This week’s blog entry takes us to a different state outside California: West Virginia, to be exact. With the help of my good friend, John Bennett, Avantturous is able to acquire some fresh photos of Nathan’s prized possession: MKIV Jetta Wagon powered by a R32 3.2 VR6 engine. Those, who are familiar with VW’s VR6 engine, would know how intoxicating the sound that these engines make. So intoxicating that Nathan was willing to go through the trouble of swapping the engine off his totaled MKV into the MK4 Jetta Wagon that you see on this feature. Interesting enough, the MK4 Jetta Wagon was actually acquired from John Bennett.

Already had a picture of the final product clear in his mind, Nathan went straight to work after sourcing the Jetta Wagon. VR6 engine was immediately transferred over and mated into a 6-speed manual transmission (MKV R32 was only available with DSG stateside).  While the wagon was down for the count, Nathan also went crazy in sourcing more parts to get the wagon looking fresh. With OEM+ theme in mind, a MKIV R32 dimple dashboard was sourced along with BNIB R32 pedals. To complete the interior, Nathan added the following parts: MKIV R32 steering wheel, MKV R32 front seats, OEM rear booster seats and OEM pet barrier cage. OEM Bora R front bumper, Jetta GLI sidekirts and SRS-Tec rear valence were all ordered to complete the exterior body department. Air suspension from Airlift was ordered to get the wagon sitting right at the car shows.

Originally rolling on Mercedes Benz Alphard wheels for many years after the swap, Nathan felt like he needed something different to keep his wagon unique. His luck happened to be aligned with the universe and the deal was struck to acquire these BNIB Carline CM2 wheels in 19” configuration. Those in the know would recognize these wheels right away (Originally built for what was supposed to be the greatest MKIV unicorn build in the VWVortex history *cough* Winslow *cough*) Since these wheels were originally ordered to fit a car with pulled fenders, it took Nathan sometime to get them to sit right on his MKIV wagon. The result… definitely delivers!