There are many similarities between Honda’s Civic and Integra and Volkswagen Golf and Jetta. Engines and transmissions that work across platforms and smaller parts like brakes and suspension can help both sides get better speed and a better look. Both groups were essential to the growth of the JDM and Euro movements in the U.S., and both have loyal fan bases that often started in high school and have stayed together as adults. Looking at the specs for this 1991 Volkswagen Jetta GL, you’ll see that Brian Buckley’s changes are the same as many of the Honda builds on Super Street over the years. The engine swap, clean engine bay, and broken OEM brake setup, among other things, remind me of its Japanese front-wheel drive competitors from the early 1990s. Many more cylinders After trading in his MK1 Golf in 2010, Brian used his Jetta as his primary car for a long time. “That quickly turned into a long-term project car in 2013, when the original transmission completely broke down on the way to New England Dustoff,” he says. With the help of a New Hampshire company, the Jetta got a brand-new heart and powertrain built on a 12-valve VR6 swap that used parts from the MK3 GTI and Corrado platforms to make everything work. Brian’s Jetta served him well for the next three years, thanks to its front-wheel-drive, ultra-compact VR6 engine, which had more power than the 1.8-liter engine it replaced and was a joy to drive with. During that time, he had no idea that rust was slowly ruining the Tornado Red paint on his car, which was hidden by an earlier body repair. “In 2016, I decided to start restoring and changing the outside of the house while keeping the original color,” Brian says. The Past Was Looked At A set of brand-new OEM quarter panels was put on to hide the old bodywork completely. While the car was getting much work done, Brian removed all the original flares, lights, and late-model decorations. This was an essential part of his plan to make the car look like it was from the past. He picked MK2 bumpers, lower trim from an earlier model, and a grill and headlight treatment made for the European market. “Some small parts of a late MK2 remain, like the side mirrors and license plate tub on the back,” he says. “This gives the car character.” Shaving and tucking the engine bay, standard on many current Honda and other makes and models, started in the VW scene decades ago and became standard. He decided to fix the engine while painting the outside of the car. He removed anything unnecessary and smoothed out a lot of the sheet metal. The highly changed sheet metal in the engine room was then painted the same brand-new OEM color as the rest of the Jetta. The interior of the VR6 was not changed, but Brian did make a few changes, most notably in 2021, when he spent part of the winter without the head. “I rebuilt my head in my tiny rented garage with Autotech 262 cams and a Techtonics chip,” he claims. “I used a metal head gasket that was specified for a later version of the VR6, which is said to increase compression to 10.5:1,” the author said. A unique intake, header, and 2.5-inch exhaust system can all be made with parts from Vibrant Performance. Under the front core support is also an MK3 GTI radiator with hand-made metal hard lines that bring coolant to and from the VR6. Brian will sometimes swap the old five-speed transmission with a newer six-speed one. Aftermarket swap parts, MK4 GTI CAE shifting components, and a little help from my colleagues at Victory Auto Design were used in the transformation of an MK4 GTI into a 02M. some fabrication and shop work,” he says. Making Stop and Go Better Even though it doesn’t have the over-cambered look that some people associate with VWs, the fenders were changed during the makeover to allow the wheels and tires to be set up more aggressively. The car’s bold red color and black details look great with the classic design and shiny polish of the 16×8 and 9-inch CCW Classic Five wheels. The significant improvement to the brakes, which involved rebuilding the rear drums and adding parts from other VW models, supports these wheels. The front wheels now have Corrado calipers and 11.1-inch rotors, while the back wheels have GLI brakes and 9.4-inch rotors. Instead of the OEM Jetta seats, Cobra Classic RS seats were put in. These seats were not part of the standard package. “I took the interior apart and gave it to Mitch Woloshchuk, who did a great job reupholstering all of the seats and interior pieces with Delicate leather and textile from Maharam,” he says. After the front and back seats and panels were put back in place, a Momo Daytona steering wheel and a Wester Mass Waterworks custom shift knob were put on the CAE shifter. Brian had Joe Booth from Perfection Plastics make a one-of-a-kind shifter cover to finish off the work on the inside. It’s fun to do something different from the RX-7s, Z-cars, Skylines, Civics, and 86 Corollas we usually build for you. Any chassis could benefit from the same level of accuracy and hard work that Brian put into his Jetta over 13 years, and the result would be just as good.
