1.8tbeout (Bob)

Thanks guys, it's a great honor to be chosen for oneB5 for June, 2005. Looking at some of the past one B5's I almost feel not worthy, but I think it's the smooth, subtle mods that make my car stand out. I've always tried hard to maintain the classic styling of the B5 while still satisfying my mod fever, which I've been cursed with since my first 1982 VW Rabbit.

My love for VW's started with an older gentleman I worked with who had an '83 GTI that I had fallen in love with, and after years of nagging to sell it to me, he finally broke down and let her go. With engine swaps and always being in the shop, it was time to find a daily driver and I stumbled onto a Satin Silver 98 1.8T tiptronic model and I thought, "this is a great car for my girl friend," who at the time was looking to buy a sedan, more in the BMW range, but this was a great deal so I took it for a drive to show it to her. She looked at it but wasn't sure it was for her, so I reluctantly drove back to the dealership to give it back. On my ride back something happened, I started to feel like this was my car regardless of the fact it was a four door automatic family sedan, and even though it was way more than I was looking to spend, when I got back to the dealer I bought the car right there on the spot. A few hours later my girlfriend called me and said she had thought about it and changed her mind and now wanted the car, "sorry, too late."

At the time there were very few mods available for the Passat. First, I needed some wheels. Working at an audI dealership, I had easy access to take off wheels and finally ended up with some 17" A6 Tocatta wheels and a few subtle interior mods including SPP tip shift kit and Votex smoked markers and Audi TT DV. After seeing the SUV-like ride height with the new wheels, suspension was a must. Since we were a Bilstein distributor, I went with the Bilstein sport shocks and OEM Eibach spring package which made it the perfect height for me, low but still driveable in Boston.

Now it was time to chip, ElI at SRS convinced me to go with GIAC and it served me very reliably for about 20k miles, then tragedy. I was on the highway and the car just stopped. My timing belt tensioner had let go. Most people would see this as a bad thing, but I saw it as an opportunity to mod without guilt. I had the engine apart anyway...right? While I was replacing the destroyed cylinder head, I went ahead and upgraded to a K04 turbo, SPP power gasket, Forge DV, ECS pulley, Evoms intake and complete TT 2.5" cat back exhaust. To compliment the K04, I upgraded the injectors to Bosch 310cc (redtops) and the GIAC PC-16 software. Not 5 minutes after leaving the shop, I went head first into an Explorer, talk about bad luck, but not for me. I had since changed jobs to a body shop. I used this opportunity to use the insurance cash and my employee benefits to color match all the lowers, grille, interior trim and engine covers.

Without the help of all the guys/girls here and other B5 sites, very little of this would have been possible, since it was all of your cars that inspired me and the wealth of information available here. I've also met some great guys as well. So thanks again guys - keep modding, Bob (1.8tbeout).

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