2001 Jetta TDI: A 90hp Diesel Gone Wild...

[nismodrifter]

Heloooooooo all.

The car has changed a bunch over the past couple seasons and I don't think I have posted updated pics in a LONG time.

I will try and do a full 2004 - 2011 "mini-story" over the span of a couple posts highlighting the major changes, posting DOIN WERK pics where possible, and possible DIY's if I have them.

Before doing so I'd like to take a chance to thank a bunch of people who have been invaluable in terms of providing me assistance with technical stuff and providing me with useful advice. This couldn't have been done without yall:
- Bob @ UrbanX -> adapter + tire size guru
- Arif (EK 2.0) -> random advice over the years
- Members of Eurodrivers.ca
- Members on VwVortex.com
- Members of Beyond.ca YO: Support + knowledge = woah. Thanks guys!



Thread is pic intensive so let it load!.

2003 - First Day
Brought this bad boy home. Had 113 000 highway kms on it and was in great shape. The only actual wear on the interior was in the drivers seat. I don't think the previous owner even opened the trunk. Was very happy to find one in this condition. TB change + recent maintenance had just been done, win!

How she looked after a bath:


and finally.....you can see that 4x4 status was in full effect:


This would change very very soon.

2004 - Lets Go Shopping...

Boxing day 2004 was very good for me. Hit up Concept 1 and picked up an FK Hightek Cupkit (35mm front, 40mm rear drop) at a decent price. I then went over to CMS and picked up a set of 19x8 Axis Neos. Also got a set of Audi TT Pedals online.

Awww yeah






Shortly after I picked up some tires from "Altezza": 225/35/19 Falkens. Had them mounted at CMS. They stretched slightly and I got the exact look that I wanted.


Now the waiting game began. It was February 2005 and there were mountains of snow outside. I went nuts waiting for summer to come around.


2005 - Do Werk!

May 2005 I did werk. The snow had finally melted and the rocks were being cleared. I cleaned out the garage and got to work early one morning. Rear suspension took no time to get done. Fronts took some time, alot of swearing, and alot of hammering/kicking. All in a days work I guess .

All said and done when the car was dropped off the jacks I had a huge smile for days. Loved the 19's and the amount it dropped was decent.

Went from 5 fingers to this:

Note this was immediately after install, it settled quite a bit after.

Gave it a wash and wax and it was time to go cruisin:










403 Meet:
Bling BLAO




And the summer Beyond Cruise, thanks Ben!!!!

[nismodrifter]

2006 - V2.0
2005 was great but definitely wanted to change things up a bit for 2006. Stock piling of stuff began over the Xmas holidays as usual.
Changes included:
- OEM GLI Front lip
- Rear valence was sanded down and painted
- Polished downturn exhaust tips
- Smoked headlights GLI style (outer ring only)
- Tinted tails R/S/S/R (ie: Euro GTI Style)
- Fendi wrapped a couple of interior pieces
- 2.0L MAF sensor

The Result:









Taking this pic was an interesting endeavor...knee driving skills to the max while leaning out the passenger window!

[nismodrifter]

2007 & 2008 - Le BBS Time

At the end of 2006 the Axis wheels were sold. A partout was actually considered at this time for a couple of reasons. Thought it would be game over and the car would go back to stock.

Over the Xmas break a set of staggered LM's from a Porsche came up for sale. Eeek. Bought them that day and never regret the decision. Finally had my dream wheels.

Changes for 2007:
- Staggered 18" BBS LM's (Porsche Fitment: 18x8 et50 front, 18x9.5 et55 rear). Was running 235/40's up front...totally melted the hell out of the fenders. 255/35's in the rear also left melted rubber everywhere.
- 25mm H&R wheel adapters (5x130 to 5x100)
- Custom fabricated sideskirts w/plastic welded end caps
- Painted bumper markers black
- White lettering on tires
- Fat downturn tips
- Custom fabricated skidplate
- Programmed "service interval mod" into cluster

Canadian Tire ballin $$$


25mm H&R adapters:


The car remained the same for 2007 and 2008. Some pics from those 2 years:
Aww yeah:


Sittin nicely outside of the rear fender:




Gotta love May snowstorms...


Do work:


Custom skidplate w/fabbed brackets and everything. Run over anything you want and that oilpan will be safe:


Classy lookin...

[nismodrifter]

2009 - Makeover

So the car had stayed exactly the same for 2007 and 2008. Was happy with the way it looked but I wanted to do more. With those wide wheels in the back I knew there was potential for this thing to look bad ass.

I picked up a set of Rieger skirts + Rieger rear valence from a friend on Eurodrivers.ca when he parted out his Jetta. The sides were in great shape but the rear needed some work as you can see here:







Had never worked on ABS pieces before so it was something that took a bunch of researching. Using 3M panel adhesive we were able to fix those cracks. That stuff is crazy strong. The piece was then sanded down and smoothed out using Evercoat. I lost the in progress pics, damn it. The pieces were painted and were ready for install.

I had been wanting to do a mufflerectomy for some time so now was my chance to do so to nicely fill up the Rieger rear. Muffler was cut out, straight pipe welded in, and it leads to some fat dual 3.5" tips coming out the back end.

A Van Aaken tuning box was also installed for some power + smoke gains.

The final product......






Pokin with some fat tips:




2010 - Got kms?
Car hit 255k in 2010. Driven daily year round.

Only change this year was a switch to 225/40/18 Bridgestones on the front, and the white tire lettering was also removed.







My free source of fuel....

[Tik-Tok]

Were you on Deerfoot southbound, around 11:30 last night?

[nismodrifter]

2011 - The Final Chapter.....

The final change: Le tint = Gone. Took me 2 hours, a steam gun, and a razor blade...finally did it.

Thats it. Thats all. This is how it's going to stay.

Very happy with the final product, just going to focus on keepin her clean and enjoying every second driving it for many hundreds of thousands of kms to come.

Once again, thanks to all who have contributed; whether it be giving a helping hand, or answering a question I may have had. Mad props to all of you.

Not many pics from 2011 because I was injured in an accident, here they are:

[ExtremeSi]

Always liked your car. Nice and clean

[darthVWader]

SWEET!!!!!!!!!

[btimbit]

Saw it on vortex and had to find it here.

Love the car

[s dime]

looks great without tint! I've always liked your veedub.

[mowglee]

Looks good!

[ekguy]

Wow that car looks nothing short of amazing.

[Scope951]

Looks great, I remember in 2008 when you came to a wednesday night with the BBS's, had me stunned!

Looks great! would love to drop the rear just a tad to hide the top of the tire but otherwise very tastefully done!

props +1

[TE4MFaint]

so. so. so clean without the tint.
this car is absolutely insanely clean. do not change a thing. drop and stance is perfect.
kudos my friend.

[euro_racer]

I always gave you mad props for this car and always liked it alot...but... I lost a bit of love for it after the Rieger pieces, personal preference i guess

still keeping it clean though, keep it up brah!

[Gibson]

This is a great example of how a car can be cleanly modified and still a daily driver. Looks great, I hope it goes for hundreds of thousands of more kilometers.

[msommers]

The BBS wheels look significantly better than the Axis wheels before. Clean ride man...black is always sexy when it is done right

[nismodrifter]

Originally posted by euro_racer
I always gave you mad props for this car and always liked it alot...but... I lost a bit of love for it after the Rieger pieces, personal preference i guess

still keeping it clean though, keep it up brah!

The decision of changing the whole theme of the car was a big one. One of the major deciding factors was the fact that the Rieger pieces are pretty understated on a black car vs what they would look like on a lighter colored vehicle. I am very very happy with the final outcome.

Thanks everyone for your comments/constructive criticism. Always appreciated.

[TT-fast]

big brake kit, fmic, and seats would make it look badass

[nismodrifter]

LOL at me sayin "thats it, thats all" in the last post. Really thought that would be it. Car recently hit 275k and it keeps on purrin.

Wheels have been in need of a refinish for sometime now.What better time to split wheels and prep for a refinish than Xmas eve!

3rd garage turned into a project zone, heaters setup, luxury milk crate seating:


Doin werk (white box contains new Raxles, will be installing them tomorrow):


Split!


Let the sanding begin!!!!