Ray's '97 Vento VR6 Clean up thread

[Ray]

Hi guys , been on a here a little while but didnt have a booted vw for the last while to show you. Been on the look out for a Vento or a late spec Jetta for a while so when this one came up i went over to Newcastle from Ireland to check it out and brought it home. Bought it off Simon [sim16v] on here , seen it advertised on pistonheads and clubgti. As Simon described it , it's basically a Highline Golf spec in a Vento. Heated Black Leather , Electric Sunroof , AirCon , BBS Solitude alloys etc. I thought the colour was unusual too being Storm Grey LK7Y. The car had 102,420 miles on it when i collected it , a full folder of receipts and that all important vw book stamped up. Main dealer services apart from the last few which were independant VW specialist. there's not a rattle from the car , drives as new and the sound from the VR is superb!

Here's the shots of it when i landed home and gave it a quick wash



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Then i checked the car over , writing up a list of improvements i could make to it. Although the car was in brilliant condition for it's age it still had a few flaws. There were a number of little dings from doors opening up against it etc and a few small bits that needed paintwork.

[Ray]

You can see the few small marks I’m talking about here [am I too fussy!] The paint was not broken on them so I got a dent repair specialist to pull them out.


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Then I decided on what needed painting. The drivers side mouldings had a few mark on them so they were going to see paint anyway. Then the nose of the roof must have got a nasty chip at one stage and over time it started to show a bit of rust. Also the back bumper will have to be plated once the towbar is gone off it so I’ll paint it along with the backs of the mirrors. There’s actually nothing wrong with the mirrors but when they’ve fresh paint on them it makes all the difference to me.


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As always with a VW of it’s era the indicators get cracked and fade [my Corrado was the same] so they went for the bin as did the side repeaters. For the sake of a few quid it’ll freshen things up. The reason I stayed clear of the Crystals [although I do like them] was because I’m trying to keep the car as oem as possible. Also there are no other headlights on the market that I like , I’m not going to have Crystal Indicators and Headlights with lines on them!


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You can see on this one where the Front Bumper was sitting up a little bit high. It was just a matter of loosening the bolts on the top of the bumper and sliding it over a touch

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[Stu G]

thats a well tidy motor. good effort mate

[Mexican]

This is so clean n so mint!!

love it!!

[samthejettaman]

looks like a real straight car good luck

[vdub_shawty]

very nice... you would think that the fog lights in front wouldnt always break/crack... notice that alot on mk3's, but when they are new they sure do look good!! something about that color i love!!

[Ray]

Small update on a this , I’ve all my spare time buried in my Caddy project at the minute but another 2-3 weeks should see me back at this

On the Drivers side , the moulding on top of the cill was a little bit damaged so I replaced it and the end caps on both sides were cracked so they got the bin too


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New strip

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The chin spoiler was a bit too short for my liking so a Golf VR one was got for it. It fitted on to it no problem once the corners were cut on the inside. It probably is a 2 man job , you need one man holding it in place and one man stretching it into the slots. I put one screw in each end at the corner just to be sure it would hold.


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Spoiler changes the look of the front of the car , really pleased with it
Also have mirror caps off and door mouldings on the drivers side off for painting. Caps were fine but a fresh coat of paint will lift the car me thinks. Rear bumper off the car for plating where the towbar was too


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[Reaver 'Ant']

she looks a little poorly in that last image Looking forward to seeing it all back on though

[Ray]

She's been parked up at outside a mates workshop and every bird within 269 miles made it a target! A good detailing is planned. Hope it turns out the way i want!

[draycottgirlz]

any update on this Ray?


(must collect tt seat off you one of these days?

[vdub_shawty]

there is a tiny update that i helped out with and i cant wait to see them!!!

[draycottgirlz]

there is a tiny update that i helped out with and i cant wait to see them!!!

awh thats not fair....cmon...

[Ray]

No update's John , the Caddy has me so busy the poor VR is feeling left out.. Yup Jenn sorted me out there recently with a few bits so will have them up asap! Thanks Jenn you're a star!!

[vdub_shawty]

No update's John , the Caddy has me so busy the poor VR is feeling left out.. Yup Jenn sorted me out there recently with a few bits so will have them up asap! Thanks Jenn you're a star!!

your welcome boo!!

[Ray]

Ok with the Caddy almost out of the way i finally got a day in on the VR. stripped the full underside , prob a bit extreme but anyway i've everything out of it ready for blasting and i'll be spraying all ready for refitting by next weekend. Pics to follow

[Ray]

Here's the few bits back from painting


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Our good lady Jenn helped me out on the U.S. spec stuff , many thanks Jenn! Some of the badges were all chrome so i did a bit of a job on them so they'd all match up. Started off with keying the surface and using a plastic primer. thyen standard primer and satin black. they turned out well , you'd not notice that they did not come that way from the factory


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[Mexican]

US spec badges for the win!

if u wanted some, i have some spare dude! good work on OEM-in the badges from full chrome!

[Ray]

Cheers mate!! I got a U.S spec Number plate surround off a UK forum and gave it a good clean up.


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Then i had to make up a plate and cut it to fit


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I got these off the bay , U.S Spec side marker lights. Got them in Smoked as opposed to orange. hop they'll match up the side repeaters close enough. Not looking forward to making them fit tho!!



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Here's my T5 draggin the Vento or should i call it Jetta around the yard as it's not got a thing under it now! Everything stripped and painted


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[Mexican]

looking great dude!

i never grew enough balls to run my Mexico spec plate tub(same as US)! did run my US/Mexico spec plate for 3 months tho, and only last 2 weeks got hassle so took it off! but as i dont like those bike/import size plastic plates, not sure what to do!

badges look a treat on there!

[wiggy]

How the PALLET did u get the car on the trailer Has your car got any blood off "back to the future" or is that some anti theft device

[maccadub]

Looking forward to seeing this car when its done.. definetly coming on well. Running my MEX/US plate tub as of tomorrow!! Theyre sweet.. Halfrauds made me up some plates that fit poyfect!!

Back to the crack... Nice work man!

[Ray]

Yea it flew onto the trailer! what i did was drive it under the 2 post , drop it onto the pallets and drove it back out! It's back up on it again re fitting the stuff now , will keep ya posted!!

[Ray]

At first i just intended to Polybush the car but one thing led to another and next thing was everything was getting blasted and painted. The shell of the car it 100% , but some of the suspension components has surface rust on them.


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So with all stripped out i could see what really needed doing


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So i sent all the components off to a local company to get shot blasted and it worked out really well


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[Ray]

I was well impressed how everything turned out , as new! So i Got some Deox-C and Hammerite Rust Removing Gel. I wanted to bath everything overnight to restore the chemical balance within the metal and prepare it for painting. Cannot recommend it enough , especially for Nuts and Bolts.


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Rusty Nuts and Bolts

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Deox-C in on the components

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Out of the Deox-C the next day


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They can form 'Flash Rust when left out after a few hours so gave the a rub of the Hammerite gel


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[Ray]

So here's all ready for Painting

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The paint i got is Marine spec , it's for painting boats and the big fuel tanks on the docks so it has a high salf resistance etc. Should last many years all going well and the car will be garaged. It's 2 pack , an Epoxy primer and a solvent based topcoat. It got 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of topcoat.


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The finished products


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As for the tank straps i decided to replace them with Stainless ones

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