As one of the man's organizers of H20 International, Cory Sterling really does ahve his own nation, and this supercharged Jetta is his war chariot.
Now in his early 30s, Cory Sterling has built two cars that have graced the pages of et. His first was a turbocharged Mk3 Golf, which propelled him into the North American VW scene and helped showcase the skills of his shop, Euro Auto Source, in York, PA. The second project is this supercharged '98 Jetta, which continues to promote his shop, but was also built for his very supportive father.
"I was building the car for my father," Cory began, "because he always admired what I did. He basically started my passion with a '79 Ford Mustang. He bought all the parts and tools I needed, but I had to do all the work. I was 15 at the time and the brakes were shot on the car. But it soon became my hobby to fix up cars.
"Sadly, my dad got sick so I had to rush the Jetta because I wanted him to see it before something happened. Then, one night I drove from York to Connecticut to show him the finished product, but he was rushed into the hospital for colon surgery. He passed the surgery just fine, but later had an aneurism. I left the hospital that night and the next morning he died from a heart attack. He never got to see the car..."
Our condolences go to Cory and his family. And although Cory wasn't able to finish the car in time, he continued the project to honor of his father's love and support.
"My dad would come down to my shop all the time," Cory continued. "He loved what I did. All my friends knew him, and he would constantly talk about the car. He even carried eurotuner with him when my Golf was featured and would show people he met. Since he passed away, I've made it a very personal goal to be my best for him everyday."
The aim of the Jetta was to build a daily driver. Cory didn't want a full show car like his previous project; instead, he needed a car he could take to work, throw parts in the trunk and still drive the family to the zoo.
"When I found this Jetta, it was smashed up and the owner had lost his license," Cory remembered. "It was 100% stock and everyone warned me not to molest it or turn it into a show car.
"I enjoyed all the creature comforts it had, like heated seats and air conditioning. But one day I wondered if we could take the lock out of the tail light. So we took the button out. Then, we wondered what the Tracer wheels would look like on it. It looked good, but the car needed to be lowered. This process continued, and I eventually molested the entire car. I wanted to keep it clean and subtle, wanted to drive it everyday and not be harassed by the police."
After the lock was deleted, the rest of the bodywork followed. The fenders needed to be wider so Cory could fit stretched European-style wheels and tires down the line. So the rear fenders were flared 2" and the fronts were extended 1" either side. The moldings were also modified to blend in.
Black roof is a nice touch
Next came the bumpers, which were smoothed for an extremely clean look. Adding to the smoothness was a shaved exhaust cut-out, Mattig roof blend, deleted windshield washer nozzles and a unique shortened tail light mod. "Nobody catches that immediately," Cory remarked. "I had a wrecked Jetta sitting at the shop, so I cut the rear quarters and grafted them into the my Jetta."
For some contrast, the roof was painted black, while carbon mirrors and a front splitter were also added. Abt then provided more aggressive styling with its front valance and side skirts. Completing the exterior are smoked E-code headlights with HID bulbs.
After the body was done, Cory was ready to fit the wheels he had sitting in the garage from his old car - 17x8" front and 17x9" rear Tracer Techs. "It's the only thing I took from my Golf," he told us. "They're indestructible on the terrible Pennsylvania roads and have a distinct European look."