This week’s Avantturous blog entry is a special one! Why special, you may ask? The answer is simple – the owner of this specific wagon was one of the few people who supported the idea of Avantturous. Let’s do a quick recap: before starting Avantturous, I was doing a similar style IG account focusing on Volkswagen builds. From building up that VW page during the pandemic, I came across Michael’s super clean MK4 Jetta Wagon TDI. At the time, Michael was in the process of getting the car worthy to his high standard. It wasn’t until I started posting a long series of VW wagon builds on that page where many folks had started noticing and showing appreciation & love for the wagon series; one of those folks was Michael. He said “Love the wagon series that you are doing. Keep it up because this body style needs to be appreciated more!” And I couldn’t agree more with him on that! When that VW account got hacked, I decided to start from scratch and do something a little bit more personalized… And voilaaaaa… Avantturous page was born!
Everyone loves back stories but that’s not what we are here for! This blog entry is to appreciate and show love to years’ worth of dedication and hard work that Michael had put in towards the wagon. And the result shows on the photos that we see here. Starting off with the exterior of this wagon; front bumper had been upgraded with a Votex unit, while Votex sideskirts & rear valence added a finishing touch to the wagon’s OEM+ theme. As a finishing touch, a Projektzwo hatch spoiler was added to the already-clean Votex equipped exterior. Lights were upgraded to Bora HID unit (headlights) and Ocean taillights. The wagon was then lowered on Bilstein PSS9 coilovers with the addition of many suspension components upgrade: R32 front sway bar, Neuspeed rear bar, tubular control arms and centering plates. BBS CH wheels in 19” were then acquired to complete the exterior.
When getting into this wagon ownership, Michael knew his 300K+ miles engine would soon need a refresh. Over the years, countless of hours were spent to ensure that this wagon is ready for another 300K miles! Ask any car enthusiast and they would agree that replacing worn out parts is a good time to do upgrades! The stock turbo was upgraded with a Garrett VNT-17 turbo; backed with stage 4 Malone tune, upgraded injectors, upgraded intercooler, upgraded drivetrain and a better flow 2.25” turbo-back exhaust. With its newfound power, brake upgrade was deemed necessary. Wanting to still be on the OEM+ side of modding, Michael went with Stoptech 312 /256 mm rotor upgrade paired with Jetta GLI calipers and braided lines.
With exterior and engine receiving many upgrades, the interior is not to be missed! Steering wheel, gear knob, floor mats and pedals were all replaced with ones from Volkswagen’s own R-line. Kenwood headunit was then acquired to keep the music jammin’ inside the cabin. A period-correct Playstation 2 Slim was also added into the mix!
Love this wagon! Love it even more when the owner is dedicated to keeping this wagon on the road for many miles ahead!
Special thanks to Michael, Christian Seiler (@agentc.arw) and Kailr Stange (@k.ailr) for taking and sharing these magnificent photos with Avantturous!
Introduce Yourself
My name is Michael Speer and I live in Minneapolis, MN. I was surrounded by a lot of VW influence growing up; my uncle ran a few VW/Audi repair shops and my mother owned several GTI’s that I used while learning to drive. I currently work in retail store design, but would love to break into the automotive field with my degree in Industrial Design.
WHY A WAGON?:
My affinity for wagons likely came from an interest in boxy 80’s and 90’s cars growing up. I also spent a lot of time riding around in the rear-facing third row of a Volvo XC70 Cross-Country with my cousin; the versatility of that wagon definitely stuck with me. Although my first car, a 1998 VW Jetta GLX, was a blast to drive and sounded great, I found myself searching for more practicality and reliability in a wagon.
Did you consider a different WAGON instead of this one?
Several wagons were on my mind initially. The Volvo V70R, Saab 9-3/9-5 and Audi B5 S4 Avant were top contenders before disqualifying them due to reliability concerns. I then set my sights on finding a VR6 powered Mk4 Jetta wagon with ambitious plans to build a “factory” AWD R32 wagon clone. As I’d soon find out, well-maintained manual examples were few and far between, so the search widened to less-sporty options.
What was your original objective with your car and has that objective changed?
I had no intention of owning a TDI, let alone modifying one. The early goals were to simply fix the damage and drive it as-is until I had saved enough for the aforementioned swap. I began using each repair as an opportunity to upgrade and felt my appreciation for the drivetrain growing with every change I made. I could never imagine this car with anything but a TDI under the hood now.
Although I had an OEM+ look in mind, I originally wanted to dress it in R32 guise. As the drivetrain swap aspirations began to fade, I felt the R32 body kit was a bit dishonest and started looking for alternatives. The Votex kit was one that I had always dismissed, almost exclusively seeing it on sedans paired with Boser hood extensions and other mods to give an overly aggressive look. A generous community member found an original Driver Gear promo poster in his dealership storage and gifted it to me. I was blown away by how great the Votex kit looked on a Reflex Silver wagon and immediately began hunting down all the pieces to build it for myself.
What style would you say best describes your car?
Period-correct OEM+. I wanted this car to be exactly how I would have modified one if I had the privilege to order it new. I have a lot of nostalgia for the late 90’s and 00’s, so I’ve also done some mods that stray a bit into the Tuner style, like under glow and the glove box-mounted PS2 slim. At first glance it can look almost modern, but I enjoy its ability to be a time capsule of sorts for the car/pop culture of the time.
Who assisted in the planning/building/modding of your car?
So many people have helped me along the near 10 year ownership of this car, but two stand out above the rest.
Eric Merker is a brilliant tech and a true TDI master. He not only convinced me to buy this car and kept it running all these years, but has selflessly provided wisdom at every step along the way. I can proudly say I’ve had a hand in 90% of the work on this car because of his support.
My friend Sheriden Germain is the other I owe a serious debt to. His enthusiasm and grit were the key to making the most out of Eric’s knowledge and all the shop resources to build this car the way I wanted. So many late nights, junkyard hunts, part road trips, and roadside rescues were made possible with his help.
What do you feel makes your car unique / special in your eyes?
I built it for myself and only myself, yet it seems to resonate with enthusiasts in the same ways it does for me. It subverts expectations and rewards those who take the time to dig deeper. At the same time, it has a goofy sense of humor that’s so satisfying to share with others. This is especially true while being driven; no one expects a diesel station wagon to be nimble and flat through corners, but as soon as it sees a twisty road, smiles are unavoidable.
What is your favorite part/feature/function of the car?
This is tough to answer with things like the rear valance and wheels being such crucial pieces to the overall look. The piece I’m most proud of is probably the fog light grilles, which I designed myself. I really liked the look of factory R32 fog lights, but was disappointed that no option was available for the Votex bumper. To avoid hacking up the original grilles that are NLA, I designed and 3D printed new ones to house Hella Micro DE fog units. I’m so pleased with the outcome and love having full front/rear fog options to make use of the switch positions on the Seat Arosa knobs in the car.
If you could pick one thing you aren’t satisfied with about your car, what would it be?
Rust. Although this is surprisingly solid for nearly 500k miles through Midwest winters, the cancer is getting difficult to avoid. Ideally, I’ll keep it at bay until I can afford a proper bare metal rust repair and respray.
What has been the biggest obstacle you’ve faced while building this car?
After I had completed the Malone Stage 4 tune, I experienced the first major driveline failure. I attempted a pass on the highway in 5th gear, and stripped the splines from the 5th and the input shaft; oops. I was able to weld a new 5th gear to the input shaft as a bandaid fix, but that too failed and I spent a summer driving around in 4th, ears bleeding until I could track down a solid replacement transmission. Even the new box had shifting issues initially and had to come out again before Sheriden and Eric found a stray shift tower bolt lodged in the shift forks. That bolt is now hanging from my keychain.
What one word best describes your car?
Versatile.
What is your final goal with this car?
Reaching 500,000 miles. With it only being driven in summer, and now introducing it to AutoX events, this is becoming less certain. The only scenario in which I see myself no longer owning this car would be due to catastrophic circumstances, so I will keep it going as long as I can.
If money is no object, which make & model wagon would you get into?
I already have a start, but I would build out my Oxford Green E39 540iT into a complete M5 clone. Owning something from each end of the wagon market from my favorite era of automobiles would be a dream come true.
