. On our first car, it looks like someone’s been working to erase the, um, femininity of this car, from which you can benefit. The seller has added an H/P cam, crank, and exhaust, along with suspension from Neuspeed and a K&N air filter and aftermarket wheels. Set up with the quad headlights and black paint, this car actually looks pretty aggressive. Priced fairly competitively at $3000, you can find it in Rogers, AR (near Fayetteville).

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