Doing what you love for a living is the ultimate goal for many people. Whether it's saving lives, creating art or owning your own business, it's what most of us strive for. It can be a double-edged sword since it's possible to forget what made you love it in the first place when it becomes the daily grind.
Matt Kappen from Hershey, PA is a lifelong VW enthusiast who was living the dream of running his own shop. "I got into it back in the late '80s after driving VWs since I was 16," Matt began. "You could buy a Rabbit and really get into it and do something fun."
Working alongside his father, Matt founded G&M Performance, doing repair, service and performance work - turning out some great project cars. But the constant stress took its toll, and Matt was looking for an exit. "It was seven days a week, 18 hours a day. It was constant. It really burned me out. It came to the point where it wasn't fun anymore, so I sold [the business] and got rid of everything I had left over," he said.
Matt spent the next couple of years devoting time to his wife and children, never touching a wrench or attending a show. Luckily for us, he got that familiar itch and began looking around for something to play with. One of the first cars that made an impression on him was an '85 GTI 8v turbo, decked out in an Oettinger kit.
With this inspiration, Matt knew he wanted it to be all-wheel drive, but since the Golf Rallye was a more frequent sight on these shores over the last few years, he decided to build something a little more custom. A red '89 Golf CL was selected and the project began.
"I wanted something VW might have built," he said. "I built it as if it were a Motorsport car they might sell off the dealer's floor."
Smoothed engine bay home to...
Smoothed engine bay home to polished 1.8T, although most of the good stuff is hidden
Matt used his arsenal of skills to take care of most of the work himself. First on the list was to dump the wheezy 8v engine, drop in more power and convert the car to Syncro all-wheel drive.
"I honestly didn't know what motor I'd use when I started," Matt stated. "I was actually going to a do a 16v turbo, and then everybody was telling me I'd make more power with the 20v. So I decided to try it."
A stock-block 1.8 20v was dropped into the smoothed-out engine bay, along with a custom turbo system. A Garrett T4 turbo provides the pressure, while a Garrett intercooler was squeezed behind the radiator support - keeping the front end clean without needing any cutting or a larger bumper.
Matt's friend Joel Brown fabricated the trick tubular exhaust manifold and intercooler piping. A Tial blow-off valve and wastegate keep the boost in check, while an Autronic electronic boost controller dictates pressure.
An Autronic SM4 engine management system controls the engine parameters, with a Walbro 255lph in-tank fuel pump feeding the 83 lb injectors. The entire system was built to NHRA spec, so Matt can take the car to the track and put it to good use!