how's a jetta as an ideal project car?

[mega man]

hey guys i was considering an mk2 or even mk1 jetta as a project car. i jus wanna knwo if these are easy platforms to work on?i know i can throw quite a nice car together if i do the labour myself but i wanna know how easy is it ?

[Dr.Gonzo]

Yes Yes Yes the MKI or MKII would be a great project car. 1st. Lower the biatch. Coil Over or just as effective and cheaper get lowering springs.

What engine do you want to swap into it? A couple of good choices would be.
1. 1.8T A light engine and easy to make a lot of tq and hp for the light MK I or MKII.
2. 2.8VR6 I've seen a 12valve conversion and a 24valve conversion. Actually in one Eurotuner I saw a 3.2VR6 put into one and in the most recent Sports Compact I saw someone put a V8 Northstar into a MKI GTI.
Well the VR6 would be good b/c it's got a lot of tq and hp for the weight of the car. It would be a bit nose heavy however might be easier to find and convert into the MKI or MKII.

3. a 1.8 or 2.0 16valve.
The main thing is that you can find them already in the car b/c some had them in it. Also it's a very tried and true engine to modify. You can get plenty of decent power making mods and also decent turbos for the car. If you do buy one do a comp leak test and other basic stuff.

Over all if you can find a rare two door Jetta that would be the best.
Good luck. Try looking at techtonics website or Autotech.com they have a lot of stuff.
Go to www.vwvortex.com they can help a lot too.

[mega man]

thanks for the advice dr gonzo. i found a 1st gen 2 door jetta gli but the guy wanted 1850 ( cad) for it though. i was considering putting an audi 5000 engine in an mk1 jetta along with a mk2 jetta manual tranny. ohh yea and i found mk1 4 door for 400 also cad. al it needed was an exhaust and rear window. my dad owns a junk yard and as of know he has a 85 audi 5000, a 82 rabbit 2 dr black manual, and 2 88 jettas 1 non repairable.

[Dr.Gonzo]

The Audi 5000 engine. Hmmmm I don't know much about them. How upgradeable are they? If you can find a lot of upgrades for them cool. 1850 isn't bad at all for an older 2 door Jetta.

[mega man]

well i took a good look at the audi engine and i dont think its usable. but i just picked up a running 87 jetta so im going to try to do sumthin with it. but i dont know anything about it all i know is that its a running 87 jetta and it runs. i havent even seen it. but hey might as well give it a shot.