# ODJ's 1988 VW Jetta



## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Alright, It's been a few years since I've done an install, so I'm chomping at the bit to get back into the game.

I'm using a bunch of stuff I've got sitting around at the moment, plus a head unit I still have to pick up. Most of it's mid-grade, but so is the car, and so is my budget :laugh:

Here's my victim. 1988 VW Jetta. Mostly stock, nice and clean. Good second car to have around (and augment my "fleet" of two door hatchbacks).





































Here's the proposed layout:










I've got a couple of quarts(?) of Second Skin Spectrum, about half a roll of RaamMat BXT, some Ensolite, and a few odd patches of Dynamat Extreme, tons of wire and terminals/blocks, lots of spare MDF, and a wee bit of free time.

I plan to fire the sub through the opening between the rear seats, which looks like zis:










Here's another chap's install. Mine will be similar, most likely. 



















The amps will mount to the space to either side of the sub enclosure. Tweets in the "sail panels", woofers in the stock location.

My plan of attack is as follows:

1. Pull interior, clean it, let it dry.
2. Deaden doors, floors, firewall, trunk
3. modify door enclosures, mount woofer & tweeter
4. build & install sub box
5. run all wiring
6. put interior back in
7. enjoy!

Anywho, this is probably going to take a while. Most of my impetus in creating this thread is to remind me that I have to finish stuff. Plus I like documentation, for some odd reason.

Wish me luck! :drunk:


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

So I got a little time this weekend to get started. Please forgive the crappy iPhone pics and zip zop photoshop job.

Messed up vapor barrier










Cleaned up inner door, with a nice thick coat of Spectrum










Door panel and plastic tray










Started installing aluminum flashing.

The crap photoshop job is my plan for an mdf panel and rings to mount the woofer to.










Cut a hole in the door panel










Shot with the door panel and plastic tray temporarily installed. The MDF rings will bring the woofer flush to the surface of the plastic tray. I'll use some textured plastic to finish off the tray part, and likely get a speaker grill from PE: 6" 2-Piece Steel Mesh Speaker Grill Black










This is how I plan to mount the tweets in the sail panel. I'll cut a hole in the existing plastic sail panel cover so that the tweet sits flush - or space it out with a black painted PVC ring.










That's about it for now. More progress to come.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I spent a good bit of the day cleaning up the workshop, putting together the requisite bits, and picking up supplies.

Here's the hardware so far. The DEH-P7200HD is on its way from Amazon 










The Zaph woofers are going to be a tight fit in the factory door panel... and I'm going to have to get things VERY well aligned to avoid mucho trimmage.










Boring photo of a crap load of power wire










After doing a bunch of reading on the forum, I decided to do the door mount & rings in plastic rather than MDF. The doors are pretty damn leaky as is so I figure this will keep me from having to replace soggy MDF down the road. I picked up a couple of black cutting boards from Target:










Went down to Lowes to pick up some hardware (had a coupon), got a crapload of MDF as well, for the trunk. Fit all three of those sheets in the back of the MINI... LOL.










I've had a crack-free MK2 dash sitting in the stash for years. Guess now I have something to use it on.










Anywho - hopefully I'll get a little time tomorrow to work on the car.


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## memphiskane (Mar 9, 2011)

Looks like your off to a good start. Subscribed


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

memphiskane said:


> Looks like your off to a good start. Subscribed


Thanks! I got a lot of work in Sunday and today. Bit of an update to follow...


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I was suffering from a super hangover Sunday, so I did some measuring and planning. Looks like I'll need a couple more cutting boards to properly space these speakers out to nearly the end of the plastic door tray thing.










I doubt I'll really feel like carpeting the box, so I picked up a couple cans of this textured spray paint - which, surprisingly - is pretty much the same texture/color as the cutting boards. LOL.










Awesome fantastic CAD drawings. (riiight)










Today was beautiful out, so I spent it doing whatever any nutjob would do - pulling the whole interior out of the car. Here's it with seats out.










Rear carpets out. It smelled of a thousand years of dog piss in there. Mold & mildew city. There was still water underneath the factory sound deadening.










Dash out. All requisite wires labeled. I've been down this path with no labels before... ugh.










This thread was looking pretty sad from a photographic standpoint, so I busted out the DSLR after I was done for the day. I love Oregon cars, btw - not a single bit of rot anywhere on these floors.

Facing front...










Facing rear...










Here's my "handiwork" from the other day. I really don't like how it came out. I'll probably pick up some DynaPlate and re-do it.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

View through the rear seat pass through.










The rear deck is going to get a layer of mat & some Ensolite. I'm thinking of leaving the old busted speakers (from my buddy's e30) in there. I think they'll be good theft deterrent.










From the trunk opening.










I think I'm going to build a board and hang the amps from the rear deck. They won't fit aside the rear box on behind the seat, and I'd rather not nullify the spare tire area.



















Got back inside to find some goodies came in the mail today. I'm going to leave the factory battery wiring alone, run power wires and "big tres" off the front GM-style battery bolts on the Red Top.










And I'll close out with a sorta decent shot of old Ellen:










so just in case you haven't noticed by now, this build is going to take a while. I'm expecting new window/door/trunk seals in in the next two weeks or so, at which point I'll be replacing all of them. Then.. well, we'll see.


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## ryomanx (Feb 18, 2011)

banana oil! those are some fine cad drawings sir!!


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

ryomanx said:


> banana oil! those are some fine cad drawings sir!!


Banana Oil? :laugh:

Thank you.

I've decided the sub box will be 12h x 15w x 9d, which will yield a .615cu ft volume - that's .015 greater than manufacturer recommendation... I'll go ahead without any batting inside the box at first and see how it sounds.

I'm going to need to cut the pass through opening a little bit, since the OD of the woofer's basket is 10", and the pass through is something like 9" (My awesome CAD drawings are a bit hard to read from here). Maybe I'll put an additional board on the speaker side of the box to recess it a bit so that there's no concern of the surround making contact with the seat back at full excursion (which it'll probably never see, but c'est la vie).

I've got my installer buddy checking into a good deal on some DynaPlate - if it's going to be too pricey I'll just continue with the aluminum flashing.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Got my HU in the mail yesterday:










I pulled all of the wiring (and the Infinity 3.5's) out of the old dash, and started working on the new one. 

I pulled out a trusty helper










Cleaned the dash a bit, put a little dynamat on the flat portions, put in new screw end zip ties.










I trimmed out unnecessary wiring and the old HU's plugs, hooked everything up with bullet connectors for easy removal/troubleshooting, and fit the new HU










The bezel was modded by whomever owned the car the dash was pulled from - it's not the cleanest, but it'll work 'til I find a new bezel.

I can't say I'm a big fan of the looks of the 7200, but it has a few features I wanted - HD radio, iPhone 3gs support, and internal crossover controls. I almost wish I'd kept the minty 800PRS I'd picked up, but I doubt I'll go full active, and wanted a more modern iPhone control.

I cleaned up the top and face of the dash a bit - it's pretty much ready to be reinstalled. There are a couple of smudges on the top that I couldn't get out - but I'll live with it. The rest of the interior is far from perfect. This is a "beater build" after all 










I've got some really neat gauges to install. They match the factory switch blanks, and will give me readouts for voltage, A/F ratio, oil pressure, and oil temp. Just need to pick up about $70 worth of sensors to make it work. Ahh... spending money.










Since everything's out of the car and in the house I can do some work inside in the evenings. Work schedule and wedding planning are going to curtail my weekend time expenditures to some extent.


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## AccordUno (Aug 7, 2009)

I remember having a Jetta torn apart like that.. Sucks that it had title issues so I parted ways with it. Would have been an easy car to build too..

Good look with the install.. I see you are following the MK2 BBS trend.. SOWO this year?


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

AccordUno said:


> I remember having a Jetta torn apart like that.. Sucks that it had title issues so I parted ways with it. Would have been an easy car to build too..
> 
> Good look with the install.. I see you are following the MK2 BBS trend.. SOWO this year?


Ugh, title issues are the worst. I've had to part out a couple of otherwise good shells because of the same.

Hehehe... they're not RSes, so I don't feel like too much of a sheep. They came with the car anyhow.

I'm thinking of heading out to SOWO this year. I'd probably drive the MINI, cos I'm not so sure this thing will be done by then. How about yourself?


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## AccordUno (Aug 7, 2009)

Right now it's either my A4 or my kid's mk2 GTI (VR6), should be a great trip he's actually driving this time instead of me being his chauffeur. 

We are looking for another shell to swap everything into it, we found some things on the current shell that aren't going to cut (rear right quarter panel took a big hit and the PO didn't mention it).. Definitely would have loved to build a Jetta up, had the previous one all planned out just, decided to go another route, b5 Pissant Wagon instead as a daily for the Mrs (well that's what she thinks anyways).


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

AccordUno said:


> Right now it's either my A4 or my kid's mk2 GTI (VR6), should be a great trip he's actually driving this time instead of me being his chauffeur.
> 
> We are looking for another shell to swap everything into it, we found some things on the current shell that aren't going to cut (rear right quarter panel took a big hit and the PO didn't mention it).. Definitely would have loved to build a Jetta up, had the previous one all planned out just, decided to go another route, b5 Pissant Wagon instead as a daily for the Mrs (well that's what she thinks anyways).


Ahh right on - VAG family. Good luck on the shell - if I see anything interesting out there I'll let you know. :2thumbsup:


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## vwtoby (Oct 28, 2005)

brings back many memories for me...my mk2 took a crap load of rammatt and ensolite, still never got it "quiet"....maybe the VR with a 2.5" SS cat back didnt help. anyway, some pics you may appreciate:


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Damn, that's one clean Golf. I really like the brown.

The interior came out very nicely, too. What did you have in it, equipment-wise?

This car will never be that clean - I just don't have the patience or budget for it. I'll be happy with "quieter than before and some good sounding tunes".

It's a stock 8v with the 4-1 mani on it right now - I've got a GTI 4-2-1 mani & DP and a 2.25" straight back with borla in the stash. I'm kinda debating just leaving it alone so I don't have to suffer the drone I had in the last Golf ("built" 8v/header/no cat/2.25" w/ borla). That ish was unacceptable, especially with the solid mounts. ugh.

If you have any tips/tricks to share, it'd be much appreciated.


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## AccordUno (Aug 7, 2009)

do the 4-2-1, trust me on this you will appreciate it.. About that Vr6 drone, good thing that's not my daily but my kids.. So sucks to be him... LOL...

But will say this, Vr6 sure does sound nice..


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## Mikcuz (Apr 2, 2011)

Loved Der Turds car back in the day.


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## Mikcuz (Apr 2, 2011)

Go to SOWO dude! Its gonna rule.


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## Mikcuz (Apr 2, 2011)

Trying to get my post count up so I can post this build thread I just put together with links and pics that dont work till I get to 30. Its a 1991 vw 16v. Your looking good btw. Loving the wheels....what are they?


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

AccordUno said:


> do the 4-2-1, trust me on this you will appreciate it.. About that Vr6 drone, good thing that's not my daily but my kids.. So sucks to be him... LOL...
> 
> But will say this, Vr6 sure does sound nice..


VR is a sexy sounding motor for sure 

I'm going to do the 4-2. Just gotta get the stereo & brakes done first. I've got a brake pedal that sticks occasionally - think I've narrowed it down to the booster. So, I have a replacement booster, 22mm MC, 10.1 brakes & hubs from a 16v GLI. After that and the stereo, I've got a Bildon RSB & the full exhaust to install - if the govt shutdown happens (as it appears it will), I'll have a whole week to work on the car. 



Mikcuz said:


> Go to SOWO dude! Its gonna rule.


It's looking like a no deal this year. Gotta go to Vegas in May for my future brother-in-law's bachelor party. Saving my vacation time for my own wedding/honeymoon.



Mikcuz said:


> Trying to get my post count up so I can post this build thread I just put together with links and pics that dont work till I get to 30. Its a 1991 vw 16v. Your looking good btw. Loving the wheels....what are they?


I saw your thread last night - looking sexy, man! I'll be tuned in for progress.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Oh, and the wheels are e30 325ix BBS. 15x7 ET 40-something. 1" spacers on the rear


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I spent some time Saturday working on the dash. As it is, I think it's ready to go back into the car.

Duostyle gauges installed. I really like these things. They're a bit pricey (~$240 for a set of four, including the A/F meter, which I decided to leave out), but they fit in just like the factory switch blanks and make for a very neat install.










Here's how they fit in. The construction is pretty darn nice - guy wraps them up with heat shrink and insulates everything with some sort of plastic.










Since the signal wires for the oil pressure & temperature gauges are the same color, I used some clear heat shrink wrap to keep the labels on. My trick heat gun holder (aka a roll of tape) works really well 










My buddy Justin brought over some of this really nice fabric tape, which I used wherever the wires might come in contact with the dash. Should help avoid any unnecessary rattles. The adhesive-backed wire stays are from some KVM dongles I installed at work - Didn't need them for the install and figured I'd be able to use them somewhere. Turns out it's in my dash LOL.










I also used a bit here and there wherever plastic surfaces such as the dash bezel come in contact with the dash structure.










I used some dynamat to seal up the speaker holes in the dash.










And finalized the wiring for the head unit. I'm going to keep power run to the rear speakers off the head unit... might upgrade the rear speaks down the road.










That's about it for now. Some interior cleanup is to follow.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I've been busy this week, on some not-so-glamorous stuff.

I spent a few hours shampooing the interior in my basement on Tuesday. I borrowed my buddy's little shampoo/vac thing, which seems to be working OK.

Here's the rear carpet after - I'd say the vac removes about 60% of the schmutz.










The door cards had been getting wet for god knows how long, and were moldy and wavy - so I took the most trashed one, cleaned the cloth side, and used the cleaning liquid to soak the back pretty well. I then laid down a couple of floor tiles, a couple gallons of paint, and a computer case to keep it flat. It's now been that way for a few days - I'll see if it's straightened out at all this weekend.










It's a crap photo, I know, but the phone can only do so much.

Here's the removed water after the rear carpet, most of the front, one of the door cards, and the driver's seat: 










On an audio-related note - I picked up some BXTII and Ensolite IOU Peel & Stick, a barrier strip, and a few other small odds and ends for the install. Last night after work I cleaned out the rest of the doors and trunk lid, and put down a coat of Spectrum. I'm going to do three coats on all the doors and trunk lid.

I have to say - I really prefer the installation of a CLD tile over painting the sludge. It seems to be much more sensitive to a clean surface for adhesion, and it's quite messy to install. Plus, you need at least 2-3 coats for manufacturer recommended install. It takes much longer than just slapping some CLD tiles in.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Well, the door card came out nice and flat. It's nearly dry at this point. The cardboard backing is cracked, so I'm going to use a Dynamat tile to reinforce it. I've found some door cards $40 for a set of four, but for now I'm going to try and rehab these.

The later GLI cars had a really nice set of Recaro seats and matching door cards - I'll keep my eyes out for those.

This weekend saw some small progress. I got the third and final coat of Spectrum on the Driver's door:










Second coat on the rest of the doors. I left the factory tar squares installed b/c they were being a royal PITA. 










And did a second coat on the trunk lid. It kinda matches the paint, but I might cover it over with some Ensolite regardless.










I've got company in town for the next week or so, so I spent a large part of my day Sunday reorganizing the basement, stashing an entire Jetta interior about the house. I've got carpet hanging from the ceiling in the laundry room, seats up on shelves and tied to the ceiling, etc. I'm beginning to feel a bit of a hoarder... LOL.

I have a small project this week, which will (actually) finalize the dash - I pulled apart the bass knob, and I'm going to solder in some male RCA leads and install the knob in my remaining dash blank. I measured up everything and it looks like it'll fit just fine. I just figure that the fewer RCA cables I use, the better - plus I don't have any short, malleable cables - so I'll just cut apart one I've got sitting around and use it.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Company is finally out of the house so I was able to get a little bit of work done this weekend. Third and final coat of Spectrum has been applied to all four doors and the trunk lid.

I plan to hang the amp rack from the rear deck, so I measured out on some scrap 1/2" MDF that ended up being the perfect width. It'll be cut to length (~15"), primed and painted.










The distro blocks (fused pos, unfused neg) and barrier strips will be mounted on the underside of the board, and wires run through holes drilled. Crossover and gain controls will face rearward so I can tinker with them fairly easily when installed.

Sunday morning I started on the bass knob project. Started with this:










There's a small board attached to the potentiometer.










To minimize the number of RCA cables I have in the install, I desoldered the female lead, and soldered in a longer male lead that'll plug into the sub out on the head unit.










I had to dremel out the back of the switch blank a little bit to get everything to fit in.










Looks pretty decent, and tested out fine, no audible loss of volume on my test rig, and no noise from the pot when turned.



















Small victory for the weekend, but at least it's progress... and that's what counts.


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## Mikcuz (Apr 2, 2011)

Sell me those duostyling gauges. Awesome! I love those.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Mikcuz said:


> Sell me those duostyling gauges. Awesome! I love those.


Nah, I won't be selling them any time soon. I've wanted a set since '06 or so, and have been hoarding these for the last two years. I finally think he stopped selling them, too. 

I dunno if you'd be interested for your Golf, as this really looks best on a white/light one, but I'm selling the Treser heckblende & tails from my old Golf:










BTW, last week I met a friend of a friend who used to work at a stereo shop, and he's got a PPI DEQ-230 that I'm likely going to pick up. 30 channels of old school quality EQ! win


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Not much of a progress report per se, but I picked up the DEQ-230 last night. Much to my delight, it's a grey unit and not a white one. (I, unlike most on this forum it seems, am not a fan of the looks of the white PPI stuff)










No progress is likely this weekend since I'm booked solid, but I hope to dig back in full force next week.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

In the interest of thoroughness, I've been stripping the factory sound deadener off of the floors. I finally found the right method - heat gun with a scraper. My buddy Justin came over yesterday and brought a second heat gun, and we went at it until the floors are ready for the next stage - being taken down to bare metal.

This was a lot of work, and probably completely unnecessary. I only found a minute amount of surface rust, but the plan is to coat the floors with a couple coats of Por-15 to fend off any future rust growth. I've dealt with enough of these cars in the past rusting to smithereens to want to go through that again. Here's the floors as they sit:


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## SSCustoms (Oct 16, 2008)

odj23 said:


> In the interest of thoroughness, I've been stripping the factory sound deadener off of the floors. I finally found the right method - heat gun with a scraper. My buddy Justin came over yesterday and brought a second heat gun, and we went at it until the floors are ready for the next stage - being taken down to bare metal.
> 
> This was a lot of work, and probably completely unnecessary. I only found a minute amount of surface rust, but the plan is to coat the floors with a couple coats of Por-15 to fend off any future rust growth. I've dealt with enough of these cars in the past rusting to smithereens to want to go through that again. Here's the floors as they sit:


A giant pain in the ass, but worth the effort if you plan to keep the car for a while!


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

SSCustoms said:


> A giant pain in the ass, but worth the effort if you plan to keep the car for a while!


Yeah, I'm hoping I like it when it's done - I have a habit of going through cars pretty quickly (20 cars in 14 years). Regardless, I hate rust even more than most else automotive


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## AccordUno (Aug 7, 2009)

Don't know if you made it to SOWO. if you did we probably crossed paths.. Drove my kid's gti down, got some video of the drive up from chattanooga..


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

AccordUno said:


> Don't know if you made it to SOWO. if you did we probably crossed paths.. Drove my kid's gti down, got some video of the drive up from chattanooga..


Nah, I went to Vegas a few weeks ago, and that pretty much ate up my travelling budget for the next few months. How was it?


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## AccordUno (Aug 7, 2009)

Crazy, bigger than last year.. VWoA had the GTI-R there. Ton load of mk6 on RS, B5 S4s, mk5 on RS, cars on bags.. Overall, good show with a few asshats thrown around between saturday and sunday some people had small things stolen.. Oh, I drank too much and got sun burned..


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

AccordUno said:


> Crazy, bigger than last year.. VWoA had the GTI-R there. Ton load of mk6 on RS, B5 S4s, mk5 on RS, cars on bags.. Overall, good show with a few asshats thrown around between saturday and sunday some people had small things stolen.. Oh, I drank too much and got sun burned..


Ugh... the douchebag influx. I think they're what will keep me away from future shows. 

That's cool tho - I would have liked to go, just wasn't in the cards. Maybe next year. Hopefully I'll have this car done by then LOL.

BTW - I got my replacement amp in yesterday. It incurred a little bit of shipping damage, unfortunately, but I can fix it. I'll have some pics up in a bit.


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## AccordUno (Aug 7, 2009)

That;s cool, yes I need to get done with my A4 soon as well.. my kid is trying to do the full drive this time by himself. and me following in my A4.. should be interesting..


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

AccordUno said:


> That;s cool, yes I need to get done with my A4 soon as well.. my kid is trying to do the full drive this time by himself. and me following in my A4.. should be interesting..


Nice. How old is he?


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I got a little more time this evening to work on a fairly small project.

On a junkyard trip a few years ago, my buddy and I found two of these half-DIN cupholders just sitting on the ground, already removed for us.

I finally got around to using it today 

I cut the ash tray out, marked the hole for the cupholder to fit:










Cut it out and test fit.










I decided to flush fit the cupholder, then cut a piece out of a spare console to cover the big gaping hole I'd left over. Cut another hole in teh side and installed the cig lighter socket.

Gotta clean everything up once it dries. It's a good five footer, which is pretty much all it needs to be.

I have no idea if it'll clear the shifter once it's installed. If not I'll scrap it and start again.



















Tested out my "new" amp this weekend as well.










And my buddy busted out this big son of a b*tch. Sweet Poison A7000+










No clue why the writing is upside down on this one.










I know some of you are fabrication masters, so please don't laugh at my hokey **** :laugh:


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## NIU_Huskies (Feb 24, 2011)

That brings back memories. My first car was a 1988 Volkswagen Jetta coupe. Bought it in '01 and got rid of it in '03. It had power nothing and was a 5-speed. Makes you appreciate power steering.

Had too many mechanical and electrical issues. Put A LOT of money into that car just to keep it running and then right before i got rid of it the radiator starting leaking due to a crack. 

I modified the rear deck to fit 6x9s. I remember those door panels were practically thin cardboard.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

NIU_Huskies said:


> That brings back memories. My first car was a 1988 Volkswagen Jetta coupe. Bought it in '01 and got rid of it in '03. It had power nothing and was a 5-speed. Makes you appreciate power steering.
> 
> Had too many mechanical and electrical issues. Put A LOT of money into that car just to keep it running and then right before i got rid of it the radiator starting leaking due to a crack.
> 
> I modified the rear deck to fit 6x9s. I remember those door panels were practically thin cardboard.


Yeah, they're like any other old car and can eat your wallet up pretty quickly, especially if someone else is doing the work.

The door cards are some sort of pressed cardboard or hardboard. Either way they suck. :laugh:


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I got the floors fully stripped. There was a little bit of tar left here and there, but I got really tired of doing this part of the project and moved on. Here they are soaking in MetalReady in preparation for the Por-15.










After two coats of Por-15:










In between coats I put in one of the new front window seals and trunk seal from FAW-VW China.



















And hit the trunk with some RaamMat BXT (orig)










Can't have a project car without Window Cocks.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

A couple weeks ago, I fixed a burnt fuse holder (4th speed fan switch, so says the intarwebs), pulled the old cheesy amp power wires and leaking grommet, removed as much of the rest of the factory sound deadening schmutz as possilble, and laid down some RaamMat BXT2. It was hot as balls so I went back in and had a beer.










All of the RaamMat has been laid down as of this past weekend (on floors and firewall bulkhead) and Ensolite over top. Man this stuff really cut down echoes in the car!



















The Ensolite conforms to floor contours pretty damn well, and sticks like a champ with the glue Raam provides. I have a few wrinkles, but I'm going to have another layer of padding over top of them, so I'm not worried.










Thanks to Justin for all the help with that!

I really wanted to switch back to the earlier hatch plinth, but I see why my buddy Tim (PO) converted to the later style cover. Old busted KMFDM sticker and some surface rust. Yuck.










Most of the clips for the rear plinth cover thing were pretty borked up, so I replaced them with these rubber compression grommets from Home Despot. There's a threaded insert in the end, and as you screw down they compress around the back to create an anchor and seal as well.










Here's how they sit installed










That's it for now. I'm kinda held up at the moment waiting for the replacement antenna. After that I'll button up the firewall and install the dash.


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## AccordUno (Aug 7, 2009)

Hey, if you need anything Mk2 related, let me know, we sold my kid's GTI, to do a 5sp swap on a B5 A4. So I have a CE2 fuse blocks, MAFs, and a few other things..


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

AccordUno said:


> Hey, if you need anything Mk2 related, let me know, we sold my kid's GTI, to do a 5sp swap on a B5 A4. So I have a CE2 fuse blocks, MAFs, and a few other things..


Hmm, I'm pretty good on parts AFAIK - do you have a FS thread up that I could peruse?


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## AccordUno (Aug 7, 2009)

we have some stuff posted on the Vortex under 99BlackA4. But I think right now it's a 02A transmission..


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

AccordUno said:


> we have some stuff posted on the Vortex under 99BlackA4. But I think right now it's a 02A transmission..


Fair enough. I'm ODJ over there in case you get a PM from me


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## nar93da (Dec 11, 2008)

Looking good! I've always liked these old school VW but I'm partial to Honda.

A little advice if I may. Try using dry ice next time on the factory deadener. You won't have to mess with scrapping tar if your lucky. It's never failed for me yet but the car is pretty old.


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## SSCustoms (Oct 16, 2008)

odj23 said:


> Most of the clips for the rear plinth cover thing were pretty borked up, so I replaced them with these rubber compression grommets from Home Despot. There's a threaded insert in the end, and as you screw down they compress around the back to create an anchor and seal as well.


FYI...the rubber things you used are called wellnuts. They are used pretty extensively on the bodywork of sportbikes.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

nar93da said:


> Looking good! I've always liked these old school VW but I'm partial to Honda.
> 
> A little advice if I may. Try using dry ice next time on the factory deadener. You won't have to mess with scrapping tar if your lucky. It's never failed for me yet but the car is pretty old.


Thanks. I like my Hondas as well (owned a Civic for a while, considered an S2000 before going for the MINI), but have stuck with the VWs for a while - if for no other reason than I've been working on them, parting them out, and hoarding parts for them for about 8 years now.

The dry ice trick was the only one I'd heard of that I didn't try - I figured buying/transporting dry ice was going to be a PITA, especially since I didn't know when I was going to have time to work on it until shortly beforehand. Nonetheless, I appreciate the tip 



SSCustoms said:


> FYI...the rubber things you used are called wellnuts. They are used pretty extensively on the bodywork of sportbikes.


Oh sweet! I think you just saved me from having to buy those at Home Depot again. Thanks!


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## BowDown (Sep 24, 2009)

Wow this is a pretty cool build log. Going to keep tabs on this.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

GOOD STUFF HERE!!

I so dread trying to remove that tar/ASSFAULT in my German sled. What
is the deal with the dry ice? Is it an easier process over the heat and scrape
method? Your lucky you didn't run into the old horse hair crap that is used 
under the carpet as a pad. That stuff is going to be the death of me!


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

BowDown said:


> Wow this is a pretty cool build log. Going to keep tabs on this.


Thanks man, I try  Not nearly as hardcore as your dash sub project, I gotta say. Enjoyed watching that thread.



FLYONWALL9 said:


> GOOD STUFF HERE!!
> 
> I so dread trying to remove that tar/ASSFAULT in my German sled. What
> is the deal with the dry ice? Is it an easier process over the heat and scrape
> ...


Thanks!

I had a bunch of MOLDY jute to contend with. I'd trade that for horsehair :laugh:

Like the other poster mentioned, and I've heard from other sources as well, dry ice apparently just hardens it up enough that you can hit it with a hammer and it shatters.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Took the day off today, feeling like crap. Got bored sitting still and decided to do a little work in the shop.

Here's part of my parts hoard. Rapid Parts 8v valve cover.










DJ Auto smoked aero headlights. These replace the pitted US sealed-beam lights with H4 european beam pattern lights.










Osram H4's (thanks, Justin)










These are "euro" style headlamp so they have a hole providing for a parking light of sorts. I didn't feel like hooking that up or just leaving the bulb holder in there, so I put a small piece of electrical tape on some silver duct tape (sticky sides together) and placed that over the hole for the parking light.










Voila!










Then I prepped and added a bead of clear silicone around the sealed edges (these are apparently prone to leaking between the glass and metal). 










So yeah, here they are all ready for install


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I installed the lights & a new black front badge just now.

Before doing so I taped up the back of the H4 connectors - I don't like that they're exposed. Probably doesn't do a thing but it makes me feel better 










Pulled out the old headlights and found an old wasp's nest. What is it with my VWs and wasp nests?










New lights & badge. They match up really well to the smoked indicators, I think. The car is kinda filthy - still covered in pollen from Spring. I don't really want to wash it until I get the new seals in.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I did the "big three" upgrade today. Well, actually big four: + to starter, + to alt, - to chassis, - to trans. All of it is 4 AWG, techflexed & heatshrunk.

I figured out a good method for adding heatshrink & techflex. First off, make sure that if you're not cutting it with a hot knife that you hit the ends with a lighter to keep them from fraying. I wasted some already because it frayed. Have your crimp finished on one end, slide the techflex on partially, and then slide your heatshrink over it. Then just move the techflex to the end and crimp the other end, put your heatshrink in its final place, and hit the heatshrink with a heat gun.

here's a somewhat decent visual:










Three of the four inished cables.










In order to get everything to fit, I rotated the battery around. Factory connections use the top posts, and I added some GM posts to the side, where all of the upgraded lines attach.










****ty iPhone pic of engine bay.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I finally got around to updating the system diagram today.


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## Stonewall78 (Jan 31, 2008)

You are exactly right on your way to sleeve cables. I build cables like that at work all the time. Another trick is to use adhesive lines heat shrink. It bonds to the sleeving and the wire much better. Good call on using the fire proof sleeving too (white tracer wire). 
Do you have a link for where you got those seals? I am hoping they have some for my cabby which is getting a rebuild and new system soon.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Stonewall78 said:


> You are exactly right on your way to sleeve cables. I build cables like that at work all the time. Another trick is to use adhesive lines heat shrink. It bonds to the sleeving and the wire much better. Good call on using the fire proof sleeving too (white tracer wire).
> Do you have a link for where you got those seals? I am hoping they have some for my cabby which is getting a rebuild and new system soon.


Right on. My buddy keeps telling me how awesome the adhesive heat shrink is. I'll have to pick some of that up!

The sleeving's not fireproof - that's a gold thread 

I got the seals from a guy who did a group buy from China. Won't do you much good on the cabby tho - it's just for four door mk2 jettas. Check out Your Source For Hard To Find VW Porsche & Datsun Z-Car Seals and Weather Stripping. Their prices are pretty good - IIRC they have some stuff for the cabby as well.


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## Stonewall78 (Jan 31, 2008)

Ha I have no idea what the gold tracer is then. Thanks for the info on the seals.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Stonewall78 said:


> Ha I have no idea what the gold tracer is then. Thanks for the info on the seals.


It's just for looks. They make pink sleeving, green sleeving, etc... lol. 

No worries on the seals, I'm glad to help. I've had quite a few mk1's (six? Eight?) and they all have shot seals at this point. New stuff used to be ridiculously expensive, so it's good there are folks out there doing repops.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I got a bunch of work done yesterday with the help of my buddy Justin.

We did up a template for the back seat panel which will hold the sub box, amp, and eq in place. It'll be held in with bolts and hurricane nuts.

The board has notches out in the corners where the mounts for the rear seat are.










The aforementioned hurricane nuts:










Since I rarely have the right tools to do anything, I figured out a neat trick for countersinking and only drilling partial depth holes. Basically, I just figure out the depth I want to go to and wrap some blue painters tape around the drill bit. Works pretty well. If you're just doing countersinking depth, you need to clean the bit out every time you use it, but still - better than nothing.










Here's the initial mockup of how the speaker box will sit. It's just over .6 cuft, which is the manufacturer spec for a sealed box for the Infinity 10". My cuts weren't perfect, but it'll look good enough with some carpet on it.










So that I had everything oriented properly, I drilled a hole in both the seat back panel and the sub box front, exactly in the center of where I wanted the speaker to sit in both. I then used a metal dowel (from my Jasper Jig setup) through both to get them in the right place. I drilled holes for the hurricane nuts that'll hold the box to the panel.

Another neat trick - with everything aligned I drilled the first hole for the hurricane nuts, and used a screwdriver to hold the panel in place 'til I was done with the other holes.










I initially thought I'd mount the amp on the outside of the box, facing the trunk, as pictured above, but if I have the space I think I'm going to mount everything as follows:




























I gotta pick up some carpet and fleece (for the door pods) this week, then hopefully I'll get everything in the car and mocked up. Should be pretty sweet when it's done


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## BowDown (Sep 24, 2009)

Coming along very nice. Keep up the good work.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Got my wheels on Saturday 










Yesterday I got out and finished the woodwork for the sub box and support panel.

Busted out the jasper jig and routed a hole just larger than the outer diameter of the subwoofer.










Then added a 1/4" roundover on the side that faces inwards to the car.










Hit it with some primer.










And then a coat of this textured spray I got. I like the finish, but the nozzle was all messed up and sprayed a large blotch on the top right. Unfortunately I couldn't get it wiped off without making more of a mess so I decided to leave it. It should be mostly unnoticeable... I hope.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I routed the front of the speaker box as well, and used some of the smaller #8 hurricane nuts on the rear to support the sub.










Here's how it looks fitted.










Then I routed the rings for the front speaker pods. I don't have a router table, so I just flipped the thing over and went to town. Not OSHA compliant, but I still have my fingers 










Finished product, with a 3/8" roundover posing as a chamfer. Gotta work with what you've got


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Another busy day today.

Finished up the wires for the sub box:










Carpeted the box, added some acoustastuff (probably too much, honestly), installed binding posts. The side you see is attached to the support board and nobody'll see it. I added a layer of Ensolite to prevent any resonance between the box and the support board, and to act as a seal around the sub.

And holy ****, the spray adhesive stuff will get you all sorts of ****ed up. I had to go outside and take a break for a while.










This is what you'd see looking in the trunk.










Pic with sub installed.










Support panel paint dry, and test fitted against speaker box.










And carpeted










Sub box mounted to support board. The Ensolite here serves the same sort of purpose as the piece on the sub box.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

With all that taken care of, I moved on to some other stuff. Replaced some rotted out seals on the hvac junk.










Installed firewall grommet & techflexed power wire.










Replaced all of the rotted vacuum lines.










Replaced the antenna (no specific pic)...


And test fitted my new wheels 



















Oof... just barely.




























One wheel has a bend in it (you can see it in the pics I posted of the two wheels sitting on the floor), so I gotta get that taken care of. Might just pay someone to refinish all of 'em... haven't decided yet. Either way I think they're going to look bad ass.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Another busy day...

Put the dash in first, wired everything up with the help of my buddy Matt. Replaced the battery and it fired right up first try  Tested the AC and found a big leak at the expansion valve  Timing's way off, engine bogs and backfires out the intake 

Matt gave me a hand mounting the sub box in the trunk...










View of the sub box from the trunk. I swear it looks pretty damn good when not on my iPhone. I need to bust out the real camera tomorrow :-/










View from inside the car










I had to run some additional wiring for dash stuff today... grounds, power & sensor wires for the Duostyle gauges. I techflexed the shiz in the engine bay, and used one of these suckers to run power for the gauges. it just allows you to expand on a circuit.










crap pic of it installed:


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Amongst other wiring crap I did today, I ran the driver's door speaker wires. This is where the speaker wire comes out for the tweeter, which will sit in the sail panel.










Labeled up everything using a labelmaker and some clear shrink wrap. I'm working with an assortment of scrap speaker wire... it's good stuff but the runs aren't terribly long. So... I'm breaking up the runs in places that make sense. Door speaker wires will be terminated at bullet connectors right inside the car. I feel like it gives me some future flexibility in amp placement, wire runs, etc as an added bonus.










Half decent pic of dash installed. Still needs some parts reinstalled.










Duostyle gauges lit up after the car'd idled for a bit. I'm going to leave the protective wrap stuff on the faces 'til everything's installed.










That's about it for today. Figured out I'm missing part of the speaker cover on the right side of the dash, the defrost vent things on top the dash - all of this on an early dash (snap in bezel) with the hard(er) to find pieces. Oh, and my hvac panel is completely broken. Figures that I can't find my spare... groan.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

So my HVAc panel was busted. The grey backing piece (which you see in the pic below) had cracked in half and the knob thing would no longer click into place.

So I went digging last night - mostly on Anthony's prodding to find a better power source - and found the old style HVAC panel that came with the dash. Of course, all of the clips were broken off... so I decided to make a hybrid.

The plan was to disassemble both, and transfer the guts of the old style unit to the new one. So I disassembled them both...










Trimmed a bunch of crap, and glued them back together










Of course, the new style knob jammy wouldn't snap into the old style HVAC panel (note the feet)










So I busted apart the old style hvac knob (which has a different pin-out that doesn't match my harness, in case you're wondering why I'm doing this)...










And I bent the plate from the old knob to make a clamp for the new one



















Voila... lots of work so I don't have to go to the junkyard.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Next on the agenda was to work on the door cards. This was what I was envisioning...










But the Zaph 5.25's need .25cu ft worth of air space, which pretty much negated the cubby jammy if I didn't want the speaks to stick out a good 8" from the door.

Here's the mediocre Trohpy door card I'm staring with. 










All the leather (?) is pulling up










So, I removed it










Laid down numerous layers of blue tape, and waxed it with Collonite.










Took it outisde and laid some fiberglass










And blammo, I've got some door pocket molds.


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## KyngHype (Sep 7, 2009)

Coming along great , nice mkII


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

KyngHype said:


> Coming along great , nice mkII


Thanks man


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Today, I drew a line with a marker.










Actually, two lines.










Got busy with a dremel.










Stuck some hurricane nuts in some hardboard, drilled some holes, and mounted the pods on a board.










Laid quite a lot of fiberglass. (Hotter mix this time... perfect actually... yesterday's piece took three good hours to dry.










While those were drying, I set the ignition timing. Response is better and it doesn't seem to want to backfire out of the intake, but it took a little bit of effort to get it started after it was warmed up. I'll deal with that later.

I also found a better fuse to use for the gauges.

Decided that since the pods are in progress that I no longer need to worry about sealing the doors, so I applied a little Raammat, and made myself a new vapor barrier. It came out OK.










Pods dried, and trimmed. They both bow in a little in the middle... not sure what that's about but it'll do.










More hurricane nuts. These damn things are useful.










Got to work on the sail panels, decided to try out the CA/grill cloth method.

Start with a sail panel, a tweeter, and some PVC










Figure out your depth


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Cut the PVC (holy hell does that stuff smell bad.










Handy face protector is handy. Thanks Bernie!










The tweet secures using an M4 screw, and I drilled additional holes for the leads.










Cut out some grill cloth, sandwich it in the PVc with the tweeter.










Just secure the grill cloth around back with some tape










Lots of tape.










First try. Painters tape around the tweeter was a BAD idea. I had to use a scalpel, a razor blade, and a couple different flatheads to get the tweeter back out. Some flaws and an overly shiny part on the side.

NOTE: Use the accelerant for the CA glue very cautiously! I did a test piece first and had it smoldering. Plus the fumes are horrid.

NOTE #2: Be careful with CA glue in general. I managed to not get some parts with the accelerant and they were still wet when I started taking things apart. As a result, I am typing with 3.5 out of 10 fingers encapsulated in glue. Plus I somehow glued my shirt to my chest hair. That kinda sucked to fix.










I sanded the edge around the tweet and used a sharpie to re-black it. I have extra sail panels, lots of grill cloth, and more PVC, so I can always make another one later. Now that I know the basics I can futz around with it a bit.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

I was still standing so I decided to get a start on the second sail panel.

I wrapped the tweet in saran wrap this time, MUCH better idea.










One of my pieces of tape came loose as it was drying so I went to the rescue with my fingers. Of course, I managed to glue my gloves (yes, this time I was smart enough to wear gloves) to the piece... and couldn't get loose without mangling it. I had to get my fiancee to help me get out of the gloves... LOL.










While that was drying, I made up a board to mount my crossovers on. It'll hang from the parcel shelf in the rear, between the rear speakers, and over the amp/sub box.










And finally, a pic of the two tweeter pods next to each other.










I'm off to have a beer and relax for a bit. Dunno if I'll be able to finish tomorrow since it's supposed to rain most of the day. Plus I have errands and such that I've been putting off all week.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

So doing the tweeter housings without actually fitting them in the car could be a bad idea, as they aim downwards a bit. I'll have to see how they sound.










I finished the crossover board today.










Got to work on the door pods...

Hot glued in some dowels to support the speaker rings



















Stretched some awesome fabric










Soaked the fleece in resin, and trimmed around the edge where it sits on the door card










I had some old bondo in the shed, so I made a bondo milkshake to coat the inside and fill any leaks. (this one was a bit lumpy) I don't know how I'm going to finish these just yet. I'm not 100% happy with how they came out.










I got the rest of the FAW-VW seals installed. The rear driver's side fit is a little funky (the rear doors are a mild PITA, btw), so I might redo it later.










Cleaned up the inner door skins and applied Raammat, then made a vapor barrier for the passenger front door.


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## cadaver (Sep 17, 2006)

awesome install. do you know what the crossover points and slopes are on those zaph crossovers? looked, but no info that i could see


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Nah, I remember looking at those to consider as a jump-off point when I was considering going active, but can't remember if I found anything or not


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## jayhawker (Jun 24, 2008)

great write up.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

jayhawker said:


> great write up.


Thanks man


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Lots of stuff's happened the last few weeks, but unfortunately not much of it with the car.

I started a new job, lived through a (minor) earthquake and a (fairly major) hurricane, had to clean water out of my basement... all of this while limping around after dropping a ~250lb TV on my foot:










Before the storm last week I managed to trim the fiberglass'd cloth away from the opening and take it back to round. Speaker still fits in there perfectly. Hole at the bottom is where the speaker wire runs through the door card.










I got a little bit of work in today after cleaning up all of the tree schmutz out of the yard.

Some RaamMat on the door and made a new vapor barrier










Mounted up the door card to make sure it fit over the new vapor barrier. I think I'll still have room for some ensolite on the back of the door card. Yay!










Finished all the wiring in the inside of the car.

RCA's and right side speaker wires on the right.










Power, switched 12v, and left side speaker wires on the left.










I ran out of the 3m strip calk I was using to adhere the vapor barriers to the door, so I gotta pick up more of that ish before doing the last door. 

Sh*ts coming together finally!


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

damn dude, I would have thought you were snake bit... No pun.....

Glad your pullin through.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> damn dude, I would have thought you were snake bit... No pun.....
> 
> Glad your pullin through.


LOL, thanks! Nah, I'm healing up pretty well. I had a pretty mean pimp limp for a minute.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Looks good dude. Love the old Dubs.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Got the carpet underlay stuff in today. I used some Harbor Freight anti-fatige mat - it's closed cell and cheap - but it's a bit to thick so the carpet's sitting a little funky. I'll deal.



















I had guests for a bit so I had stuff stashed all over the house. the front carpet's been hanging in the corner of my basement along with the trunk carpet, over my sump pump.










Not perfect by any means, but the steam cleaner did a pretty damn good job.










I got all four door seals in today. Three of them took about 5-10 mins each, but one was a f*ckin PITA and took me more than 40 mins. It just would NOT go on. I had to run a small flathead through the seal to open it up a bit, and even then it was a whore to install. My hands are so frickin' sore.

Here's how she sits.










I really wanted to get the last of the vapor barriers done, but I couldn't find any of the strip caulk for sale around my house. Guess I gotta order that shiz online :-/


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

tintbox said:


> Looks good dude. Love the old Dubs.


Thanks dude


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Alrighty, so I have had a bit of time over the weekend and this evening to get some work done.

I pulled the pods back out, and sanded them with the DA










Added a layer of the 45deg mat










While that was drying I lopped off the center seat belt stuff. not going to need that.










Sanded down the pods 'til they were about 85%ish.










Picked up a trunk monkey from the store. He was quite helpful installing the rear fill and crossovers.










(he's going to hate me for that one)

Oh yeah - my pimp center console is in, and it looks like the drink holder should clear the shifter.










I picked up a mesh screen from parts express and cut it out to fit in the open space between the back of the seat and the sub.










Wrapped up the pods with some carpet



















Here's how they'll look in the door card


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Square of ensolite behind the woofer. Dunno if this actually does anything, but I have a bunch sitting around.










Woofer in. Yes, my workshop has become a huge mess again. Looks much worse when I take pics with the decent camera.










Finished pods. The white specs are just dust.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Interior is mostly in, trunk's still a mess, but I drove it today  

To my surprise, everything works! Minor stuff to take care of, but it's good to drive at this point.

I'm frickin' tired, so here's a pic dump:























































First drive in 6 months  Took the poocheroni to the gas station.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)




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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

So, right now I've got just the amp installed - haven't put the EQ in yet - and the rear fill isn't hooked up.

I'm crossing between the front components and sub @ 80hz -100 was Zaph's suggestion, but it sounds pretty good at 80 - only gets muddy at higher volumes than I intend on running. 

The tweets are a bit overpowering.. I'm going to give them a bit to break in, but if that doesn't improve I'm going to look at different mounting locations. As of right now I've got them padded down a little bit in the head unit's eq.

All in all it sounds pretty good! I hope to get things dialed in a bit more in the near future.


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## Yoursogansta (Apr 6, 2009)

Man, nice car. this was one of my first sub installs and the sealed box behind. was very musical.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Man, how ironic. I stayed up way too late last night reading your Sentra thread. Great work in there man, I'm blown away!

Thanks, btw


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## fight4life28 (Mar 18, 2011)

I love the Custom box idea you made for it. Looks great, was it hard to make?


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

fight4life28 said:


> I love the Custom box idea you made for it. Looks great, was it hard to make?


Umm... nah I don't know if I'd say it was particularly hard to make. It was just a lot of thinking and planning and staring at stuff and daydreaming, and then some measuring and cutting. It's a lot easier to measure & install with two people tho.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

This weekend I got the rear deck all sorted, got the trunk carpet installed, and... washed her! Claybar on the upper part of the car (paint was ROUGH to the touch), then waxed with some Collonite. I love that stuff... it lasts forever. The car looks so much better now. Here's some decent pics.

Oh yeah, I took the grill spoiler off to see what it would look like.














































I'll clean up the wires when I put the EQ in there 










Oh, and my coffee mug fits ever so perfectly in the cupholder! Mwuahahahahaa! No more pinching drinks between the seat bottoms and the parking brake handle :laugh:


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

My trim clips came in last night, and I got the front driver's door trim back in place. I might have to clean the rear bumper up a little bit before I leave for H2O this weekend, too.

And... a couple of things that are on my list to redo...

1. "sail panel" tweeter housings. a. I don't like how they sound... i think I need to either move them forward to the a pillars or aim them up and forwardish (I'll detach them and play around with different locations this time), and b. I don't like the way they look. next build will be a fiberglass/filler/paint kinda deal so no more flimsyish grill cloth/CA glue nonsense. It was worth the experiment.

2. Move the amp & find a new ground. The board that supports the sub box creaks a little bit when you get the car twisting (uneven ground, etc). I'm going to move the amp to reduce the amount of weight that's on the board, then pull the board down and ensolite the front fully. I think it's the areas that are wood against metal that are making the noise. I also don't like how the amp looks sitting there, and I'm not sure that the ground I got against the seat belt bolt is the best. It seems that the amp isn't making peak power. Either that or I'm just craving a sh*t ton of headroom. I <3 headroom.

When I do those two I'll clean up the wiring in the trunk and wrap it in techflex like the engine bay shiz. I'll also hide the crossover board wiring some. Maybe just cover it in grill cloth, since I've got a sh*t ton of that. Dunno yet.

I gotta focus on brakes and suspension next. The car stops and turns like arsehole. Coilovers are in my future... probably the ST joints unless I can find a good deal on some ultralows or KWs. I've already got a (mostly) full brake setup.


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## jockhater2 (May 9, 2011)

wow. That is sweet. And we have the same car


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## hugmeharry (Oct 7, 2011)

I'm a fan of your work. Great job!


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

It's been a while since I updated this thread... haven't done much in the way of audio since I last posted though... it's been all mechanical stuff for the most part. 

I wasn't very happy with the look or sound of my sail panel tweeter setup, so I decided to mount 'em in the factory dash location.

So, I took one of the OG speakers from my buddy's dash










sliced that dirty slut with a dremel










cut out some plastic and added a layer of Ensolite










and made a chinsy bracket thing to go on the back.










Mounted that bizzle in the dash. (I put the cover back on after the pic)










Part of the reason I left my wiring so "modular" was for situations like these. I just ran new wires from the dash to the kick area, and swapped out the leads from the old tweet spot to the new one. So, since I have both tweeter housings already, I can move them back to the sails if I wish.










So, it went from this










... to this.










And not only does it sound a lot better, but it looks a f*ckton nicer in there. I busted out some of the CDs that I used to tune with back in the day and got it dialed in pretty good, just using the 6 band EQ that comes with the head unit. Not perfect, but a lot better.

I have dreams of buying an RTA setup and tuning that way, but meh... we'll see.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Here's a quick overview of the other schtuff I've been doing with the old girl since September...

Sourced a good condition trim piece for the front door, all new OEM clips










Purchased & fit black C pillar and headliner trim.










New complete exhaust, front motor mount, knock sensor 



















RAPID valve cover 










Coilovers


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Rear brake cylinder replace & full bleed










Re-blacked the rear bumper










Fixed the driver's seat base



















started installing a new rear sway bar 










And took some pics... with my phone


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## Thrill_House (Nov 20, 2008)

Im not usually a vw fan but im really like the care and attention that are being given to all the upgrades on this car, very nice sir!


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## jockhater2 (May 9, 2011)

That valve cover is dope!!!!

have you thought about doing the Multi-rib belt swap to this jetta?

I just did it to my 1991. Deleted 2 vbelts!!! Power steering is the only thing still on vbelt.

Volkswagen MK2 (MKII) belt swap/conversion - YouTube


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

jockhater2 said:


> That valve cover is dope!!!!
> 
> have you thought about doing the Multi-rib belt swap to this jetta?
> 
> I just did it to my 1991. Deleted 2 vbelts!!! Power steering is the only thing still on vbelt.


Thanks dude, I've wanted a Rapid VC for years. Always loved 'em. Just finally found one at a good price.

I have all the bits for the serp conversion minus a known good AC Compressor. Once I can sort one of those I'll do it. I'd really like to have working AC on this car 

Here's the conversion on the engine I built for my last MK2:


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## jockhater2 (May 9, 2011)

odj23 said:


> Thanks dude, I've wanted a Rapid VC for years. Always loved 'em. Just finally found one at a good price.
> 
> I have all the bits for the serp conversion minus a known good AC Compressor. Once I can sort one of those I'll do it. I'd really like to have working AC on this car
> 
> Here's the conversion on the engine I built for my last MK2:


JUST GORGEOUS. Are you on vwvortex?

Did you have the problem with the power steering pulley and the fact that it was crooked with the crank pulley? I did. I had to put nuts in between the p/s pulley and the pump to correct the offset.

What is a rapid valve cover anyways?

Your going to do the conversion and keep A/C? I think thats where it gets pricey.

I ditched the A/C. I might do a 2nd alternator in the future.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Thrill_House said:


> Im not usually a vw fan but im really like the care and attention that are being given to all the upgrades on this car, very nice sir!


Thanks dude


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

jockhater2 said:


> JUST GORGEOUS. Are you on vwvortex?
> 
> Did you have the problem with the power steering pulley and the fact that it was crooked with the crank pulley? I did. I had to put nuts in between the p/s pulley and the pump to correct the offset.
> 
> ...


Thanks! That was a great motor. ABA block, p&p head, 270 cam, ported intake mani... awesome midrange power... perfect driver 

Yup, "odj" on Vortex. Been there since '01.

I don't remember what I did about the PS pulley. I am pretty sure I had the pump & pulley from a MK3, and used that. Dunno for sure tho 

Dunno if Rapid just made stuff for the MK1/MK2 8v motors or if they were one of the super vee dudes (like Bertils). Pretty sure it's the former though.

I'd like AC. I hate showing up places with a sweaty back.


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## jockhater2 (May 9, 2011)

odj23 said:


> Thanks! That was a great motor. ABA block, p&p head, 270 cam, ported intake mani... awesome midrange power... perfect driver
> 
> Yup, "odj" on Vortex. Been there since '01.
> 
> ...


I live in wisconsin. So A/C is definitely a joke in this state.

Ok. Thats essentially what I did. I used my p/s pump in an mk3 bracket.
I just found out about vwvortex about 6 months ago. Love the site. I've already bought TONS of used parts HAHA.


My jetta has no bawls...She is a dog. And about to only get slower.


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## jockhater2 (May 9, 2011)

oh btw. The size of that camshaft makes me laugh. Mine is the stock size. Yours has to be at least 2 1/2 times that.


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## nismo4life (Jun 4, 2012)

I hate how clean your MK2 is >.<. I wish I could find a rust free small bumper jetta that clean!


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

What's up DIYMA crew!

I've been kinda MIA for a bit on this thread. Not a lot to report on the stereo front in the last few months.

Biggest thing I did, stereo-wise, was to put some polyfill in the front door enclosures. That helped bring some midbass up front. Still not perfect though.










Otherwise I listened a lot and tweaked with the EQ and high/low pass settings in the deck. Also figured out that one of the channels on my sub RCA is bad, and I borked up wiring between the deck and the rear speakers somewhere in the dash. *shrug*

So, I put a cheap ass system in a beater Ranger I picked up, and just had to post about it here... then got back into checking hot deals and classifieds every few days.... and, well, you know how it goes. My new DEH-80PRS should arrive next week 

I plan to run full active (hi/mid/sub) and just pull out the rear deck speakers. From the reading I've done so far I'm not sure if I can run the tweeters off of the head unit's power as part of the networked mode. So... I'm considering a 5 channel amp to replace the ESX, most likely a class D. That damn ESX weighs a TON.

Anyhow... I'll post more about that stuff when I get to it. Here's a quick summary of all the _other_ work I've been doing on the car as of late:

Trimmed the front fenders










Rolled the rears










New wheels & tires










New motor mounts, new exhaust


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Picked up some awesome waterproof fuse holders & relays, and relayed the headlights



















Flushed coolant, new water pump, new thermostat










Installed my FOHA spoiler










New dash bezel










New windshield (Por-15'd the channel first)










OH! I started building a 1.8T to go in next summer  Aiming for ~250whp/300wtq


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## jockhater2 (May 9, 2011)

i am just so jelly of you.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

LOL Don't be dude, this car drives me nuts! :laugh:


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## jockhater2 (May 9, 2011)

odj23 said:


> LOL Don't be dude, this car drives me nuts! :laugh:


At least it looks gorgeous


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## AccordUno (Aug 7, 2009)

odj23 said:


> LOL Don't be dude, this car drives me nuts! :laugh:


Patience, Patience.. LOL.. I know how you feel..


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## mcqueena (Sep 9, 2010)

odj23 said:


> From the reading I've done so far I'm not sure if I can run the tweeters off of the head unit's power as part of the networked mode. So... I'm considering a 5 channel amp to replace the ESX, most likely a class D. That damn ESX weighs a TON.


You can run tweeters off the head unit and the mids and subs off the RCAs in network mode. Be sure to follow the manual, it's a little confusing as to what is the mid and high on the outputs.


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

jockhater2 said:


> At least it looks gorgeous


Thank you! 



AccordUno said:


> Patience, Patience.. LOL.. I know how you feel..


It sucks. I'm back to four cars to babysit now, too. First world problems, right? :laugh:



mcqueena said:


> You can run tweeters off the head unit and the mids and subs off the RCAs in network mode. Be sure to follow the manual, it's a little confusing as to what is the mid and high on the outputs.


Ha! I was just reading some of your posts toward the end of the ginormous 800PRS thread. Cool... I saw that a few people chimed in that you can run internal amp.

Now I can stop shopping for new amps. My wife would be pissed! :laugh:


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