Juggy's '97 GTI VR6 Build Thread

[Juggy]

So after a LONG time on the 'tex' i finally have a build thread.

Here is the short story:

I have had 3 vw's, 2001 Jetta, 2004 GLI and an 2006 Audi A3, but the car that has always had my heart and eye has been the MK3. Been wanting one but my requirements of a car never allowed me to have one. So finally, i sold my A3 and spent a few bucks on an old 97 drivers edition with the mind to restore it and mod it midly. I have already started the work, so excuse the lack of a good beginning to the story. And give me some time on this one, i'll be slow on this one, expecting this build to last about 3 months.

Yes, i love mk3's that much, i sold my A3 with about 100k km's less than this thing.

Its got some mods, lowered, euro headlights, clear indicators, taillights... i'll see what i keep, the suspension and wheels are definitely going to go for something that'll go lower and some wheels with stretch and poke...


The A3:



The GTI: (sorry crappy blackberry pic)



This should be fun... i'll post some more pics in the next few days... i started work on polishing the intake manifold so i'll take and post those pics.

Be patient with me, probably will only get a chance to upload pics on weekends... i'll try my best.

[NTmK3]

Nice! Id love to have an a3 as well. Good taste lol!

[turbovdub956]

im excited for this. dont miss the a3 to much

[wolfyy98]

did you buy this off some young guy in scarborough?

[Juggy]

im excited for this. dont miss the a3 to much

Actually, i don't miss the A3 at all, it was an amazing all around car, but i just didn't find it exciting to drive...

[nevernotrolling1131]

I'm game. What are your plans?

[Juggy]

Got some time to post more pics, these may not flow very well, i have been working on the car for a little while here and there...

Here is the car as it is now in my garage, i've taken off alot of parts like the wiper motor cover, the air conditioning hoses were leaking, and the parts i took off like headlights, wheel liners and all that stuff.



Some shots of the rust repair that needs to be and is being done. Thanks Dan aka Leskie for the help so far...

Intake manifold is off to be polished, you can see the cut out in the strut towers...







Here is the rust coming through on the rockers both sides:





I repainted the rad fan housing, had some rust on it:



Progress on polishing the intake manifold:



Here is where i'm at now, needs final sanding and polishing but looking good so far:



And of course, to work you gotta eat...or that is... drink.



More to come...

[Juggy]

I'm game. What are your plans?

Plans:

1. Fix rust - New Rockers, New passenger side door, gas cap area, strut towers, hole in floor..and paint
2. Mechanical maintenace - Timing chain was done and clutch as well, so those two headaches are taken care of. Rear brakes probably need replacing.
3. Needs new power steering pump, a/c is there, but wasn't working
4. New suspension
5. New wheels
6. Audio
7. Interior accents - Suede headliner, new shift boot... maybe some gauges.

[nevernotrolling1131]

Plans:

1. Fix rust - New Rockers, New passenger side door, gas cap area, strut towers, hole in floor..and paint
2. Mechanical maintenace - Timing chain was done and clutch as well, so those two headaches are taken care of. Rear brakes probably need replacing.
3. Needs new power steering pump, a/c is there, but wasn't working
4. New suspension
5. New wheels
6. Audio
7. Interior accents - Suede headliner, new shift boot... maybe some gauges.

Nice what wheels will you be running? And what audio are you buying? Throw in done ddi gauges thats what I think I will be buying. They look so good, IMO.

[WAG3NWERKS]

I love the intake mani being polished might be hitting mine with some sand paper. Looking good glad to see another mk3 being saved good luck

[Juggy]

Nice what wheels will you be running? And what audio are you buying? Throw in done ddi gauges thats what I think I will be buying. They look so good, IMO.

Audio will be simple and clean, a set of 6" components up front, maybe some subtle kick panels, and a 12 in the floor, some subtle painted glass work with a suede floor and a 4 channel amp to power everything. This will probably be the LAST thing that gets done.

[Juggy]

For wheels, i'm completely undecided, i love BBS LM's, but those are $$, so not sure.

I'm going to be selling the current set, they are from an mk5 jetta (i think)... just want something with the right poke and fit.

Stance is everything!

[jbigs268]

For wheels, i'm completely undecided, i love BBS LM's, but those are $$, so not sure.

I'm going to be selling the current set, they are from an mk5 jetta (i think)... just want something with the right poke and fit.

Stance is everything!

Will be watching the build!

As for wheels, i say wait untill the project is nearing its completion..then get something that will compliment its style

[Juggy]

Totally agree, once its all done, wheels will come into play.

Thanks for watching... i'm sure i'll need tips and help as i go along.

[jbigs268]

Totally agree, once its all done, wheels will come into play.

Thanks for watching... i'm sure i'll need tips and help as i go along.

[vr6dubnut12]

[nevernotrolling1131]

For wheels, i'm completely undecided, i love BBS LM's, but those are $$, so not sure.

I'm going to be selling the current set, they are from an mk5 jetta (i think)... just want something with the right poke and fit.

Stance is everything!

Couldn't agree me. I'm torn between running Lm's or Borbet type a's Either way it will be expensive and either way it will be later in the summer.

[Jetta603]

sweet build thread. im subscribing to this. keep up the good work.

[Juggy]

Alright...friday night, rough week at work, time to get down to some work....

SAI delete...



Here is the pump, need to hook 12V up to it and see if it works, if it does, i'll put it up on my parts sale thread (once i create one)



Two of the allen head bolts were rusted and rounded out the minute i tried loosening them, these are a MUST when working on an mk3



I replaced the power steering pump, the dude before me burred the front end of the car, when i took the rad off, i found asphalt between the rad fans and rad, thankfully the rad fan is ok. I guess the elbow on the power steering pump got busted, so he tried some epoxy on some fitting, it ended up leacking, and the pump didn't sound too healthy, so i replaced it... here is the old pump:



Here is one of the struts, Bilstein strut with a neuspeed coil... these are going up for sale



I pulled the oil filter housing off too, this is the actually plastic housing, the owner before me must have broken off the 36mm hex on the bottom, to unscrew the drain plug and this thing was torqued on like a mother***ker, i had to drill a hole through it, put it in the vice and turn it out with a screw driver...



Drilling...



It says 25 ft/lbs right on it... this must have been at least 80...



Once i got it off, i pulled the temp sensor off, the spade connector was broken off...



Took the housing apart, sprayed it with some high heat silver, looks pretty, wasn't necessary...but whatever...



new filter housing... $$$ for a piece of plastic.



Re-installed it all... looks purrdy



The intake manifold needs some more work, there are some pretty deep scratches in that, i'll get to it on the weekend...sanding sucks!! but i have beer to get me through it... this was number 3. Sorry pic is sideways, photobucket won't straighten it out...



Alright that's all for tonight... i'll get some more polishing done on the weekend, hopefully i can wrap that job up this weekend and re-assemble the intake manifold with the throttle body.

[Juggy]

How many of you guys who did an SAI delete are running the 42DD or BFI air intake plug?

I'm wondering if it is worth it? What other means are there to plug the hole?

[Ickey]

What I did was bought the plug from bfi figured it would be worth it in the end

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

[Ickey]

What I did was bought the plug from bfi figured it would be worth it in the end

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

Oh its the 42dd one too

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

[Juggy]

yeah i'll probably end up doing that, just hate paying duties if i can avoid it... sucky part of being north of the 49th.

I guess i'll bite the bullet.

[Danny P.]

You can get a 3/4 inch expansion plug at a parts store a lot cheaper than the 42 DD thing


Sent from your Mom's house using your Dad's IPhone.

[Juggy]

Your sig kills me...

[hazard220]

nice thread, will be watching progress as i to just bought a 96 candy white gti vr6 that is going to get rebuilt. keep it up

[leskie]

Lookin good dude! Sorry I haven't been much help yet, still hobbling around on crutches

[Juggy]

Hahaha. no worries man get better.

I'm going to finish up welding the seam on the replacement panel today.

[Juggy]

I did some more welding... tacked the patch that leskie had cut out for me into place, needs more work but its in there. There will be two more pieces needed on to patch it up completely. Luckily the passenger side is much much better.






Also changed the a/c condenser, this one bit the dust, all that good ol' canadian road salt did it in. I replaced it with a 98 model year condenser that has a plastic guard at the bottom.





The new (old) one



That's all for today, hopefully i get this done over the next day or two and then move on to the passenger side.

Then the floor, rockers, gas cap area, rear passenger wheel well....

mk3's are worth all this work...

[Vamped]

Damn, thats a project!

[leskie]

Yay progress! Gonna make that SpringFling deadline!

[Juggy]

Yay progress! Gonna make that SpringFling deadline!

You did an awesome job cutting that thing to shape. When's SpringFling again?

[BHCgreene]

Just a reminder... Those strut towers are pretty structurally important. I would hate for you to do all this work and they crack on the first hard turn you make.. Be sure to use a heavy gauge steel when patching them. I cant tell the thickness in those pictures. Also make sure you put some support pieces on the fender well.

Good job for saving it. Most people just trash them when they get that bad.

[Juggy]

Just a reminder... Those strut towers are pretty structurally important. I would hate for you to do all this work and they crack on the first hard turn you make.. Be sure to use a heavy gauge steel when patching them. I cant tell the thickness in those pictures. Also make sure you put some support pieces on the fender well.

Good job for saving it. Most people just trash them when they get that bad.

Yeah, the patch that is in there is actually a cutout from another mk3, so its as thick as the original metal. I'll be re-enforcing it so its is strong.

Thanks for the pointers.

[leskie]

When's SpringFling again?

June 3rd Im actually starting to worry my car won't be done in time!

On top of my already huge to do list, just found a hole on my pass side tower.