1991 VW Jetta GL Wolfsburg

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the phrase "money pit" would probably be dubious contractors or the 1986 movie starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. It almost certainly wouldn't conjure up images of a pristine Mk2 Jetta with a turbocharged VR6, smooth bodywork and a Recaro interior. And yet that's precisely the nom de guerre of the car pictured here. How it got that nickname is another chapter in the classic story of The Unintentional Project Car. It's a story we know all too well.

Derek Baker, a mechanic and salesperson at Stoney Ledge Auto Sales (Jeep Wrangler specialty shop) in Denver, PA, only paid $100 for the '91 Jetta GL.

"It had a bad motor and barely ran. It was beat up and hit in the back, and my boss at the time said he was just gonna get rid of it. So I offered him $100 for it," Derek told us. "I had originally used the Jetta to rob parts off it to fix up my Golf, but then decided to use the Jetta as the project instead."

An ABA block from a Mk3 was matched to a 270 cam to replace the Jetta's ailing 1.8, and all was well for a short time; at least until an encounter with a VR6-engined car.

"We were messing around on a road near here and he pulled away from me pretty good," Derek recounted. "So the next day I started tearing my motor out, and ordered a VR swap from a guy."

A '95 Passat gave up its vital organs, including the engine, transmission and ancillaries, in order to rejuvinate the Tornado red Jetta. Since Derek has spent time as a VW/Audi technician, and was a lifetime VW enthusiast with no less than ten Mk2s as previous projects, he decided to tackle the swap himself.

"I didn't really have any friends who knew what was going on," he says. "So I figured it out and I did research online. The only thing that really gave me trouble was some wiring."

The VR6 swap remained for less than a year before the itch for more power got the best of Derek, and a Kinetic Motorsport stage 2 turbo kit was procured. During this time, Derek noticed a cylinder in the narrow-angle V6 had excessive blow-by, so a full rebuild was decided upon, with OEM rings, bearings and valves finding their way inside. A set of 263 Cat Cams and high-rev valve springs were also installed to ensure top end power. C2 Motorsports software ensured the proper fuel mixture was available in each cylinder, while a Techtonics Tuning 2.5" cat-back exhaust and 42DD test pipe expelled spent fuel.

The Kinetic kit featured a Spearco FMIC, but with piping and mounts designed for the Mk3, it wasn't an easy install. "Many of my parts are from a Passat, so the radiator and fan are huge, meaning the lower intercooler pipe didn't fit. I had to cut and re-weld it," Derek explained. "And my rad support is almost non-existent on one side. When I first fitted it, the support looked haggard and crooked. People liked it because it looked ghetto, but it bugged the crap out of me."

Once everything had been cut, modified and re-engineered to his satisfaction, Derek continued on to other areas that were in need of improvement.

"When I first got it running, it dynoed at 260-something [wheel horsepower]," Derek continued. "I had AP Tuning fit a Mk3 VR6 fuel tank and pump, then we dynoed it again and got it 293whp at 9psi."

All that power is transmitted through the stock 02A transmission with a Sachs VR6 clutch and standard flywheel.

Visually, Derek aimed to clean up and improve upon how the Jetta looked from the showroom, rather than transform it radically. It's decidedly OEM-plus.

"I tried to keep it looking stock, with some clean, subtle mods that you'd only see if you know what you're looking for," he said. "The rear seams, rear tow hook, antenna, fender lights and emblems in the back were shaved. And that's pretty much it."

A badgeless grille, red/smoked tail lamps and G60 front arches round out the visual modifications; all very simple, yet very effective.