[kkreit01]

Wow -- good job. It looks like you got your hands dirty :yes:

 

[Ajax]

ROCK THE MKIII! :thumb:
How much are you looking at spending on wheels, btw? I'd go 17, maybe 18 if I was feeling crazy. Maybe some '04 MKIV GLI wheels, because those are sick, and they'd look great on the III.

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. After going through lots of pics of Mk III Jetta on CarDomain I'm definitely going to go with 17s, they're the Goldilocks "not too big, not too small, just right" size in my opinion. At some point in the Mk. IV bodystyle, they changed the wheel bolt pattern from 5x100 to 5x113 but I'm not sure when. So far I'm still on the fence about wheels, I've even started looking at black rims since my car has a good deal of black trim. Haven't quite got to that point yet though.
----------------------------------------------
Besides the mods listed a couple posts back, I received the PCV valve delete (it was broken) and also modified my airbox according to a popular VW forum, cutting a large hole in the intake box on the fender side is supposedly better than an aftermarket cold air. My buddy ordered me a K&N filter for it as a gift! We managed to get everything installed and were adding oil and coolant when we noticed the thermostat housing leaking, not where we took it off the block but where you take it apart to install a thermostat. It must have been leaking when I got it. So that put us back a day, taking it off, disassembling and resealing it and letting it cure. On Thursday we got it all back together, added a few gallons of fresh premium gas, put the jumper cables on it and started it up. After a quick serpentine belt adjustment we let it idle, it was pretty noisy and was blowing a good deal of white smoke :worry: No other leaks, nothing else seemed wrong with it so we took it for a little test drive in the neighborhood. Damn it has some power, spins pretty easy (I kinda forgot the roads were damp too) but it ran very smoothly. The intake sounds great too! When we got back to my house, the smoke was almost completely gone and the motor was running alot quieter- I'm assuming it just needed a little bit of time to clean itself out and settle in. We changed the oil and coolant again (the first batch was just to clean everything out since it had mixed the oil and water) and it's full of Peak antifreeze and Castrol full synthetic now. Did a test run to the store, everything went fine, though it did pop a CEL so I'll check that today. I must say, I'm quite proud of myself!

 

[Ajax]

Here's the airbox mod, I removed the normal intake tube that ran from the right fender to the box, then cut out about a quarter of the lower half of the intake.

And here's the new "brain" for my baby, the triple stack of chips from Black Forest Industries:

This allowed me to eliminate the SAI (smog pump), which actually costs more to fix than this chip did. It also advances the timing and takes advantage of the higher profile cams I installed and smooths out the throttle response. Unlike the Escapes, the memory is not rewritable in the car so you have to physically change the chip instead of flashing it. The old chip was the size of the top green chip.

 

[jonas1022]

Good Job Ajax!

I'm glad you got your "little monster" running! :cigar:

 

[Ajax]

Here's the final motor picture. I installed a new K&N filter and Silverstar headlights (the ones I removed were mismatched brands lol).

 

[stone]

Congratulations on your, accomplished objective Ajax!. :thumb: :clap:

 

[US MARINER 1]

It looks like a great project car. Good Luck!

 

[Ajax]

Thanks!

I've run into a major oil leak (and a minor coolant leak) so it's off the road for a little bit til I figure it out. I'll probebly have to pull the intake manifold (you can see how big it is in the previous pictures).

Here's some pics I took a week or so ago, nothing special, just out for a drive.

I started working on the stereo! I picked up a Kenwood KDC-HD942 CD player from Crutchfield (already installed), a Pioneer amp off eBay and a friend is going to give me a 12" sub in a box. The car came with 2 sets of aftermarket Infinity speakers put in by the previous owner, so far I'm not all that impressed but I'll wait until the whole system is done to see if they'll cut it. When I get it all hooked up I'll take some more pics. :thumb:

Still looking for rims.... P

 

[stone]

Thanks!

I've run into a major oil leak (and a minor coolant leak) so it's off the road for a little bit til I figure it out. I'll probebly have to pull the intake manifold (you can see how big it is in the previous pictures).

Here's some pics I took a week or so ago, nothing special, just out for a drive.

I started working on the stereo! I picked up a Kenwood KDC-HD942 CD player from Crutchfield (already installed), a Pioneer amp off eBay and a friend is going to give me a 12" sub in a box. The car came with 2 sets of aftermarket Infinity speakers put in by the previous owner, so far I'm not all that impressed but I'll wait until the whole system is done to see if they'll cut it. When I get it all hooked up I'll take some more pics. :thumb:

Still looking for rims.... P

Nice photos!. :thumb:

 

[Ajax]

I've run into a major oil leak (and a minor coolant leak) so it's off the road for a little bit til I figure it out. I'll probebly have to pull the intake manifold (you can see how big it is in the previous pictures)......... Still looking for rims.... P

Well the oil leak was the external oil cooler, I pulled that, cleaned it up and reinstalled with 2 new o-rings. The coolant leak was the "crack pipe", a cheap plastic coolant tube that breaks alot. I installed a new aluminum one but broke one of the rubber lines that go from it to the oil cooler so had to replace that too. But it's all together now and leak free. Now I have a (possibly bad) oil pressure sensor to replace, I need to do a little more research into it...

I've been working on the upgrades. I finally ordered some rims online, they are on their way. I installed a new CD player, and I have an amp and just need a subwoofer to finish the sound system off. Pics will be coming when I get more put together. :thumb:

 

[weebee]

Nice. I had a Beetle when I was in the Army in Germany. I would like to get another Vdub someday. :thumb:

 

[jonas1022]

Please tell me your not doing the stupid "PunchDub" thing...

 

[RobtRoma]

PUNCH BUGGY!!!! :yahoo:

 

[Ajax]

If it's not a Beetle (old or new), I won't swing. PunchDub is marketing gone too far.....

 

[jonas1022]

Can I have an Amen to that?

A-M-E-N!!!!

 

[Ajax]

Here's a couple pics, I haven't been working on it much lately but I did get the new rims and tires installed, what a difference it makes in looks! Bumps are kinda harsh with 40-series tires though lol I need to get a wiring kit and I'm ready to do the full stereo install. It still needs a retint of the windows as well as some suspension work (shocks/struts and new inner tie rods and maybe lowering springs). Here's the new rims:

 

[stone]

Looks quite presentable that " VW Jetta ". :thumb:
Thanks for the photos Eric.

 

[Ajax]

An update to the Jetta:

She blew her coil pack a couple months ago, I found out later it was a cheap no-name brand one. I tried to replace it with another cheap one and it would blow it if I gave her anything more than half throttle. Three coil packs later the company agreed to take back the crappy one and I paid double to get a good German one (the VW ones aren't very good either). Problem solved!

I also did some exhaust work, I think the cat was getting plugged so I had that, the resonator and one of two mufflers deleted. It's throaty but a bit buzzy, I need to get a resonator put back on then add some tips to the (remaining) factory muffler. That will finish my powertrain mods I think, intake to exhaust.

I had some trouble tuning the Kenwood head unit once the amp and sub were installed, it's overly complicated but several phone calls to various service departments finally got it together. I've got a 12" Kicker run by a 300 watt Pioneer amp, it sounds pretty good. I need to bolt the sub and amp down then take some pics. Next up, some suspension work: new inner tie rods, then shocks and struts all around, maybe springs.....

 

[US MARINER 1]

It's a really sharp looking car. Real clean! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Ajax]

Here's the latest pics. Exhaust is done, new resonator installed, new tips added. They're slightly staggered to follow the contours of the bumper.

I already changed the tie rods, steering feels alot better now. Still have to retint the windows, maybe with the tax returns. And another window regulator went out! :wacko: VW did a terrible job designing these, I've replaced 3 out of 4.