Hanging Out With Hardcore Dubbers From New England.
May be it's the cold winters, but VW/Audi enthusiasts in the Northeast don't do things by halves. Their hardcore creations are always worth a look, so we descended on the New England Dust Off to peek at some of the latest and greatest projects.
Dust Off takes place in Rhode Island at the Seekonk Speedway. Sadly, no racing takes place, but it makes for a fantastic setting. Rather than walking row after row of cars, you can cruise the banked pavement and check out the action.
The show is organized by Kevin Clements, who's no stranger to the tuning scene; remember his amazing mid-engine, rear-drive Mk3 Golf VR6 turbo from et 1/07?
In its third year, Dust Off has grown fast, boasting a nice mix of old, new and even a few older air-cooled cars.
The speedway not only provides an ideal setting, but also provides shelter from the brisk New England winds. So it was easy to check out cars that might not make it to H20 or Waterfest.
There were several notable Mk5s in attendance, including Frank Rivera's Abt-kitted GTI on contrasting gold HREs (et 05/07).
Kyle Deuquesney's Mk4 Jetta was slammed on airbags with massive 19" Falken wheels. It has an APR Stage 3 turbo, huge FMIC framed by a Rieger body kit, competition-spec entertainment system and loads of suede- quite impressive.
Mike Gibney's Rave green Mk4 GTI was also a treat, with black-centered Kinesis, Stoptech brakes and a host of engine upgrades (see p28).
It wasn't only newer cars though. Chris Reis had a red Mk2 GTI with a 300hp 1.8T and Porsche wheels. Louis Rebelo's super-clean Mk1 GTI sported an ABA 2.0 8v with throttle bodies and Konig wheels. Its late-'70s square headlights added a unique touch.
A great event, Dust Off is definitely one to watch in the future.
Kyle Deuquesney's Mk4 Jetta had huge 19x10.5" on the rear in widened fenders dropped on airbags, with enough ICE to entertain everybody | 
Louis Rebelo's 2.0 8v with standalone and ITBs was a treat. Konig wheels and square headlights give it a retro look | 
Red seems to be making a comeback and Chris Reis showed the right way to do it, with a big-power 1.8T swap |
Mk1 Jettas are so rare all you need do is lower one. This coupe was for sale; oh, the possibilities... | 
Smooth styling, chrome Porsche 928 wheels and color-matched nitrous bottle make a classy Mk3 | 
This stout, German-look Mk1 was a favorite, with Audi handles, BBS wheels and turboed 2.0 8v |
Schmidt Race 2000s looked great on widened Mk4 20AE with APR Stage 3 turbo | 
There were several clean Caddys, including this one with Schmidt TH | 
Mk5 Rabbit was super-smooth and super-low on Audi A8 wheels |
BBS LMs make everything better, and the Mk5 is no exception | 
This turboed GTI 16v looks like a show car circa 1994 | 
Mike Gibney's big power 1.8T, our cover car |