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Since MIVE is back I guess I will create another build thread (this first post might be long). My last thread was on my 95 Honda Civic track car. Well as time changes people change so I decided to walk away from tracking temporarily to assess my personal situation. With that move I parted ways with the Civic in December getting around my asking price for it. Being the car guy that I am I put my attention on my daily driver, my 2014 Touareg.
I been using the Touareg to tow the civic to track and it has been a trooper (even with the VR6 motor). Before I sold the Civic, I purchased a trailer so that I could stop renting Uhauls and dealing with the sometimes-inconvenient workers at those facilities. Thankfully the Touareg already had the wiring for a trailer brake, I just needed to make a harness and install a brake controller. Also note I installed R-line pedal covers.
Tucks nicely out of the way and still visible/accessible while driving.
During my last track/gridlife event I manage to get a small tear in my rear seat from carrying tools and parts. Instead of repairing the tear (this will eventually happen) I opted for a rear cover. VW had a factory option which still allow the seat belts to work. I don't have a lot of passengers to worry about either though.
I picked up a new set of tires before the snow came in fall of 19 and went with 265/06-18 Falken Wildpeaks. This gave me an AT tire without needed to lift or worry about rubbing. The increase size does impact the MPG slightly and throws off the speedo a hair. But they look good on the vehicle.
I looked for an R-line front bumper since it had an added lip that was a bit more aggressive however I could not find one reasonably close or reasonably priced. Most were out of the country and would need to be painted which put the price far off from what I was willing to pay. In my searched I stumbled on a factory lip option (not for U.S. models) that fit the Touareg. There was even knock-off version on eBay (for 2015 and up which have a slightly different facia) which I thought about fitting. Ultimately, I decided factory would fit best and called my local dealer to see if they could get one. Lucky they found one in Canada and had it to me in 2 days. Still pricey for just a lip (skid plate is what they technically cay it, but it's ABS plastic so go figure) but it should change the looks slightly. It's also 4 pieces and the eBay knock off is one molded piece with some weird brackets.
Installed Spring 2020, also put on factory splash guards due to the tread on the tires.
Sums up the Touareg for now, may get some more "overland" stuff for it. After I sold the Civic, I did not want another car. Well I did but could get what I really wanted at the time. And like everything I got a wild hair up my ass after browsing social media and thought I wanted another MK4. With no intention of buying I went on craigslist to see what was out there and came across a 2002 Golf 4-door, 2.0 Auto with bad transmission (ran) for under $800.00. So, I grabbed cash, hooked up the trailer and went to look at it. It was rough around the edges but I decided to buy it and fix it up.
This is a month after selling the Civic so Jan 2020.
Original plan was to fix the auto (didn't shift right and at first glance had some badly fix wires and possible crap TCU) throw some cheap coils on it. Find cheap wheels (all on eBay) slam the crap out of it and just enjoy having a low car. After doing some reading and closer inspecting I decided trying to fix the auto wasn't worth it and planned to do a manual swap.
I found a car at the local pick and pull that was a 2.0 manual so I went to work grabbing what I could. Shifter, Trans w/axles, clutch and brake pedals, subframe, coolant pipes, ECU and gauge cluster.
The car had been sitting longer than I was told and it had a few more issues also, but I was all in on getting this running. I pulled out the auto trans, subframe and whole front suspension with the intention of replacing all the bushing and the wheel bearings. I also replaced the motor mounts and purchased the flywheel and clutch. Most of the parts come from rockauto.com and I am going on the cheaper side of things as this is never intended to be anything but a daily driver.
Clearing space for new stuff. I put on a new master clutch cylinder and install the brake and clutch pedal (swapping the brake pedal was a complete pain in the ass). Remaining front end came off as I discovered a leak in the radiator so it needs replacing.
Installed the flywheel and clutch.
Got the new rad and coolant ball.
Installed the transmission and motor mounts (nothing is 100% torqued just in case it needs to come off).
Just got the new timing belt and water pump in today, and worked on the wiring to accept the clutch pedal switches......but as life would have it my attention on this car has been greatly impacted.
I made a few posts on Instagram about the Golf and received a message on a car that I thought about purchasing, just did not really have the means to do so. So, a quick back and forth and I once again grabbed some cash hooked up the trailer and ventured out to Alabama the weekend right before more state governments started shutting down.
Welcome back to MI Trrrunk...
Ever since Mike made mention of selling it, I always wanted to buy it back, just never in the position too. Not much of a position these days either given the circumstance...but follow your dreams right. Nothing major will happen with the car since it has been built by Mike but it will receive some maintenance and finalizing of things like the interior (car is sans headliner and aluminum trim) and other bits. No shaved bay this time or air ride (even though I think about it). I want to just enjoy the car and drive it often in the summer, so problem free is what I want.
The first thing I did was strip the wheels. The green was just too bright for me and I like silvers wheels on 95% of cars. Still some remnants of green but over time I will get it all. (Pro tip: Brake cleaner works wonders on removing stubborn platidip.
Next was the engine bay. As I said no shaved bay so I want to get as many stock pieces in as I can. So, I redid the holes to the battery tray to mount the cover better and to give relief to the coolant hose as the battery was right against it.
Rivnuts in. And a quick bracket for the FCM.
And I moved the coolant ball mount up and inch and added another bracket for stability.
Aftermath of both adjustments. The battery box was trimmed to fit, but from above it's hard to tell.
I installed the cupra lip Mike provided.
I put in the washer reservoir also. This one is leaky so it will need to be replaced.
The car was losing brake fluid and I was able to track the leak down to the clutch master cylinder. So, I ordered another one and some other pieces as well.
A black washer cap and he 5/16 aluminum tube was used to make an evap hardline to better fit the reservoir.
Clutch master was installed and bled (which sucked doing)
Billet hood pull for some bling.
ECS then had a sale on the engine cover (or one part of it) so I got that.
So, there we are...wheel spacer came this week for the Jetta and will go in and I will continue getting the Golf swapped and running. Once done though it will be given to my oldest daughter. Bushing are pressed in and it will get new wheel bearing and exhaust, but it will remain factory height and no cool wheels. As for the Jetta,
some coilovers at some point and change the color. Not sure how, I would like to paint it but that costs to have it done right. Vinyl wrap and Plastidip are a lower cost option so we will see. Still piecing the interior together and getting the engine bay back to as stock. So, more work to come....sorry about the lengthy post and word spacing.
I been using the Touareg to tow the civic to track and it has been a trooper (even with the VR6 motor). Before I sold the Civic, I purchased a trailer so that I could stop renting Uhauls and dealing with the sometimes-inconvenient workers at those facilities. Thankfully the Touareg already had the wiring for a trailer brake, I just needed to make a harness and install a brake controller. Also note I installed R-line pedal covers.
Tucks nicely out of the way and still visible/accessible while driving.
During my last track/gridlife event I manage to get a small tear in my rear seat from carrying tools and parts. Instead of repairing the tear (this will eventually happen) I opted for a rear cover. VW had a factory option which still allow the seat belts to work. I don't have a lot of passengers to worry about either though.
I picked up a new set of tires before the snow came in fall of 19 and went with 265/06-18 Falken Wildpeaks. This gave me an AT tire without needed to lift or worry about rubbing. The increase size does impact the MPG slightly and throws off the speedo a hair. But they look good on the vehicle.
I looked for an R-line front bumper since it had an added lip that was a bit more aggressive however I could not find one reasonably close or reasonably priced. Most were out of the country and would need to be painted which put the price far off from what I was willing to pay. In my searched I stumbled on a factory lip option (not for U.S. models) that fit the Touareg. There was even knock-off version on eBay (for 2015 and up which have a slightly different facia) which I thought about fitting. Ultimately, I decided factory would fit best and called my local dealer to see if they could get one. Lucky they found one in Canada and had it to me in 2 days. Still pricey for just a lip (skid plate is what they technically cay it, but it's ABS plastic so go figure) but it should change the looks slightly. It's also 4 pieces and the eBay knock off is one molded piece with some weird brackets.
Installed Spring 2020, also put on factory splash guards due to the tread on the tires.
Sums up the Touareg for now, may get some more "overland" stuff for it. After I sold the Civic, I did not want another car. Well I did but could get what I really wanted at the time. And like everything I got a wild hair up my ass after browsing social media and thought I wanted another MK4. With no intention of buying I went on craigslist to see what was out there and came across a 2002 Golf 4-door, 2.0 Auto with bad transmission (ran) for under $800.00. So, I grabbed cash, hooked up the trailer and went to look at it. It was rough around the edges but I decided to buy it and fix it up.
This is a month after selling the Civic so Jan 2020.
Original plan was to fix the auto (didn't shift right and at first glance had some badly fix wires and possible crap TCU) throw some cheap coils on it. Find cheap wheels (all on eBay) slam the crap out of it and just enjoy having a low car. After doing some reading and closer inspecting I decided trying to fix the auto wasn't worth it and planned to do a manual swap.
I found a car at the local pick and pull that was a 2.0 manual so I went to work grabbing what I could. Shifter, Trans w/axles, clutch and brake pedals, subframe, coolant pipes, ECU and gauge cluster.
The car had been sitting longer than I was told and it had a few more issues also, but I was all in on getting this running. I pulled out the auto trans, subframe and whole front suspension with the intention of replacing all the bushing and the wheel bearings. I also replaced the motor mounts and purchased the flywheel and clutch. Most of the parts come from rockauto.com and I am going on the cheaper side of things as this is never intended to be anything but a daily driver.
Clearing space for new stuff. I put on a new master clutch cylinder and install the brake and clutch pedal (swapping the brake pedal was a complete pain in the ass). Remaining front end came off as I discovered a leak in the radiator so it needs replacing.
Installed the flywheel and clutch.
Got the new rad and coolant ball.
Installed the transmission and motor mounts (nothing is 100% torqued just in case it needs to come off).
Just got the new timing belt and water pump in today, and worked on the wiring to accept the clutch pedal switches......but as life would have it my attention on this car has been greatly impacted.
I made a few posts on Instagram about the Golf and received a message on a car that I thought about purchasing, just did not really have the means to do so. So, a quick back and forth and I once again grabbed some cash hooked up the trailer and ventured out to Alabama the weekend right before more state governments started shutting down.
Welcome back to MI Trrrunk...
Ever since Mike made mention of selling it, I always wanted to buy it back, just never in the position too. Not much of a position these days either given the circumstance...but follow your dreams right. Nothing major will happen with the car since it has been built by Mike but it will receive some maintenance and finalizing of things like the interior (car is sans headliner and aluminum trim) and other bits. No shaved bay this time or air ride (even though I think about it). I want to just enjoy the car and drive it often in the summer, so problem free is what I want.
The first thing I did was strip the wheels. The green was just too bright for me and I like silvers wheels on 95% of cars. Still some remnants of green but over time I will get it all. (Pro tip: Brake cleaner works wonders on removing stubborn platidip.
Next was the engine bay. As I said no shaved bay so I want to get as many stock pieces in as I can. So, I redid the holes to the battery tray to mount the cover better and to give relief to the coolant hose as the battery was right against it.
Rivnuts in. And a quick bracket for the FCM.
And I moved the coolant ball mount up and inch and added another bracket for stability.
Aftermath of both adjustments. The battery box was trimmed to fit, but from above it's hard to tell.
I installed the cupra lip Mike provided.
I put in the washer reservoir also. This one is leaky so it will need to be replaced.
The car was losing brake fluid and I was able to track the leak down to the clutch master cylinder. So, I ordered another one and some other pieces as well.
A black washer cap and he 5/16 aluminum tube was used to make an evap hardline to better fit the reservoir.
Clutch master was installed and bled (which sucked doing)
Billet hood pull for some bling.
ECS then had a sale on the engine cover (or one part of it) so I got that.
So, there we are...wheel spacer came this week for the Jetta and will go in and I will continue getting the Golf swapped and running. Once done though it will be given to my oldest daughter. Bushing are pressed in and it will get new wheel bearing and exhaust, but it will remain factory height and no cool wheels. As for the Jetta,
some coilovers at some point and change the color. Not sure how, I would like to paint it but that costs to have it done right. Vinyl wrap and Plastidip are a lower cost option so we will see. Still piecing the interior together and getting the engine bay back to as stock. So, more work to come....sorry about the lengthy post and word spacing.
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