WFSU Blog Writeup

**** your baller status.

Update 10/15/08: Added specs list to original post, latest progress a few posts down
Update 10/18/08: Bottom of first page
Update 11/10/08: Made a purchase. Toward the end of second page
Update 11/15/08: Even more little purchases. Page 3. I really want to get home and work on this thing...
Update 11/25/08: Starting to get things done...last post on Page 3
Update 11/27/08: Some progress from the day before, toward the middle of Page 4
Update 11/28/08: A more exciting update, further down on Page 4
Update 11/28/08: A progress pic, and a slight change of plans, even further down on Page 4
Update 11/29/08: More progress, end of Page 4
Update 12/07/08: P-chops and recent purchases, Page 6
Update 12/10/08: Recent purchases and some unrelated stupidity...Page 7
Update 12/11/08: More parts gathered/revealing of the mystery box...near the top of Page 8
Update 12/12/08: More progress and some new parts on the car, further down on Page 8
Update 12/13/08: Progress, and I guess a bit of carnage, Page 9
Update 12/17/08: More stuff done, further down page 9
Update 12/19/08: Carnage, a lesson learned, and winter mode, bottom of page 9
Update 12/20/08: Actually getting to enjoy the car for once, page 10
Update 12/24/08: Progress pics, page 11
Update 12/26/08: Shaved, further down page 11
Update 12/27/08: Progress pics, further down page 11
Update 12/29/08: Put back together for now, further down page 11
Update 12/30/08: A few major things completed, near the top of page 12
Update 1/3/09: Important announcement!, page 12
Update 1/9/09: And if you dont know, now you know...last post on page 12
Update 1/24/09: Nice things, page 16
Update 2/5/09: Cant fight the mod bug, nor physically being sick, page 17
Update 2/13/09: Finally, some real progress again, midway through page 17
Update 2/14-16/09: More stuff, pages 17-18
Update 2/21/09: Hopefully finishing a few things, and starting on the next, page 18
Update 2/27/09: Fun with vag-coms, top of page 19
Update 2/28/09: A good bit of progress, and the last "working" day in an era of a mostly untouched powertrain, page 19
Update 3/6-10/09: Supercharger installation, page 20
Update 3/12-14/09: Tying up loose ends with the S/C and some bodywork, further down page 20
Update 3/21/09: Bodywork as usual, page 22
Update 3/27-28/09: A few things finished up, page 22
Update 4/3-4/09: Another finished piece, and the interior teardown, page 22
Update 4/24/09: Finally, progress once again, page 25
Update 4/25-26/09: Frustration, page 25
Update 5/1/09: Playing with sandpaper and wheels, further down page 25
Update 5/2-3/09: Broken ****, end of page 25
Update 5/8-17/09: Quiet Progress, page 27
Update 5/18/09: Finally, an update with pictures, page 27
Update 5/19/09: Fresh perspective = lots of progress, page 27
Update 5/20/09: The end of bodywork, page 28
Update 5/21/09: Fitment matters, page 28
Update 5/23/09: Shiny things, primer things, and boring things, page 28
Update 5/26/09: The beast roars again, bottom of page 28
Update 6/5/09: Stupid oil pans, page 29
Update 6/13/09: Working out the details...and the problems, page 30
Update 6/20/09: Still waiting on a fix..., page 31
Update 7/12/09: BumbAr, page 33
Update 7/22/09: Alive again, now time for wheels, page 34
Update 7/31/09: Goodbye CEL, page 34
Update 8/6-9/09: Beginning of the prep process, page 35
Update 8/16/09: Primer Payoff, page 36
Update 8/20/09: Junkyard Fixes, page 37
Update 9/18/09: Mounts..., Page 42
Update 9/26/09: More Mounts...and WTF skidplate, Page 43
Update 9/26/09: Yes, that is a shaved bay, Page 43
Update 9/26/09: Bays, wiring, rain, and stuff, Page 45
Update 11/1/09: Kitty car, Page 47
Update 11/15/09: Coolant Reservoir Delete, Page 48
Update 12/3/09: Winter bumper, bottom of page 48
Update 12/15/09: Belt slip and CEL's, great way to spend page 50
Update 12/15/09: Remember when I said I hate interior work?, page 51
Update 1/3/09: Some bay pics, headliner done, page 52
Update 1/10/09: Cleaned, page 53
Update 1/21/09: Shaved bay completed, page 54
Update 1/31/09: Clamps, photos, and other stuff, page 55
Update 2/6/09: Attention to detail, page 56

I am currently living at college without my car (okay, now living at home commuting to college with my car), and on a very tight budget. By spring, this thread should hopefully show how much difference a series of small to moderate changes can go a VERY long way. (okay, I lied, the changes are beginning to become more major, but yes, the little changes do matter a lot)

Most of the work will be done by me in my garage during breaks and weekends when I can make it home, with the exception of some paintwork which will be done professionally. I am also moving to a new house around Christmas which could complicate things a bit.
Im not going to outline the plans, you will just have to keep an eye on it <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://www.vwvortex.com/vwbb/wink.gif" BORDER="0"> Things are gonna start out pretty slow for now though, so dont get too excited. Expect things to pick up a bit over the christmas holiday. What I can tell you are a few things: no bags (ride height will stay the same, ~1.75" to skidplate, ~2" lip on Weitec coils, and yes, it has made it through Manhattan at that height ), no forced induction (okay I lied, it happened ) , and nothing that will no longer allow it to be a daily driver.

EDIT: Okay, so maybe I began to take things a bit further than I originally outlined. Oh well, thats what happens There will be much more pictured than originally intended, especially toward the end of the build. The build will also extend well into the spring, due to my time constraint issues as well as the many added plans. However, the DIY attitude of this thread is still its most important aspect. Feel free to ask any questions, give suggestions, or otherwise make input.

Here are a few pics of its state at the start of the build:

The winter's projects should result in a "cleaner," more refined look that Ive been planning on achieving for a while, but havent had the time or funds. But it will still be keeping my personal style, as well as the elements that I feel set it apart.

Starting specs list:
-24 Valve VR6
-6 speed
-Reflex Silver
-Weitec XS Coilovers
-TT Stainless Cat-back w/ Borla Muffler
-Molded Reiger 4Motion Front Lip
-Molded 04.5 GLI rear lip
-18x8.5 three piece fully polished Carlsson 3/6 wheels
-Modifed BBS bolt-on valve stems
-Stretched Falken ze512 215/40-18 tires
-15mm front/20mm rear custom drilled fully hubcentric Motorsport Tech. adapters
-18" BBS RC winter wheels with BBS Centercaps
-20mm ECS spacers for winter
-Votex/337 Style Sideskirts
-Alpine IVA-W505 Double Din Radio/CD/DVD/iPod/Navigation unit integrated into OEM Monsoon audio system
-Neuspeed Short Shifter
-Smoked E-Code Headlights with Foglights and City Lights
-42 Draft Designs yellow Hi-Intensity LED city light bulbs
-Hella Micro DE foglights in bumper
-BFI Stage 2 Dogbone Mount Bushings
-Euroswitch
-Freedom Designs Stubby
-OEM Euro Textured Rubstrips
-Smoked Fender Turn Signals
-C-Pillar Brace
-Dieselgeek/Panzer Skidplate
-Tinted Windows
-Textured Grille
-04.5 GLI Grille Badge
-Shaved Airbox
-ITG Air Filter
-Rolled fenders
-Europlate with studded mount.

Modified by vrDUCKin at 8:00 PM 2-8-2010

For the trip down to H2Oi, I had kept my car at school in Hoboken, NJ with me a few days prior. The trip to meet up with Dagball took us through some insanely crappy roads, which just so happened to be flooded.
When I got to H2O, I noticed that the wheels appeared much duller (they are hand polished, with no clear coating whatsoever) as well as many yellow spots all over them. Im assuming that these were the result of some sort of chemical that was in the water. I had cleaned them up with some Nevr-Dull (my product of choice ) for the show, but the spotting was still there and the shine wasnt great.

So after 3+ hours of this:

Im back to this:

Quote, originally posted by vrDUCKin »

The winter's projects should result in a "cleaner," more refined look that Ive been planning on achieving for a while,

I will be keeping the textured rubstrips though, they are the real OEM ones, not just painted rubs, and I absolutely love them. I really like the look, and I actually think that they will look even better combined with my planned mods.

Quote, originally posted by RED-MKFOUR »

shut ur nerd ass up..this thread is dead anyways..

Check My Photos Out!
Photoshoppers?

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4291664

buy this or ill put your cat in the microwave http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4741459

Flirckr

Quote, originally posted by Buegie »

No bags and no boost, so what are you doing?!?! Looks awesome though, let me know if you need a hand with anything

mostly stuff related to appearance, as well as some general cleaning up and maintenance. you'll see

Quote, originally posted by formerly vr6 karl »

face mount=c0ckblock

bahhh its gotta be like that They would never fit otherwise, I have to run a 15mm adapter in the front as is. I also dont want to modify them because theyre pretty hard to find

Quote, originally posted by JulianGTIvr6 »

reserving my place so i can comment later.

annnndddd the fail level of this thread just increased exponentially

And thanks for all the great comments so far guys

Quote, originally posted by JulianGTIvr6 »

reserving my place so i can comment later.

What is that even supposed to mean?

http://www.andysautosport.com/volkswagen/

I actually didnt do it myself, but someone local did it for me at a great price. Im really happy with the result, they started off looking pretty rough.
I have nooo paitience to do all that myself

College budgets suck ass...I'm in the same boat. for working on it anyway.

GL man, keep us updated

Das Auto.
Have a baby for love, not for GERMAN ENGINEERING

"Money can't buy happiness but it's a damn good down payment"

Quote, originally posted by A Little Shady »

Watching

i'll second that.

"I'm young enough to know the right car to buy, yet grown enough not to put rims on it" -Jay-z

i'll third it.

hey matt, where are you in school & whats your major? just curious

Quote, originally posted by gen2fanatic »

Loved seeing this car at H2O this year, now I get to watch it transform into what its going to be for next years H2O!!!!! Figured I'd post this up for ya here, snapped this

thanks for the pic

Quote, originally posted by Buck Russell »

hey matt, where are you in school & whats your major? just curious

Im going to Stevens Institute of Technology in NJ for Mechanical Engineering

Pretty much how the car sits right now:

One thing that I wanted to accomplish was putting a "gunsmoke" tint from Laminx on my Hella Micro DE's (the fogs in the bumper). I thought that it would make them blend in a little more and look cleaner. However, the tint is much thicker than I expected, and can not conform to the very extruded dome shape of the little lights. Ahh well...

What I did get done was a bit of re-wiring to those same foglights. When I first wired them in (they are run off the factory harness where it was meant to connect to the sidemarkers that I do not have with the euro rubstrip. Using this connection allows them to be controlled by the euroswitch), I was in a bit of a rush to get the car together, as this was when I was transferring all the "mods" from my old car to the new, and using stock parts off the new car to make the old saleable as stock. The wiring was functional, but not too refined looking Thus, when I had the car at the dealer not too long ago (valve cover gasket replaced under warranty), they did not properly reconnect the lights. I decided that this was the sign that I should just go ahead and do wiring properly.

However, they messed things up worse than I thought...

mmmmm corrosion...

massive fail...where did my wire loom go? And who was letting 5 year olds play with electrical tape?

And another surprise...this was the cause of that random tapping noise Ive been hearing lately...

Two bottom screws on the headlight are nonexistent
Well thats just wonderful...my $300 headlights just flappin around on there, including the whole way to H2O and back
Fortunately, I did have a few extra torx screws lying around that fit.

So, as far as progress goes, I got the mentioned wiring done. Theres still a little bit more to do, but hopefully I wont run into any little surprises courtesy of your local VW dealer. One little progress point was a friend of mine dismounted the tires from my RC's for me free of charge. The tires were past destroyed, and I wanted them off so I can work a little magic on them

Unfortunately, I will not be home to work on it next weekend. Im helping run a student trip to Philly and Eastern State Penitentiary for the Halloween thing they have there. It could be until thanksgiving break before Im able to come home

So, I apologize for the lack of excitement, but to make up for it, I present you with a teaser pic

(waits for someone to figure it out, I doubt it will be long )