Per Wants Another Volkswagen

I've owned a beat to hell 85 gti and even though it put me through a world of hurt and pain, i remember it was still pretty fun to drive and i really like the look of the single rounds/ quad headlight cars with the bbs rims. They are getting hard to find in any decent shape. Same goes for the mk1's those are just gorgeous, sexy Italian styling with a good rep. I've always liked the look of the A4 but just heard really bad things about them and the A3. If you could do a good series of articles on how to make them a good fun car for cheap i would be really interested. Also dispelling all of the myths or letting us know how to deal with them, like the weight, handling, trouble areas.

Good luck.

Per Schroeder wrote: But you're not biased or anything

ROFL! Per, can't you get the magazine to buy both of them?

Ah, never mind...Tim might go for that BMW E36, but Margie ain't having it. Maybe after the Corvair's done, she might reconsider..

What does the guy want for the Monty Green A2? Maybe I can scrounge up a little...and taking away that temptation would free you to buy an A3 like Paul says you should.

Per, if I had the money I'd buy that car. It's cheaper in the long run then cutting my roof off and swapping it like I plan to.

Yea, I'm leaning towards the A3 that you turned me on to. I emailed Bill to call me about the pictures he finally sent.

Per

Sorry it took so long but I wasted some of his time on Sat and Sunday loading his place with my junk and releasing my turtle to the wild (no joke!!).

Bill and I chatted, I think we have a deal. I love finding unicorns! Worst case scenario, I'll pick it up after the UTCC at VIR in July.

Per Schroeder wrote: Bill and I chatted, I think we have a deal. I love finding unicorns! Worst case scenario, I'll pick it up after the UTCC at VIR in July.

Which golf did you wind up buying?

94 A3 two-door w/o a sunroof. It's in Delaware so my dad and I are flying up next weekend, picking it up, spending the night with my grandfather and driving back. should be fun!

Wow, sweet car & cool road trip.
I can't wait to see the articles on this one.

You sir have a sweet job.

Per--plans? You've got a couple autocrossers--ITB, perhaps? You've already got the leg tattoo figured out. . .

Per Schroeder wrote: I love finding unicorns!

Networking is a wonderful thing.

steamcorners wrote: Per--plans? You've got a couple autocrossers--ITB, perhaps? You've already got the leg tattoo figured out. . .

Ha., yea, that's an option, although I'm debating the whole throttle bodies/EFI on the ABA or just a 1.8T transplant. I'd like to actually keep it street legal so I can keep rallycrossing. I'd love to see more TSD and Rallycross events here in FL.

Throttle bodies are great if you need to use them for some strange reason. ABA on boost is about as cheap as it gets and the early ABA motors are pretty strong.. no sense in spending $$ on a 20v swap at fairly low power levels.

The car is now in Florida. It made the 900 mile trip without a problem—34mpg and no burnt oil. I'll be posting pictures and a project car blog soon.

I've also got a line on another A3...a four-cylinder GTI that will make a nice 'parts car' that I can resell once I've had my way with it.

Per

Pics???

These posts are still being proofed, but you get the idea:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/1994-vw-golf/

Might want to check the wieght posted, that sounds on the light side as my '88 Scirocco wieghs in at 2300 lbs. and change.

I think the MKIII's were generally around 2700 lbs.

That said, have fun, the ABAs are great with even the most rudementary turbo setup. While going N/A is like beating a half-dead horse.

My 95 Golf Sport weighed 2390 in autocross trim. I'm sure this 94 GL weighs less. The 2400 was an estimate. No sunroof and the 2.0 = not too heavy. Hence the flight to Delaware to find a light car.

I'm slowly coming up with a plan. These cars are the 'it' thing in Improved Touring B and could have some potential in FSP...and they're also not bad in Rallycross RPF...so maybe there's something in there for everybody.

First step: rust repair second step: suspension work. third step: ?

Per

Per Schroeder wrote: First step: rust repair second step: suspension work. third step: ? Per

Profit?

A serious question, though. The project car page lists it as disc/disc... I thought they all had disc/drum? Which 4-lug cars came with rear discs?

Oh, and count me as another vote for an ABA turbo. Would be interesting to see.

Matt

Early 2L's (93-94) got discs all around by 96 base models all had drum rears. 95's were hit and miss with the disc rears, 95 sports had them but base models didn't. All VR6 cars had disc rears as well.

Glad you had an uneventful trip back, I look forward to the build

I can't wait to start reading about the build!

Per Schroeder wrote: First step: rust repair second step: suspension work. third step: ?

Turbo diesel swap..seriously, nothing fun is simple, and nothing simple is fun. Its the circle of life.

Turbo diesel swap

+1

Maybe. I was leaning towards pumping up this ABA with aftermarket FI. Diesel is intriguing, but expensive to do right. I'll see how my checkbook is doing when that time comes.

How about individual throttle bodies (sourced from a sportbike) and Megasquirt?

I've read a few articles in British magazines about adapting sportbike throttle bodies to car engines and I think a grassroots conversion with real-world bent would be fun to read about.