Project Jetta

[Damian Grihalva]

I then used the bolts provided in the kit to bolt on like so.


And looking at it from the front of the car, it looks like this.


from my sitting position at the side of the car...looks like...


Thats when I noticed that the caliper bracket was rubbing the rotor.


Back at the front view, I found that one of the tapered bolts used to bolt the adapter to the knuckle was hitting the caliper bracket. Seen here.


After attempting different locations for the adapter/spackers and all, I concluded that I had it right the first time and to 'fix' the interfereance of the tapered bolt, I simply got out my grinder and 'adjusted' it. Like so.


Closer shot of the modification.



After that, I reinstalled everything and the caliper bracket no longer rubbed the rotor. So one last time, I removed everything and started assembling it again, but with LockTite.


But before everything is set, lets clean up that old rotor. Or shall I say, simply replace it. And that means a trip to the hardware store.

[Damian Grihalva]

Didn't buy much, but it cost $40!

Just a couple different cans of paint (got two each); Self Etching Primer, and HIGH (2000F) Temp flat black. and a couple rolls of low-tack painters tape.

With that I got out my Zimmermann Sport rotors and shielded off the 'friction zone'


Both sides of course.


Then I painted them with the high-temp paint. Here they are dried.


Then I removed the tape, and cleaned what overspray I had off with some brake cleaner. Took the fresh paint right off.

(That is the 600th picture in this build up.)
Next to the old rotors, the new ones looks great!


Here's what the old rotors looked like installed.


Here's the new..


Before installing the caliper bracket fully, I had to do some checking...for clearances.


But everything seemed okay. With everything fully bolted/lock-tite'd down, I had some room between the rotor and the caliper bracket.


Thank goodness.

[Damian Grihalva]

you need to get pictures from the guy who made them of how they go on.

there has to be one combination that you missed.

i think i know how they go on, but i cant really explain it to you very well over the internet.

That's just the thing. NO instructions were provided. No pictures, no NOTHING. I asked, and got a little instruction (quoted in one of my posts) that were totally inadequate. So I simply kept messing with them until I got them to fit right, and that is what I've posted. I don't KNOW if I installed the brackets correctly, but frankly, they seem to work now, so I'm going to run them until SHOWN otherwise.

And yes, I did search. I even posted a new post ASKING for some help on installation instructions. I WISH there were someone out there who would take pictures of how they set theirs up, but literally, all you see in the best thread I was able to find was: here they are in! and a picture NOT showing the work/steps was provided.

Sorry if you disagree, but frankly, show me a thread or send me instructions that will help verify this information if you think I've installed them incorrectly.

[Damian Grihalva]

Jman, the maker of the G60 adapters I'm using, just PM'd me and stated that he has taken some pictures of how these adapters are supposed to be installed. He's going to email them to me, I will be checking my work from the pictures he sends...and I'll definitely post them to this build as well.

[simon_C]

Jman, the maker of the G60 adapters I'm using, just PM'd me and stated that he has taken some pictures of how these adapters are supposed to be installed. He's going to email them to me, I will be checking my work from the pictures he sends...and I'll definitely post them to this build as well.

i think i've figured it out.

based on this pic http://www.dandcextreme.com/upload/jetta/jetta593.jpg

you're using the plate from the wrong side of the car.

take the OTHER plate (the one not shown in this pic), and mount it on the inside (meaning: suspension side) face of the original bracket, then take the caliper frame and bolt it to the outside (wheel side) face of the adaptor plate.

try that, i think it may work. either that or im just spouting crap, y'never know

[SeattleDownhill]

That's exactly how i have mine bolted up. I don't know if I noticed the countersunk bolt hitting the carrier. I think that might just be the easy fix to our problem.

There really is only one way that they can go on, and we both got it right, it's just that one bolt that hits the carrier and throws everything off apparently. I will try it out in the next few days and see what's up at that point. Hopefully it'll do the trick.

Jman sent me pictures of them installed step by step and they are just how you have them as well. So I'm confident that grinding down that one bolt will be the fix for me as well.

[Damian Grihalva]

i think i've figured it out.

based on this pic http://www.dandcextreme.com/upload/jetta/jetta593.jpg

you're using the plate from the wrong side of the car.

take the OTHER plate (the one not shown in this pic), and mount it on the inside (meaning: suspension side) face of the original bracket, then take the caliper frame and bolt it to the outside (wheel side) face of the adaptor plate.

That is exactly what Jman said... and before doing anything, I tried it. Yes, I swapped the adapters side-to-side as well. There was NO WAY that would have worked on my car. I didn't take pictures of doing it that way because I didn't want to miss lead anyone who just looks at pictures and doesn't READ the builds.

Jman tried emailing me pictures of how he intended these to be installed, but they didn't come through. Once I get them, I'll post them.

There really is only one way that they can go on, and we both got it right, it's just that one bolt that hits the carrier and throws everything off apparently. I will try it out in the next few days and see what's up at that point. Hopefully it'll do the trick.

Jman sent me pictures of them installed step by step and they are just how you have them as well. So I'm confident that grinding down that one bolt will be the fix for me as well.

I have to say that you're right, there is only one way these go on. I tried them both ways and the other way DEFINITELY didn't work, and I couldn't see how to make it work.

I couldn't understand why having that bolt interfere would through everything off, but with it ground down, things are fine and I've got some clearance.

Jman will most likely try sending me the pictures again, and I hope he does. If I did something wrong, I'll address it... like I said, I don't want to mislead anyone.

[Damian Grihalva]

I know it has been a while since I did the wiring. But I got a question via PM that I felt would be a good thing to share for those of you who are struggling with the stock wiring.

The question posed:

I was curious on your custom wiring harness you're running. How much of a pain in the ass is that? I did an ABA swap on my '82 rabbit, and I'm having all sorts of issues that I can't seem to figure out... my headlights work, but not my blinkers. Pretty much the entirety of my instrument cluster doesn't work, and my cd player doesn't turn on. .... I'm thinking about just ditching it and going with the same setup you have. It would also make having two fuse boxes way easier as far as clearance goes. Would you do it again? How easy is it? Any suggestions?

Now I know most of you guys favor using the stock wiring, or ~ what seems to be a better solution ~ using the A2 and up CE2 wiring system. And I won't address that since I've never done it and most likely never will. But this is my reply to that PM in case anyone else is considering the same question.

Honestly, what you're dealing with is exactly what I was hoping to avoid when I did the wiring. And I have to say, it wasn't that big of a pain ~ I complain a lot, probably more than I should. But the big thing is that it's DONE. I've yet to hook up a few items, but its nice to know that I shouldn't have any problems with ANYTHING that I've done. I think the best part of doing it with the aftermarket harness is that you've been there, and done that. So if there is a problem, its not like I'm digging into an unknown hole ~ hoping to find a loose wire or bad connection. Everything is fresh, each wire is labeled every 2 feet, so if I'm looking for the right front turn signal, I can find that wire and easily trace it. The stock stuff has numbers, without a book in hand, your guessing.

The hardest thing was figuring out what did what on the steering column. Meaning, taking the volt-meter and checking what wires turned on when you clicked the turn-signal, brights, and wiper switches. As noted in the build, I got some labels and took a few hours just checking each thing and then labeling the wires coming out of the column till they were all labeled. There were a few that confused me, but in all, once labeled, hook-up was easy.

Would I do it again, ya. In fact, I'm planning too. I bought my son a 1980 Scirocco that we are going to take all the way down and build all the way back up for when he gets his license. However, I would do TWO things differently.

FIRST, I would have hid the harness in the inner fender like some guys do to make a cleaner bay making sure I didn't 'forget' any wiring like I did on the Jetta (as you saw, I added stuff that I could have worked into the original loom).

Second, I would use a Painless Wiring's harness instead of the EZ harness. The painless ones are more expensive and I've used them in the past. They are MUCH BETTER. The EZ harness was cheap ~ like $200 cheap, but the way they hook up the brakes likes, brake switch and other things wasn't very 'intuitive' ~ the instructions SUCKED on the EZ harness, and I found that I had to call tech support for any question because the provided instructions didn't explain anything. Painless has more wires, better instructions and many more connectors and provided parts to help with installation. I don't think I ever needed to call Painless when installing one of their harnesses. Had I not done several Painless harnesses in the past, the EZ-wiring harness would have been a nightmare to install.

FYI ~ the painless wiring system is about $300-350 depending on which one you get. The EZ wiring is between $150-$250 depending on which one you get. Take my advise, pay the extra money ~ get the Painless.

[standard125r]

I figured I would let you know. I decided to part with....

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...-Kits-500-CEPA

[Damian Grihalva]

Its official. I installed them correctly. In his reply, Jman said that you may have to grind the bolt to clearance the bracket ~ which I did.

All is well, yeah, Zion prospereth

[GlamKills619]

Awesome!

[SeattleDownhill]

Just cut my bolts down. We shall see how it all fits up on Monday!

[Damian Grihalva]

Got a package coming from the UK! Oh yeah!

EDIT: I'm cleaning out the garage of some of the parts I acquired from this build but will not use. I figure some of ya'll may be interested..

1) Complete FRONT Mk1 suspension. STOCK. Has brakes, hubs, CVs, Control arms, springs/shocks, everything. Make offer

2) Complete 9a Motor. Needs rebuild. Ran, but not well. I installed another one into project. The motor is mostly complete, if you need something, let me know, I'll see if I have it.

3) Girling 54 Calipers from 1990 G60 Corrado. Bought them as spares, ended up picking new ones at the local parts store. $70 + shipping

Parts are in Colorado Springs.

[SeattleDownhill]

Just cut my bolts down. We shall see how it all fits up on Monday!

Bolted up the calipers and made new hardlines for my brakes from the 16v rocco master cylinder. Brakes don't rub anymore!! Not to bleed the brakes and continue the fight with wiring.

[Damian Grihalva]

793482057371 ~

[Damian Grihalva]

...[snip]... Brakes don't rub anymore!! .

[Damian Grihalva]

Took these pictures at the same time as the last ones, but just didn't have time to post. I think its about time to update the thread, so here we go.

Passenger wheel back on. Rotors lookin' good!


Steppin' back to get a shot. I love being able to see the rotor behind the wheel.

This shot actually came out really good. Tells a story, know what I mean?

Anyway...back to it. Passenger side down, moving to the drivers...


I will say, that I chalk the wheel OPPOSITE to the side I'm doing...and I highly suggest you do the same if you're working on your car.


Why? Because if you chalk the same side as you are working on, and then do this...


That side's wheel tends to do this!

If you had the wheel-stop there, your car would roll down the hill. Just a 'play it safe' message from you-know-who.

Moving on. Pulled the entire suspension off all at once.


Installed the driver-side of the TT K-bar.


Installed the new stuff.


Then put the wheel on and dropped it.

As you can see, the 'two-finger' wheel gap is now 'one-finger' wheel gap. Gonna have to spin down the rear shocks to match the fronts!

[Damian Grihalva]

Well, it was time to start putting back together the brakes. So I went and got my Girling54's and started thinking about cleaning them so I can repaint them. Then I thought; 'why the heck am I going to start using used parts now?'

So, with a call to Bap/Geon, I ordered up a set of rebuilt 1990 Coraddo front calipers...and guess what I picked up last Friday.


Oh yeah...


Lookin sexy.


especially next to the old ones.


But anyway, want to paint them the same yellow as the caliper brackets...so it was time for some cleaner (this is to get the oil off them, for better paint stick-age)


A thorough wipe down, then I hung them with some welding wire.


then some primer....


...on both...


First couple of yellow coats were fairly light.


Then I gave them a heavy coat for good measure.


And let them dry for a bit.

[Damian Grihalva]

Getting ready for a slow bake


Gave the calipers a few minutes in the oven to help the drying process a bit.

WARNING: If you do this, your wife WILL get pissed at the smell!

This last one for tonight is a teaser of something I have 'in transit' from the UK!

Can you guess what it is?

[Damian Grihalva]

More updates. With the calipers painted, I took apart the old calipers and prep'd the hardware on the wire-wheel. Then I shot them with some self-etching primer.


Then a coat of high-temp black.


And assembled the freshly painted parts off-car. The steel-braided brake lines are from Techtonics Tuning and will benifet the braking system by firming up the pedal.

In case you didn't know, the steel-braided outer layer doesn't give under hard braking, or high pressure. If you have a spongy brake pedal, and can't figure out why ~ you may want to get a set of these. They really do help.

Taking the tires off AGAIN Sure would be nice if everything went together the first time. I guess its just not my lot.


Here is something that I have to say held me up for a good week.

Its the slider/pins that hold the calipers to the caliper brackets. I had a full set, but had them wrapped up in a paper towel sitting in the kitchen when I was cleaning things up under the sink. Well, my WONDERFUL boys cleaned up...and the pins were never seen again. As a side note, these pins are NOT AVAILABLE. I got a complete caliper set from the Bap/Geon parts store, but the other caliper didn't include them. After searching local vw guys, I ended up going to the junkyard yesterday (saturday) and picking up 3 SETS ~ to make sure I didn't run into this problem again.

Because the sliders/pins slide in and out of the caliper bracket depending on brake wear, they normally come greased. I used standard wheel-bearing grease making DANG SURE I had good boots and nothing got onto the rotors (or other brake parts).


Then the sliders/pins simply push into the brackets.


Then the sporty semi-metalic pads provided from TT with the rotors were put in place.


Then the caliper was installed.


Bolted the sliders/pins to the calipers ~ or the calipers to the sliders/pins!

[Damian Grihalva]

Remember when I said it was my lot not to have things go together the first time...well...


The stock brake hose has a female end on the car side to go into the male hard line from the master cylinder..


I, on the other hand, got a male end ~ and we all know males don't mate. Heres a shot the the two ends of the brake hoses. The left is my new hose, and the Right is the stock.



Nothing quite like more delays. So I threw the wheels back on and will get this resolved another day.

[Damian Grihalva]

Got something yesterday via FedEx from the UK, so I had to take some pictures and show ya.

As it came:


I was decorated by my 5 yr old for me... some of these are pretty accurate to my expression.


But opening it reveled this.


Not wanting to risk damage, here's a peel-back of the bubble wrap.


I then wrapped it back up and put it back in the box for safe keeping. Any guesses?



.





.





Well, here's the picture I got from the seller.

Oh yeah, mk1 drip-rail/rain-gutter fairings/spoilers!

Sorry folks, I had to share. I've been keeping my eyes out for stuff like this and when this set came available, I had to snatch them up!

[Damian Grihalva]

Its alive!

[Damian Grihalva]

I was shocked that I didn't work today , especially after last week where I almost hit my DOT limits. But alas, they didn't have me on anything so I ran home, picked up the gas can, filled the jetta and drove it over to my buddy's shop (MufflerMasters).

It was nice to drive it again. It pulls pretty decent for not yet having touched the motor, tuning or otherwise since being pulled out of the junkyard. The great news is that the CV shaft didn't implode again ~ then again, I didn't hammer on it either! The ride is definitely a lot stiffer than it was. Corners were more solid and flat as well. Its raining today so I didn't take anything at speed, but you could tell I no longer have stock springs/shocks in there. It'll definitely be different when the roads dry up, will have to test a few of my favorite round-abouts.

Anyway, Mike @ MufflerMasters is doing the alignment and welding up the exhaust for me. I set the alignment okay, but there is too much camber and the steering wheel is off. I've got him setting the camber to zero and he'll adjust the toe and wheel while he's at it.

As for the exhaust, R&S installed the exhaust okay, but it rattles and is a little sloppy. Mike has a tendancy to make things solid ~ I don't like seeing tail-pipes shake with bumps. Also, the RaceLand 2-piece Tri-Y header doesn't completely seal up, so under hard acceleration, I get exhaust fumes in the cab (need to go through and plug some holes too, will do that when it gets back) ~ So he'll be welding that solid as well. The welder I have here at the house is running .045 wire and doesn't like the thin stuff. Besides, with Mike's crew doing it, the entire exhaust system will get re-hung.

Besides that, I asked him to double-check all the bolts on the front suspension since I pulled everything off and on so many times ~ just to be sure.

When I get it back I'll be installing the shifter i picked up a bit ago, I've also got a full rebuild kit for the shifter and linkages ~ including a weighted shift rod and short-shift kit from TT. After that I can start messing with the tune, and then hopefully take it to the dyno to see some baseline numbers.

Like I said, I'm glad its running again, and I can't wait to get it back.

Oh, and I picked up some more 'stuff' for the build. Will I ever finish?

[simon_C]

I was shocked that I didn't work today , especially after last week where I almost hit my DOT limits. But alas, they didn't have me on anything so I ran home, picked up the gas can, filled the jetta and drove it over to my buddy's shop (MufflerMasters).

It was nice to drive it again. It pulls pretty decent for not yet having touched the motor, tuning or otherwise since being pulled out of the junkyard. The great news is that the CV shaft didn't implode again ~ then again, I didn't hammer on it either! The ride is definitely a lot stiffer than it was. Corners were more solid and flat as well. Its raining today so I didn't take anything at speed, but you could tell I no longer have stock springs/shocks in there. It'll definitely be different when the roads dry up, will have to test a few of my favorite round-abouts.

Anyway, Mike @ MufflerMasters is doing the alignment and welding up the exhaust for me. I set the alignment okay, but there is too much camber and the steering wheel is off. I've got him setting the camber to zero and he'll adjust the toe and wheel while he's at it.

As for the exhaust, R&S installed the exhaust okay, but it rattles and is a little sloppy. Mike has a tendancy to make things solid ~ I don't like seeing tail-pipes shake with bumps. Also, the RaceLand 2-piece Tri-Y header doesn't completely seal up, so under hard acceleration, I get exhaust fumes in the cab (need to go through and plug some holes too, will do that when it gets back) ~ So he'll be welding that solid as well. The welder I have here at the house is running .045 wire and doesn't like the thin stuff. Besides, with Mike's crew doing it, the entire exhaust system will get re-hung.

Besides that, I asked him to double-check all the bolts on the front suspension since I pulled everything off and on so many times ~ just to be sure.

When I get it back I'll be installing the shifter i picked up a bit ago, I've also got a full rebuild kit for the shifter and linkages ~ including a weighted shift rod and short-shift kit from TT. After that I can start messing with the tune, and then hopefully take it to the dyno to see some baseline numbers.

Like I said, I'm glad its running again, and I can't wait to get it back.

Oh, and I picked up some more 'stuff' for the build. Will I ever finish?

0-camber will handle like sh*t. have him set it to .5-1 degree instead.

[Damian Grihalva]

Great advise, I'll call Mike and let him know.

[standard125r]

It will never end...If it does you'll just buy another one.

[fishman5301]

uggghhh i wish my mk2 was a mk1

[Damian Grihalva]

So, if ya'll been follow'n this thread, you know that I got some 'body' inspiration from the 2012 calendar that was done. Where they showed this car:


Well, I found a Zender kit that looked like a match:


Since, I've been keeping my eyes PEALED for this kit. Unsuccessful I've started collecting parts from the kit as they have come available. Then about a week ago, I saw an ad for a Rocco Zender kit and checked it out... Picture:

Although not an exact match, its pretty dang close.

Yes, I jumped on it, and yesterday it was delivered to my in-laws house in California not to far from the seller's place.




In June, my in-laws are coming to help with a deck. They'll be bringing it out with them!

[standard125r]

Sweet! Keep on keepin on!

[vwovw]

so your going to hack up the rocco kit and attempt to install on jetta?

[Damian Grihalva]

so your going to hack up the rocco kit and attempt to install on jetta?

More or less...

Lets be clear, this kit has already been cut on, ripped up, repaired, and ripped again ~ Its not like I'm killing it. Speaking of which, I didn't buy the brand new kit I found. My plan is to mock it up and see if it'll work. If it works, its going on the Jetta. If not, I've got a rocco that may be a good candidate for (see sig).

[Damian Grihalva]

Well, I've been driving around the Jetta for about a week now and its been fun. There's still a ton to do ~ but at least its on the road again~!

Last Saturday night I met up with the local VW croud at some mexican restraunt for some R&R and weekend cruisin. After they finished their num-nums, we headed to the Sam's Club parking lot where it seems the import guys gather. On the way there I semi-raced one of the club guys in his Mini Cooper S ~ and lost. My dash wasn't screwed in, fell out as we crossed a bumpy street, that shorted my gauges, and I lost my tach about 5k rpm. I still haven't installed my short-shift kit and the new bushings either, so my shifting is....well,.... lacking. But through first and second, I kept up with the mini (mostly). Once I missed third and put it in 5th, well...you can guess what happened then.

Another thing on the to-do list is definitely a tune-up. I'm currently running the 9a directly taken from the junkyard. So timing it, plugs, wires, cap and rotor are a MUST ~ besides changing the oil, and an over-all 'look around' to see if anything else needs help.

Anyone have some tuning tips for a old 16v motor? Like I said, its straight out of the junkyard ~ where it was in an automatic 90s Passat, so NOTHING has been done over the stock configuration.

[Damian Grihalva]

Well, I just wanted to put it out there that I'm officially changing to Race springs. That means the shocks I have won't work. If anyone has a set of Bilstien HD shocks (front, or front and back) that they are willing to part with please let me know.

Thanks
D

Oh ~ FYI, I'm just not that happy with the current setup. It bottoms and I'm old. If I were young I would lower it more, but in all honesty, I liked the way my GTI rode, and I didn't have to worry about Colorado's crappy roads...or I'm just making excuses, either way, I like the current stuff, but not enough to keep it. My current setup will probably end up on my son's Rocco project (see sig) ~ if it wasn't for that, I'd keep my setup.

[Damian Grihalva]

Well, got through the first tank of gas since getting the Jetta back on the road....again. I have to say that its definitely fun driving it around. My wife's a kick, she won't drive it, but will allow me to drive her in it. I'm sure that'll change once I raise it a little and install the shift kit.

That said I really need to tune this puppy. I'm going to call Josh@TT who built me a custom distributor for my old GTI and see if he can build a decent dissy for the 16v. Tried yesterday, but he had left early