Welcome back! We've been waiting for you...... :lol:

Lovely to see your New Beetle again!

 

Hi,

Welcome back, Very sharp car!

Happy Driving,

John K.

 

Welcome back!Nice bug!

 

awesome bug!

 

okay awesome bug...but you HAVE TO TELL ME...Where did you get the front bumper?!?!?!! I really love the look of it and want to look into getting one, but I can't find them in the states...

Great car!

 

I love your Beetle, it's looking great. I wanted to know how you went about color matching the inner part of your headlights. I've been searching for aftermarket headlights, and haven't had too much luck finding many, so this is the next best bet.

I really appreciate your help. Keep rockin' the Bug!!

 

Mattsbug | The front bumper is actually the US votex bumper which I then smoothed and reshaped a little to match the original Euro votex bumper. I also removed the indicator lights which are mounted up next to the headlights. The turn signals are now located along the bottom in the fog light position.

n2vdubz | When I had the front end of the car painted I disassembled the headlight housings and had them painted along with the bumper. If you do this I recommend going to a trusty body shop and walking them through the process. My body shop ended up cracking a housing and neither one truly fits well anymore.

 

Good to see you back on NB.Org. The bug is looking good as ever. I really like the 18" Trophys and the AWE Tuning license surround.

 

Excellent job on a beautiful bug. Any interior pics?

 

I will get some more interior stuff later.

 

Always looks gr8 man. :bigthumb:

Do u have an engine shot and WTF is that graphic on your speedo?

 

I will get some more interior stuff later.

LOVE YOUR INTERIOR!!! Can't wait to see more!! You have a SWEET beetle !!

 

4/26/06

 

Looken SWEET! Love the hood, is that custom with the air induction or did it come that way ? Love what you have done and the roof is interesting

 

the hood is a custome one off item i drew up and had fabricated by a friend.

 

like everything about this nb--its

 

What's the story on the front bumper? Did you get a euro one, or was it possible to shave those side markers? What kind of gains did you get from the exhaust, intake and GIAC software? Ever have it dynoed?

Looking good though!

SMG

 

Also, how were the signals by the headlights shaved? I am really impressed.

 

And speaking of turn signals, where are they? Hidden behind the grill? Your car looks fantastic, I just wish my car had a manual! Let us know what kind of gains you get from all your mods.

 

The bumper is actually the US votex front with all of the turn signal and indicator holes in it. I looked into having a Euro votex bumper imported and it would have cost a fortune, plus I would have still wanted to shave the upper indicators.

I actually had a broken oem beetle front bumper sitting around and ended cutting the missing sections out of the old bumper. This was then bonded to the areas that needed filled and smoothed over.

The turn signals are actually rewired to the foglight location and I do not have foglights. I am looking into getting a euro rear bumper cover to complete the smooth look.

as for performance. I did notice an improvement with the intake chip and exhaust. At the same time my car now had 100,000 on the clock and the clutch is sleeping so I can't feel it anymore.

The exhaust is a 2.5" straight through design that I had custom built when my car was turbo (yes at one point it was turbo). Without the turbo is lags in the bottom end, but once off idle it levels out and smooths out in the upper rpm's. This makes it fun on the highway, but around town it can feel a little sluggish. especially since 1st gear is so short.

I can't say that I have really taken advantage of the chip yet. Soon I will be purchasing a USRT short ram intake manifold and a techtonics 260' cam and will remap the chip to allow the motor to breathe a little better. I think this is when the motor will really wake up.

 

I won't even ask for details on the turbo to 2.0 engine swap...

So no cat converter and no muffler? Upgrade the cam? Never heard of anyone modding the cam on a NB.

 

I won't even ask for details on the turbo to 2.0 engine swap...

It was a 2.0 with an early ATP turbo kit. I left for college with $30 and the turbo kit was the only thing I knew could get me money quick. I regret that decision every day.

So no cat converter and no muffler?

I still have the cat, but the cat is ~2.5" anyway so no size restriction there. and there is a rear muffler, just no center resanator and the rear can is a straight through design.

Upgrade the cam? Never heard of anyone modding the cam on a NB.

Well, it is the same AEG motor that is found in the early golf/ jetta so all mods apply. The techtonics came is a good cam that the ecu can adapt to and does not require replacing the valve springs as the single valve springs in the aeg will bind with a high lift cam.

The USRT manifold is netting ~ 10 whp and with the cam and head work I am hoping to gain in the range of 20 whp. This may not seem like a lot for the money, but this is pretty consistent over the whole range and not just a spike at the top of the power band.

I am not trying to build a drag car here so I want usable power over the whole range. My goal is to compete in some track events starting next summer so a peppy engine and a lot of suspension work is in the works. This is also part of the reason for the cleaner, less bulky front end.

 

Awesome. I love the TSW Trophys. I can't wait to get mine refinished. My best friend and room mate from college lives/owns a shop in Conshohocken. I go out that way atleast 3-4 times a year if not more, so maybe we'll bump into eachother. Keep up the awesome work.

 

what shop??? I actually live in east falls and my girlfriend lives in roxborough. I pass through Conshy on my way to and from work every day.



oh, and here is a pic of the USRT intake manifold that I keep referring to, the only catch is as of right now I will end up being a guinea pig to see if it will fit within the cramped engine bay of the beetle.

 

John Brothers Automotive.