Rayvern’s VR6 Mk.2 VW Jetta
Sectioning: when a horizontal section is removed from the body of a car. This is a class act of awesome modifying proportions – and it’s even better when no-one realises you’ve done it.
Take Rayvern’s VR6 Mk.2 Jetta, which has been wowing the scene for two years now – giving most UK Dub shows a familiar crowd of head-scratchers pulling confused gurns at the squat sight of the car.
Browsing an afternoon’s worth of forum theories on the retro VW is good craic too, and even our own builds maestro Midge, who’s seen so much over the years that only a dry scalp makes him scratch his head, has had a little scrape of the nut over how Rayvern-owner Ray pulled this one off.
But first, the story goes that after his crazy VW Vento build four years ago, hydraulics legend Ray wanted to do another equally mad project, stumbling across this perfect base car when feeding some squirrels with the missus.
“The Jetta was immaculate and silly cheap, so I just went for it. At first was only going to put a VR6 lump in and stick it on air,” reckons the man himself, before deciding his new Dub just didn’t sit low enough.
“The floor pan on those things is so deep, it just didn’t look slammed. So I had to find another way to get it on the deck,” he says.
Ray has always maintained that finding solutions to problems is his idea of fun, so the well-known Cambridgeshire man had the time of his life cutting the Jetta’s body in half horizontally and removing five inches of VW metal before welding the leftovers back together.
The result means the chassis gets to sit in the dirt, while the sexy VR6 lump pokes out the top of the smoothed bay – cue the title quote.
The bonnetless look and poke-out engine are also the first of a few hot-rod influences on the Jetta, which harks back to Ray’s previous life over the water in the good old US of A.
“I worked in the hot-rod industry, building hot rod and street rod cars in the States, about 15 years back, before I brought the hydros over here and set up Rayvern,” says Ray. “So I had to get a few little rod bits in there, didn’t I?!”
Inside, the giant handformed- gearstick reeks of more hot-rod, and Ray’s made the tiny dash from a sheet of steel, adding the chrome from a 1950s Buick – very trick.
The Jetta is truly mad – but the funny thing is, when you consider this car also used to be an automatic and that Ray did all the work on this mad-mobile himself, you realise the only thing madder than the Jetta is, well, the master crafter himself! Ray, you’re nuts, and we bloody love it!
RAYVERN HYDRAULICS
Ray Ramsey is a legend of the modifying scene, building countless feature cars in the UK and supplying his famed Rayvern air-ride and hydraulic systems to hundreds of cars worldwide every year. When we caught up with him for the Jetta shoot, he was fabricating hydros for a customer in Africa! To get your humble mitts on Ray’s impressive air-ride or hydraulic kit, give him a call on 01945 450150 or visit Rayvern Hydraulics It’s as easy as pie!
TECH SPEC
VW JETTA MK.2
STYLING
Front wings cut down 1.5-inches and splitter cut off to allow body drop; bumper mounts re-made and positioned five inches lower; radiator removed behind impact panel; top of turrets cut and sectioned 1.5-inches; latch panel smoothed out; impact panel sectioned 5-inches; engine bay sectioned 5-inches; smoothed engine bay; custom-made wiper panel; repositioned battery and water bottle; custom-made header tank; brake servo lifted 1.5-inches; front wings extended 1-inch; indicators welded up; flared front wings; custom water jets; one-off wiring loom; Toyota steering UJs; steering rack repositioned; shortened steering shaft; body sectioned 5-inches; Nissan brown paint.
TUNING
VR6 engine conversion; 3-inch stainless exhaust.
CHASSIS
Front chassis rails cut and shortened 5-inches; VR6 subframe; hydraulic suspension; notched chassis rails; TSW rims.
INTERIOR
Hand-formed dash; chrome grille section from 1950s Buick; TK Maxx clock; VR6 gauge repositioned under dash; all pedals shortened 5-inches; gearstick made from hydraulic hard line; Rat Fink gear stick; custom front doorcards; ostrich trim interior; headlight switches under dash; billet steering wheel boss; Isotta steering wheel; rear seats sectioned 5-inches; boot floor sectioned 5-inches; rear doors sectioned with custom door panels; rear door locks made from dead bolts; front seats sectioned 5-inches.
