There was a time when most Mk2 Volkswagens in the US were winter beaters. People would trade an X-Box for a 1.8L 8v Golf, bomb around from November to April, then lose the car in a shrub and walk home. Occasionally, someone would pull the tarp off one of those forgotten cars when the weather was nice and accidentally swap out the wheels and suspension, and then of course there was no turning back.

But it’s not like that anymore, and it hasn’t been for some time. In fact, it’s become quite difficult to find anything pre-2000 worth saving in America, and especially in New England (that would be Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, in case you’re from some other country). The climate isn’t quite as moist as Original England, but it gets damn cold, and the only way to combat the relentless onslaught of ice and snow is with a relentless onslaught of salt (which is not good for cars, in case you’re from some other planet). Add to that the factory-installed corrosion that was popular in the ‘90s, and there just aren’t many of these beautiful, boxy old cars around anymore. And the Mk3s are hard to find as well.

Rachel Levey (@rachel_l_l) started out as a Mk4 kid, ripping around Western Mass in a lightly modified ‘02 GTI driver. “I f**kin loved that car, it was fantastic… gobs of miles, ran great, just made me so happy,” she recalls. The car was tuned and tidied up with a Jetta front and some fancy wheels, but aside from the occasional local-ish G2G, it lived most of its life as a daily. “There’s some Mk4 trophies on the wall, but the people I would hang out with at shows were all the Mk2 people, you know, because of Nick…”

The Nick in question is Rachel’s husband, Nick Kramarczyk (@mygolfisslow, PVW 4/20), a well-documented, self-confessed Mk2 pusher. It’s important to mention at this point, though, that Rachel isn’t particularly known for following someone else’s lead. Even less so when there’s a risk of being mistaken for a passive observer.

When you’re already part of the Mk2 club and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get into something less modern and more frequently parked suddenly presents itself, you gotta go for it. In Rachel’s case, it was a one-owner, 41k mile (66k km) 1989 2-door Golf, posted for sale on an actual bulletin board at a friend’s shop back in January of 2014 for $600 USD (roughly £18.50 GBP). As the story goes, the seller talked himself down even further, eventually asking for just $500 USD (even less GBP).

Even with such low mileage, the car needed some attention after sitting outside for 25 years. Rachel liberated what remained of the original exhaust with a strong look, then got to work replacing all the crumbling stop-and-go bits to make the car road worthy and get it through inspection. The Golf also received its first ever timing service and brake job before joining the rest of the fleet in the parking lot behind Rachel and Nick’s apartment.

At this point, there wasn’t really a specific plan apart from keeping things pretty original. “It was begging to be loved, but not altered a whole lot,” says Rachel. A set of cheap coilovers and some Dodge Omni Pepper Pots went on to give it the minimum amount of flair for its first season as a second car.

The following summer, Nick and Rachel moved into a whole house, complete with a garage and driveway, which opened a lot of possibilities. The original single stage paint had been made mostly presentable, but a few of the rust holes were proving difficult to buff out, so half the new garage was temporarily converted into a small body shop. The dead metal was cut out and replaced and the exterior of the car was resprayed in the original Alpine White. Rachel admits that although she liked the white, it wouldn’t necessarily have been her first choice at the time, mostly because, as she puts it (sarcastically), “White cars are girl cars.” It may be a bit hyperbolic, but it’s not totally inaccurate. And let’s be honest, it seems to be especially true of Volkswagens (Heather Graham, we’re looking at you). “In that stage of my life… I would probably have wanted gunmetal grey, you know?” says Rachel.

The Golf was looking good. The unwanted holes had been addressed, and the paint was shiny and new. The interior was clean, albeit base. The car was displayed and appreciated, but always with the hood closed. Rachel remembers thinking “I love this car so much, but I want to be proud of all of it.” The engine bay and door jambs had not been repainted with the rest of the car, mostly because there was no new bodywork in those areas. But with everything else looking so right, it was time to circle back. The bay received a proper engine-out cleaning, and the 1.8L block was replaced with a 2.0L ABA bottom end. “I never wanted it to feel like a new car,” says Rachel. “I wanted it to still putt-putt, I wanted it to smell like the 80’s…” The half swap didn’t change the appearance of the engine bay significantly, but it added just enough power to make the car feel like it would continue moving forward, should a hill appear. Preserving enough of the original car to trigger that 80’s nostalgia was always a big part of Rachel’s motivation. It’s easy to forget that these cars are truly classics now, and there are plenty of non-enthusiasts with fond memories and stories to tell. “The way that people interact with the car is always like ‘I had one of these when I was such-and-such age.’ I love that,” says Rachel.

What did you do to this and why the hell didn’t they make it like this in the first place?

There is, however, one inevitable problem with a by-the-numbers restoration: If you’re building a car, you’re likely to have your own aesthetic and mechanical tastes and preferences, and eventually, you may want your car to represent your sensibilities in a more unique way. So, what do you do when you relish those unexpected exchanges with old timers at the gas pump, but you also want to express yourself with more than just the bare minimum amount of flair? OEM+ could be the answer. But what does OEM+ really mean? Unfortunately, we just don’t know. It’s one of those terms that people like to correct each other on, but there really isn’t a universally accepted definition. One way to think of it is that it’s sort of like a top-spec that was never offered. If the car could have been put together that way when it was originally produced, using parts that were available at the time (generally from the original manufacturer), it might be OEM+. And in some cases, it might even be neat to expand your definition of OEM+ to include subtle customisations that mimic the original styling or fulfill the design intent of the vehicle. Fortunately for Rachel, there were plenty of Mk2 spares and alternates in Nick’s stash, and there was a fantastic example of what could be done (or what could not be done) in the next bay.

It’s important to note that Rachel’s husband Nick is a bit of a compulsive Volkswagen builder. And if his car does not need building, or the decisions are not clear, he will turn his attention to Rachel’s car. Or at least he did. This is where the part about Rachel not being a passive observer comes in. “I want to be someone who, when you ask me about something, I know the answer,” says Rachel. “I was so conscious of being involved, getting my hands dirty, making sure I knew every little thing that happened, that when stuff would happen that I wasn’t a part of, I was like ‘[Expletive]! Now someone’s gonna know that I don’t know what I’m doing!’” So after a few look-what-I-did-to-your-car-todays, a new understanding was reached, and I began to restrain myself a bit.

That said, in terms of knowledge and skill, Nick’s influence and involvement in the build is certainly not to be overlooked. His upholstery work and various wares (@westernmasswaterworks) have become quite coveted in the early watercooled community in the United States, and his craftsmanship is on full display in Rachel’s car. What’s more, the time Rachel and Nick spend working on the car together is definitely “goals,” as the Mk7 kids say.

By early 2019, the itch to incorporate some personal touches had crept to the interior. Nick had acquired an industrial walking-foot sewing machine and was retrimming everything that wasn’t tied down. After completing the third iteration of his own seats, he and Rachel came up with a plan for the white Golf. The stock interior was fine, but those base model seats are awfully flat, and a Recaro swap is inevitable in these cars. Rachel wanted to keep it subtle with a gray and black combo similar to the original palette. The denim and vinyl materials that were ultimately chosen were somewhat reminiscent of the Rallye Golf interior, so Nick suggested a couple of offset horizontal and vertical red stripes as a deliberate but tasteful nod. Custom red-edge seatbelts and a handful of other quiet mods were added, elevating the new interior far above fine.

With the upholstery extremely well handled and a few special pieces added to dial-in the exterior, the engine bay was the weak link, once again. The first thought was to pull the engine and lay some fresh paint, but somehow it evolved into a game of one-upmanship with the interior. The engine came out and the paint and sealer were stripped. All the useful and aesthetically significant bits were left unaltered, but anything ugly or redundant was cut off or ground down. The extra holes were welded up and smoothed, and finally, the corrected metal was re-Alpine Whited. The appearance is best described as “how the engine bay should look.” Next came the hardware and accessories. Again, the plan was to clean everything up, replace a few pieces, and toss it all back in. But after the “light” shave, it was evident that the car had leveled-up once again, and fine wouldn’t do. Everything was blasted, repainted, recoated, or replaced. The obsessive rework continued with the plumbing and wiring. The hoses and harnesses were updated, shortened, simplified, and routed for efficiency and serviceability. Shrouds, covers, and bottles were all replaced or revived using powerful magic, and all the missing and tired stickers and tags were reproduced or found new. Lastly, an exceptionally classy G60 valve cover was modified and mounted to finish it all off.

To say it turned out well is an indication that you were looking at your phone when Rachel opened the hood. It’s flawless, in concept and execution. The result is beautifully, frustratingly clean and simple, and the first thing that comes to mind upon seeing it in person is “What did you do to this and why the hell didn’t they make it like this in the first place?”

That was the white Golf, essentially complete. But completion is no match for compulsion. At some point in 2023, Nick started messing around with leather. First with another retrim of his seats, then with some paying jobs. Rachel’s interior was still so fresh that it seemed absurd to pull everything apart again. But the leather was proving to be yet another level, so in early 2024, the seats were retrimmed once again in black leather and a similar but subtler grey canvas.

You’d be hard pressed to find room for improvement on the car as it currently sits, but it’s a good bet that another level will be discovered at some point in the next year or hour. Rachel says the only thing she’s currently considering is a full respray, so the whole car can be painted at once. For the time being, she’s just going to keep showing people what OEM+ means.