VR6 Cabby – Humble Mechanic

It has basically been forever since I have done a post about the VW Cabby. Today I want to give you all some updates and show ya some pictures of how the Cabby sits right now. I have owned that Cabby for just over a year now. All things considered I am pretty happy with the progress. I am hoping to have her one the road before the end of summer. Should we all take bets on whether that will happen or not? LOL 😀

The VR6 Build
The rebuild of the VR6 engine is almost complete. The long block(engine block and cylinder head) are built. Most of the accessories are installed. The water pump is the only thing that needs to be installed before the engine goes in the Cabby. The transmission is all painted up. I still need to paint the axle flanges, and install new axle flange seals. I am thinking by Saturday the engine and transmission will be bolted together. THAT is exciting.

Working on getting the engine bay ready

The Cabby Engine Bay
This is what I have been working on the last few nights. Cleaning, sanding, cleaning, cleaning and then more cleaning. There is an amazing amount of dirt and grime that sticks to the engine bay of a car. I have no intention of doing the “shaved bay” thing that many other are doing. I think that is a really cool thing to do. I would just like to drive my car some time this decade.

The Interior
I can sum up the interior of the car in 1 word, DISASTER! The interior is pretty much stripped. I wanted to be sure I could run the new wiring neatly. Plus I wanted to remove the last of the sound dampener from behind the dash.

What is left?
When I start to think about all the things left to do, it gets overwhelming. Here is a quick list of things I still need to do or to get:

Have the ECM tuned
Get a suspension setup
Wheels and tires
Pick up a battery box, for the trunk
Exhaust including header
Spark plugs
Radiator and fans
Pressure line for the power steering pump
Serpentine belt
Wiring, wiring, wiring, wiring and probably a little more wiring

I am sure that I have many more things that I am forgetting. I am learning that the key to staying motivated during a build like this is to celebrate the small victories. Getting the engine bolted into the car will be my biggest victory yet!

Well, that is where we stand with the Cabby! You can check out all the Luv-A-Dub progress at MK1 VR6 Cabriolet. Also a big shout out to Justin at GermanAutoParts.com and Mike and the boys over at EuroWise!

: Working on getting the engine bay ready

: I still have some cleaning to do, but the engine bay is coming along

: The transmission is all painted!

: I told you the interior was a disaster

: My wife made a hop stencil, I thought I would give it a test drive on the Cabby 😉

Happy Monday everyone!

I want to use today to give you all a recap of the Volkswagen show that I went to this weekend. On Saturday a local tuning shop Black Forest Industries held their second Oktoberfest. Surprisingly it is a German car show, with some German food, and local NC Beer.

I was able to roll out of work a little early and head over. Even though BFI is just on the other side of town, this was the first time I had been up there. Pretty lame that a really cool VW tuning shop is so close to me and I had never been.

More shots of the Eurowise VR6 mk1

As with any time of show like this, first stop was the beer tent for a great local IPA from Natty Greene’s. Then I got to hang out with some friends to chat about cars, beer, and the food they had. As luck would have it, we were parked next to the Eurowise tent. Let me tell you that the guys from Eurowise in Charlotte,NC are awesome guys. They had their VR6 Cabriolet with them. Seeing this car in person really game me a kick in the butt to get working! They also gave me some inside info on the parts I NEED and the ones that I can pass on. I will be making the trip down to visit them, and pick up the VR6 kit for the Cabby. Seriously check these guys out.

I spent the next few hours checking out all the cars. There were some really great cars. Some folks with awesome taste in cars. VWs with incredible attention to detail. The kind of touch that most people would never even catch.

I also had the great opportunity to meet some readers of the blog. To be honest, THAT was the best part. It is really a total honer to meet people that I know because of the site. If any of you are ever in Raleigh, or the local area, please let me know. I would be more than happy to grab a pint with you!

Here are some pictures from the show. I have to give some photo credit to my buddy Stephen for some of the great shots.