"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa)
10/12/2020 at 21:30 • Filed to: None | 1 | 25 |
Back in February, I picked up a low mile, rust free (mostly) 1995 Jetta. Similar spec as my Golf, 2.0 8v, five speed. When I got it, rear drums were seized , the ECU was fried, shift linkage was frozen, exhaust was broken up, and the sunroof linkage was broken.
It sat for a while, but as the cold weather approaches, daily driving my Cabriolet becomes less feasible by the day. So, in the last week or two, I’ve done the following: redone the rear drums, installed a new (loud and crackly) axle back exhaust, replaced timing belt, spark plugs, wires, ignition coil, ECU, front pads and rotors, and given it a good cleaning.
All that’s left is beating it into running well as it had sat for three years or so, adjust rear wheel bearing preload, bleed brakes some more, replace the sunroof assembly (I have a good spare), align it, and maybe fix one wire harness.
Then, I‘ll have a fresh, low mile, bone stock (excluding the exhaust) Mk3 Jetta to modify until it’s undrivable and breaks all the time...
The Audi, sitting since April, did not want to move. A stuck drum was quickly remedied outside.
jminer
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/12/2020 at 21:52 | 0 |
Nice work!
kleeBRZ
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/12/2020 at 21:52 | 3 |
i have a special place in my heart for the MK3 Jetta 2.0 8v. I borrowed my sister’s without asking to
learn
to drive stick!
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> kleeBRZ
10/12/2020 at 21:56 | 1 |
Not horribly fast, not crazy reliable, but Mk3s just feel right to me. I’ve got a pair of Mk1s and I had a Mk2 Jetta briefly. Those first three generations all feel about the same. Something went wrong in 1999.
66P1800inpieces
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/12/2020 at 22:15 | 2 |
This is the second great post I read today that involve mystery shop awesomeness. https://oppositelock.kinja.com/1845348524 This is Long Voyager’s post about painting his friends truck at a place he used to work/friend’s family owns. Is your shop in a NYC basement? Cool vibe. I would live there too.
66P1800inpieces
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/12/2020 at 22:16 | 0 |
Waaaaa. I am biased with a 1999 GLS (AEG) 8v.
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> 66P1800inpieces
10/12/2020 at 22:21 | 1 |
If I got another Mk4 it wouldn’t be an 8v. They’re barely suitable in Mk3s, adding the weight of a Mk4 tips the ratio. They’re very good engines (by VW standards) for economy, reliability, and serviceability though. Yet slow
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> 66P1800inpieces
10/12/2020 at 22:23 | 2 |
No, back of a museum in Ohio. Cool stuff and lots of tools to borrow, but my space is small and sort of hard to move stuff in and out of.
66P1800inpieces
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/12/2020 at 22:43 | 1 |
Agreed. Not too rev happy either.
66P1800inpieces
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/12/2020 at 22:44 | 1 |
Sounds like a good find. Couple of fluorescent lights and you are good to go.
Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/12/2020 at 23:36 | 0 |
It looks like a really cool space though. Is it a car museum? Because I see a lot of broken looking British cars lying about the place.
Also, spray paint the hood and roof black and it would dramatically change the look of the thing. Paint looks ok on the vertical surfaces too.
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
10/13/2020 at 05:33 | 1 |
Yeah it is. A British car museum, specifically.
It’s already black. The clear needs fixed but I shouldn’t need to respray base probably
duurtlang
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/13/2020 at 07:30 | 0 |
Interesting though, because out of the many engines the mk3 was available with, the 2.0 was the second biggest and second most powerful.
The hatch version (Golf) even came with a 60 hp 1.4 as the base engine. I used to have a 1991 mk2 with the then base 1.3L 54 hp gas engine and a 4 speed manual. It was slow, but it kept up okay.
Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/13/2020 at 08:36 | 0 |
I guess I just don’t really know how that works but it looks like the bottom coat is in pretty bad condition as well.
Do the museum curators envy your reliable VWs? Hehe.
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
10/13/2020 at 09:33 | 1 |
It’s fine, just dirty from crap collecting on it. I’m gonna give it a good hose down and see how it looks.
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> duurtlang
10/13/2020 at 09:37 | 0 |
Keep in mind that in America, we only got the 1.9 tdi, ABA, and VR6. I think the euro 2.0 in these is counterflow, where ABAs are crossflow too. ABA Mk3s will do the speed limit just fine, but if you want to pass people on the interstate... forget about it. I generally just hang out in the slow lane going 65-70 mph. If there’s little or no traffic, it does 80 just fine, but I don’t love taching 4k for that long.
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/13/2020 at 14:28 | 2 |
Bad news, VW filed a takedown for your Mk3 Golf art on Redbubble.
Those bastards.
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
10/13/2020 at 14:38 | 0 |
Bastards. No VW logo anywhere in the art, I took the photo you used, but I GUESS they own the IP for the shape of the car.
I just gave my sister my last sticker a few weeks ago, too. Finally got the poster framed, but I’ve yet to hang it. Ah well. I hope it paid for a few autocrosses, or at least part of one. Did anyone besides me buy anything?
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/13/2020 at 14:39 | 0 |
A few others around the world
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
10/13/2020 at 14:44 | 0 |
Weirdos. I know they’re still much more popular in eastern Europe than they are in the US. Outside of junkyards, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen another Mk3 Golf in the wild.
dieseldub
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/13/2020 at 16:25 | 1 |
Just putting a set of bigger injectors and a tune to the ol AHU TDI in the MK3 will make an ABA feel positively pedestrian by comparison. lol
The ABA is a good motor, though. They are pretty reliable all things considered. Just gotta keep on top of leaks, occasional plug changes, cap, rotor and coil plus the occasional timing belt.
The 2.0 8V in the mk4 isn’t too bad if it’s a model on the lighter end of the Mk4 spectrum like a New Beetle or base model Golf. It’s passable. I think the base model New Beetles and GL 2 door Golfs are about 2800 lbs, which is maybe only 100 lbs more than a mk3 Jetta. But a mk4 Jetta sedan with some features is closer to 3000, add some more for a wagon version.
But the fact they brought it back for the even heavier still Mk6 Jetta sedan was absolutely stupid. I mean sure, they’re pretty reliable, but man is that a dog-slow car and not even remotely efficient because you have to hammer on it all the time to get it to go anywhere.
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> dieseldub
10/13/2020 at 16:49 | 1 |
I kinda want to pick up a clean Mk3 GTI shell and drop an AHU with all the usual mods done to it to make a homebrew GTD.
This Jetta is at 89k miles. The plugs were factory. Timing belt seemed to be too.
I have a 2001 Mk4 four door Golf with an AEG (was that the only code with a cable throttle?) and it’s a total dog. Feels way slower than my Mk3 Golf (importantly, the Mk3 Golf had a TT cam and chip plus intake and exhaust, so it actually is faster). That car’s got the weight of bags holding it back as well.
I’ve yet to drive a 2.0 Mk6. I kinda want one for some sadistic reason, but that’s hubris.
rctothefuture
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/13/2020 at 17:36 | 1 |
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...
I know that feeling all to well. “Restored” a Fiero a few years back and then modded it to shit to where it was a track rat car, that never saw the track. Still regret that one.
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> rctothefuture
10/13/2020 at 18:03 | 1 |
I’ve never driven a truly stock one. Kinda want to know what they’re like.
With proper modification, they’re amazing to drive. When I got it, my Golf had stiffer rear springs, a cone filter/heat shield box, and one of the mufflers deleted. Not much by way of modification. Right now, it’s got a shift kit, cam, tune, real exhaust, and a bunch of other stuff I’ve done over the last few years. When it worked, it was amazing. Now the engine is making disturbing noises and the clutch release plate is messed up, oil and coolant are leaking, and a host of other small issues make me want to not fix it. I want to get this car to a similar place, modification wise, but hopefully, lack of mileage and abuse will let it live much longer.
dieseldub
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/13/2020 at 18:18 | 1 |
Yeah, pretty sure AEG was the only one with the throttle cable. My sister had a ‘98 Beetle with one. In that Beetle, it really wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t a race car, but it didn’t feel that much slower than a Mk3 ABA. It was just adequate. I did eventually put a TDI 5th gear in it. Dropped revs about 500 RPM @ 80 MPH. Made it far less noisy and got pretty good fuel economy on the highway. I was keeping up with some faster traffic that was largely averaging 80-95 MPH in I-5 once and the thing still got 32 MPG.
And yeah, if you have all those mods on the Mk3, that would definitely explain the large discrepancy in performance. Also, only the 2 door crank window Golf is really significantly lighter than 3000 lbs I think. Coming in close to the Beetle (which has plastic fenders...) nearish 2800 lbs.
I helped a buddy swap an AHU from a rusted out ‘98 Jetta into a ‘97 GTI VR6 shell about 12 years ago. I really liked how that came out. The nice VR6 suspension and brakes (longer lower A arms, bigger sway bar that attaches further towards the end of the arms and about a degree of extra caster. Brakes wise, 256 mm I think vs the VR6 288 mm up front, plus they’re 4 wheel disc, not rear drum ) , we put H&R OE Sports springs on it with Bilstein HDs I think... Or maybe it was Koni Reds? I don’t remember anymore. Either way, it rode nice, handled even nicer.
I liked that swap so much I eventually got a pretty clean Jetta GLX/VR6 chassis to swap my old AHU into. Kind of regret selling it, but it was time to move on and downsize the fleet.
I’ve got the pre-Mk4 VW itch again, though... I have a Mk2 I have plans to use a lot of Mk3 parts on... and Mk4 engine (1.9 PD TDI. I have a couple BEWs hanging around, will likely use one of those).
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> dieseldub
10/13/2020 at 18:28 | 0 |
I’ve yet to have a five bolt Mk3. Some day.
TDI fifth is planned for this car. My Golf was driven hard constantly. It had no CEL for the last five or so months it was on the road. Even running properly, it only got about 22mpg on average, thanks to a heavy right foot. Very rewarding car to beat on.