New DD/Budget Build - Other Cars Forum

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New DD/Budget Build
Thursday, February 20, 2014 8:58 PM
So I ended up finding a deal I couldn't refuse. I found this, a 1998 (MK3) VW Golf GL 5 speed with just over 130k miles. The guy who owned it is a salesman at the VW dealership in State College, PA. He just bought a brand new GTI and a Jeep so this and his MK3 Jetta were no longer needed. He just had new floors put in by the best body shop in State College and other than that, there is not a spot of rust on the car. He just had the clutch, water pump, all the pulleys, and timing belt done within 1500 miles ago at the VW dealership along with new brakes and 2 new tires less than 150 miles ago. He had the carfox to prove this all. He also threw in the stereo he had in it for another hundred dollars that only has about 10 hours of use. It is a Dual head unit(best head unit they make, but still, a Dual. lol.) and a 12" Kicker in a single Kicker box with a 400 watt Kicker amp. He said he paid $500 for it, that probably included the installation, but it still hits really hard, and I didn't have to mess with installing this stereo. The wiring job was excellent too, so win.

Front (it already has the 2 piece lip):



Side:



Rear (with the baby factory spoiler. I love it. haha.):



Interior (The only thing that really isn't nice. The seats are pretty comfortable, but the color of the interior did not hold well with time and there is a few tears here and there. He did have it detailed at the dealership you could tell, but that can only go so far. haha.):



For plans... it will not be intentionally rusted to @!#$. It will not be sticker bombed. It WILL be lowered. On some kind of rim, still deciding on style though. Something with a lip I think though(not with negative camber or stretched tires). Exhaust. CAI. It's slow as f*&^, so I don't know how much HP gains I will be trying to make. I am thinking better breaks and suspension work and maybe try to autox. The aftermarket support for these German cars, I have found, are crazy. So it should be fun!

I already have talked to a guy on vwvortex and may be going to Mary-Land to pick up coilovers this weekend for a good price.




Re: New DD/Budget Build
Monday, February 24, 2014 9:34 PM
Yaaay got some lootz from Mary-land. A guy I met on VWvortex parts out VWs for a living and hooked me up with a few small goodies for an unbelievable price. Sorry for the @!#$y DROID2(yes... 2.) pics. Waiting for an upgrade when my DROID 3 broke like a year ago.. haha.

My glove box hand is broke off (apparently common in MK3s) and is missing the drivers side molding so he brought me these:



This was left over from the ol' SS:



Also left over from the ol' slowbalt, this represents a debadge haha:



And what I am most excited for.... MOAR LOW:



I have a few decisions to make. I am not sure if I want to go with a Jetta front end conversion. I am leaning more towards sticking with the stock front end, but I dunno. My priority now is to check out the spark plugs and change those out if need be, service it(bought a 10 quart catch pan today), rims, and then D&S rotors, ceramic pads, and possibly braided break lines. The brakes suck.

Have a few little things on its way trickling in still. Will update when @!#$ gets done.

Can't wait for a temperature break to get some stuff done!



Re: New DD/Budget Build
Tuesday, February 25, 2014 5:33 AM
Eh, not my favorite car but sounds like it should last for a while. In state college you should be lifting the damn thing not lowering it



"In Oldskool we trust"
Re: New DD/Budget Build
Tuesday, February 25, 2014 7:27 AM
Haha well I actually live in the mountains so whatever reason you think I should lift it, it actually should be lifted more than what you think. BUT that is actually why I went with a coilover setup rather than a 60/40 system like a lot of people like to do on these. It gives me more control of how high and how low I go. As for the car, I have always liked little cars and this car is little, gets great gas mileage, and costs very little to make it look better and get go better. Honestly I have not driven a car quite like it. When you drive it, it feels like the tires are planted and not going anywhere. I enjoy it so far. haha.



Re: New DD/Budget Build
Saturday, March 01, 2014 8:56 PM
Got a few things.

For the tails, front badge, and side markers:



And I think I got a pretty awesome deal on these. I am trying to figure out if they are Konigs or not. They say Vortex Racing on the inner rim, and I have been googling and can't find Vortex Racing rims. Either way they should look nice and should fit perfect.:



I really wish I had a garage so I didn't have to wait for a break from the freezing weather.. haha.



Re: New DD/Budget Build
Monday, March 03, 2014 11:41 AM
I have a garage and STILL have to wait for the weather to break lol



"In Oldskool we trust"
Re: New DD/Budget Build
Monday, March 03, 2014 12:03 PM
Y3llowCav wrote:I have a garage and STILL have to wait for the weather to break lol


Do you have an UN heated garage too? lol if I "have" to work in the cold, I have a POS space heater that probably doesn't even do anything that I put under the car or by engine bay. I fell warmer but it may be me just getting used to it or doing the work that warms me up. But yeah I like working on the car in the summer. Garage door open, nice little breeze, birds chirping... Quality of work is better in summer too, winter time-lets just fix this @!#$ so it works and I can go back inside, summer- lets take the time to do a good job, make everything nice and neat. Usually beer involved in the summer too.... Back in Dec, I had a coolant leak, I brought a open can of pepsi outside after dinner, I didn't time anything but probably 10 min later, went to drink it and it was like a slurpee.


2000 Cavalier Z24 5spd - Intake, Dynomax muffler, Hawk Pads, Powerslot rotors, Sportlines/Koni reds, Neon Coil, MSD 8.5 Wires - **SOLD**
2014 Kia Forte Koup SX 6spd - 1.6L Turbo - My new car
2015 Kia Sorento EX V6 AWD - Wifes Car

Re: New DD/Budget Build
Monday, March 03, 2014 12:45 PM
Couldn't have said it better myself haha



"In Oldskool we trust"
Re: New DD/Budget Build
Monday, March 03, 2014 5:35 PM
Rick wrote:
Y3llowCav wrote:I have a garage and STILL have to wait for the weather to break lol


Do you have an UN heated garage too? lol if I "have" to work in the cold, I have a POS space heater that probably doesn't even do anything that I put under the car or by engine bay. I fell warmer but it may be me just getting used to it or doing the work that warms me up. But yeah I like working on the car in the summer. Garage door open, nice little breeze, birds chirping... Quality of work is better in summer too, winter time-lets just fix this @!#$ so it works and I can go back inside, summer- lets take the time to do a good job, make everything nice and neat. Usually beer involved in the summer too.... Back in Dec, I had a coolant leak, I brought a open can of pepsi outside after dinner, I didn't time anything but probably 10 min later, went to drink it and it was like a slurpee.


Well said. Way back when I got my first set of (@!#$ty) rims for the sunfire it was in the dead of winter and there was a blizzard outside. That house had a garage but no windows and no garage door and I put the rims on so I could drive it to school and then to ski club after. After school, when driving to ski club, the back rim fell off and the sunfire fell onto the drivers side drum going 60 around a pretty sharp turn and the rim flew past my car. It rolled into a tree. Yeah.... that's what happens when you try to work in the cold. hahaha. It was too cold and I didnt tighten the one rim enough because I was getting frost bite on my fingers.



Re: New DD/Budget Build
Monday, March 03, 2014 5:58 PM
Scary stuff, I almost lost a wheel few years ago in my truck, I was mudding with my 38" super swampers and when I got back on the highway, the truck had a bad vibration. But assume there was mud in the wheels and being bais ply tires, they were not the best on the highway anyways.... Got home and noticed only 3 of 6 lug nuts loosely holding the back wheel on and one broken stud. It's not winter related but I didn't use a torque wrench at the time, zipped them up tight with the impact. I am pretty sure I over tighten them and stretched the threads. Now as much of a pain it is sometimes to drag out the torque wrench and set it, I use it every time.


2000 Cavalier Z24 5spd - Intake, Dynomax muffler, Hawk Pads, Powerslot rotors, Sportlines/Koni reds, Neon Coil, MSD 8.5 Wires - **SOLD**
2014 Kia Forte Koup SX 6spd - 1.6L Turbo - My new car
2015 Kia Sorento EX V6 AWD - Wifes Car

Re: New DD/Budget Build
Monday, March 03, 2014 7:22 PM
I didn't own a torque wrench back then and it was when I got my first craftsman mechanics tool set for xmas. hahaha. I now have a torque wrench and spend the money when I can to get things for safety, like jack stands, hydraulic jacks, etc. You live.. and you learn.






Re: New DD/Budget Build
Monday, March 03, 2014 7:39 PM
LOL, I finally got my first pair of jack stands and a new 3 ton low pro jack last Christmas.... I have been using a junky $20 2 1/4 ton jack for that last few years cause my other 3 ton jack is meant for SUVs and Trucks. The new 3 ton jack lifts higher than my old 3 ton jack too so I doubt I'll ever use it again. My old jackstands were using blocks of wood. If I remove a wheel, I always throw it under the car, if anything falls, it will land on the wheel. But yeah the new jack stands are awesome I have no idea why I never bought any before....


2000 Cavalier Z24 5spd - Intake, Dynomax muffler, Hawk Pads, Powerslot rotors, Sportlines/Koni reds, Neon Coil, MSD 8.5 Wires - **SOLD**
2014 Kia Forte Koup SX 6spd - 1.6L Turbo - My new car
2015 Kia Sorento EX V6 AWD - Wifes Car

Re: New DD/Budget Build
Tuesday, March 04, 2014 4:21 PM
I am actually going to be buying a new jack before I work on my car. I looked at the reviews on the Torin's in Wal Mart and decided I am going to check Harbor Freight, or anywhere else other than Torin from Wal Mart. haha..



Re: New DD/Budget Build
Friday, March 21, 2014 4:26 PM
looks like a fun little build. I got the 2 ton low pro jack from harbor freight and love it. I've had it over a year now with no issues.





Re: New DD/Budget Build
Saturday, June 28, 2014 2:49 PM
So I had a yard sale today, and it was gorgeous out so I got some stuff done to my car. Plus I googled some pictures to get my ass motivated last night since the local big car meet started a few weeks ago. I changed the glove box since my old one had a broken handle and could not be used. I also changed my ratty shift boot and shift knob to a MK4. And I went to do a test fitting of my rims, and figured what the hell, might as well put the rest of them on.

Before(other than the hubcaps):



After:





Before:



After:



Before:



After:



So I have found that I have complete hate for VW wheel bolt/nuts. Ugh. She will look 100 times better once I put the coilovers on that I have sitting around. I am just waiting on the extra cash to put into an alignment for after I get them put on. I love the fitment of them though.



Re: New DD/Budget Build
Saturday, June 28, 2014 2:58 PM
GTmatters wrote:So I have found that I have complete hate for VW wheel bolt/nuts.

Horrible. I hope you put never seize on them too. An old guy that used to work in my shop said the Germans lost the war because it takes 3 guys to change a tire on a vw. So true lol.



"In Oldskool we trust"
Re: New DD/Budget Build
Saturday, June 28, 2014 3:19 PM
Like, what were they thinking? I am toasted burnt(yes yes... I'm a red head, but still) because it took so long to put them on. Those rims really are not light either, so luckily I don't way 150 lbs.

Feedback would be appreciated guys!



Re: New DD/Budget Build
Saturday, June 28, 2014 6:43 PM
Y3llowCav wrote:
GTmatters wrote:So I have found that I have complete hate for VW wheel bolt/nuts.

Horrible. I hope you put never seize on them too. An old guy that used to work in my shop said the Germans lost the war because it takes 3 guys to change a tire on a vw. So true lol.


That is why every car comes with an alignment peg.




On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.
Re: New DD/Budget Build
Saturday, June 28, 2014 6:47 PM


They usually come with one of these but plastic. It aligns the rotor and allows you to put the wheel on. Usually they are plastic. Saturns are the same way.




On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.
Re: New DD/Budget Build
Saturday, June 28, 2014 6:49 PM
Or it could just come with studs and not be a giant german pile of sh*t.



"In Oldskool we trust"
Re: New DD/Budget Build
Saturday, June 28, 2014 7:09 PM
Y3llowCav wrote:Or it could just come with studs and not be a giant german pile of sh*t.


Hey hey hey now. I like my little German pile of @!#$.




Re: New DD/Budget Build
Saturday, July 12, 2014 10:55 PM
So is it dropped yet?




Re: New DD/Budget Build
Wednesday, July 16, 2014 1:47 PM
Not yet. I found out someone stole all of my wrenches. Left all of my sockets, but took all of my wrenches and some of the adapters and extenders. Sigh. Sooo.... I need to see if I can use my grandfathers garage or find someone with a garage. It's a bummer. I am probably going to do some of the other things I have to get done to it in the mean time though.



Re: New DD/Budget Build
Monday, July 21, 2014 6:06 AM
I've got a garage in Williamsport with tools

Car looks good btw!



Re: New DD/Budget Build
Sunday, September 28, 2014 10:27 PM
Want to do a VR6 swap in your garage with tools? Lol jk, but I do love the sweet sound of a healthy VR6.

Anyways... So it hasn't been starting in over a month now. I have no idea what the issue is. One day I drove it to work and then back home. 1 hour later I went out to start it and it wouldn't even crank over. All of my lights were on and my base was kicking. I tried to hook it up to my girlfriends Scion and nothing. So I went and got gas even know i knew it has over a quarter of a tank. Put the gas in, it started first turn of the key. After fill it it drove fine for a while until it got back down to 1/4 tank of gas again. I went inside to tell work i was going to be later, 25 mins later went out and it started no problem(without putting gas in it). Anyways, long story short, I'm not sure if the gas is a coincidence or what, but it certainly does seem to start after I put gas in it. It has 3/4 of a tank right now, not even turning over. It may have started since then with or without putting gas in it, but i'm not sure because I have been super.. super busy being an adult and a dad and all that happy @!#$. Any ideas fellas?



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