my first review of my 1985 Volkswagen Jetta after one year of ownership.

i’ve always wanted to do this but i think this is the correct time after i’ve spent hours after hours behind the wheel of an old jetta, and if you don’t want to read all of that at least hear what i have to say ate the end, let’s start

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First impressions.

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When i got the car i was extremely hyped about it that as soon as i got the car i started assembling it like a kid who bought a lego model car, the car was in bad shape it got abandoned for a year or so because it overheated once and the shop didin’t finished the job so i got the car with a freshly machined head, new gaskets and belts but it needed to be put together again so we did and in one week we got it running and we hit the road. The car had some problems with the gear linkage and the points style distributor so it was a handfull to drive home but it did it and overheated in the process, but it wasn’t serious the next morning i got it running with no problems because old VW 8valve engines don’t play by the same rules as the other engines but i’ll talk about it later.

The everyday car that does everything

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When it was launched in the USA in 1981 it was the collection of Volkswagens “it handles like a scirocco, its roomy like a dasher and it gets terrific mileage like a rabbit” those are the words from a 1981 commercial ad, but i can hear you say: is it true? well yes! i can tell you the handling is on point, the space is very good not gigantic but pretty decent and also the trunk is huge for a car of it’s size and it has enogh head room for a guy that’s 6,4 foot tall there’s a lackof legroom but you can still be pretty comfortable and finally the mileage it’s not outstanding for today’s standars but it’s decent of course i ruined it by adding a bigger carburetor but it’s not a very significant change.

The A1 chassis, suspension and specs.

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the A1 chassis is shared with the golf, cabriolet, scirocco, caddy and jetta. it’s not the stiffest chassis but with some small reinforsements you can clearly see why it’s a great performance platform it’s short wheelbase and low weight make it a good handling nimble little car and even though it has low power is awesome to drive around corners and it also feels very fast, but now time for some specs on my jetta which is everithing but stock.
Drivetrain and power

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The engine in this model is a 1713cc engine it has a compression ratio of 8.2-1 and a peak power output of 69hp running trough a mk2 golf 4 speed transmission with very short ratios, the engine breathes trough a Bocar double barrel carburetor with vacuum a secondary from a 1990 mk2 jetta and soon i will be installing a 1.6l camshaft which is hotter than the standard 1.7 cam. this engine was only made for fuel economy and strong reliability so you won’t find any mods for it but i still refuse to swap it.
suspension
The mk1 jetta comes with macpherson struts up front and torsion beams in the rear and it only comes with a rear sway bar and no front one only the sportier GLS had it. As for brakes it comes with solid brake discs front and self adjustable drums in the rear
Ignition
I’ve upgraded the standard points style ignition for a newer and more powerful electronic ignition system with a new digital distributor, ignition coil and module (the only computer in the car)
other mods
chopped front bumper mounts, mk3 starter, A/C and heater delete, thicker floor pans and mk2 jetta axles

Driveability and reliability

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These are it’s biggest advantages, the ride is very soft but planted, the steering is mechanical and very direct and very tight not racecar tight but very good for a street car, this car also has the best peddals i’ve encountered in any car yet the accelerator is very linear and sensitive, the break peddal is firm and it gives you a lot of feedback trough it the harder you press the harder it stops and the clutch well is cable operated so you can get a better feel of when it engages
reliability
As i said earlier old VW 8valve engines doesn’t play by everybody’s rules and by that i mean these engines can run on everything that can be ignited and if it has poor oil flow it still goes trough the entire engine (ask me how i know) without wearing out the camshaft and let me tell you that my jetta isn’t really that road wothy it still takes long trips with no effort, it doesn’t rattle, it doesn’t overheat or run out of fuel it’s a car that you can trust it will never let you down it’s a Volkswagen

Ending thoughts

I love everything about it even though it’s not perfect and it has more rust than a whole junkyard i love it and here in mexico is also quite an icon i just love the faces that older people make when i tell them that im saving a VW Atlantic they just smile while they take a throwback to the 80’s and 90’s, this is what i love old cars they are different they are experiences they are memories and stories, even though most people aren’t car entusiasts they will always have good memories of a car, so always remember this before you call that classic car a “rust bucket” or “boring unsophisticated junk” etc. etc.
Thank you VW and thank you kind reader for your time and attention.

Farewell.