Matt made sure we knew how special his Golf is by locating a rare OEM Syncro badge to compliment the grille.
"I found it on eBay UK, but that was a disaster itself. The guy didn't want to sell or ship it here," he griped. "But it was worth it because it finishes off the car."
On the inside, there was only one seat choice for an OEM motorsport themed Mk2: the Recaro Trophy, as fitted in late GLI 16v cars. Matt had a perfect set from his Rabbit 16v turbo that were looking for a home, so he pulled them out of storage.
GLI Recaros retrimmed in antique brown to create period look
Brown leather covers the seats and door panels, courtesy of Jeff Clark, to complete the '80s color combo. He also had "Syncro" stitched in place of the Recaro logo, while a sought-after VW Motorsport shift knob and boot complete the makeover.
One of the coolest parts on the car is the VW Digifiz dash, because it's hard to find with all of the necessary parts. "You're supposed to have brackets and a wiring harness for it," Matt informed us. "[Without it], nothing works."
Getting the Digifiz dash to work was one of longest but most satisfying jobs
Matt and Kevin spent an estimated 100 hours tracing every last wire and function on the Digifiz cluster so it works seamlessly with the Autronic management. A large investment in time, but surely worth the effort for the complete integration of the vehicles' electrics, from engine to drivetrain to interior. It demonstrates the attention to detail that puts this motorsport Mk2 above the pack.
Matt is quick to credit the hard work and skills of Joel Brown and Kevin Black in helping him create his ultimate Mk2.
"If it weren't for Joel and Kevin, the car wouldn't have turned out this way. They did everything exactly the way I wanted," he said. "I wanted something I could drive everyday, but then I went a little further," he chuckled.
Although Matt may never dust off his shop-owner hat again, it's good to see we didn't lose a talented member of the community.
Here's hoping we'll see him at an autocross or drag strip, or maybe even a show this season. The car's certainly a contender, no matter where Matt takes it.