A little update on this Golf, over Christmas I was given another almost identical Golf (albeit a 1.4) for spares. Yesterday I had a little time spare and both cars out in the open so I tried the meltdown cars coil packs in the running 1.4 and it would not start. Tried the working coil packs in the meltdown car and it started, even with low compression on a couple of cylinders.
I can now build one car out of the two and save the Terrano from daily use to receive some modifications for green laning.