4 struts, 17 inches, 2 switches: MKIII Jetta

I’ll admit it, when I first received a link to this thread, I thought “oh no, I can’t feature a car whose main purpose is to get as low as possible, the fans will destroy me in the comments!”, but then I dug a little deeper. As build thread aficionados, I think we all agree that the journey is more important than the destination, and this car takes one hell of a journey, regardless of it’s intended purpose. Among the many modifications, the owner/builder installs a front subframe into the rear of the car to achieve his ride height goals, and then custom fabricates a set of hydraulically controlled adjustable spring perches for his coilovers. There’s also plenty of milling, lathing, welding, general fabrication, bodywork, spray painting, lots of tool porn (I hope you like hammers!), and plenty of high quality details, like the ARP bolts being used for engine accessories. I mean, the guy even hammers out his own damn shoe-horn from a piece of 16ga stainless steel! Once the suspension is finalised, the car is torn down and it’s rebuild is currently in progress. This build has held my attention on-and-off for over a week now, and I’ve loved every page of it, plus the name of his blog is Wrinkle Red, and we all know I’m a fan of wrinkle red paint!

Submitted by one of the owners friends who wishes to remain anonymous. Click here for more MKIII builds.

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MKIII & MKIV coupes

I’ve seen pictures of a few of these coupe creations before, I think they look great and I love the initiative people take to build something that VW didn’t offer. John emailed me two builds that he has personally worked on, a MKIII and a MKIV. Basically what happens is you take a Jetta/Vento/Bora sedan, use the longer doors from a 2-door Golf hatch, move the b-pillar backwards to suit the new doors, then fill in the gap between the door and the rear quarter panel. Yeah, I made it sound really easy, didn’t I? Hit the build threads after the jump to see the work involved.

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RWD MKII Jetta

Mid-engine RWD MKII Volkswagen, sounds familiar, doesn’t it? That’s because a very similar project was featured here over a year ago [click here]. While this one definitely shares some similarities, one point of difference is that it’s a Jetta, not a Golf. You have to give these guys props for ripping out entire floor-pans and changing the drive layout of a car in their garage. I’ve also got my eye on a MKI Golf being converted to V8 RWD, so keep your eye out for that one. The VW scene sure knows how to keep bringing the goods.

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Re-inventing the wheel

Remember the remote-mount turbo MKIII Jetta build?  Well the owner is taking the customisation game to a whole new level by scratch-building his own set of one-off wheel centers. Thanks to Ray from RAW WORKS for reminding me about this one.

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Another USA Roadtrip

Following on from the Rusty Road-Trip post, here we have another guy trekking his car across the US of A. Thanks to Matt for sending this link my way.

All these road trip posts are making me want to plan my own highway escapade. Except I don’t think I could be bothered doing it in a modified car putting up with low ground clearance and dodging pot-holes, I’d prefer to hire a mini-bus and grab a few close friends to drive up the east coast of Australia, hitting up all the beaches in summer. But back to the topic, there’s just something nice about a guy and his car going on a long drive, seeing the sites and spending some real quality time behind the wheel. For some people, the height of their car ownership is taking it to the race track, hitting up their favourite windy roads, cruising around their local city, or parking at an outdoor show. For others, a long and well-planned road trip is what really appeals to them, as it gives you ample time to slow your thoughts, think clearly, really get to know your car, and see parts of your country that you’ve never seen before.

On with the show…

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Mk3 VW Golf – Roxy

The VW scene is one i truly admire. The haters can hate all they want, but I’m always browsing v-dub sites for inspiration and ideas. People who modify VW’s tend to try new things first without caring what other people think, and they also strive to be different and think outside the square. I see their culture as being closer to hot-rodding then “tuning” (hate that word), as their rides have a real emphasis on character.

One such ride is Roxy the Mk3 Golf, a themed build with a vintage racing/bobber Harley feel, the real highlights are in the details. Check out the seats, custom fuel-cell, hinged in-dash gauge pods, hand-made badge, vintage cloth wrapped spark leads, etc etc.

Roxy is built by jkrate, graphic designers from Virginia. Graphic Designers make the best car builders, and I’m not saying that just because I am one, but because I know that they see their car as a complete composition, not just a bunch of parts thrown together. I love builds like this, and I can honestly say it has inspired me.

Thanks to Ray for the heads-up on this one.

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