Skip to main content

Ratty Rescue: Little Red Rocket (Someday)

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

Our latest pathetic pile is a well worn Jetta that once put down some serious power. It’s looking for one of our faithful readers to help restore it to its former glory.

The prevalence of turbocharged four-cylinder engines in modern cars is astounding. There was a time not too long ago when the only way to get big power was by adding cylinders. For the third generation Jetta, VW added their all-new narrow-angle VR6 engine to the sedan. The addition of two cylinders put the car in the sports sedan category. This little Jetta nipped at the heels of much more expensive German models and was considered an entry-level BMW.

The enhancements aren’t limited to what’s in the engine bay. The GLX trim level added full leather interior, premium stereo, power everything, and a sunroof. The six-cylinder models are distinguished by their body color trim, rear spoiler, GLX-specific badging, chunky 16” BBS wheels, and a few other bits.  Subtle, but effective.

8c08d5aa-26a3-48b3-a3aa-dcd6a6cedbe0

The souped-up sedan was well received by the media. Reviewers praised the torquey 2.8-liter engine, They especially liked the throaty growl that came from the engine bay. Suspension upgrades helped the car feel planted in corners, but the big engine added weight to the nose of the car.

This 1998 Jetta GLX has seen better days. Like any car with nearly 200,000 miles, the body has its share of scratches and dings. But there are cars out there with a quarter of the miles this Jetta has that are in much worse condition. The door trim is sagging; nothing a little 3M trim tape can’t fix. The interior is pretty rough, but salvageable. It needs a good cleaning to start. The driver’s sport seat has some split seams and leather wear. But like many of our Ratty Rescue candidates, it’s a complete car.

So if you’re looking for a project, and you crave the down-low torque a four-cylinder engine can’t replicate, this could be the car for you. Check out the listing on copart.com. The car is in Flint Michigan, there have been no bids.

The post Ratty Rescue: Little Red Rocket (Someday) appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2yN9xEs
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway

Waterfest 24 will be held at Atco Dragway, in Atco, New Jersey. The summer event will take place at its new venue on July 21 and 22. Long held in Englishtown, New Jersey, the festival has been such a large part of the VW scene that the latest iteration of the Golf even comes with optional “Englishtown” wheels . The new venue, however, is an NHRA drag track a scant 52 miles southwest of Englishtown. The ¼ mile drag track opened in 1960, which makes it the oldest drag strip in New Jersey. The announcement came today on a social media post that announced the new location. Waterfest is North America’s largest VW/Audi show. As many 20,000 people show up for the annual show, making the second largest show in the world—with Worthersee being number one. 2018 will be Waterfest’s 24 th year in existence. The post Waterfest Moves to Atco Dragway appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2GQjkuc via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Macau Gets Messy with 16-Car Pileup

The Macau Grand Prix is always good for an accident or two or 16— you may remember Audi’s race ending crash last year —and this year’s event didn’t disappoint. It didn’t take long for things to get messy on the tight road circuit. On the opening lap of the qualifying race a 16-car pileup caused the race to be suspended. Things kicked off when Daniel Juncadella hit a wall on the exit of Police bend, one of the tightest parts of the already tight circuit. The following car of Raffaele Marciello was able to avoid the carnage, but Laurens Vanthoor, who was in the upside-down Audi that ended the race last year, could not avoid Juncadella and together they blocked up the road pretty much completely. “I couldn’t see him [Juncadella] at first. Then I saw the car standing still,” Vanthoor told Motorsport. “I tried to brake but it was just understeering and I couldn’t do anything. There’s room for one car there and you’re blind.” Fourteen more cars would eventually crash into the corner c
Post a Comment
Read more

The First of its Kind: Integrated Engineering Releases Highly-Anticipated IE450T MK6 Golf R Turbo Kit

After two long years of development, the team at Integrated Engineering has finally announced the release of their IE450T kit for the MK6 Golf R. With their turbo kit bolted on right out of the box, the sport AWD hatch is transformed into a 450bhp monster, with hardly any noticeable increase in spool time. In fact, 435 ft-lbs of torque are achieved at all four wheels, at a mere 3300rpm! By now you are probably asking yourself how this is even possible on a 2.0L engine that made nearly half that power from the factory. By employing true twin-scroll technology into the cast turbo manifold and pairing it with a state-of-the-art BorgWarner EFR turbocharger, IE was able to keep spool time at a minimum and bring the fastest-spooling big turbo setup to the market. “We wanted to offer a kit that would dramatically increase the power output without making the car lose its amazing street-friendly drivability,” mentioned one of the IE engineers. We are told the IE450T leaves the car driving jus
Post a Comment
Read more