[Bandi]

So if my '99 NB TDI and my 14 aircooled Beetles didn't keep me busy enough, this little guy rolled through my dealership on trade.

It's an '01, 2.0 5 speed. I'd really like to eventually do a VR6 swap (Since I got rid of the Bug I was going to do that to) but for now I'll just tidy it up a bit and give it some love.

 

[dnyed]

Accidents happen........ :lol:

 

[Kuplamies]

Nice silver one :thup:


PS. Please could you post some new pics of Zeke...

 

[Bandi]

Gladly He's in storage for the winter, but I took a bunch last summer.

There's a little teaser, and I'll add some to Zeke's thread in the next half hour.

 

[02SilverSport]

Nice and good luck with it.


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[Bandi]

Nice silver one :thup:


PS. Please could you post some new pics of Zeke...

I can't find Zeke's thread ANYWHERE on here... so here are a couple pics I took in the summer.

- New exhaust. I did a muffler delete, and the thing sounds awesome. Engine is a tiny bit louder than before at idle, and is about the same through the driving range- aside from turbo whine

 

[Kuplamies]

Thanks for update! New exhaust look -and I believe, sound- good :thup:

Zeke is my hero My Bug has only 239´000 kms now, but I will follow your trail...


PS. I found this:

http://newbeetle.org/forums/photos-new-beetles/35125-zeke-my-99-beetle-tdi.html

 

[02SilverSport]

Nice look to the tail pipe!


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[Bandi]

LOL-I looked all night for that thread! Thanks for finding it!

And yeah, I'm really happy with the look and sound of the exhaust... the sad thing is, the tip actually came from a '98 Pontiac Grand Prix GT. (Don't tell anyone!) I'd generally never admit to installing part of a North American car onto my VW, but I saw the thing sitting crushed in a pile at the scrapyard, saw that exhaust tip (it had two), and thought 'That'd look alright."

 

[Bandi]

Let the madness begin. I just purchased a 2002 Jetta VR6.

The VR6 will not be staying in the Jetta

 

[OmahaTDI]

Bandi looks great! I like the rear exhaust tip. You had a good eye to know it would look good and it does. Nice work.

I may have asked you before, but what wheels & tires are you running? And what suspension are you running? Bandi's got a sweet stance

 

[Bandi]

Thank you!

The wheels are some Eagle alloys I picked up really cheap on Craigslist.. I think I paid $250 for the set. The suspension is just stock VW struts and shocks, with Eibach Pro-Kit lowering springs. I'd really like a set of VW Longbeach wheels done in gunmetal or a set of BBS RCs, but I'm still happy with the look now.

 

[Bandi]

Well, the old 2.0 has been an awesome little winter beater so far... still planning on a VR6 swap in the spring, however.

I'm definitely getting kinda attached to this one.

Anyhow, the passenger side rocker panel had a bunch of lumps on it, and when I poked a bit, I ended up with a 2 foot hole in the rocker. From what I can tell, the car was in an accident, and a body shop just ground the dented portion of the rocker down to bare metal, and covered it in Bondo... which absorbed about a gallon of water. This thing was ROTTEN! I ordered a new rocker panel from VW and installed it today.

I had to be a bit creative welding it back in, as the spot welds along the upper seam appear to be done while the car is in several pieces (ie, the sides of the car aren't attached to the roof and floorpan), but I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.

 

[PRM502STREET]

Inner&outer... Looks like you did a very nice job. Nice pile of rust on the floor too, by the way. I'm just thankful that I live in Texas, we only see rust like that on 60 year old cars, unless they come from up north! How much did you give for just the outer rocker?
Mine is smashed in pretty good.
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[Bandi]

I'm jealous of that whole "no rust" thing... I have 16 classic Beetles (they love to rust) and the one I'm currently restoring is from California. The weirdest thing happened while I was working on it- all the bolts came out without breaking or removing a 2x2" section of the car with them!

I think the outer rocker was about $80... I bought it a while ago, but it was under $100. The OEM one is covered in a nice weld-through primer which makes the job a lot nicer to do.
The whole job took me about 2 and a half hours, the most tedious part was removing the old parts of the rocker. This car had more rust than any NB I've ever seen, but like I said, it's likely because of the crappy repair done in the past. Even on our salt covered winter roads, NBs (All Mk4 VWs, actually) seem to fare very well.

 

[PRM502STREET]

No rust comes with a price. In 2011 we had over 100 days of temperatures reaching over 100 degrees. We are in the middle of the worst drought in over 50 years right now! But, it's not so bad once you get used to it.

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[Bandi]

I'll take it- I spent a few weeks in LA in '08 where every day was over 100. It was nice!

 

[Bandi]

Painted the rockers today, they turned out nicely. This was my first time using actual automotive painting equipment and not just a spray can

Also did some black vinyl on the rear valance.

And installed amber fog light bulbs- which don't really show in the photo.

She needs a wash... and a name.

 

[PRM502STREET]

Bandito! Made in Mexico.

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[bugsy98nb]

awesome work and Im Jealous 14 aircooleds got any pictures ??