Eric Ramirez of Bergen County, NJ is the proud owner of an auto accessories shop called Ultimate Auto Sports. The shop specializes in stereo and electronics for cars and sport bikes. Surprisingly, his company opened for business after he restored this '85 GTI. Even more surprising, he wasn't always a VW enthusiast. "I was mostly into Toyotas, particularly Corolla hatchbacks," he revealed. "My interest in VWs began after my wife purchased a Rabbit. The Rabbit got her back and forth but I soon realized it was faster than my Corolla, so I got started on the whole Volkswagen thing."
He then purchased a slightly used Mk2 GTI in '97 - his first and only VW. Little did he know that a decade later the car would be one of the most pristine Mk2s on the East Coast.
When Eric planned the modifications for the GTI, all he wanted was moderate engine work, reliable enough for his daily commute. "I was building the car to be a daily driver, but it kept snowballing. When I got it, I knew it had engine trouble. It was an 8v and burned oil. I started weighing my options and considered a 16v swap but at about the same time, the first VR6 swaps were hitting the streets. Once I saw that I was sold."
He realized the best bang for his buck was the 2.8 liter VR6 12v that offered 178hp. Building his 1.8 8v or even a 2.0 16v would cost more money and produce less power.
Unfortunately, it was still the '90s and VR6s for the right price were scarce. "The hardest thing was sourcing parts for the VR6. When I was doing the swap, it was still a fresh engine - I found mine in a newspaper. Somebody had a listing for a complete swap for a Scirocco. It was from a '94 Passat automatic and virtually complete. I sold the transmission and sourced a manual from a '95 Jetta GLX."
With the parts sitting in Eric's garage, he required the help of an experienced tuner to complete the swap. "Initially, the car was built by a shop, but they had it for two years and still didn't complete it so EIP Tuning in Maryland finished the job. I drove it home from there."
While both tuners worked on the car, Eric supplied the parts to liberate restrictive areas of the engine. Techtonics Tuning provided a stainless steel exhaust and software. A Jamex polished intake was installed as well as OBX headers to improve top-end power. Eric then added his own touch by polishing the intake manifold and valve cover.
Because the five-speed had some wear and tear, Eric upgraded the flywheel and clutch to Autotech and Sachs units. After three years of steady work on the car, the motor and drivetrain were finished.
At this stage, Eric was content. Since it would remain his daily driver, he didn't want to go crazy, but there were some areas that still needed attention.
To improve the handling, Eric installed Jamex suspension. Autotech provided sway bars to minimize body roll, as well as strut bars to stiffen the chassis. A front lower tie bar completed the package.
For the wheel selection, Eric faced some tougher decisions. "I went through wheels like they were shoes. When I first started I was infatuated with 17" TSW VX1 wheels. I had them when I bought the car but they weren't in style by the time I was able to drive it. So I traded up to 17" Konig Wildcard wheels. I eventually sold those and started experimenting with OE VW 15" GLX and 17" Long Beach wheels. After that I landed another set of TSWs.
"The width and offset were wrong on the TSWs so I only had them a week. I finally landed the 16" Porsche Design 90 wheels that are on the car now. I've been on those for two years. When I got them, one was damaged so I had to source another and repolished them all."