# 1990 frankenjetta build



## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

I thought I'd start putting some pics of my build up. I haven't really been taking that many pictures so far but the car started out like this....










I fixed all the rust and stripped it down. The 8v had almost 300k km's on it, so I bought a 1.8t to go in. Most of the wiring is finished now and the motor is sitting in my garage waiting to go in. I recently took the air ride off of my mk4. I was sick of needing to constantly fix things that went along with being low. On my daily I just wanted to be able to get in and drive. That being said, it was probably a result of buying cheap air ride parts :banghead:. 

Its alright though because I'm reusing some of the parts on the mk2! After reading another thread about a mk1 with crazy rear tubs I talked to the guy and got some ideas. I did some cutting (notched the frame rails in the rear) and the result is just over 16" ftg. Now I need to get the front low but I'm having some issues with the control arms hitting the subframe mounts. In this pic there are no springs on the front struts and the axles aren't attached to anything, so theoretically it's as low as its gonna get without cutting stuff. Anybody have ideas?? 










On another note I went to pick n pull today and found this sick bench from a GMC (I think it was a jimmy??)










a pic from when the mk4 was bagged...


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## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

was going to reply to your post in the show off thread, but i found this here thread instead...

**** looks dope man... you have any pics of the raised strut towers or shortened control arms?

really interested in this, especially your front setup

my only thought is that the subframe on the ground is going to hold you up from pulling off the height you're at in the rear

lets see some progress! :thumbup:


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

alright here's a big update, forgot i even made a thread on here. i got some stuff done tonight. its sitting about as low as it can in the front now. sway bar is out, tie rods are flipped, and i modded the control arms a bit. on top of that the strut towers are now raised 2 inches. i have a bit of welding left to do in the bay, gotta close up some holes (mainly aesthetic) if i can get that done, the engine should be able to go in on friday. on another note, i need to order some bigger lips for the wheels. they dont fill out the fenders enough, especially with the rear ones pulled like they are. anybody have some 15" rm/rs lips for sale?? anyways here are some pics from the past week or so....

mk4 dash is gone, started building this.










tower raise in progress










i think this is going to be the final color










after tonight's work


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## Beitz DUB (Sep 22, 2008)

Bench seat in front 
Like it:thumbup:


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## dhenry (Feb 10, 2009)

opcorn:


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## Twilliams83 (Jan 25, 2011)

helll yes opcorn:


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## d-bot (Sep 6, 2004)

in


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## Niagara_V_Dub (Sep 25, 2007)

Nice, I like the bench seat too. Keep that shiz ratty looking, low and flat is sexy. Are you gonna go WWII aviation style for the dash? If so, you are now my hero cause that look is the cats meow. Keep up the good work though.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

Niagara_V_Dub said:


> Nice, I like the bench seat too. Keep that shiz ratty looking, low and flat is sexy. Are you gonna go WWII aviation style for the dash? If so, you are now my hero cause that look is the cats meow. Keep up the good work though.


ive been scouring the interwebs for switches from wwii airplanes. i want something to use for the air ride


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## Niagara_V_Dub (Sep 25, 2007)

martin13 said:


> ive been scouring the interwebs for switches from wwii airplanes. i want something to use for the air ride


ORLY? I am in the Navy as a Aviation Electrician (specialty of Power Generation and Instrumentation) and I have a thing for WWII aircraft. The P51 Mustang is the sexiest machine ever made. Sorry, I know I have a problem. A couple good sites to check out are

http://b17panels.com/id27.html

or I am sure you could rewire this to function as a switch box










or custom make a panel with these aviation style 3 position momentary switches

http://sensing.honeywell.com/index.cfm/ci_id/147495/la_id/1/document/1/re_id/0

or 









with this cover










like I said, unhealthy obsession. Let me know if you need any aviation WWII pointers, I did corrosion control, panel painting, instrument repair and so on my carrier and my grand father was WWII aircrew on a bomber.


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## simon_C (Oct 5, 2006)

just FYI, those covers force the switch into the "down" position.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

i did some work this weekend...


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## I4N (Mar 9, 2011)

love the work done so far :thumbup:


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

Niagara_V_Dub said:


> ORLY? I am in the Navy as a Aviation Electrician (specialty of Power Generation and Instrumentation) and I have a thing for WWII aircraft. The P51 Mustang is the sexiest machine ever made. Sorry, I know I have a problem. A couple good sites to check out are
> ..........
> 
> like I said, unhealthy obsession. Let me know if you need any aviation WWII pointers, I did corrosion control, panel painting, instrument repair and so on my carrier and my grand father was WWII aircrew on a bomber.


found some that work,


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## vjg1215 (Mar 23, 2009)

That thing is sweet. cant wait to see it finished.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)




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## reynolds9000 (Oct 16, 2003)

Good work man! This is going to be pretty unique when it's all finished. :thumbup:


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## Niagara_V_Dub (Sep 25, 2007)

That is gonna be uncomfortable for the people in the backseat to sit on. But the ladies might REALLY like it when the compressor kicks on


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

Niagara_V_Dub said:


> That is gonna be uncomfortable for the people in the backseat to sit on. But the ladies might REALLY like it when the compressor kicks on


i don't think anybody will be sitting back there lol










also the compressor part might be an issue too :laugh:


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## reynolds9000 (Oct 16, 2003)

Just don't try to cross the border. :laugh:


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)




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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

I don't think these guys understand just how low this car is haha. After seeing it in person i was shocked beyond all belief, the floor is sitting on the ground the whole length of the car and you sit on the ground, totally rad feeling.
:wave:


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## d-bot (Sep 6, 2004)

I'm really enjoying the thread and the ideas but you better get someone who knows how to weld to finish off that popcorn you have going on. Please don't take this the wrong way but welding is a practice skill and takes time to learn how to do properly. This is really more about safety of yourself, your passenger(s) and other drivers. Keep it up otherwise. :thumbup:


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

d-bot said:


> I'm really enjoying the thread and the ideas but you better get someone who knows how to weld to finish off that popcorn you have going on. Please don't take this the wrong way but welding is a practice skill and takes time to learn how to do properly. This is really more about safety of yourself, your passenger(s) and other drivers. Keep it up otherwise. :thumbup:


i definitely agree that my welding needs a lot more practice. they aren't the best looking welds but I am using the proper settings on the welder and getting the right penetration. I'd rather have ****ty looking welds with some strength to them than to grind it down, weaken it and hide the fact that i haven't had 5 years experience as a fabricator


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## simon_C (Oct 5, 2006)

martin13 said:


> i definitely agree that my welding needs a lot more practice. they aren't the best looking welds but I am using the proper settings on the welder and getting the right penetration. I'd rather have ****ty looking welds with some strength to them than to grind it down, weaken it and hide the fact that i haven't had 5 years experience as a fabricator


practice more. looks like youve actually got the gun set a little cold.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

I have been super busy lately but when I have time, I work on the car as much as possible. First off, my lips came from tunershop. 1.5" so they are not too wide but I'm not down with the whole poke thing.

















I had a realization that I wasn't taking my time on this enough. I definitely cut some corners and I wasn't happy with the fab work I did. Pulled the whole rear suspension setup out, dropped the beam and cut the hubs off. I then went and bought some steel and started making something from scratch... more to come on this later










In the meantime, I got the tires off, split the wheels and ordered some properly sized tires instead of the 45 series **** that came on them when I bought them. 


































I was curious how they fit in the rear so I temporarily bolted up the rear suspension I had been working on and put a wheel on the rear. The new setup doesn't go quite as low as before but that's ok with me because I feel it is way more structurally sound and it also means no reverse rake. I also added about -4º of camber on each side when i built the new rear beam.


























-Martin


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## Velvetchrist (Jan 15, 2009)

*Sick*

I just subscribed to your build this thing is going to be a monster and I friggin love the bench
Seat! :beer:


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## McSlo2.0 (Mar 5, 2011)

bump in hopes for updates


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

McSlo2.0 said:


> bump in hopes for updates


sad news, i sold the engine and the shell is gone. still have the wheels and other stuff but the car just wasnt right and couldnt bring myself to dump anymore money into it. im workin on the mk4 right now but my eyes are always open for a new project.


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## McSlo2.0 (Mar 5, 2011)

that is very sad news that things was coming together real nice. :beer:

do you have any more pictures of how you set up the rear suspension?


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

McSlo2.0 said:


> that is very sad news that things was coming together real nice. :beer:
> 
> do you have any more pictures of how you set up the rear suspension?


thanks, i have held onto the wheels in hopes of finding a car that they will go onto. rear suspension was the stock beam with the floor in the trunk cut out. i welded a piece across the back of the beam and mounted the bags to that as well as some shocks. not sure how well it would have worked :laugh:


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## d-bot (Sep 6, 2004)

updates?


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

d-bot said:


> updates?


 This build got parted out in change for a different/better project. I will let Martin post instead of stealing his thunder...


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

MechEngg said:


> This build got parted out in change for a different/better project. I will let Martin post instead of stealing his thunder...


 Thanks Sean, yeah I got sick of seeing this thing in my garage and I bought this....


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## d-bot (Sep 6, 2004)

Think you did very well! Plans for that one? Build thread anywhere?


Post enhanced with free VIP posting status.


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## martin13 (Apr 20, 2010)

d-bot said:


> Think you did very well! Plans for that one? Build thread anywhere?
> 
> 
> Post enhanced with free VIP posting status.


 No build thread, I don't come on here much anymore. I am too busy with real life/working in the garage. Plans are to just make it work as well as it can for its age, replace all the broken bits, and air. I just cut the springs for now, it's so low it's close to being undrivable haha :thumbup:


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