For more than ten years, Rob Camp has been serving as a mechanic for the United States Air Force. Stationed at Luke AFB in Avondale, AZ, he wrenches on the nation's F-16 Fighting Falcons, with engines capable of 915mph at sea level and 1500mph at altitude. While not on the same scale as an $18 million jet, Rob also shares an enthusiasm for driving and modifying compact cars, like his Jazz blue '03 VW GTI 20th Anniversary Edition.
Raised in Riverside County, CA, Rob fell in love with cars in his youth but joined the dark side. A '95 Honda Civic Coupe was his baby and he admitted it was "all riced out."
With so many cheesy add-on parts, the Civic screamed for attention and became a prime target for thieves. One night it was stolen and police found the car stripped to its frame in the middle of a street hundreds of miles from his residence. Hurt by the loss, Rob took charge of the situation and was determined to replace his Civic with a car that would be classier, faster and less of a target. After debating between a Neon, RSX and GTI, he wisely decided to choose German engineering.
"My 20AE started life as a daily driver back in 8/03," Rob explained. "I drove it for about 10k miles before I got the mod bug." Since leaving the Japanese scene, Rob had plenty of reading to do in order to understand what parts were suitable for his GTI. He quickly realized parts weren't as affordable as the eBay import stores for the Honda market - European quality and value would come at a price.
Rob began his quest by uncorking the performance of his 20AE's 1.8 liter turbo engine and nimble chassis. An evoms cold-air intake and diverter valve were the first to increase airflow into the motor while ensuring stable boost pressure to handle future upgrades.
Driving regularly around the Arizona desert didn't help with the heat soak, so the stock intercooler was ditched for a larger Eurojet Racing front-mount. At the same time, Revo stage 2 software was uploaded to achieve maximum gains from the stock K03 turbo. To complete the catalog of upgrades, Rob fitted a GHL turbo-back exhaust, ECS pulleys and Samco turbo inlet pipe. He then added Auto Meter gauges to monitor boost and air/fuel ratios from the driver's seat.
Chassis upgrades followed with Zimmerman drilled rotors and Neuspeed lines for a stronger stopping force. The car was lowered 60mm using a Weitec Cup kit, while Neuspeed sway bars and a lower tie bar improved stiffness.
Rob admitted his upgrades weren't enough to outrun the average Porsche 911 or BMW M3, but he concentrated on making his 20AE a well-rounded daily driver that could compete at car shows.
Prior to moving to Arizona, Rob was impressed by a close friend's mildly-modified Mk4 Golf TDI. It became a role model for Rob with its simple R32 body kit and staggered Brock wheels. "The factory bumpers didn't appeal to me and I wanted to fill out the car. My whole goal was OEM+ with a little bit of Euro swirled in the mix," he told us.
Body and paint expert, Jeff Campbell (who's white R32 turbo was featured in et 7/06) sprayed and installed an R32 front bumper and side skirts, along with an R-line rear bumper and Cupra R front lip. He also took time to shave the bumper notches, rear hatch and side markers before a badgeless grille was added.
Not overdoing the R32 look, Rob then applied his own flavor with Bora R foglights imported from Germany within the bumper grilles. Next, FK projector headlights were matched to the fogs.