# SAHRMB's Build Thread



## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

I've always planned on making a thread, but have yet to get around to it until now (1+ yrs after purchase).

I'll introduce myself first and car second.

Me: Hayley. Car Enthusiast. College Junior. Actuarial Science. Jetskiing. Boating. Softball. Life.

Car: Betty. After test driving several cars, none of them really stood out. My dad said I should just give the Beetle a shot even though I really didn't want to, mostly because I wanted something sporty and the new beetles always screamed girly flower power and I associated that with our cars.
It was about 30 seconds into the test-drive that I knew it was the car I wanted. My dad being a rational human said I should sleep on it to make sure it was "the one." I haven't looked back since.

Now onto the fun stuff - pictures!

August 16, 2013: Betty comes home from the dealer with ~4k miles









I was under a tight time crunch (<2 weeks) to get my first mods done before I had to leave for school. That included 35% tint and getting the tails smoked.
Before:








Dirty after:









Then school started and winter came and mods came to a stand still.
I did some little things like install LEDs, which made the car look like a fish bowl.








I also got bored with the DSG shifter, so I got the brilliant idea to order a computer joystick off EBAY, tear it apart, and make it work (with some adaptation) as my new shifter.









Once the coldest winter ever was over, it was time to get modding again.
I took a day trip down to KC to meet up with Mario (Dr. Techy) and get his old wheels and hive his friend help install my new SPM downpipe.
















It was a real struggle to get the stock exhaust and wheels to fit into the car.










Once school was done for the year, I started looking around for a good deal on some used coils or a cup kit, which I did.
After a long and sweaty midsummer day off work, I had the cup kit installed with my own two hands.
Since then, I have gone APR stage 1 and got the stage 2 intake at the same time.
Here is how she sits today:









The decals are for the Central Crown rally (https://www.centralcrown.com) which I will be participating in in a little under two weeks!

I have lots of plans in the future for this car, and this will probably be one of the longest/slowest built threads ever, but hey - thats life!

If you have any questions, just ask!


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

Here are just some pictures I have taken of Betty over the last year -


















That off-road clearance though!!




































In good company!


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## BUG-BITE (May 3, 2014)

Betty looks Great!!!  You got a lot done in a year...plus you got to meet The Dr...lol


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

Sub'd! I still can't believe you fit the exhaust and a set of wheels and tires in there lol!

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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

For those who have always wondered, SAHRMB, my user name and license plate stand for:
"Save A Horse, Ride My Bug."


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## GTarr (May 17, 2012)

Joystick mod = awesome! Not sure if I'd be able to deal with driving something like that, but it sure is cool. Do the buttons actually do stuff? Shift up / down, switch modes D / S? I'd probably want to wire one of them up as ESC disable, lol.

GTarr


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

GTarr said:


> Joystick mod = awesome! Not sure if I'd be able to deal with driving something like that, but it sure is cool. Do the buttons actually do stuff? Shift up / down, switch modes D / S? I'd probably want to wire one of them up as ESC disable, lol.
> 
> GTarr


Funny you ask. I spent about 3 hours one afternoon trying to figure out how to make them functional, but I am in no way electrically inclined and got frustrated and gave up


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

Picked up these bad boys today 
(Well technically it was my dad cause I'm at school, but still stoked.)

I've been wanting to get a more aggressive setup going for a while, and these should satisfy those needs :laugh:
VMR 705s
Fronts: 18x8 et45
Rears: 18x9.5 et 45


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## Grimey-1 (Dec 9, 2007)

SAHRMB said:


> Picked up these bad boys today
> (Well technically it was my dad cause I'm at school, but still stoked.)
> 
> I've been wanting to get a more aggressive setup going for a while, and these should satisfy those needs :laugh:
> ...


Nice! Post the pics...
opcorn:


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

Nice can't wait to see them on the car
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## b0bbybisc0 (Mar 17, 2010)

drtechy said:


> Nice can't wait to see them on the car


Yeah ... waiting for pics! opcorn:


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

Whelp, it was one hell of a weekend that I won't soon forget! Here is a couple of quick pictures of the wheels on the car. This weekend there will be some tire rearrangement, as I just slapped the wheels on the car just in the nick of time for the rally.


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## GZB (Jul 14, 2014)

Betty is purdy...

I kinda favor the Reef Blue. And now that I know what the smoked parking lights look like on our Reef Blue, I may just have to swap mine out. I couldn't visualize what they would look like smoked. Of course the ones in the rear will be done on the car tho.

And the wheels are AWESOME!!!

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## VRACERW (May 25, 2005)

GZB said:


> Betty is purdy...
> 
> I kinda favor the Reef Blue. And now that I know what the smoked parking lights look like on our Reef Blue, I may just have to swap mine out. I couldn't visualize what they would look like smoked. Of course the ones in the rear will be done on the car tho.
> 
> ...



why not pop the rear ones out? get under the car and you'll see, takes about 20sec to do

if i ever get the time to go to a flowjet cutter i may have some thin smoked plex/lexan cover made for them. just have to find out the price to get it done- but i may be able to squeeze out about 20 sets from the sheet i have.


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

Ok, here we go!
I did the rally with my brother, which is why we went with the team name "Team Little Sibs."
At the start of the rally, there were 41 cars and we were last. DEAD last to leave. Partially because we didn't car and partially because that was just how it worked out with where we were parked.
Awesome video of the launch party here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r3dB1NN_UU

Here is our "launch picture."









There were checkpoints that were located so we had to take amazing scenic backroads for almost the whole trip.
Here is some good go-pro footage of the Wildcat Mountain State Park in Wisconsin that was amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KczvW3OICdI&feature=youtu.be

Part of the route also included taking a ferry across some lake in Wisconsin.
Here are a few of us lined up waiting for the ferry, and me chilling on the car while on the ferry :laugh:









A local car reviewer did a little writeup on the rally and my car was mentioned in the same sentence as a 1500hp Ford GT. I almost died 
- "Vehicles ranged from a 1500 horsepower tuned Ford GT to a 1973 Ford Bronco to a Volkswagen Beetle."
http://www.victoryandreseda.com/carmmunity-central-crown/

Despite starting 41/41, we checked into the last checkpoint in 13/41. I was pretty proud considering the other cars that were in the rally 

And lastly, a cool rolling shot.


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## BenandAmanda (Dec 4, 2013)

:thumbup:


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## VRACERW (May 25, 2005)

sounds like it was a good time :thumbup:


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

New wheels look great!


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## BUG-BITE (May 3, 2014)

Looks like so much fun...


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## b0bbybisc0 (Mar 17, 2010)

Wheels look pretty good! I like the way the rears sit. What size did you end up running on the front, it looks bigger than a 225/40-18 (just eyeballing it).

Overall, are you happy with them?


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

Yes Bobby, love the wheels! As for tires, they didn't have anything I wanted in stock so they just threw 2 of my all-seasons. It looks ridiculous right now, but I just ordered new tires for the rears and am gonna go away from the stretch and put the ones that are currently on the rears on the fronts.


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## b0bbybisc0 (Mar 17, 2010)

Nice! I am sure it will look awesome when you are done with it. Nice looking car you have there.


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

This just happened:









Got some goodies coming from ECS Tuning! Happy early birthday to me


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## Vwguy026 (May 1, 2013)

i love your beetle, its awesome! hahaha!


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## VMRWheels (Aug 11, 2009)

good read would read again. nice wheels too!


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## logmk6 (Feb 21, 2014)

Car looks great!! :beer::thumbup:. I love the wheels.


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)




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## BUG-BITE (May 3, 2014)

SAHRMB said:


>


 So.....What did you get???


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

BUG-BITE said:


> So.....What did you get???


We demand answers

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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

Haha sorry guys, I've been pretty sick the last couple of weeks with a kidney infection and then bronchitis. Mostly engine bay beautification stuff, which I will post up pictures of that and other stuff tomorrow!


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

*I'm still alive!*

Whelp, here is my engine bay:









And my inspiration from someone on here (I can't remember his name, but the car's name is Gigi):









The red coils and harness have been sitting in my garage for almost 2 months now, along with a euro switch and something else that I can't even remember right now because it has been so long 

Everything will be going in over Thanksgiving break, and then I'm laying Betty to rest for the winter. I'm excited because I can have a lot more adult car fun and not worry about hurting my baby (not to mention the saved miles and salty mess). However, it is saddening at the same time that I won't be driving her for so long 

In other news, because of the success of the Central Crown rally, and how much fun we all had, the decision was made that a winter rally must be put on as well! Low and behold, yours truly is now at the head of the ship of The Polar Run and I could not be having more fun 
With that said, if any of you are looking for something fun to do the last weekend in January, I would highly advise registering if you are anywhere in the Midwest (shameless plug :laugh!


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## Vwguy026 (May 1, 2013)

SAHRMB said:


> Whelp, here is my engine bay:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

@Vwguy026 After some trolling the forum, I am pretty sure that his name is GZB, so you could ask him!


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## Vwguy026 (May 1, 2013)

SAHRMB said:


> @Vwguy026 After some trolling the forum, I am pretty sure that his name is GZB, so you could ask him!


Ah good idea!!


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

Looks like the BFI can I think

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## GZB (Jul 14, 2014)

Vwguy026 said:


> Ah good idea!!


Not me. Mine's not "Gigi" and I don't know about the catch can either... Sorry I can't help.


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## BUG-BITE (May 3, 2014)

Martyvt????


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

CTS Catch Can http://www.ctsturbo.com/cart/products/CTS_Turbo_MK6_TSI_Catch_Can_Kit-4466-581.html

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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

BUG-BITE said:


> Martyvt????


Yes him! He had that guy do a cool video interview on him.


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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

Wow - I have not been on in a long time and it is sad how many of my pictures are no longer working 

I have been up to a whole lot of no good lately.
Started making decals http://final-gear.com (hit me up )

The winter road rally that I'm organizing has exploded (was expecting 10-15 teams for year one and we are at 29!!!)
https://www.facebook.com/thepolarrun

Betty was put away for the winter, and I'm driving around in this beast for the winter:


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

SAHRMB said:


> Wow - I have not been on in a long time and it is sad how many of my pictures are no longer working
> 
> I have been up to a whole lot of no good lately.
> Started making decals http://final-gear.com (hit me up )
> ...


Betty was put away? Blasphemy!

Congrats, that rally looks like a great time!

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## SAHRMB (Nov 21, 2013)

drtechy said:


> Betty was put away? Blasphemy!
> 
> Congrats, that rally looks like a great time!


Yea, the new wheels only have summers on them, and I'm too poor to buy winters or even all-seasons, and I would prefer not to die and take Betty down with me on a snowy day


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## drtechy (Jun 3, 2009)

SAHRMB said:


> Yea, the new wheels only have summers on them, and I'm too poor to buy winters or even all-seasons, and I would prefer not to die and take Betty down with me on a snowy day


Good choice!

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## natis1 (Dec 2, 2001)

Cool car Hayley, good to see you ventured in the vinyl world final-gear looks good too.


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