Mk2 Jetta Coupe Build

I am currently Building a Mk2 Jetta coupe for stage rally. We've currently got the whole thing stripped down and we were wondering what to seam weld and If any areas were more inportant than others. Were going to do as much as possible but i wanted some input from the peanut gallery (just kidding). I will have some pics next week once the cage arrives.

We are also going to be running a 2L with 40 mm dellorto carbs (on factory spark for now), 270 degree cam, Quaife, and 4k trans. hopefully if I can sell my 4wheeler we will be running a JVAB suspension setup.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone know if window tint is legal in RA or will i have to untint them?

-Ted

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Ted DeInnocentis
MK2 Jetta Coupe Rally Car
BMW E46 323i daily driver
Toyota Tacoma Sweep vehicle

Do every seam possible, but if you can't do everything focus of the key structural points (strut towers, frame rails, etc)

It will end up looking something like this:

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-Jason

If we believe what Ford says, and what I've seen on prepped stuff from way over yonder a 1/2" weld, then skip an 1 1/2" is plenty and faster than the amount you've done in the piccie.

My first car I did more also, but really its just more time, heat and weight.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

haha that is so true, a friend got a little over anxious while playing around with the new welder but yeah, its a little overdone

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-Jason

Jason,

You're shell is coming along nicely. Lotsa seam welding under the hood.. Will it be ready for Doo Wops? There will be some good action in the NW 2wd classes this year..

Titan,

As for other areas to strengthen/protect on your Mk2..
1. Give serious thought to switching to Subaru front strut top hats, far superior design, pretty easy to retrofit..
2. Reinforce and weld the pedal box. Crappy spot welds on stamped steel don't hold up very well in rally applications.
3. Build some sort of steel subframe to mount your skidplate to..The pans are precariously, low as well as the PS pump if you have one..
4. Cover fuel filler neck inside rear wheelwell w/ HDPE or LDPE. They are thin plastic that will get peppered with gravel leading to filling your fuel tank with dirt/debris eventually.
5. Make sure if you go for a cam, that's it's not a "track cam".. You'll lose torque and HP down low.
6. The JVL suspension for the VWs are great suspenders. We used them on of our Mk2 builds.
7. Spare control arms and rear axle. Those are the items most prone to need replaced after you're off..

That's all for now.. Hope that helps.
B-

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Build the car, race the car, crash the car, fix the car..Repeat

B- Wrote:
-
> 1. Give serious thought to switching to Subaru
> front strut top hats, far superior design, pretty
> easy to retrofit..

Yeah the VW bearing assembly is worse that the Xratty one, a bad joke. The Sub-a-rat ones are strong and haven't changed since before the Le-gassy cakme along so 5 buck at better juinkyards everywhere.
The VW has a tuncated cone thang in the top of the strut tower, you slice that off and drill 3 new holes and boom you're done, the Sub-a-rat top mount has the truncated coone thang as part of the upper steel plate, same idea but stronger.
Mod once and forget.


> 3. Build some sort of steel subframe to mount your
> skidplate to..The pans are precariously, low as
> well as the PS pump if you have one..
Here's an idea for the side mounting plates:



> 4. Cover fuel filler neck inside rear wheelwell w/
> HDPE or LDPE. They are thin plastic that will get
> peppered with gravel leading to filling your fuel
> tank with dirt/debris eventually.

Or find the all metal tanks and filler neck.
Or cover the thing with some sheetmetal. I can think of several DNF from the neck abrading thru.

> 5. Make sure if you go for a cam, that's it's not
> a "track cam".. You'll lose torque and HP down
> low.

Actually if you understand the relationship to the intake valve closing ABDC and correct for the longer opening time of any hotter camshaft, you correct for the lower compression ratio the longer duration effective gives you by milling the head.
Do this and you pick up substantial amounts of ft/lbs and also can utilise the more torque and more bhp that you were after when you started oggling hotter cams.
Speak with somebody who make real nasty rally motors.
Maybe ME.

> 6. The JVL suspension for the VWs are great
> suspenders. We used them on of our Mk2 builds.

Absotootilly. Impressive results like top 5 stage times for several of the guys using the things and reports like, worked great and LANDS perfect after big jumps make me all proud as can be.


> 7. Spare control arms and rear axle. Those are the
> items most prone to need replaced after you're
> off..

Actualluy spare front knuckle/hub assemblies as i've seen those Maine rocks bend the fawk out of the fixed steering arms giving my baddest competitor about 2 1/2" toe out on one side, and with no spares, he was a DNF and lost a Gp2 National second place to my friend Jerry Sweet, and so there was a SAAB 1-2 (with the superior desiged Saab 96 V4 with its high mounted rack winning, and the 99 of Sweet 2nd)

And give some thought to strengthening and protecting the vulnerable shift rods under the floor
>
> That's all for now.. Hope that helps.
> B-
>
>
> Build the car, race the car, crash the car, fix
> the car..Repeat

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

does anyone know what the best way to take off the body glue is?

I've tried a:
Heat Gun & scraper
Wire Wheel
Wire Brush
Scothcbrite pad on a Pnuematic grinder
Grinding wheel

None seem like they are the right tool for the job. Any Ideas?

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Ted DeInnocentis
MK2 Jetta Coupe Rally Car
BMW E46 323i daily driver
Toyota Tacoma Sweep vehicle

dry ice/liquid nitrogen

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Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

The stuff they use on VW's scoffs at dry ice. Liquid nitrogen might work - haven't tried it. I used a wire brush on an angle grinder for most of it, and torched the areas I couldn't get into, like up inside the rear wheel wells.

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Self-righteous douche canoe

out of curiosity, what is the benefit to removing all of the junk from the bottom of the car and in the wheel wells?

Other than to allow for welding, doesn't this stuff help protect from rock poundings? if its weight, the HDPE has to weigh something too

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-Jason

mack73 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> out of curiosity, what is the benefit to removing
> all of the junk from the bottom of the car and in
> the wheel wells?
>
> Other than to allow for welding, doesn't this
> stuff help protect from rock poundings? if its
> weight, the HDPE has to weigh something too
>
> 94 Golf
> www.Mack73.com

Doesn't protect worth shit.
It IS in the way of welding, there are seams in the wheel arches and under the floor.

And yeah if you blindly follow the crowd and think like many, (if some underbody protection is good, then acres and acres of fplastic flopping around and in the way must be soooper doooope r goood!!!) the HDPE can weigh a LOT, but a smart cookie will put protection where it will do a specific job.

Most of the rubberized shit the VW uses is probably also there for damping skeaks and groans from a flexy shell. I'm convinced that's why such thick layers are globbed onto the Xratties.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

All the snot under the VW floorpan weighs about 20, maybe 30 lbs total. It will protect against gravel pitting the paint, but that's about it.

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Self-righteous douche canoe

what is the best place to but gravel tires?

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Ted DeInnocentis
MK2 Jetta Coupe Rally Car
BMW E46 323i daily driver
Toyota Tacoma Sweep vehicle