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Tag: Techtonics Tuning

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First Dimension: 1978 Volkswagen Scirocco Callaway Turbo

There aren’t too many period-correct tuned Volkswagens that we get to see. Those that do turn up are usually home-brewed, and consequently usually aren’t built to a high standard.

Today’s is something special, though.

Finding a clean first generation Scirocco is difficult enough. This one also happens to be one of the limited Champagne Edition cars, though you’d not know it unless I told you so, because so little of the original outside of the silhouette remains. From top to bottom, this Scirocco has been through a whirlwind of changes. But this car is far from a garage project, as some of the more legendary VW tuners in the U.S. had their hands on it since it was close to new. This car was the original test bed for the Santa Clara speed shop New Dimensions, and features some of the best items you could source. New Dimensions bought the production rights and experience of Callaway Turbo Systems in the mid 1980s, and continued to offer turbocharging for Volkswagens into the early 2000s. The result, after a painstaking period of rebuilding it, is a nearly flawless execution and one of the best tuned VW 2-doors out there:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Volkswagen Scirocco Callaway Turbo on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 1990 Volkswagen Corrado 16V Turbo

The promise of the all new Corrado was great, and on paper the specs sounded fantastic. A new and modern chassis was paired with a supercharged inline-4 and active aerodynamics. Volkswagen fans around the world united in collective salivation. But even at launch, Volkswagen was behind the 8 ball. Performance was lacking compared to the competition and the price for this attractive coupe was quite high, as generally all Volkswagens were at the time. Then the problems of running the G60 long term started to rear their heads. The G-Lader supercharger in particular was a finicky bit of kit, and coupled with notoriously poor Volkswagen electronics in the early 1990s these remained fan favorites, but also cars to stay away from – with many opting instead to get the more robust and better driving SLC model that was launched in 1992. Modern solutions have arisen to help the G60, including turbocharging instead of supercharging, but still there aren’t a glut of these cars left. Today’s example, though, certainly looks pretty spectacular and has gone the next level by swapping in a 2.0 16V from a Jetta GLi – and then turbocharging it!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1990 Volkswagen Corrado 16V Turbo on Hartford Craigslist

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Feature Listing: 1996 Volkswagen GTI VR6

I’ve owned and loved modified Volkswagens now for going on twenty years, so I’m certainly not new to the scene. Obviously, being a popular tuning and performance platform since its launch, the GTi has undergone just about every conceivable permutation of modifications. Despite what would seem to be an endless pool of candidates, though, I often find examples lacking a clean, well put together look. I’ve also found as I’ve gotten older that the cars that really stand out to me aren’t the wildly modified cars, but the subtle cars; cars that manage to integrate their modifications well into what already was a good platform. Let’s be honest; modifying cars is a very personal endeavor, so of course there are going to be varied opinions about what looks good. To me, find a clean VR6 Mk.III in close to original spec but with just the right hints of spice to make it stand out and be a little less vanilla, and it’s perfect. Make sure those mods are on one of my favorite colors – Windor Blue – and it’s one of the rare cases where I think the seller got it just right:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1996 Volkswagen GTi VR6 on craigslist

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Tuner Tuesday: Tuner Accessories Roundup

Here’s another roundup of some of the cooler accessories I found on EBay this week. The Nardi steering wheel is an absolute classic design and would really dress up a classic Volkswagen. I think the Mercedes-Benz reserve gas tank is too cool, even though it’s technically not a tuner accessory. It makes me want to buy the entire car just so I can slot it in! That DKW racing manifold certainly has a small number of applications, but it’s sure neat to see something for the old classics. Grabbing an original radio might not seem fun, but I love how the Blaupunkt-made Gamma units look for the Audis and you could return your car towards stock. Much as the Metric Mechanics team offers great motors for BMW, Techtonics Tuning offers this well-built 2.1 8V motor pumping out an impressive 150 horsepower with plenty of torque and instant response. Zender accessories are always popular, especially when they’re original items. And one of my favorite wheels has always been the MOMO Monte Carlo – what a stellar looking steering wheel! What’s your favorite?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: Vintage Nardi Volkswagen Steering Wheel on eBay

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