MK3 RHD Panel Van build.

[GTIKole.]

Updated- 2/13/2015.


1997 VW GTI Sport.
Candy white.

1.6L petrol mk3 8v engine swap with matching 5speed transmission, clutch cable setup etc. full matching specific brackets and all other pieces.

Inside.
-SEAT Ibiza GTI 16v front seats with original factory donut headrests
-Chrome button ebrake handle
-Old wood /leather steering wheel
-3.5 black sun visors.
-Redone black headliner.
-OEM Rolling stones edition shift knob/boot.
-V2 control hidden in coin holder.

Outside.
-Euro OEM CL Side moldings.
-Euro OEM hatch
-Euro OEM front rebar
-Euro OEM rear bumper
-Euro OEM rear rebar
-Euro OEM amber turn signals
-USDM GL tail lights
-Euro OEM ecode headlights
-OEM Euro 3 slat grille
-Euro OEM 1/2 length radiator
-Euro OEM 1/2 length rad support
-Euro OEM Golf front bumper
-Euro OEM CL lip
-Engine, fan and light harness tucked in engine bay.
-Battery relocated to trunk.

Suspension.
-Airlift v2 Airride kit,
-MK2/3 struts
-Aitlift skinny 5 gallon tank.
-400c Viair compressor
-Early strut mounts, Modified.
-Frame notch.
-Tie-rod notches
-Adjustable rear camber shims. (-3 degrees)

Wheels.
Schmidt TH-Lines.
-4x100
-16x8.5 et24 (2.5 lips)
-16x9.5 et12
-195/45/16 all around

Full OEM European market van conversion:

Rear OEM seat delete sub panels
Rear OEM cover full length
Rear OEM metal window delete panels - bonded not welded so can be removed if desired.
Rear OEM seat belt delete panels
Rear OEM door card deletes - no speakers, all vinyl covering.
Rear OEM full size spare tire with tool kit tray
OEM Euro Golf trunk opening protector panel
OEM Euro Golf trunk organiser - rare and in great condition which is super rare.

Right hand drive conversion:
Full RHD dash, wiring, wiper, carpet trim etc. Beaver upper and black lowers. Black door cards.
OEM RHD steering rack etc.
Painted and uninsulated RHD firewall
Non-ABS RHD brake setup etc.
Rhd non-AC setup
New RHD heater core
Rhd hood release
Euro headlight switch
Euro cluster - fully functioning
Upper and lower glove boxes
Euro center console front - no cup holders
Euro center console rear




In October 2013 my last MK3 "RED" was stolen. It was recovered 3 days later. Car was in all together minus the radio, speakers & the NA front lip but the underside of the car was destroyed from him driving it carelessly. Subframe, both control arms & driver side tie-rod were all bent & the driver side floor was caved in. After some thinking and looking at the damage and the rust on the floors I figured it was time to let it go. I parted the car out and kept some of the bits for my next car.
Pictures of RED.




RED at her grave.


I looked at a lot of other MK3's since I had a good amount of money to spend. I just wanted a clean and solid Mk3 which is getting harder and harder to find with rust killing more and more off.

I then landed eye's on this white two door GTI that my good friend Jamie Orr had started building up. A few things made it different from your normal MK3 best being it was RHD, it had metal panels where the rear windows went and it had a UK spec 1.6 ABU motor. So for a mk3 nerd like myself it was nuts to see something like this in the US.

Jamie, who runs Orchid Euro in PA, imported a rhd clip, the 1.6 swap and the all the panel vans bits.
He then did the rhd drive swap and the 1.6 swap in about a week.
Here are some pictures of the build from Jamie as the swaps where being done..



















A few months after Jamie finished the MK3 he put it on sale but no one seemed to want to take the car on. So after looking and debating I figured I would give the Panel Van a good home. Jamie just had one thing he asked of me and that was to contuine to build it and really "finish" it

[GTIKole.]

In November 2013 I flew to Philly on a Friday, spend the weekend hanging out with Matty & Jamie & picked up the Mk3. I had a great weekend and enjoyed my time away from work and Indy. On Monday Jamie & myself woke up early to drive to Indianapolis so I could go home & so he could deliver a Golf Rallye. It was a great trip and got home in pretty good time.

Day I picked her up getting my temp tag to drive home.


Right hand drive fun at the toll booth. :laugh:


Parked at her new home.


I had not had my own car for close to a month so it was a great feeling to have that stress off my me & I was ready to start working on her.
5 minutes after being home, swapped in my Nardi wheel & shift knob from RED.


A few days later I put the CX coil overs from RED on and her old Modern Lines. I loved the way the car looked down and with a wider wheels.




After a few weeks and I decided I wanted to see what the car looked like with out flares. So I pulled the flares off and ended up loving the look a lot more.






I also finally bought myself a daily so the MK3 would not see snow or salt that Indiana loves to have around. Got myself a B4 Passat GLX wagon. It's not the nicest car in the world but it gets me to work everyday and lets me drive to indoor skateparks with 4 people and 4 bikes.


I then sent the bumper and grill trim out to paint & for my birthday my girlfriend bought my CL molding since I decide I no longer wanted to run the flares (Big thanks to Matty & Jamie for helping her order them.)










I also redid the headliner since it was ripped and sagging. Just found some black foam back headliner fabric. Jess and I watched some netflix and redid the headliner. I then picked up some 3.5 visors black visors to mastch the headliners better.


I sold the Modern lines to buy & rebuild a set of 15" RS's, have always wanted to build a 15" set.
I bought a set of banchwerks drop plates from a private seller but USPS thought it would be awesome to loose them. I'm trying to figure out something with USPS but its like pulling teeth to get them to do anything about it but at least the seller is trying to help figure something out.

Came home to these a few days later.


Then later in the evening Roxie, my Sheltie , and myself went out to the garage and started the mk3 up so it could run a bit since It does not get driven.
\

I then got my 2.5" lips and chrome bolts from BFI. This just made me want my wheel to just get here already but their were still in the air flying home from the west coast.





That Saturday I spent the morning putting in my adjustable camber shims that a good friend gave me a long time ago when he was cleaning out his garage. I just wanted to run a bit of camber in the rear to match the front since they are cambered in just a bit and I'm not a fan of have the front cambered in and have the rears with none, it just looks off to me IMO. But the spindles and carriers did not want to come off with out a fight. After fighting with them for a bit I got them off and got the camber shims in.





Then the wheels finally came..
I had Fedex Hold the wheels at a local Fedex store by my house since I would not be home to sign for the wheels. I jetted out of work at 3:30pm and went straight to Fedex and then went right home and started working on the wheels. I spent around 6 hours that evening splitting, rebuilding, torquing and doing the first round of sealant on them. MY girlfriend Jess also helped so that made everything move a bit faster.













I did a quick test fit on the fronts to make sure everything cleared and make sure nothing needed ordered.





Roxie checking my work :laugh:



I then did the second layer of sealant Wednesday evening. Then Friday I got off work and picked up the wheels and tires and went to visit my buddy Andrew to mount my tires for. 45minutes later and a few loud shots from the cheetah and the tires were mounted and not leaking. I then ran home and put the wheels on the car and was just so happy everything I had worked for came together. Then the lady, the dog and I took a quick trip up to her work and also gave the car a quick bath.





Then Saturday I woke up, changed the tinted tails out for Red's old Gl tails I had laying in the garage. loved the look so much more than the tinted tails. I also lower the front just a bit more and tightened up and greased my wheel bearings. I then spent the rest of the day driving her around and going to help friends get Ready for Water By The Bridge in Louisville next weekend. I was just so happy to be able to drive her again after watching her just not move in the garage all winter.

[GTIKole.]

A few days later I figured I would go out and get some real photos of the car.

















Then came SOWO! The trip to and from Helen was great!
I used 3 tanks of gas in total for the trip there and back. I did not get the frame notch done in time. So the whole way through the curvy back roads everyone I drove down with had to listen to my axle grinding my frame on pretty much every left turn I made. I got to Helen and meet up with some friends and then meet up with Jamie so we could go our cabin for the weekend. It was great weekend from helping in the OE booth, getting a bed and food for Axle the dog that was found on the side of the highway, finding stolen golf carts, good home cooked dinners at the cabin and just spending with friends I don't get to see all the time.

Here are some photos from the weekend.


















Aftermath of not notching the frame before leaving :laugh:



So a few weeks after SOWO I figured I would get the frame notch done so I could turn left again without making the loud grinding sounds. :facepalm:
used a 2.5" hole saw and made my cut.





I then picked up a 2.5" exhaust pipe from autozone for $2.99. I then cut a section out and placed it in the notch and marked what I need to trim off.





Then welding, grinding and paint to cover the bare metal. It will all get cleaned up even more when I start to work on the engine bay this winter along with other projects for it.





I also picked up a set of Hella all clears thanks to Eric and a euro plate thanks to Jamie. Small little touches that made me very happy.







That gets you up to date on what has been going on with the Van. Hopefully more progress will be made on it soon but just have been busy with getting ready to move and taking care of some of things.

In other news I sold my B4 and picked up a 1982 4 door Rabbit with a OBD1 ABA swap. I have been working on it and changing it around to make it feel more my style. Here it is so far..

[hinrichs]

looks even better than when I saw and drove it that day in pa, congrats

[NeilP]

Love the fact you're rocking a uk plate on it!

Looks awesome.

[ChristopherJason]

mildy hate you cause you have my 2 FAV cars, but ther dope rides cant wait for updates !!!

[GTIKole.]

Thanks guys!

So some furture plans for the build...
-relocate battery to spare area.
-wire tuck engine and headlight harness.
-shave and repaint engine bay.
-PS delete.
-ball joint extenders and tierod flip.
-3" drop plates with -2.5 camber.
-slotted rotors all around
-stainless brake lines
-paint mirror caps and door handles body color
-replace windshield

A Engine swap and full color change are also in its furture just not happening for a bit.

[MadMax]

looks good but I gotta say...I liked it more with the Schmidts, flares and unpainted Bumpers...

[Dremetos]

[99sil-teg]

Love the van, saw it at sowo actually, can't wait to see more on both cars!

[GTIKole.]

Love the van, saw it at sowo actually, can't wait to see more on both cars!

Thanks man! I want to get a few things for the rabbit so bad (wheels, shortened oil pan, extended top hats & bumpers) but it all depends on money left after bills & food. I'm itching to tear apart the mk3 and do the bay but said I would wait until after H2O.

[SebastienPeek]

Super keen to see what happens with both builds. The Mk3 looks awesome so far, love them both!

[j3wman]

Your friend has a Harlequin, that is the only MK3 I want... Yours is pretty cool too :P

[GTIKole.]

We'll I spent some time in the garage today.
I re-adjusted the left front coilover so it was even with the the right side. I have been meaning to do this but have just been lazy.
I also started to clean up the bay. Removed what was let of the evap system, some other wires, moved the throttle cable to back of the engine so it was harder to see, rearranged the plug cable to look better and hide them under a the top coolant line. I want to figure out something for the intake because I love the look with the stock intake box removed but just not sure what I want to do. I'll up load pictures later.

[GTIKole.]

We'll Thursday when the girlfriend was seeing a movie with a friend I was in garage working on the MK3.
I have been meaning to adjust the left front coilover so it was even with the right side which was about 1/4" of an inch lower than the left.





After that I was just looking at the front of my car and the engine bay. I have been wanting to really clean up an engine bay since my old MKV and on Red but never got the chance to do so or was just to scared to take it on. We'll after looking at the bay for about 15 mins I figured I could just try to move some stuff around just to kind of clean it up..





Yeah kind of clean it up LOL....







I figured if I was going to clean up the bay I would finally take on doing a wire tuck and take pretty much everything off the top of frame rails. I started by moving everything to the right side of the car and then deloomed the whole harness. I then figured out the best way to route all the plugs to hide them and keep the away from things that could harm them (wheel, pulley, axle). I took the the fan controls, fan switch, fan plugs, a few power and ground wires as well through the fender. I took the power wiring for the fuse block after getting it out of the loom and out of the firewall and run it to the back of the car where the battery was now located.









I mounted the fan control module on the left side under the frame and fender.



Remounted the ground wire from the engine to the body.





At this point everything was connected and grounded in the same type of way it was factory. Went to turn the key..
click.
I was like WTF is wrong. Looked over everything again and again. After talking to a few friends one said is there a ground from the starter to the body. NO... hahaha Before the tuck there was never a ground there but since battery had been moved no needed to be added. At this point i was out of it and went to sleep. I woke the up and added the ground and Bam! engine fired right up! after that I rewarpped the harness and got everything tucked away. Got it on the ground and went for a drive. It did great. I drove the gas station turned the car off and came back. It fired right up. I was driving home and hit a small bump and my horn just started going off and stayed on. I stuff the car off and the horn was still going off. tried again and the car would not start. WTF happened!!! Got the car out of the street and thanks to some nice guys tired to jump it but it did not help just "click" again. I call a friend and was talking about what happened and the car just started...
Made no sense. I drove it straight home and shut it off and tried to start it. Nothing. Tried to jump it with rabbit and let it sit for a minute. once again the car randomly started. Pulled it in the garage and shut it off and once again it would not start. what is going on..
I then checked all the grounds, plugs and harness to make sure nothing happened. Still looking for something I was like it doing what it did before the starter was grounded. The ground from the body to the starter was fine. cleaned up the area around the ground in the trunk but still nothing. Then I looked at the ground from the engine to the body... My dumbass used a plastic bolt to mount it on a crappy post (last night and be tired made me stupid). I then cleaned a new area and put a self tapper in. Turned the key and it fired right up.

It has been great since then and has been firing up no problem. Driving it more than normal this week as a shake down to make sure it good to go for the trip to Euro hanger. Any ways onto the pictures.





Happy with it for now until I can pull the motor, paint and shave the bay and change a few things around.
Well thats it for today. I'm off to see a movie with the lady.
I'll leave you a picture from the friends over at dub empire.