Skip to main content

AUTObiography: MKIIIDave’s 1997 Golf K2

Want your car featured in a VWvortex AUTObiography? Tell us what it means to be a Volkswagen enthusiast, and show us how you and your car demonstrate those ideals! Send this completed form with pictures to sbell@verticalscope.com.

Next up we have forum user David Noone’s 370,000 mile 1997 Golf K2, that proves that going far matters as much as going fast.

How long have you owned this car? Since December 1996.

Is there anything unique about the history of this car? This car has gone back and fourth between me and my father since 1996. It must have been switched back and fourth at least 8 times… and was a daily driver for most of the time.

What drew you to this specific car? I’m not sure, it was a long time ago.

What other cars did you consider? Perhaps the MkIII Jetta.

What was your objective with this car? To keep it well maintained.

What tuning style would you describe this car as? OEM. I attempt to keep it as stock as possible.

Who helped you build this car? Nobody in particular.

What makes your car special? The length of ownership and the reliability of this generation. Many people who remember this car from the late 90s are very surprised its still running and I still own it.

What is your favorite part/feature/function? I prefer the older VW chassis..not that they realistically compare to the new models, but the MKIII generation and back are a ton of fun, even if its only 115hp. I would say I prefer the drivability and fun factor, as well as the reliability.

Who or what inspired the direction of modifications on this car? The OEM/stock look.

What don’t you like about this car? Keeping the rust away… it’s an ongoing project.

What was your biggest obstacle in building this car? Keeping the rust away, and tending to the small issues of a car with higher mileage.

How did you overcome the issue? I think these issues will not go away, they are just part of ownership.

What would you change if you could? Make it rustproof.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with the outcome of this project? 8.

What would you do to the car if money were no object? Repaint Campanella White, 3.6L swap, widen the beetle steelies.

Who has been your biggest critic of this project? Myself.

What do your family and friends say about this car? Most are surprised of the overall condition and the fact that its still running with the original engine. They are also surprised that I have owned it this long.

What is your most memorable/humorous/embarrassing moment with this car? This is hard to answer, as there have been a lot over the years. Probably a speeding ticket in Connecticut around 2002. The officer was very understanding and wrote the ticket for nearly 20 mph slower than I was actually going. I appreciated that.

What is your favorite story about this car? Some clown at a show who was trying to convince me that the ABA engine is a 16V.

Has this car competed in any events? A few between 1997-2000.

What is your favorite place to drive this car? On a highway with nice smooth off-ramps.

What is your ideal day with this car? Cleaning it.

Who gets to drive this car? Mainly myself.

What was your previous project? 1980 Corvette, 1955 Olds Rocket.

What is your next project? 2005 Passat TDI, 1955 Olds Rocket.

What one word best describes your car? Durable.

Any regrets? Tell us about it. No regrets.

Anything else you’d like to share? This car has the original ABA engine and cylinder head. The oil pump is original as well as the heater core. I have always used Mobil 1 and G12 coolant. The original trans went around 310,000 miles due to a bad bearing. The car is on the second head gasket and third clutch.

Owner Information:

Name- Dave Noone

Address- Bethlehem, Pa

VWvortex Username- MKIIIDave

Instagram Username- None

Occupation- Records Specialist

Club Affiliations- None

Vehicle Information:

Year-1997

Make- Volkswagen

Model- Golf K2

Mileage- 370,000

Color (Include original if applicable)- Black

2012-27

Engine- 2.0L ABA

Engine Modifications- NONE

Exhaust Modifications- Techtonics

Transmission Modifications- ABD short shift. Manual adjusting clutch cable. EAA Power steering/AC delete.

Suspension Modifications- Raceland Coilovers, VR6 Strut bearings, Neuspeed upper strut tie bar. VR6 Plus suspension.

Brake Modifications- VR6

Wheels and Tires- 16″ Beetle Steelies, Continental DWS

Exterior/Body Modifications- Golf CL Eurohatch (Thanks Jaime!) Euro rear fog light, Hella Black Magic tails. ABD dual rounds with E34 Hella Projectors.

Interior Modifications- Tan heated GLX leathers with rear head rests.

Audio/Video- Pioneer DVD, Kenwood AMP, JL 10s.

Thanks/Props- My Pops, friends who helped with various maintenance and repairs, and this forum. Anything we need to know is on this forum. Thank you.

The post AUTObiography: MKIIIDave’s 1997 Golf K2 appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1rsjcrB
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

    When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier.  The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow.   While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something .  To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it.  Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait.  So with this in mind, we lined our G...
Post a Comment
Read more

Project Golf SportWagen- Intro

I’ve never really been one for SUVs and crossovers.  The current offerings aren’t the body-on-frame, go-anywhere specialty tools I remember from my youth, and what they lack in capability, they also lack in on-road performance. The current crop isn’t terribly good at handling or being efficient, which in my opinion are major components of our ideal driving experience.  So when it comes to space or utility, I usually look for something of the wagon variety- and it seems that I’m not alone. We hit quite a few shows around the east coast each summer, and we see modified Jetta SportWagens at nearly every event. Even amongst common consumers, these cars are highly sought-after. They don’t depreciate much, making even early Mk 5 2.5 versions expensive in comparison to other Jettas or Golfs of the same vintage. This year, Volkswagen launched their latest SportWagen, which is now billed as a Golf.  In many ways, this latest SportWagen is the best yet and it has certai...
Post a Comment
Read more

Volkswagen Group Records Best Ever First-Half-of-Year Sales

With 5.5 million vehicles in customer hands after the first six months of 2018, the Volkswagen Group is seeing the best performance of its history. Group deliveries increased significantly in all core regions,” said Fred Kappler, head of sales for the Group. “Our core brands recorded strong growth in the first half year.” For the year-to-date, all of Volkswagen’s brands had sales bumps. MAN, SEAT, and Skoda led the sales charge with performances 24%, 17% and 11% better than the previous year. The big sellers, too, had strong sales periods, with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, and Volkswagen sales rising 3.5%, 4.5% and 6.3% respectively. That last figure is particularly good new for the board, since Volkswagen alone sold more than 3 million vehicles in the first half of 2018. As Kappler stated, the numbers are equally good when you break sales down by region. Brazil and Russia were the most improved markets (22% and 20%, respectively), while strong sales in Europe and China (u...
2 comments
Read more