by "Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
Published 02/08/2017 at 09:58
by "Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
Published 02/08/2017 at 09:58
Tags: smyth ute
; vw
; volkswagen
; jetta
STARS: 10
It’s no secret that I’m in love with the Smyth Ute . After getting the opportunity to drive one at a rallycross , I was convinced that someday I need one of these in my life. “Someday” will now be sooner rather than later. A few weeks ago I found a rough but solid 2003 VW Jetta 1.8T Wolfsburg Edition for sale on Craigslist at a price so low, even my wife told me to go buy it. Now it’s ours.
Read on Right Foot Down or continue below
But it almost wasn’t. Overall, from the ad and the pictures, it looked like a well used but still decent car. It had a couple of issues, which the seller described honestly in his ad. I researched the procedure for replacing the blower motor, and unlike some other cars it’s extremely easy, nestled right behind the glove box. Both are easy to remove. It has some dents on the right side, but the front fender can be repaired or replaced for cheap, and the rear quarter panel damage will be covered by the fiberglass body panel of the Smyth Ute kit, so who cares? It also had my preferred engine – the 1.8T. The lowly 2.0 was for the bargain basement commuter cars. The VR6 is nice, and sounds awesome with an intake. But the 1.8T makes around the same power and weighs much less than the big six cylinder lump. In the past, the Wolfsburg Edition denoted that the car had actually been built in Germany, not Mexico like most American VWs, and simply had a higher standard of quality. That was no longer the case by the time the Mk4 came around. But despite being “hecho en Mexico,” the Wolfsburg Edition is a very nice trim level. It’s not a top of the line GLI, so no leather seats or super sporty options. But it has power everything, like the ad says, and though the seats are cloth, they’re heated from the factory. No aftermarket kit necessary here. So after doing some rapid research, I drove straight down to look at the car myself.
The car was pretty much as represented in the ad. I got a good vibe from the seller, who was honest about both the good and bad parts of the car. He told me that the HVAC problem wasn’t actually the blower motor, but the control module/resistor. That’s even cheaper and easier to replace. In fact I’d already gotten Michael Gallant of Smyth Performance ’s input on this car. He said it was a great donor, and he could hook me up with a good part from one of their donor cars. Both side mirrors were damaged – the passenger side had cracked glass, and the driver’s side was held together with duct tape. The tires were fair. There was a large crack in the top of the rear bumper plastic, indicating it had been rear ended. Again, not a big deal – this will be replaced with parts from the Ute kit, and the damage didn’t seem bad enough to bend the rest of the car. The check engine light was on (of course – it’s a VW), but it ran and drove great. The shifter was pretty vague, but that’s just bushings. But we couldn’t get the car into reverse. The seller assured me that it was simply a worn bushing, a $20 part that he’d replace for me.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
It seemed to be a great deal. Any car that works this well is a steal for $600. But I had to see it back up under its own power before I would buy it. Too many cars on Craigslist seem like great deals, but have a blown reverse gear in the transmission. I can handle the minor issues of this car, but I didn’t want to have a transmission replacement on my hands. I’ve already had one project get too big for me to handle, my Jeep Comanche from last year. I couldn’t get it into reverse, and neither could the seller. I was about ready to walk away from it, when a miracle occurred and it backed up three feet. That’s all I needed – the transmission was good, and I agreed to buy the car.
Upon closer inspection, some of the bodywork around the rear bumper seems to have bent a little bit. In addition, the trunk lid is having trouble closing. It’s heavy enough to stay shut under its own weight, so I’ll probably let this issue slide since everything in this picture will be coming out of the car anyway.
The seller had been unable to replace the shifter bushing as promised due to a sudden death in his family. No harm, no foul. But I actually had no problem getting the car into reverse when we picked it up. Shifting became a little more vague as the engine warmed up, but even when I got home I could find reverse. These shifters need to be finessed, not manhandled. I did a little research online, and found this video from DieselGeek.com about adjusting the shifter cables.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
I performed this procedure on the Jetta, and added a little grease to all of the linkages for good measure. It helped significantly, and best of all it cost nothing. One of my concerns is that this will be the car that my wife learns to drive stick on, since my BRZ’s shifter causes her pain. I want her to have as easy a time as possible on the Jetta, and that means being able to find the gears. One of the bushings looks pretty new, but I may replace the rest at some point to see if that helps some more.
Using DashCommand , I read the trouble codes from the ECU. They were misfires of various types, a “cooling system performance” error, and “Idle Air Control System RPM Higher Than Expected.” After recording this info I reset the codes. We’ll see if any come back.
Read on Right Foot Down or continue below
Jeremy Clarkson has often said that you’re not a true car enthusiast until you’ve owned an Alfa Romeo. That’s a difficult thing to do here in the US, but I might say the same thing about Volkswagen. They’ve had a huge following ever since the original Beetle came to our shores, and cars like the GTI, Golf R , Jetta GLI, and others have been true enthusiast cars. Of course these days VW has a giant black cloud of Dieselgate smoke hanging over their heads, but that doesn’t make these cars any less great. Though I grew up in the back seat of a 1974 Super Beetle in Torchinsky Yellow, I’ve never owned a VW – until now. It’s time for me to experience a whole new enthusiast community. This is also the first turbo car I’ve ever owned. Our Ford Flex “SHO Wagon” belongs to my wife. Though really, the Jetta, and especially the Ute conversion, will be a family affair. My wife has no problem getting her hands dirty. I’m sure even the kids will get involved.
It’ll be a while before the Smyth Ute conversion actually happens. For one thing, it’s winter, and here in New England that means it’s cold. I love my readers, but I’m not going to freeze my ass off for you, so the conversion won’t begin until spring at the earliest. Besides, I also want to work all of the bugs out of the donor car and have it in good legal running condition before making a Ute out of it. But I have already come up with a name for this project. Though the natural comparison is to the Chevy El Camino, the “El Jettamino” name has already been thrown around a lot. But Ford had their own car/truck offering – the Ranchero. And, the Smyth kit includes a number of Ford truck parts, such as the rear lights and tailgate. So I think “Ranchetta” is a more fitting name for this beast once it undergoes the conversion. Until then, it’ll pretty much be known as that beat up old Jetta in my driveway.
(Follow our progress in greater detail on Right Foot Down ! I’ll continue to post updates to Oppo as well.)
"Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap" (ddadragon)
02/08/2017 at 10:09, STARS: 2
Oh this is going to be fun to watch.
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
02/08/2017 at 10:12, STARS: 1
nice! Some day I will do one of these so I’ll be watching this closely.
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
02/08/2017 at 10:16, STARS: 1
p.s. El Jettino works...plus stays with the car’s heritage! Or El Jettano! I want one of these!
"The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock" (jukesjukesjukes)
02/08/2017 at 10:18, STARS: 1
How much longer until it will be stanced?
"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
02/08/2017 at 10:22, STARS: 0
I’ve already spent a fair bit of time watching build videos on YouTube detailing the process. I’ve become friends with one of the engineers at Smyth (they’re local to me - I’ll be picking up my kit at the factory and not paying shipping, which will be a fun story in itself), but I plan to do the work myself, not “cheat” and have one of the guys who designed the thing build it for/with me. That’s not saying I can’t ask his advice if I run into trouble, though.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
02/08/2017 at 10:23, STARS: 2
As a ute and VW diesel aficionado,
I have also been looking at manky and damaged Jettas lately regarding interest in building a 924 turbodiesel. Because clearly three project cars aren’t enough... I’D AT LEAST LIKE TO DO THE PLANNING OKAY
"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
02/08/2017 at 10:23, STARS: 1
Ha! You’re funny. :) If anything, I’m thinking a lift kit and bigger tires in keeping with its new image.
"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
02/08/2017 at 10:25, STARS: 0
Oh, I’ve been planning this one for a while. I’m amazed to be getting started this early, actually. The right car just happened to fall into our laps at the right time.
I definitely would’ve rocked a TDI, but they’re quite a bit more expensive around here than gas powered models, even the VR6.
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
02/08/2017 at 10:28, STARS: 2
You should put some Brat style rear seats into it.
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
02/08/2017 at 10:31, STARS: 1
I’ve done enough work on cars in my life and have worked in the auto body industry that the building of one is less important to me than the having one...it’s just the cheapest way to get it. I’ve watched build videos and it looks fairly straight forward, but still requires some basic skills. I wouldn’t throw this project on someone with little to no experience with wrenching.
"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
02/08/2017 at 10:35, STARS: 0
You’re not the first to suggest that...
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
02/08/2017 at 10:44, STARS: 0
Throw in some old racing buckets and harnesses and away you go.
"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
02/08/2017 at 10:50, STARS: 0
I’ll already have seat belts from the back seat I’ll remove!
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
02/08/2017 at 10:58, STARS: 1
That’s the spirit!
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
02/08/2017 at 11:24, STARS: 1
As far as “Wolfsburg Edition” goes, check the VIN tag. My sister bought a 2010 Golf thinking it was a Mexican car, but the first 3 characters in the tag were WVW. Mexican cars were 3VW.
"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
02/08/2017 at 11:33, STARS: 1
Interesting - I’ll do that! I’ve already seen interior pieces with “Made in Mexico” stamped on them, but that doesn’t mean the whole car was assembled there.
"LOREM IPSUM" (lorem---ipsum)
02/08/2017 at 13:26, STARS: 0
If you want a front wheel drive pickup, wouldn’t it be cheaper, easier, and cooler to just find a Dodge Rampage?
"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
02/08/2017 at 13:29, STARS: 0
Those are cool, I agree. But in the northeast all of these have either broken or rusted away years ago. Besides, part of the fun is building the thing and creating something unusual with my own two hands. (Or four or more when I need help holding or moving certain large parts in position...)
"Frank Grimes" (FrankGrimes)
02/08/2017 at 15:22, STARS: 0
I like these jetta ute things. Except for the inside of the bed. What is with all those sharp angles? it looks terrible like it was designed to haul dried corn or something. I would love to build one of my own but would definitely find some normal wheel housings or donor bed to put in there to make it look at least normal looking.
"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54)
02/08/2017 at 15:28, STARS: 0
The bed is actually the structural component that keeps the Jetta as solid as it was when it was a sedan. But the wheel arches are a separate piece that don’t contribute to that - they just cover up the stock floor and strut towers. I’m guessing that their shop is equipped to cut and bend aluminum, but not curve it (pure speculation - I know their aluminum engineer and I plan to visit their shop, but I haven’t yet). If you’d prefer something round you could probably use the Smyth kit and fabricate wheel arches of your own if you have the skills.
"Frank Grimes" (FrankGrimes)
02/08/2017 at 15:36, STARS: 1
Thats the route I would take. I knew there was some weirdish structure that had to be worked around but I would definitely try to make at least radii on the corners of the panels to make if look factory and probably weld them in place with access doors or covers to the strut tops.
or just find a cast off dented up bed and cut out the interior and weld the panels in place. the kit panels look like such an eye sore and was the first thing I noticed wierd about this kit when reading about them first.
"LOREM IPSUM" (lorem---ipsum)
02/08/2017 at 17:22, STARS: 1
Just bustin’ stones. I look forward to seeing your build progress.