2001 Custom Jetta - Yggdrasil, the Green Machine

[Woodrobin]

I flew out to Pennsylvania this past week to buy Snadam's 2001 Jetta TDI sedan. This car was heavily customized by both Snadam and Sootman. I'm loving the power and the mileage.

After some fun flight adventures and an overnight stay at Snadam's place (thanks again, btw), the long drive home began. Day One: Phoenixville, Pennsylvania to St. Clairsville, Ohio. Day Two: St. Clairsville to Effingham, Illinois. Day Three: Effingham home to Topeka, KS. 1200.5 miles, door to door.

Here's some photos from the trip:

Do not believe these signs. They lie. We were stuck in the Atlanta airport for about 3 hours due to a fun little thunderstorm. Snadam picked us up at 3:45 instead of midnight. He's good folks, people. Believe it.

Heavily customized engine. Will an engine cover fit over this? No. Would I ever want to cover up something this beautiful? F*** no. Notice the extra paper towels next to the washer fluid reservoir. This is due to Snadam being a much neater person than I am. He's set the bar high; I'll try to live up to it.

Snadam and I looking over the smorgasbord of bits, part, oddments and stuff that he included. Not pictured: four winter tires on 15" rims that he bagged so no dirt would get on the trunk or seat. The first time I get a smudge on this, I think Snadam's spider-sense is going to go off.

Shiny green baby ready for my license plate, with TDIclub frame, to go on for the trip home. Apparently the TSA doesn't care whether or not you bring a license plate onto a plane in your carry on luggage. Good to know.

Is this guy happy? Oh, yes. Not near as happy as he's going to be driving this machine down long stretches of highway, though. Smooooooth, baby, smoooooth.

Stopped at Vinny's in Chester Springs, PA on Snadam's advice. This was the best cheese steak sandwich I have ever eaten. Ever. E. V. E. R. If you are ever anywhere near Philadelphia and you don't stop in here and get one of these, you are missing out.

Next post: Photos from the first leg of the trip. We'll do it like the trip: split into manageable segments.

 

[Woodrobin]

Day One: Fun run from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania to St. Clairsville, Ohio.

Rolling down the foothills, burning zero fuel. Beautiful scenery, and the Pennsylvania turnpike was unusually clear and non-psychotic, traffic-wise.

This turned out to be reading somewhat optimistically, but this is actually close to the MPG average for the first 500 or so miles we drove. My girlfriend managed to take this shot while I was driving without distracting me, so kudos for the skill that required.

This area looked quite a bit like the Flint Hills in Kansas. Not yet in sight of the mountains proper. Beautiful country, and lots of gentle, rolling highway.

Ok . . . getting into the not-as-gentle bits. This is a really steep hill for Kansans.

About to drive through a mountain. We totally do not do that in Kansas. We have a few sections of highway that cut through small hills, but mostly we just go around them. Big glacier clay-barred our part of the continent during the Ice Age. We fear the coming of the Great Zaino Bottle and the Chamois of the Gods.

I love the "Stay In Lane" and "Do Not Cross Center Line" signs. I'm about to drive through a mountain. I'm not that worried about passing people while I'm driving under millions of tons of rock.

Yep . . . light at the end of the tunnel . . . I went there.

Point mountain is pointy. Okay, I guess this isn't much of a mountain, considering that the top is below the tree line. Again: I'm from Kansas. To me, this is a serious mountain.

Long day driving. We were very glad to pull into the motel parking lot. Amazing sunset. Kicked back in the room with a very tasty pizza, because we were too driven-out to go look for a place to eat.

Next post: Drive Home Part 2: Drive Homer!

 

[tonystdi]

Very nice! Well done!

 

[Masonjar]

Love the storyline and the great photos. Makes me want to do a road trip too...


Andrew

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Many of us in New England admired and enjoyed driving this car when Sootman had it, including me. Sounds like it's in good hands. Enjoy.

 

[Woodrobin]

Now appearing: Drive Home 2: Drive Homer!

Dawn breaks over Yggdrasil. Rested and ready to head out for Effingham, Illinois. Well, not dawn exactly . . . we only got 4 hours of sleep the night before this . . . more like 11 am.

Driving down I-70, spotted a gray MkIV Jetta. Reminded of Mjolnir, now my girlfriend's TDI. Turned out to be a gasser, though. Sort of a "Crying Game" moment, car-wise.

Coming into Columbus, Ohio. Traffic was fairly laid-back, relative to other cities I've driven through (Kansas City and St. Louis, I'm looking at you).

Triple hash browns, scattered and smothered (with chili), at the Waffle House just off of I-70 east of Columbus. We don't have Waffle House diners in Kansas outside of Kansas City. I'd never heard of the chain before. Quite good, especially after a long drive.

Oh, and they have waffles, too.

Jatrodiesel near Dayton, Ohio. Put in 9.98 gallons of B100. Mileage for this leg of the trip: 52.9 miles per gallon. It's an ancient pump rigged to their delivery truck, but it's good bio. Glad I had it plugged into the Garmin Navi, though. If you blink, you'll miss it. Seriously.

Rolling through some farm country on our way back to I-70 from Jatrodiesel. This was some peaceful, picturesque country. Good for the soul.

Indianapolis, Indiana. Rolling on through, enjoying the view.

Wildflowers outside of our hotel in Effingham, Illinois. Much prettier than the hotel, which was just on the cusp between unimpressive and funky.

Next: Drive Home Part 3: Drive Home with a VW!

 

[TomJD]

Nice! I did the nearly the same trip a few weeks ago. I drove from St. Louis to Philly, then a couple days later made the drive back. Not a bad trip. I did the entire drive in one day, but I can understand the need for a rest!

You get your best MPGs once your out of the mountains. I went from St. Louis to a Sunoco on the PA turnpike on one tank and managed 59 mpgs. Then I hit the hills and mountains on the way TO Philly AND back, so it hurt the mpgs a bit.

Nice purchase BTW.

 

[Woodrobin]

Drive Home Part 3: Drive Home with a VW!

Outside of Neimerg's Steakouse in Effingham, Illinois. Happy to be driving the Jetta TDI, and looking forward to what we've been told is excellent steak and homemade pie.

And on the third day we looked upon the pie, and we saw that it was good. And then we ate it. Not pictured: the steak medallions and chicken fried steak we totally destroyed before either of us thought to record it for posterity.

Outside of Effingham was some effing road construction that we didn't effing enjoy very much, due to people not knowing how to effing merge.

And after that, we went over this effing amazing looking bridge.

Great scenery, and a fuel free launch down a steep hill coasting in fifth gear. What's not to like?

Girlfriend's purse. It haunted my dreams. Now it can haunt yours. You're welcome.

Finally ran into some weather in mid-Missouri after a largely sunny (and hot) trip. Weird lines of truly heavy rain interspersed with drizzle that we drove through in about five minutes. It was like the world's largest car wash.

Zaino Z-CS clear seal on the windshield. Water flat out will not stick to that stuff.

And then it was done. That was some amazing sun-through-clouds scenery, too.

Rolling home into Topeka around 8:30 in the evening. Yes, we have clocks on the Topeka Boulevard bridge over the Kansas River. No, I don't know why. Oh, and that crane really is taller than the Capitol Dome. That's not a trick of perspective; it's right next to the capitol building.

Finally home. 1200.4 miles. I have no idea why the Garmin says my max speed was 85 miles per hour, as I of course never exceeded the legal speed limit. Must be a glitch or something. Ahem . . . moving along.

It was an amazing trip across some wonderful country, and having my girlfriend along made the trip a lot less lonely and more pleasant.

Snadam was a gracious host and an honest car-seller, and the whole process was made all the better for that. Thanks again.

 

[Woodrobin]

Home again, and now for a post where all the pictures actually have the car in them.

Yggdrasil on the left, Mjolnir on the right, down by the Kansas river.

I washed the car with some Zaino Z-7 car wash solution, dried with a Sham-Wow (it was a gift; don't judge me ), and then applied some Z-8 Grand Finale detailing spray and finished off with some Z-CS clear seal. Nice and shiny.

Smooth, too.

Green trees and blue sky reflecting off a dark green Jetta. Next, I'm going to pick up a bottle of Zaino tire gloss and get it shiny from ground to rooftop.

 

[Bob_Fout]

I recognize the Indy and Effingham photos

Good color BTW.

 

[VWBeamer]

Sweet, I love road trips..!!

Nice Tdi also. I had those same wheels on my 2001 TDi..

 

[Dorkage]

It looks like the bumper is falling off.

 

[Woodrobin]

It looks like the bumper is falling off.

Yep. It's not, though. There's an Upsolute Front-Mount Intercooler (FMIC) installed. There isn't quite enough room to get the bumper to clip in all the way around. Next time I'm out to CoolairVW to have some work done, I'm going to see if we can't figure out a way to trim the piece so it'll fit flush. Both Sootman and Snadam had the bumper as you see it, and it's stable in that position, but it does bug me a little bit when I look at it.

 

[Sootman]

Glad your trip went so well. The car looks fantastic. If my son sees how good it looks he'll shoot me for ever selling it. I hope you'll enjoy it for many years to come.

 

[Woodrobin]

Nothing super-fancy today. Just a freshly-washed car in the 100 degree heat. Shiny car is shiny.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled summer.

 

[Sootman]

Nothing super-fancy today. Just a freshly-washed car in the 100 degree heat. Shiny car is shiny.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled summer.

I always used Zaino cleaning and polish products. I use them now on my '06. Your pictures make a good advertisement for them if you're still using there stuff. Either way it looks great.

 

[Woodrobin]

I always used Zaino cleaning and polish products. I use them now on my '06. Your pictures make a good advertisement for them if you're still using there stuff. Either way it looks great.

I'm a Zaino man as well, and I'm given to understand that Snadam used Zaino, making it an unbroken tradition.

I washed the car with Z-7, followed up with some Z-8 Grand Finale and topped it with Z-CS clear seal last time around. I have Z-AIO for the next time a more serious re-polishing is in order, and I'm thinking about getting some Z-5 to touch up small scratches.

 

[Woodrobin]

Today I got into this:

so that I could remove these:

and then replace this:

The metal was quite hot (it was about 105 F in the shade, of which there was none), and my hands are roughly the size of Virginia hams. The result of these facts, combined with the cramped space, caused this:

It looks like a very thin sunburn now. Why I never seem to remember to put on work gloves for this sort of thing is a mystery to me.

Happy Ventectomy Day!

 

[snadam]

I'm loving the thread, thanks! It was a pleasure to have the two of you stay with us (other than the airline-induced-late-arrival).
-
As you mentioned earlier in the thread, the fuel consumption numbers are optimistic. With new tires that should get a bit better and if it continues to bother you I'm sure Jeff could tweak it for you.
-
Zaino car care products are a way of life around here so you are indeed continuing the tradition that started with Sootman.
-
If you ever decide that you want to squeeze more power out of the mill just throw a set of R520's and an appropriate program in the ECU. The car breathes very well already and the shorter injection window should net you less smoke and a bit better fuel economy.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Woodrobin]

First step toward Shiny Car achieved:

Purchased an all-chrome version of the OEM grill to replace the Kami grill. Two reasons: firstly, the Kami grill was peeling in several places, and secondly, I really like having a car that says "VW and Proud!" front and back.

Shiny grill achieved.

Close-up!

Next step is installing the chromed side mirror covers to replace the broken green one on the passenger side and the unbroken matte black one on the driver side.

Hoping, heat permitting, to get that done tomorrow.

 

[jbleu101]

Great thread. Funny enough to keep me reading to the end. Lucky you your girlfriend would take a trip like that. Lucky her you'd take her on this trip. How did you come up with the names of the cars?
Oh, and for the record, I think the pic you took is of clover. Idk if it is a wildflower, but it is surely not a weed. Looks like a good time was had by all.

 

[Woodrobin]

Great thread. Funny enough to keep me reading to the end.

Thanks.

Lucky you your girlfriend would take a trip like that. Lucky her you'd take her on this trip.

It was good to have someone along, and she takes great pictures, too. The opportunity to take photographs across half the country was hard to pass up, and I'd like to think getting to spend the time with me sweetened the deal a bit.

How did you come up with the names of the cars?

I picked Mjolnir because the platinum grey color reminds me of the shading of Thor's hammer in Marvel comics (in Norse myth they're never that specific about what color it was). I've always been both a comics geek and a mythology buff, so that was literally the first color association I had when I saw the car.

Yggdrasil is the World Tree in Norse mythology. Supposedly it was so vast that its branches and roots connected all nine worlds of Norse myth.

So, having sold Mjolnir to my girlfriend, it seemed appropriate to name my new dark green Jetta after a green part of Norse myth, to keep it "in the family." Doubly so since the journey to get it connected two TDI club members across half a country.

Oh, and for the record, I think the pic you took is of clover. Idk if it is a wildflower, but it is surely not a weed. Looks like a good time was had by all.

Yep. Looks like purple prairie clover. It was certainly a refreshing sight, coming out of the room in the morning. The room was decorated in shades best described as "I wouldn't drink that milk if I were you" white and "This reminds me of that scene in the Exorcist" yellowish-green. Mother Nature is a much better decorator.

 

[Woodrobin]

Took Yggdrasil out to the car wash (in 105 F temps with a heat index of 116 -- what the **** was I thinking? ), followed by a couple of passes with Zaino Z-8 Grand Finale spray. Then went back home and stayed in until it got under 100 outside.

Upshot: Shiny car is shiny once more!

Reflecting on the reflections . . . yeah, man, yeah.

I had some reflections, they were clouds on my Jetta, clouds on my Jetta . . . yeah, I made a Carly Simon reference. What?

 

[Gilty_one]

I love that you named your cars Yggdrasil & Mjolnir.

 

[Woodrobin]

I love that you named your cars Yggdrasil & Mjolnir.

Well, they are German cars, after all.

I named the '03 Mjolnir because the metallic grey always reminded me of the depiction of Thor's hammer in Marvel comics and movies.

Having done that, of course the green '01 had to be Yggdrasil -- that's the greenest thing in Norse mythology, after all.

 

[Woodrobin]

This past Saturday, Yggdrasil went over to CoolairVW to get my new HFLO-X "Warp 6" nozzles installed, chrome side mirror covers put on, and to see what could be done about the front bumper (which has never quite set flush on the passenger side).

Hung out with my girlfriend, talked with CoolairVW and dogdots, got my car fixed up. I can think of worse ways to spend a day.

There's the nozzles, ready to be set up.

I need to get me one of those fancy, bendy drivers.

Stop . . . hammertime.

All ready to test the tightness. Hoping for no fuel leakage, but prepared just in case. Got it on the second try.

Side mirror naked . . .

and with shiny new outfit.

Stylin'! Even got some of that Star Trek reboot lens flare in there. I hear that makes the car go faster, but it may lead to hair loss in Romulans.

 

[1854sailor]

Looking good, but with all that bling, you need to polish those headlight lenses.

 

[Woodrobin]

Looking good, but with all that bling, you need to polish those headlight lenses.

That's next on my list.

 

[Woodrobin]

Yggdrasil, myself and my better half went over to CoolairVW Saturday to get some work done.

First, pulled the HID ballasts, then removed the grill in preparation for replacing the headlights.

Just a little foggy there.

There was a bit of a snag removing the bumper cover. Some of the screws were screwed up.

CoolairVW had to deal with them sternly. They yielded to his persuasive argument as to why they should come the **** off my car.

Eventually.

Testing the headlights to make sure they work before installing them. CoolairVW had to replace the low beam bulbs. Both of them had broken in transit, though the fogs and high beams were fine.

There's righty.

There's lefty, extreme closeup version.

Also replaced the front bumper cover. That required CoolairVW to do some surgery to accommodate the front-mounted intercooler. The headlghts look good, IMHO.

Work nicely, too.

Very sharp cutoff and good pattern on the low beams.

High beams are high.

Also replaced a taillight that was cracked open when I almost missed a light pole backing up. I cannot explain who thought it was a good idea to put a light pole in the middle of a set of parking spaces out by a lake. I really can't.

CoolairVW was, as ever, a gracious host and skilled gear guru. I really can't say enough good things about his work or his professionalism. Seriously, folks. He's good people.

 

[DMViergever]

I will keep an eye out for you around Topeka, very sharp car. That crane seems to be a very common fixture by the capital building these days...