VW Mk3 Golf and Mk1 Cabrio - Wife Swap

Remember waiting for your mommy to pick you up from the playground? You clutched the monkey bars, glancing into the parking lot for the ol' Caravan, but only found every other mom and their minivan, SUV or family sedan waiting to collect your classmates. For Tina Elledge's two kids, they look forward to the arrival of their diehard VW enthusiast mother driving either a 316whp two-tone Mk3 Golf VR6 turbo or a candy-painted Mk1 Cabrio VR6 on airbags.

Is it too late to be adopted?

Tina's passion for modifying started at an early age. "At 13, my dad had a Chevy Corsica and one day I took our home stereo apart and wired the speakers into his car. I just love doing things that aren't supposed to be done. I love seeing the expression on people's faces when they go 'wow, is that the same car?' The idea of turning something worn out into something different makes me happy."

Although ripping apart the home theater may have not been the best idea, it did spark a creativity that would lead to her obsession for VWs. "I started getting into VWs when I met my husband in '91. He had a Bug and the first VW we built together was a '87 GTI. Other than that, I've had three Mk1 Cabriolets, a Mk2 Jetta and we're rebuilding a '69 Bug."

Tina's success was heavily supported and influenced by her husband, David. "He was always into cars," she explained. "When I was in high school, he was working as a painter's assistant and we'd often eat lunch together. I'd then help him clean up the cars so I could spend time with him. Once I left high school, his boss knew I was always there so offered me a job as a detailer. I did other jobs in the office as well as paintwork. I then went to work at a Lexus dealership in their parts department. Eventually, my husband became the chief painter and I'm back to working with him as a certified painter. Amazingly, I'm only the second female to be certified in California."

With two professional painters in the family, coupled with VW enthusiasm, it was inevitable the Elledges would produce fantastic work. "We did 99% of the work on the cars from the body to paint, motor and chassis. The only thing we didn't do was the interior. I can sew, but I'm not that good!"

Two-Tone Golf Turbo
Tina's first project is this wondrous four-door '93 Golf VR6. "I painted a BMW bumper and the owner gave me the Golf in return. It was a great trade but the car was just a shell with no interior or motor. So I gutted it, took off the four doors, hatch and hood. I painted it one color, masked it, then painted the other color."

The two-tone still wasn't enough for Tina. "I didn't want regular paint; I wanted something eye-catching, which was why I decided on the gold stripe. I've worked with gold before on custom Harleys but it's a tedious job because you use gold leaf, which comes in notebook-size sheets; a box costs $100. I have $700 worth of gold around the car. I used cotton balls to twist the stripe to give it a circular finish. From there I clearcoated the gold but there's no clearcoat on the rest of the car because it mutes the mirror-like shine, so we taped off the stripe."

Once the paint was prepared, Tina pulled the Euro front fenders and rear quarters to accommodate 16x9" Borbet Type T wheels. She added front and rear textured Euro bumpers and a VR6 chin spoiler. A JOM badgeless grille and metal boser hood continue the clean look in the front, while Ingo Noak side skirts provide fierceness on the flanks. The rear received a new bumper thanks to Dubtechnik, along with Abt mid and upper hatch spoilers.

With the engine bay and interior empty, Tina got parts from a Mk3 Jetta VR6. "I bought the car from an auction," she noted. "I swapped in the motor, transmission and interior. I also used the Jetta doors because they had power windows. One of the trickier parts was the wiring for the VR6 because the Golf was a two liter."