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ACROSS THE CAUSEWAYTAKE TWO, MARK TWOA few thousand quid, a 1990 Volkswagen Mk2 GTI and an owner with a mission. Readwhat little money can do to transform a battered hot hatc`h back into its glory days again...If you’ve read the previous issuesof REV, you would have known thatI made a life-changing decision: Ibought a car in the UK. The car itselfis cheap – it’s like what I would pay fora turbo-back exhaust for my MkV GTI– but the real cost is in the insurance. Ifyou’re anything under 25 and need tobe insured for anything that is movingand has wheels, you’d be classifiedstraightaway as high-risk.Anyway, insurance aside, the sunkcosts have been sunk and now it’s thepart where you can actually plan howyou’re spending the rest of the money– the restoration process.In restoration, I’ve learnt that you shouldalways start with the basics first. I’vegot people asking me ‘So when are youmodifying your car?’ and I will give alook of indifference, because if they hadknown how much work the car neededto even get into stock condition, theywouldn’t even want to suggest it. Simplyput, the stock condition is usually andmost of the time, the most reliable stateof the car.There is a reason why the manufacturersdidn’t add an extra 10bhp to your car,or why your car weighs as such, or whythe exhaust doesn’t sound as loud asyou would want it. There are safety &emissions regulations to be met. Butsometimes, the manufacturer detunesa car for other, more lucrative reasons –marketing, product placement or profitsin the form of options. Regardless, Iwould be aiming for a stock conditionfor now – and even that seems likequite an uphill challenge.If you’re first starting out looking for anoldie, remember that choice is nearlyalways available and you should takeyour time in choosing the right one. Ina haste – a young man’s one – I boughtthe first car I saw. Quite a mistake, as Irealised later, that the car sprung morefaults than the first test drive would38 MAR 2011