I'll maintain this thread with my daily updates of what's going on with my project, with lots of pictures to keep y'all entertained. Here's a little rundown of the car...
A longtime-friend of mine is pretty much my go-to guy for all things cars. I can probably say with good confidence that he's the one who turned me into a motoring enthusiast. I always had a thing for Volkswagens and Nissans, and said-friend had a MkIV GTI since new, he drove it off the dealer lot.
Over the years, I suppose he grew tired of the car, as eventually it went under a tarp for a year or more. He loved the car, but you grow tired even of the things you love I suppose. He had it modded quite a bit over a the years, including a Jetta front-end swap, a few performance tunes here and there, and some boo-boos as well (couple dings and dents here and there, minor electricals, you know, the usual VW stuff), just as anyone would go through after a decade's worth of owning a vehicle.
Fast forward a few years, he got to the point where he decided "it's time". Time to sell it and move onto something else. Something "grown up and Rear Wheel Drive" were his words. I had already expressed interest in purchasing the car should he ever sell it, and I was the first one he offered to sell it to.
Of course, I wanted it. I told him to consider it sold. I have no use for a second car and I was already paying out the ass for insurance on the wagon. But I didn't care. That car was going to be mine. Two months later, I formed a plan to fly up to New Hampshire, pick it up, nab a friend back home in NYC, and drive it back down to Texas. So, that's what I did. The second weekend of March, we (my girlfriend and I) flew up to Manchester, stayed the night, and drove down to New York the next morning. Did some family business, saw a few friends, got a fresh set of tires, and dropped the girl off. Picked up a buddy from Long Island, and we were off the following morning. Come Sunday night, I was back in Texas with my new toy. And, here we are about a month later.
She needed work. A/C Clutch has been burnt since last summer (no real need for it in New Hampshire, but definitely needed in the Houston Heat), downpipe from the turbo was missing a bolt (exhaust leak), a few body panels unpainted, and a few very minor things. But overall, excellent shape. The paint needed some work after sitting and getting scuffed up a bit over time, but a weekend with the buffing wheel and some quality compound & polish, and she's a beaut. A few scrapes, dings and dents here and there, but nothing too bad by any means.
Fast forward a few weeks, I got the exhaust leak fixed, got the windows tinted (25% up front, 5% everywhere else) got it inspected for Texas, and now working on getting Texas plates sometime this week. Getting the A/C fixed asap, then everything's pretty much going on hold after that until we move into our new place in August which has an air conditioned garage. It's only the beginning of April and it's already way too hot for my taste (boy did I come to the wrong place...).
Once the A/C Clutch is replaced, I'll be getting an alignment and giving her a mild tuneup. New hoses, new plugs, and another oil change. The power steering leaks until about half-way, but I think that'll get fixed when I replace all the hoses. Then I can work on the cosmetics and get the panels painted and aligned, as well as get rid of the decals on the back and get some of my own from ihatestickers. The rear washer blade got torn off years ago in a car wash, and the spray nozzle has been retrofitted to shoot about 5 feet behind the car :laugh:. I might completely shave it or I might put the wiper back, dunno really at this point. I don't really have any additional performance mods planned for it than it's already got, except for maybe lowering it a few inches within the next 5-6 months or so, after we've moved into our new place of course. I like the OEM+ look. The headlights can use some love, I think I'm going to paint the housing black to match the rest of the car.
I'll be updating this thread with mostly pictures really for the most part for the next few weeks/months, and a few odds & ends here and there -- until I can get down and dirty and do some real work on her.
And don't worry, the wagon isn't being neglected. She's still the daily driver and is in great running condition. I don't think I'll ever part with it, I'll drive it into the ground. She needs new shocks, struts, and rear brakes soon; I'll probably do that work before I do major work on the GTI, honestly. Eventually going to slam the wagon, you know, Slow n Low, bro . But that comes way later, probably after a 5-speed swap.
Anyway, here's some pictures as she sits at the moment. If anyone's got suggestions, tips, or advice regarding the car, please don't hesitate to post here. I'm not only new to MkIVs but to Volkswagens in general.
:beer: :thumbup:
Threw a few of the wagon in there too... hey, why not :thumbup:
A longtime-friend of mine is pretty much my go-to guy for all things cars. I can probably say with good confidence that he's the one who turned me into a motoring enthusiast. I always had a thing for Volkswagens and Nissans, and said-friend had a MkIV GTI since new, he drove it off the dealer lot.
Over the years, I suppose he grew tired of the car, as eventually it went under a tarp for a year or more. He loved the car, but you grow tired even of the things you love I suppose. He had it modded quite a bit over a the years, including a Jetta front-end swap, a few performance tunes here and there, and some boo-boos as well (couple dings and dents here and there, minor electricals, you know, the usual VW stuff), just as anyone would go through after a decade's worth of owning a vehicle.
Fast forward a few years, he got to the point where he decided "it's time". Time to sell it and move onto something else. Something "grown up and Rear Wheel Drive" were his words. I had already expressed interest in purchasing the car should he ever sell it, and I was the first one he offered to sell it to.
Of course, I wanted it. I told him to consider it sold. I have no use for a second car and I was already paying out the ass for insurance on the wagon. But I didn't care. That car was going to be mine. Two months later, I formed a plan to fly up to New Hampshire, pick it up, nab a friend back home in NYC, and drive it back down to Texas. So, that's what I did. The second weekend of March, we (my girlfriend and I) flew up to Manchester, stayed the night, and drove down to New York the next morning. Did some family business, saw a few friends, got a fresh set of tires, and dropped the girl off. Picked up a buddy from Long Island, and we were off the following morning. Come Sunday night, I was back in Texas with my new toy. And, here we are about a month later.
She needed work. A/C Clutch has been burnt since last summer (no real need for it in New Hampshire, but definitely needed in the Houston Heat), downpipe from the turbo was missing a bolt (exhaust leak), a few body panels unpainted, and a few very minor things. But overall, excellent shape. The paint needed some work after sitting and getting scuffed up a bit over time, but a weekend with the buffing wheel and some quality compound & polish, and she's a beaut. A few scrapes, dings and dents here and there, but nothing too bad by any means.
Fast forward a few weeks, I got the exhaust leak fixed, got the windows tinted (25% up front, 5% everywhere else) got it inspected for Texas, and now working on getting Texas plates sometime this week. Getting the A/C fixed asap, then everything's pretty much going on hold after that until we move into our new place in August which has an air conditioned garage. It's only the beginning of April and it's already way too hot for my taste (boy did I come to the wrong place...).
Once the A/C Clutch is replaced, I'll be getting an alignment and giving her a mild tuneup. New hoses, new plugs, and another oil change. The power steering leaks until about half-way, but I think that'll get fixed when I replace all the hoses. Then I can work on the cosmetics and get the panels painted and aligned, as well as get rid of the decals on the back and get some of my own from ihatestickers. The rear washer blade got torn off years ago in a car wash, and the spray nozzle has been retrofitted to shoot about 5 feet behind the car :laugh:. I might completely shave it or I might put the wiper back, dunno really at this point. I don't really have any additional performance mods planned for it than it's already got, except for maybe lowering it a few inches within the next 5-6 months or so, after we've moved into our new place of course. I like the OEM+ look. The headlights can use some love, I think I'm going to paint the housing black to match the rest of the car.
I'll be updating this thread with mostly pictures really for the most part for the next few weeks/months, and a few odds & ends here and there -- until I can get down and dirty and do some real work on her.
And don't worry, the wagon isn't being neglected. She's still the daily driver and is in great running condition. I don't think I'll ever part with it, I'll drive it into the ground. She needs new shocks, struts, and rear brakes soon; I'll probably do that work before I do major work on the GTI, honestly. Eventually going to slam the wagon, you know, Slow n Low, bro . But that comes way later, probably after a 5-speed swap.
Anyway, here's some pictures as she sits at the moment. If anyone's got suggestions, tips, or advice regarding the car, please don't hesitate to post here. I'm not only new to MkIVs but to Volkswagens in general.
:beer: :thumbup:
Threw a few of the wagon in there too... hey, why not :thumbup: