WTF Rob?! I know, it's not a VW. I don't care.

This project car began by accident. I recently came across this 2002 TDI New Beetle, which belonged to a friend's father-in-law, sitting at the local VW dealership with a broken automatic transmission. The previous owner decided it was best to cut his losses and sell the car rather than pay the $3500 needed for repairs. The car was listed on WetDub.com "for sale, as-is".

After evaluating the car I made an offer, which to my surprise the owner immediately accepted. I knew I could not build an "SSTDI" with an auto, and a search of our salvage database revealed a newly-wrecked manual-tranny TDI Jetta just 8 miles from Spraywerkz! After looking over the donor car and confirming that most all the parts needed for a tranny swap were intact, we decided to pull the trigger and buy the bug.

The car's aesthetic flaws were immediate: some dents and dings, the typical broken front valence, faded Cybergreen paint, and a well-used interior. Nothing too bad really... until we removed the front end cover. As you can see in the pics, the previous owner had hit a deer and "never got around to fixing the damage".

The car was shaved down to the bare essentials and in place of worn parts went Bilstein PSS9 suspension, poly bushings, sway bars, Unitronic tuning, .205 injectors, straight exhaust, SACHS clutch and more. I decided on Audi Nimbus Gray for the main color, with VW Alpine White as a secondary color to add contrast. A black leather interior was swapped in, and all flat black interior pieces were repaired and painted shiny black along with the door caps, 3-gauge pod, side mirrors, and front grille. Later, a custom beige/chrome Momo steering wheel was added for show days, and a black race wheel was adopted for daily and track use.

The wheel choice has been a tough one, and while the car was initally rolling on 19" ADR Spades, I found quickly that I-40 has a ferocious tendency to bend struts (two in less than 1000 miles)! The decision was made to downsize to a more Oklahoma-friendly tire sidewall for daily driving. Grant Visser was nice enough to cut me a deal on the Borbets in his shed, and after a couple days' worth of massaging they were painted to match the car and give a classic look. The car is also running s-pc 18x8 Sterns on special occasions.

After just 60 days the manual trans swap was finished, along with body work and paint. Within 90 days the car made it's first show appearance. One year later I have driven the car about 20k miles - she shows well and she's a consistent winner in SCCA Solo events.

transmission. The previous owner decided it was best to cut his losses and sell the car rather than pay the $3500 needed for repairs. The car was listed on WetDub.com "for sale, as-is".

After evaluating the car I made an offer, which to my surprise the owner immediately accepted. I knew I could not build an "SSTDI" with an auto, and a search of our salvage database revealed a newly-wrecked manual-tranny TDI Jetta just 8 miles from Spraywerkz! After looking over the donor car and confirming that most all the parts needed for a tranny swap were intact, we decided to pull the trigger and buy the bug.

The car's aesthetic flaws were immediate: some dents and dings, the typical broken front valence, faded Cybergreen paint, and a well-used interior. Nothing too bad really... until we removed the front end cover. As you can see in the pics, the previous owner had hit a deer and "never got around to fixing the damage".

The car was shaved down to the bare essentials and in place of worn parts went Bilstein PSS9 suspension, poly bushings, sway bars, Unitronic tuning, .205 injectors, straight exhaust, SACHS clutch and more. I decided on Audi Nimbus Gray for the main color, with VW Alpine White as a secondary color to add contrast. A black leather interior was swapped in, and all flat black interior pieces were repaired and painted shiny black along with the door caps, 3-gauge pod, side mirrors, and front grille. Later, a custom beige/chrome Momo steering wheel was added for show days, and a black race wheel was adopted for daily and track use.

The wheel choice has been a tough one, and while the car was initally rolling on 19" ADR Spades, I found quickly that I-40 has a ferocious tendency to bend struts (two in less than 1000 miles)! The decision was made to downsize to a more Oklahoma-friendly tire sidewall for daily driving. Grant Visser was nice enough to cut me a deal on the Borbets in his shed, and after a couple days' worth of massaging they were painted to match the car and give a classic look. The car is also running s-pc 18x8 Sterns on special occasions.

After just 60 days the manual trans swap was finished, along with body work and paint. Within 90 days the car made it's first show appearance. One year later I have driven the car about 20k miles - she shows well and she's a consistent winner in SCCA Solo events.

This GTI is a Package 0, manual transmission car with H&R Race suspension, 2.5" Magnaflow cat-back exhaust and Neuspeed intake. The bumper markers have been tinted, along with the tails (very lightly), and the upper half of the rear valence was painted.

The most obvious upgrade is, of course, the black two-tone top with red grille stripe continuing all the way around the car. This style paintjob has now become common on the MkV, but this car is thought to be the first in the states to be done like this. It's nothing spectacular, and it's not meant to be. The goal was to make the car look like it could have been done at the factory.

This car is now being enjoyed by a new owner but remains in the area. I miss it so much I've already called dibs on it again when he decides to sell it.

lightly), and the upper half of the rear valence was painted.

The most obvious upgrade is, of course, the black two-tone top with red grille stripe continuing all the way around the car. This style paintjob has now become common on the MkV, but this car is thought to be the first in the states to be done like this. It's nothing spectacular, and it's not meant to be. The goal was to make the car look like it could have been done at the factory.

This car is now being enjoyed by a new owner but remains in the area. I miss it so much I've already called dibs on it again when he decides to sell it.

The plan was to keep this car relatively stock and simply tote the kids around. After stumbling across an ultra-rare set of Stern 3-piece wheels we decided to paint a few areas that needed attention. While prepping the doors and fenders for paint, I made the quick decision to shave the sidemarkers and door strips.

The valences and bumpers were color matched, along with the lower side skirts. Coilovers are planned soon, along with a few other exterior and interior upgrades, which are relatively minor. The color remains stock Brilliant Yellow, since it is a rare hue, especially on the Avant body. This car was sold recently to a good friend who is a technician at the local Audi dealership. He plans to continue work on the Avant, and she may be back at Spraywerkz soon...

While prepping the doors and fenders for paint, I made the quick decision to shave the sidemarkers and door strips.

The valences and bumpers were color matched, along with the lower side skirts. Coilovers are planned soon, along with a few other exterior and interior upgrades, which are relatively minor. The color remains stock Brilliant Yellow, since it is a rare hue, especially on the Avant body. This car was sold recently to a good friend who is a technician at the local Audi dealership. He plans to continue work on the Avant, and she may be back at Spraywerkz soon...

Dominic has owned this car for four years, which is exactly how long he's been driving. This Rabbit is his first car, and if Dom has his way he will own it forever (as I have found in my many attempts to buy it away from him). Dominic is off to school in Iowa, and since he now has a truck to drive daily we're going to give her a bit of a massage over the next year.

The car was in mint condition four years ago, but 60k miles of daily driving by a teenager will take it's toll on any car. On the grocery list for the bunny over the next few months is a bit of body filler, some paint, suspension, period bits, and... maybe that 16v in the corner will find it's way in at some point.

Dom recently began the motivation process by throwing on some Borbets and removing the massive, heavy bumpers. Stay tuned for updates on this one.

attempts to buy it away from him). Dominic is off to school in Iowa, and since he now has a truck to drive daily we're going to give her a bit of a massage over the next year.

The car was in mint condition four years ago, but 60k miles of daily driving by a teenager will take it's toll on any car. On the grocery list for the bunny over the next few months is a bit of body filler, some paint, suspension, period bits, and... maybe that 16v in the corner will find it's way in at some point.

Dom recently began the motivation process by throwing on some Borbets and removing the massive, heavy bumpers. Stay tuned for updates on this one.