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15000
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12000
members - 03/04 |
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10000
members - 10/03 |
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9,000
members - 07/03 |
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7,000
members - 01/03 |
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5,000
members - 06/02 |
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3,000
members - 12/01 |
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B5
of the Month – August 2003
Bel
Habib (b5bel)
Edgewater, NJ
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My
VW passion started back in 1992 when I fell in love with a local
16 valve GTI with BBS wheels, Recaro seats, etc. I was only 15
at the time and I tried hard to save the money to buy it but I
just couldn’t do it. After I received my driver’s license, I
settled for a much lesser first car but I always wondered
“What if…”
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My
fourth car was German made, albeit not a Volkswagen. No, it was
a 1986 Audi 5000S that I picked up for $800. I loved the five
cylinder Audi’s and picked up a heavily modified 1983 Ur
Quattro. That thing was fast! Low compression pistons, head
studs, custom exhaust manifold, T4 turbo, Haltech E6K fuel
management, and much more. The only drawback was that it was a
money pit as it had rust and all the common little UrQ quirks.
Without the time and money for a complete restoration, I was
forced to sell it.
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Shortly
after selling the UrQ, the transmission on my 5000S went and I
decided to buy a new car this time around. While I loved the
Audi’s, I had been working at a Volkswagen dealership for the
last several years and had fallen in love with the entire VW
lineup. And if I ever needed anything for my car, I could get it
easily and affordably from work and better yet, get paid to work
on my own car!
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Having
previously owned three turbocharged cars, I knew I wanted the
1.8T. I really loved that engine because of all the tuning
possibilities and just for the simple fact that it was
turbocharged. At the time, the Jetta only came with the
2pointslow and the VR6 and I wasn’t overly fond of the
craftsmanship versus that of the Passat. And the Passat was so
similar to the Audi that I originally craved that it seemed like
the logical choice. I decided to make the jump up to the Passat
and took possession of my Satin Silver B5 in January 2001.
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After
getting my car, I was running my mouth saying that I’m not
going to hook this car up for reliability and expense reasons.
Well, you can all see how well that went! But at least it’s
still reliable. The car is now two years old and I’m running
out of things to do to it. Unlike all my previous cars, I still
have not become bored with this car. The Passat definitely has
something special, something that keeps me wanting more.
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I’d
like to thank all the ClubB5 members for their insight including
our German members. I’d also like to thank the credit card
companies that approved me for credit. Without them, half of my
mods would not have been possible. And last but definitely not
least; I’d like to thank my girlfriend Cathy. She has stood by
me while I substituted our weekend picnics for VW GTG’s,
spending tons of time working on my car (and other members’
cars), and spending way too much time surfing ClubB5.
-Bel
For
more pictures and information on Bel’s car, please see his
profile in the USA–East Member Directory.
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