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July 7, 2010 1:09 a.m. Travis_K Dork
I have a few ideas of projects I would like to build when I could afford to do so. Does anyone else think any of these sound interesting?
1. 1989 Volkswagen Jetta Wolfsburg with silver paint and blue interior
  
  Stock body except for Hella grille with 4 rectangular lights, and smoked taillights. Stock interior except for Hella Momo steering wheel and Audi TT pedals. Full Mk3 VR6 suspension, Bilstien HD dampers, Ground Control camber plates, quaife quick ratio manual steering rack, etc.
Corrado G60 transmission with LSD

OBD 1 ABA short block with counterflow 8V head, 268 cam, big valves, ARP hardware, and if I could get pistons that would work, a 1.9 diesel crank. Stock 8v intake with passat throttle body and Corrado airbox and MAF, and the Motronic engine management from the ABA.
1. Mercedes w116 or w126 with OM 617 diesel. Recaro seats and Momo or Nardi Steering wheel Bilstien dampers, BBS or vintake AMG type wheels As much of the AMG body kit parts as I could find (or similar) Probably blacked out trim Front mount intercooler, GT2056 VNT turbo from a Liberty or a Sprinter, full 2.5 inch exhaust, VW AAZ injectors, and whatever else I could do to reliably get more power without a $3500 Myna Diesel injector pump.
2. Citroen SM-pretty much stock except for a megasquirt system with these http://extrudabody.com/ to replace the carbs, and replace any parts i could that would make it more reliable with something not from a limited production 40 year old car.
3. Maserati Biturbo: Buy a cheap early one that runs, basically do the same as I would with a Citroen, anything that doesnt work out well, or is too hard to find the parts to fix, replace it with something that works.
July 7, 2010 1:25 a.m. EvanB Dork

Citroen SM!
July 7, 2010 9:12 a.m. ditchdigger HalfDork

Travis_K wrote: basically do the same as I would with a Citroen, anything that doesnt work out well, or is too hard to find the parts to fix, replace it with something that works.

That is exactly how I have treated my fiat. It is alot more fun than any other car I have built.

With a VW everything is already known. Upgrading them becomes boring since it is a "slot A into tab B" operation. With no aftermarket support you get to really think about things and try new ideas.

Go for the obscure car and dont look back
July 7, 2010 9:15 a.m. NYG95GA SuperDork

Dang, Travis!

You've come a long way from a 1G Neon, ey?
July 7, 2010 9:18 a.m. z31maniac Dork

I like the VW idea, I've always dug those cars, and I like the "lego" aspect of them just like E30s.

I love to tinker with stuff, but I want to know when I buy X it's going to work and I'm not going to be endlessly tweaking/adjusting/etc to get some part to work, that is "supposed" to fit without issue.
July 7, 2010 10:06 a.m. John Brown SuperDork

I say the VW BUT put some spice in it. Ditch the 2.sl0w and add a 3.4L GM engine with a Getrag and a Quaife.
July 7, 2010 10:14 a.m. 914Driver SuperDork

Scirocco with a VR6.
July 7, 2010 10:46 a.m. mndsm HalfDork

John Brown wrote:

I say the VW BUT put some spice in it. Ditch the 2.sl0w and add a 3.4L GM engine with a Getrag and a Quaife.

If we're going 3.4... why not go all the way to 3800 s/c?
July 8, 2010 2:28 a.m. Travis_K Dork

The while point of building an Mk2 VW would be to have an 8v that made alot of power but still looked stock and would pass smog. They take alot of suspension work to be much fun to drive though. My sister has a stock one, its not real impressive. I have to say though, a VW with a Gm engine swap=eww.

I really want to find a Citroen SM, but the hard part would be finding one that is cheap enough I wouldn't feel bad about not keeping it stock, but not too far gone to get back on the road again.

The main thing id be afraid of with a Biturbo is getting a carbed one to pass smog in California without spending enough money to buy a nicer 430 or other EFI one (or something else more interesting).