We’re nothing if not adventurous when it comes to taking on projects here at Retropower, just as happy to turn our collective hand to modern classics as we are vintage icons, and our Clipper cabriolet is a good example.
It probably won’t come as much as a surprise to learn that the value of Mk1 Golfs has exploded in recent years, which in turn has forced up the values of the soft top variants, this Clipper very much included. ‘Clipper’ cabriolets were those cars fitted with the bodykit and body-coloured bumpers seen here, an attempt to inject a new lease of life into the Mk1 as the ’80s gave way to the ’90s – much as we’re attempting to do!
This Clipper has already been treated to a fair amount of work, some of it obvious, some almost completely hidden from view. What began life as a gloss white body shell has been taken back to bare metal, all repair fabrication carried out and a fresh coat of custom paint applied, in this case Porsche Iris Blue.
We’ve also taken steps to sharpen the Clipper’s handling poise, hence the addition of Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs fore and aft, extensive use of polybushes and a number of other tweaks intended to render this a more entertaining prospect when the going gets twisty.
The chassis work outlined above will no doubt come into its own when the Golf receives its new engine, a fettled VW Group 20v, probably with either a Rotrex supercharger or custom turbo setup – we’ve yet to decide, so check back to check out our progress.
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