We spend a great deal of time focused on the most popular enthusiast models chosen by the community to drive, modify, build, race, and showcase. It makes sense, because those cars, like the E46 M3, MK7 GTI, B8 A4, and other extremely popular performance cars are what most enthusiasts drive. However, we aren’t exclusive to those more common platforms, we love everything from the most basic European vehicles to the funkiest, weirdest, low-volume cars a few select enthusiasts dedicate their lives to maintaining, building, and owning. So this week, we’d like to look on the rarer side of things at one of our ECS family, Dave, who is infatuated with those oddities from VW and Audi. Settle in to an exploration of what goes through the mind of someone who prefers things a bit differently.
How did you get into VWs?
In high school, the car scene wasn’t much in the small town that I grew up in but everyone seemed to have these MK4 Jettas and GTIs that always appealed to me. Granted, before I knew anything about them I never wanted to own a VW/Audi because, like most people, I heard about the maintenance costs and the nightmare of owning them. The appeal came from all these super dumped big turbo 1.8Ts that I kept seeing around town and in the High school lot.
My friend had multiple VWs and he’s really the one who educated me about them along with another friend who played big roles in my interest in Volkswagen. Basically, I learned minimal things from them and ended up purchasing my MK4 VR6 shortly after that. I loved the way the VR Sounded (even though MK4 12vs are heavy slow pigs) and I’ve been stuck with it ever since. Shortly after I purchased it, I started working here at ECS and it’s just been my preference since then. I really have to give it to the Euro Car Community, though, I’ve never met such a diverse group of people that are so completely different yet they share this one common interest that brings everyone together. It appealed to me and I felt like it was something I wanted to be a part of. So, many years later, here I am.
What was the first VW you bought?
The first VW I purchased was a 2001 MK4 Jetta GLX with 114k miles for 3800 bucks. It was really the first “project” car that I had dug into. I daily drove the slammed pile for about 7 years and sold it last year at 200k miles. It was time to focus on other projects such as the Corrado. I had also gotten tired of putting money into it and lost interest. To replace it for daily duty, I picked up the dirty diesel MK6 Jetta sportwagen.
What made you drawn towards the funky stuff like your Corrado and V8 Quattro?
Honestly I don’t know. I like weird stuff. The more I learned about it, the more interesting it became to me. I like the challenge, it’s just part of the fun. I grew up in the Pontiac community thanks to my father’s influence. He taught me most of the things I know. He would always point out weird Pontiacs and stuff that was kinda rare here and there so I guess I just picked up on it.
He is a collector of rare birds himself. He currently has a 63 LeMans 326 and constantly kicks himself in the ass for selling his Super Duty Trans Am, so I guess I inherited the ‘oddball collector bug’ from him. Even though I moved to a weird market and he gives me shit for it, I think he has grown to like the oddball VW stuff that I come across and is beginning to appreciate a different realm that he isn’t used to. I would also love to give a shout out to the guys at German Auto Pros. Mostly, the Burkett Family. Cary, Julian, and Susie have been a big help with a lot of this oddball stuff as well and have had some influence on me to make poor financial decisions, like picking up this Audi V8 Quattro with a manual. He’s also extremely knowledgeable and always willing to help out!
How has it been caring for something that’s hard to get parts for?
Owning these cars just necessitates it. I have become pretty good at finding the rare and NLA things for these cars. I make constant four to six-hour road trips in a night just to go pick up parts from other collectors or members of the VW community. That’s part of the adventure for me honestly and once again it ties back to the people that you meet. I plan to continue to do this as long as I can just for the adventure aspect of it and how much fun it is. Granted, it’s not always financially smart but at the same time you only get to experience certain things in life. Might as well do it while you’re young.
What has kept you interested in cars for this long?
Honestly, the people more than the cars. Don’t get me wrong, I love cars and it gives myself and many others the opportunity to express ourselves. It is mostly the people. Going to shows across the US and just meeting many different walks of life makes this community so full and vibrant. Everything is always an adventure, especially when it’s in something that most people don’t really expect to see on the road.
What are your favorite things about your three cars?
It’s hard to say but I guess I’ll be direct. The TDI has great fuel mileage and makes for a wonderful daily, especially paired with the manual trans. It’s slow, but fuel efficient, which allows me to save money for parts and the other two gas hogs. The Corrado is kind of hard to explain, honestly. It’s just an overall fun car to drive. It sounds great and the active aero is such an interesting and appealing feature (which I spent countless times trying to get to work.) Nothing beats the sound of a straight piped 12v VR, or any straight piped VR, for that matter. As far as the Audi goes? It’s just a weird big body Quattro car that makes V8 noises and caught my eye when it came up for sale. Having the manual transmission in it makes it incredibly nifty, too. I think part of the appeal to it was its ties to the late 80s 90s DTM Era as well
What’s next for your projects?
I’ll be leaving to go pickup two 4.2L V8s hopefully next week to drop the 3.6 out of the Audi for now. Honestly, I change my mind so frequently that I have no idea what my plans are for any of my cars right now. It changes daily. I mostly just want to drive them. Maybe the Corrado will get a turbo at some point and a desperately needed paint job but we will get there. I would love to use the Audi as a road trip car and driver but we will see. I haven’t gotten that far yet.
Wrapping Up
As an oddball car owner, this is par for the course for most folks’ experiences. It’s part passion, part impulse, and a whole lot of nerdiness that brings out a desire to own something like a Corrado or a V8 Quattro. It takes commitment and motivation since finding parts is tougher every day that passes. Many of the parts just can’t be found, at least not when you need them, so it also involves quite a bit of effort and energy to save, refurbish, rebuild, and reuse anything that can be kept. You find yourself hoarding parts, jumping on any post that offers parts you may not have a need for today, but could see yourself needing in the future. Its a labor of love that Dave knows all too well, as many of you likely share. Here at ECS, it takes all kinds of enthusiasts to bring you the catalog and services we offer to keep these kinds of rarities on the road and looking perfect. If you have a story of your own, we’d love to hear it! Reach out to us and share your enthusiast story. You might find yourself in another edition of Tuned In Weekly.
Haha, it runs in the family, your grandfather had a Renault Dauphin and great grandfather had a few weirdos too, including a ’67 Chevele 283/powerglide.
We really love that you are into these older quirky cars as well as the newer modern stuff! There is nothing quite like the feel, the sound, the general experience of a classic Audi or VW.
Thank you Dave for the shout out, we will do anything to help you along in your addiction to old school lol!
We love y’all!!
Love the look back at all the cult cars of the past. I being 62 and unsound mind and body remember such cars. You forget a real odd ball the Yugo with supercharger. Those days of beating all the highend lawnmowers. Those where the times. I had the gloves and the hat to make me go faster. This of course did nothing. I want you to expound on the rise and many falls of the yugo. Those where the times when dropping something the open your mind.
I would die for a pair of Yugo driving gloves
I understand the oddity bug completely. I cut my teeth on AMC, Saab, Opel, and (Saturn???) before moving on to Audi.
I’d love an Opel Cadet!
I feel like this guy & I have something in common. My pop is a Mopar mechanic/collector but I instead became infatuated with my friends 04.5 GLI. That infatuation caused me to buy a 337. A couple years later I found a mk2 Jetta GL 1.6TD Wolfsburg(5sp, sunroof, ac). Last year I bought a mk5 JSW 2.5 as my daily. Either great minds think alike or we have the same expensive hobby.
definitely the latter lol
I grew up in rural Virginia and at the time i became licensed if you weren’t driving a lifted truck or Jeep or a Mustang or muscle car you weren’t considered “cool”. Enter the CJ-5. Which I loved and drove for years.Eventually the AMC Iron Horse V8 gave way to a 289 straight 6 TJ Wrangler. My reasoning was I can’t beat you in a race, but I can park my car on top of yours! Plus, remember snow? I drove that Wrangler for a solid 10 years before getting a job with a provided vehicle and a 6 day work week. Sadly it was a Nissan and served to teach me I DON’T want a Nissan. One lazy Saturday while flipping channels I ran across a Top Gear marathon on BBC American and something in me woke up. Sure, I loved the exotics and supercars they showcased, but what really impressed me was when they’d buy a regular, used Euro car and take an impossible road trip in them. I was hooked. I also fell in love with BMW.
Cut to the end of the contract job. Still had the Wrangler although it had been largely neglected for several years while driving provided vehicles. I received a pretty decent pay-out and decided I was gonna buy a new-to-me car and began my search. Shortly I ran across a 2009 335i coupe on a local dealers website and immediately sent off an email expressing interest. That was on a Saturday evening and didn’t hear from the dealership until Monday. when I spoke with their internet sales manager he told me that since he had posted the car on Saturday they had received over 30 emails, from as far away as Georgia and, oddly enough, Ohio expressing interest in the vehicle but I was first in line and got the first crack at it. Honestly I didn’t know crap about it but that it was a BMW and a coupe, which is exactly what I was interested in. So i started doing some research while waiting for the car to go through their inspection process. By the end of the second article I read I was absolutely determined this was the car I HAD to have. I test drove it Monday evening and drove it home Wednesday! Best vehicle I have ever owned, period. Started off with aesthetic upgrades, black-out grill, interior LEDs, window tinting, etc and after a year of ownership and constant reading about the N54 platform the mod bug took hold like a wood tick(still gotta little Jeep in me – haha). My first performance upgrade was the dual cone AFE intake purchased from ECS. After the simple installation and hearing the extra turbo noise it produces I WAS HOOKED! About 8 months late I got the Cobb Accessport v3 and started playing around with that – WOW!
My upgrade path has been slow, but steady. I like getting the feel of what each upgrade is doing to the vehicle before adding the next. i also found a local Euro specialist who just happens to be a Certified BMW master mechanic who struck out on his own and has an incredible reputation among the small but growing Euro-community around here. As I sit here typing this I keep glancing over towards my next upgrade, a recently arrived ECS box with my Turner Motorsports catted downpipes. My oil pan gasket is seeping and will be replaced on the 28th of this month. I figured while he was under there and already had the skid plates off I might as well add this component to the build. I’m also having the walnut blasting done and maybe new coils, which I should have done when I replaced the plugs. Next up will be new chargepipe and FMIC , then I have to decide what to do with the exhaust….to straight pipe or not to straight pipe is the question….
It’s been pure pleasure driving and owning this car – luckily I got the extended warranty after reading about the weaknesses and it already paid off when the water pump went. Had it replaced at the BMW stealership to the tune of $18 out-of-pocket! Since then I’ve found Jays Automotive in Forest Virginia and he’ll be handling all repairs and upgrade work from now on. Great guy if you’re in the area.
There’s a few other upgrades I”ll do along the way, probably all purchased from ECS as well and after the performance upgrades a new front and rear end and new paint.
After that I may feel confident enough to enter the car in a competition or two. Or at least seriously show it.
Despite the few small dents, dings and scratches hardly a trip out goes by that some young man doesn’t compliment me on the car. Not AT ALL the reason I’m building the car, but it sure does make me feel good about my choice.
I still have the Wrangler and I swore I’d never get rid of it, but I rarely drive it anymore. I can see the day when it’s gone and replaced with another BMW. I’d love to have a station wagon as a daily driver for trips to the grocery and running errand while the 335 is safe at home in the garage.
Plus I love the look of a dropped and blacked out wagon with the performance chops to back it up…..I can already see where that’s going. LOL!