Uber-Golf: The evolution.

[Quiggs]

Back in February of this year, I decided I wanted something more than 'just a car' to drive. Being into cars all my life, this came as no surprise to me or anyone I knew. So I had a few options. I thought about a muscle car- an old Cuda, Challenger, Shelby Mustang replica. Or maybe an Integra- but not some body-kitted, clear taillight mobile that sounded nasty. Or something new? Dodge Stratus RT, VW GTI 1.8T or Acura RSX Type-S. Well, it turned out I could afford the insurance on any of the new cars. Or the car payment. But not both. And living in a region that gets a lot of snow, the muscle car was impractical for winter. What was I to do? Well, there was one option I had right under my nose the whole time. A little windsor blue Golf Mk3 with about 100,000 miles on it.

It was settled, so I thought. Just some simple things. Maybe a VR6 swap, drop it, badgeless grill, and Hella dual round headlights. I'd be happy. Then I went to www.vwvortex.com. And it changed.

Going through the Mk3 forums, I saw so many different styles. The European style, with EDM bumpers, headlights, wheel styles. The tuner style, with shaved bumpers, boser hoods, and turbo balls-to-the-wall VR6 monsters. The OEM+ style- very subtle parts, most of which came straight from VAG themselves. The last one seemed to be most my style, what with me growing up going to muscle car shows where the 'all original, low miles' cars got all the attention.

So it was determined. My 2.slow Golf would be my project. I wanted to build something fun to drive at the strip, at the track, and in the hills. All while maintaining some semblance of daily driver ability, and of course something that looked the part.

It's been slow going so far. I've had a few setbacks. A blown transmission will do that, though.

Enough rambling. Here's some pictures.

The first 2 are early this year. The early stages. Cracked bumper and grill from a little run in with a fire hydrant. Three and four- replaced bumper and grill. Grill replaced with Votex Rallye grill. You wouldn't believe the output of those lights.

[Quiggs]

Few weeks later I did the stereo install. Sony head, Alpine speakers, amp and subs. Subs are 2 10" E-series.

[Quiggs]

Just some random shots from about a month ago. No big changes, except the Euro plate on the front.

[Quiggs]

That brings us to today. I woke up at 1130, came downstairs, and what did I see on the table? A big box that said Tuning Zubehor on the side! My taillights have arrived! Install went well. About 35 minutes, not including a WalMart run for a replacement taillight bulb.

The only thing I don't like is the chrome trim. But I'm going to sand them down this weekend and respray them black. It'll look not-so-blingy, and more OEM.


I've got clear sidemarkers on the way. They're held up in customs but are in the country. Hoping to have them in by the time I go to Show and Go in October.

The future

I'm done for now. Winter isn't a time I want to be outside crawling under the car doing suspension or anything else, for that matter.

Next spring/summer will see coilover suspension, R32 looks headlights (projectors), VR6 Euro front lip, and a 1.8T/6 speed transmission swap from a Mk4 special GTI. If time and money permit, upgraded turbo, front mount intercooler, 3" turbo-back exhaust, and a Quaife LSD. Ultimately I'm looking for 225whp. Bodywork will be minor. Dents pulled, respray. Maybe shave a thing or two. But I like the stock lines a lot.

Thanks for reading my senseless thread.

[Manik]

Originally Posted by Quiggs

Few weeks later I did the stereo install. Sony head, Alpine speakers, amp and subs. Subs are 2 10" E-series.

must be an awesome stereo. sony and alpine are some of the best names you can get!

[Quiggs]

Originally Posted by manik_890

must be an awesome stereo. sony and alpine are some of the best names you can get!

It's loud enough for the type of music I listen to. The first song I played on it was Chevelle - The Red, and the installers had the subs turned up about 3/4. The hatch glass was visibly shaking. I had to turn it down to a little under half for it to even be tolerable.

The only thing I'd consider changing is switching to an Alpine head to better match the speakers. But I like the flip-face on the Sony.

[Niko_Fx]

Good job man, keep improving your car

The lights look really nice.

[kko]

Sound great so far. good call on the lights

[Rockefella]

That's a really nice looking Golf man, keep it up.

[Ciscoheat]

Great project your building Quiggs and I like the fact that you'r going the subttle route. I like the German number plate, nice touch. Have you thought of going for a single wiper conversion and de-locking?

[Spastik_Roach]

Dude that looks sweet. You gunna get some new wheels for it or stay stock? Some nice not too big wheels would really complete the look, maybe wheels like these?

[Spastik_Roach]

I've done a quick (5mins) chop, shaved door handles, smoothed bonnet, lowered, and put some Enkei Tarmac Evos (The rims I showed you b4) on it. Looks pretty cool IMO!

[blackcat77]

You've got a little Corrado thing going at the front. That's GOOD...

[Quiggs]

I'm going to keep the door handles. It's always going to be a daily driver, and door poppers can go faulty and not work. It's not really practical for me.

For wheels, I'm really stuck on Porsche Boxster twists. I've seen them on a Jazz blue Mk3 (it's possibly my favorite Mk3), and the idea really caught me. Pic of the rims, and 2 of Steel's car (VW THUNDR).

The Eurovan vent on the right fender (where the airbox is) is starting to grow on me. That, along with pulled fenders, might be the only other body work I do.

Thanks for the comments guys. And special thanks to Spastic for taking time to do some PShopping.

[Quiggs]

So I got the balls to paint my tail lights over the weekend. They didn't turn out perfect, but I was really surprised how good they looked. The few small spots that aren't perfect, aren't very noticable. Maybe one day I'll fix it.

Started with this.



What I used:

Painter's tape
Newspaper
Resin Sandpaper
Testors Primer
Testors Flat Black
DupliColor Clear Coat

1. Mask off the lenses. More is better.



2. Scuff the casing with the sandpaper. I used 3M P1500 Resin Bond. You don't need to take off the top coating, just scuff it up a little.

3. Prime. One coat will suffice. Just make sure you get it all evenly.



4. Paint. I did two coats of the flat black.

5. Clearcoat. This is really optional. Some people said do it, others said run the flat black. I didn't like the look of just the paint, so I sprayed one coat on it. And I'm glad I did. Cause now they look like this.







I think they look much better than the chrome trim.

And I got clear sidemarkers with amber LED's from a group buy on Vortex.