updated mod list..

2003 Golf Gti 3.2t.

exterior-

-actual dealer bought (nuts, i know) OEM .:R32 front bumper.emblem notch, corner markers, and upper swag/body line in lower bumper cover all shaved/smoothed

-OEM R32 rear bumper. both exhaust openings removed and smoothed

- Hoeffle 4dr R32 replica side skirts

-all body side moldings removed/smoothed through out

-fender marker lights removed/smoothed

- rear hatch emblem, handle, and wiper removed/smoothed. Wiper delete from a 1983 Honda civic base model car, NOS part direct from Honda

-gas door, replaced with "Pro Fit Fuel Doors", billet fuel door. aftermarket popping fuel door made for 99-04

GMC Denali/ Cadillac Escalade. pops out, then pivots on its own axis point/turns away from the filler. had

to buy, and then mold a Denali quarter to make it fit properly, and still works off the OEM switch

-VIS carbon OEM Gti hood w/notch originally. Notch filled in and smoothed, filled with a carbon/ Kevlar material used for race car repair

- roof, center section of hood between the body lines, grille, grille surrounding section of front bumper, hatch spoiler, mirrors, and sections between door and quarter panel glass, re-painted in a base flat black DP90 sealant, then cleared with a clear made from 60/40 flex and flat additive.

- remainder of car based in OEM reflex silver, and clear coated in the same 60/40 flex and flat mixture

- OEM taillights and rear license plate, scuffed down, and cleared in the same mix, so as to match the overall hue of the rest of the cars finish.

headlights, and housings broken down. Inner bezels, and assembly painted matte black, and headlights re-assembled.

Interior-

-OEM .:R32 headliner, fully recovered in suede, and having deleted all seat belt mounting points front and rear

-MOMO Race steering wheel, black leather finish. w/ Sparco hub adapter, and quick release steering hub

-Recaro SPG full bucket seats. Seat backs based in OEM reflex silver, and cleared to match the silver on the exterior of the car. Seat frames finished in same black as roof, etc. and Recaro logos on frames redone in silver vinyl and flat cleared to match cars finish

-New South column pod, w/ autometer phantom 30 psi boost gauge, clocked to put max boost at eye level/ straight up and down

-MOMO F.I.A 2007 4 point harnesses made for installation in a caged vehicle/ harness bar set up

-fully custom fabricated 6 point roll cage. Boxed, plated, and through the floor, fully welded in. even so far as to be welded into the dashboard support beam behind dash. Prepped, smoothed, and finished in a raw metal brushed look, and treated from time to time to keep it rust free

-OEM Polo GTi 5 speed shift knob

-OEM beetle “turbo S” pedal set

-OEM .:R32 brushed door pull/ window controls, and door opener pull handles

-OEM 337 center console, w/o center arm rest

-Seats, and door cards all re-done in black suede, and charcoal inserts w/ silver stitched quilting (ala Bentley CGT speed).

Wheels/ tires/ brakes/ suspension-

-ECS stg5 big brakes, 14.1” 2 piece rotor w/6 piston Porsche calipers, and stainless braided lines. Calipers stripped and powder cleared in a raw finish.

-Performance Café 11 inch rear vented and drilled rear brake upgrade, w/ stainless braided lines, and calipers also stripped and powder coated to match fronts.

-VMR V710 wheels, 5x112 18x8.5 matte black, with 20mm adapters all around

-Nitto NT-555R 225/40r18 tyres

-Bilstein PSS9 fully adjustable coilovers

-Autotech lower rear sway bar

-Energy Suspension front control arm poly mounts

Engine- was a 4cyl 1.8t, that is now gone.....

3.2l VR6 mk4 R32 motor

-Integrated Engineering forged connecting rods

-ARP rod and lower end fasteners

-Racewear head studs

-C2Motorsports 9-1 compression ratio head spacer

-Precision Turbo PTB3006267E turbo w/custom billet impeller wheel (C2Motorsports Stg3 R32 Turbo kit)

-AEM cold air intake

-Greddy Profec-B spec2 boost control

-TIAL 38mm external wastegate

-C2Motorsports 550 cc injectors

-Bosch 255lph motorsport inline fuel pump

-3 inch custom turbo back exhaust

-deleted SAI, and Evap systems

-C2Motorsports engine management

-C2Motorsports Short Runner Intake manifold

-C2Motorsports Front mount inter-cooler

-Forge Motorsport Diverter Valve

-VF Engineering motor, transmission, and dogbone mounts

-Moroso drag car style coolant res

-Moroso oil vapor catch can.

- intake manifold, and Intercooler piping all sandblasted raw, and all finished in a flat clear. Cleaned up engine bay with tucked and hidden harness, relocated coolant res, and replaced with a Moroso drag car style res. hidden power steering res, and Nylon braided fuel lines, and AN connections..

Transmission-

OEM 5 speed O2J

-VR6 O2J bell housing to mate it to the new motor

-fully cryo-treated gear set, all internal gears and parts

-Quaiffe limited slip differential

-strengthened synchros throughout

-euro TDI 5^th gear/final drive

-South Bend light weight flywheel

-South Bend Stg 5 OFE clutch kit

-Motul Synthetic Gear lube

The Modball Rally.

"....We got on the road only an hour later than planned, which is amazing for Tristan and myself. For once, I didn't have anything major to do with the car beforehand, other than change the oil and check it over. I knew I was using a little oil, but wasn't too worried at that point. We got on the road, arrived in Eau Claire, and the throttle on my car just disappeared."

just a little snippet from the "Clean Schnitt" shop blog. to check out more, click here

22k, and some change. alot of gas and oil! part 3

part 3...

So it was off to Ocean City, with a group of somewhere around 150 cars or so, all heading to the same place. So you can imagine the mayhem that ensued! and to be honest, and maybe i shouldn't even put a voice to it, not a single ticket, or issue on my end. A few people weren't so lucky, and a few others got lost altogether. But that's what happens haha. From our start in Va, we headed to New Jersey to meet up with the other legs of the rally. So on arrival at the mall, we multiplied to around 300 or so cars. From that point, some left early, some later, for the final 90 miles to the ending point, the Convention Center in Ocean City! All the usual suspects of the VW and Audi world in attendance, and a lot of hot metal to check out in person, vs a magazine or online forum. This was my fourth trip out east for the show, and i have gotten to know quite a few people over that time, literally to the point that i have trouble seeing and saying hello to everyone. Try as i might though, i do what i can, and always come away having a good time.

So we arrive in Ocean city, and all gather at he convention center. Meet up with more old friends, and chill for a bit, and then everyone fans out from there to their rentals from there. Friday night was just for a chilling out,and a few different GTG's were going down. I spent the night relaxing, and cleaning the car from the drive out. Hadn't been washed for the entire drive, and was in severe need of it. We have found a chill spot next to our group of condos that has its own hose and water supply, so no need for the quarter wash for any of us. So through the night, we got the entire DubAudi crew's cars cleaned up and ready for the next day. Just hung out and enjoyed the company for the rest of the night, and got prepared for the following day..

Saturday morning was an early one, at least for some of us. the do-it-yourself wash is always a cluster fuck of epic proportions. Though it seems this year the owner finally figured out a way to corral everyone in and out in a timely fashion. Those of us that did run down there, just needed to get at the vacuums anyhow. And it was early, so there wasn't too much of a line as of yet. By the time we left, it was a different story though. Luckily i was parked right there at the exit, so i didnt have to dig through the crowds to get out, and on my way.

Off to the condo to meet up with everyone, then off to Ocean Downs, and the Big Ass BBQ. We all parked up, wiped down the cars, and were off to wander about.

Was a good day, and the weather held off for the most part. Walked around taking in all the cars and people, and checking out all the goodies up in the Vendor row. Saturday is always low key, and just about friends and food for the most part. Not everyone shows up on Saturdays, being that its not the actual show, which is Sunday. And who can blame them, with the show being held in a resort city. So there are a whole bunch of different things going down. All sorts of different get togethers, from the MK1 meet, to the Air Affair GTG for the air bag fans, and any number of various goings on for just about any other reason. I had a few plans to attend to, all of which ended up being trumped by the days events on Saturday though. After some back and forth, i ended up being chosen as one of the 10 "Top Dawg" cars for the next days show. Which on one hand was absolutely killer, being chosen as one of ten, out of 1300 cars! But on the other hand, seeing as how most in that category are trailered in, or at least only driven a short distance after being fully primped and pampered, and readied for the judging. Mine on the other hand, had not been cleaned before leaving, and then had covered roughly 1700 miles to get to the show in the first place. So i had some cleaning to do, and spent the night drinking a few beers in the parking garage while doing just that...

So up and at early the next morning. And go figure, its raining outside. They do a photo shoot beforehand of all the cars in this category, so i had to meet up for that early on. And with the weather, it was get there and wipe the car down. Then wait your turn for the single car shots, so you can wipe it all down again lol. And all without my first cup of coffee, grrr.

From there, it was off to the show grounds for the roll in. The roll in portion took so long, that a few of us were starting to worry about overheating issues. The rain had stopped, and the sun came out just in time to cook us all while we sat there in line, cars heating up. I even damn near ran out of gas while making our way in, light coming on and all. But we finally get sorted, and are back to wiping the cars all down again, but this time with the added effect of being surrounded by all the spectators at the show. I don't remember exactly who it was( i think it was Vic Cortez, thanks bro!), but someone showed up shortly thereafter with an ice cold beer to save the day..

A few of the group pics..

And a couple from the show....
And in the end, all the hard work turned out to be worth it. the little golf held its own against some serious competition. Ended up with a 3rd place in the category. Not too shabby considering it was driven, and will always be a driven car. I for one, wasn't even expecting to be chosen for the category, let alone expecting to win anything of the sort. And the candy in the trophy really did keep me going for the 24 hour drive home too...


Time to get home, and 3 weeks to get ready for the next adventure. Modball Rally....

22k, and some change. alot of gas and oil! part 2

part 2

so after DIV, i had a few weeks until the next big show. but still a ton to do to the car, as well as the Dagball Rally to get ready for. so never a slow moment and as always, growing pains with the new motor, so i took some time to attempt to address some issues. tried addressing a timing issue, and re-timed the car a good 30 times over a 3 week period of time, as well as another new head gasket to solve an oil seeping issue. new radiator cap that held the correct pressure, etc. so always something to do, and damn near a full time job in itself to keep on top of everything. and shook it all down with a trip to the U.P. of Michigan to visit Jessicas family for a weekend. car was fine for the journey, and we did almost 1000 miles over that weekend. so i assumed she would be good to go for the trip to H20i, and the Dagball Rally, 1654 miles one way!


also helped out a good pal from back in the day getting his car squared away for a photo shoot. one of my all time favorite cars from the local scene, and somewhat of a legend, seeing as how the car very rarely breaks cover to come out much anymore. (some of you vortex savy people might remember him, ChancellorBen?)
and got lucky enough to have Kris shoot a couple for me, since i had not yet had the chance to get a single decent pic of the car so far for the summer..
from that point on, pretty much a full court press to get ready for the Dagball Rally, and H20i in Ocean City, Maryland. pretty much the "Mecca" of any north american vdub and audi enthusiast, and held at Oceans Downs every year as a season ender for the US scene. the city is literally overrun with cars for the entire weekend, and people have started coming in as early as the weekend before, and leaving to head back home some time after the first of October.

The Dagball Rally is an event in itself, and put on by the Dubaudi Gruppe(dubaudi.com). a spirited drive from 3 different starting points around the country. CT, VA, and IL all had starting points, with myself and some good friends heading up the Chicago/Midwest side of things. slated meet up time was 4:30am, and as always, we had left Minneapolis late. so we arrived in chicago around 4am, and had enough time to put down a cold and burnt frozen pizza, before jumping back in the car for a 12 hour drive to VA.
once in VA, we finally got a good nights sleep, as well as some showers. the next morning, it wqas off to VWoA headquarters in Hernondon VA, and the start of the Dagball for everyone else on that leg. VWoA provided the starting point, some breakfast, and tours of the building to those that wanted them. then it was off to Ocean City..
to be continued.....

22k, and some change. alot of gas and oil! part 1

a couple of good shots for the season. hopefully explains at least the "octane" part of the name of this here blog. more on all of that later as well..

these were from Eurowerks 09, Minneapolis in June. first showing of the car in public since the previous season. completely re-vamped, and changed from the previous seasons look, and power plant. 1.8t 4 cyl out, and 3.2l vr6 turbo power swapped in.



(best in class, best "Performance VW", and Peoples Choice awards)

then one from Waterfest 09, Englishtown NJ in july. 3rd year in a row for this show. never actually "shown" my car there though. always on display in one booth or another(C2Motorsports booth for this last season, VWVortex/ Vortex Media Group last, and Dunlop Tire the year before that)). works for me, don't have to sit out in the hot sun all day, and get to chill with all the industry folk, and die hard car guys that got me into all of this. and good friends as well, always friends. right down to Craig-O's soon to be wife, acting the house mom and making sure we all get more than beer, soda, and other not so good a things. as well as sunscreen, and all the other things a bunch of motor head guys would never think to remember to bring along(in my case, a working camera as well)

then back to the Midwest, and another local (hey, here in the Midwest, the next state over can be considered local haha) show that is always a laid back time. Dubs In the Valley 09, Urban Edition, held in Oshkosh WI in the beginning of august. made the trek out with a handful of locals from here in the Minneapolis area, and crashed out in the empty for the summer dorms of the local school. all was well, other then a lack of A/C i suppose. and the monster of a thunderstorm, to go along with all that heat on Friday night...

(and the reason behind the other half of the name of this here blog, should now be a little obvious!)
(1st place, mk4 category, and peoples choice awards)

to be continued.....