The story of Kyle’s Harlequin is the kind of dream every car enthusiast can relate to. When Kyle was just nine years old, he made himself a promise: one day, he would own one of Volkswagen’s rarest and arguably oddest vehicles ever produced. By seventeen, he opened a dedicated savings account just to prepare for the day he could finally bring home a Harlequin of his own. | Photos: Brian Buckley | Words: Matt Gaumont
Kyle built some really cool cars over the years; the WRX he had when we first met, a super-clean GLI, and an MK3 Jetta that remains one of my personal favorites. But no matter how many projects Kyle got his hands on over the years, he was always looking for the Harlequin. Finally, in 2018, the opportunity popped up in an unlikely place. Buried deep in an Ontario, Canada junkyard, sat the car he’d been waiting for…even if it didn’t look like it. Weather-beaten, and absolutely not worth saving, was a rotting MK3 Harlequin. That’s where Jet Daily stumbled across it, figuring at worst he had a parts car, and at best he could pass it along to someone who might do the car justice. But who would take on a project this far gone? Who could take on a project this far gone?
Enter Jamie Orr, owner of Orchid Euro and a man very well acquainted with old Volkswagens. Jamie has spent years hunting down, rescuing, and reviving iconic VWs. When he heard about the Ontario Harlequin, he reached out to Jet, loaded up the truck, and headed north to check it out. Jamie brought the car back to his shop in Pottstown, PA with the intention of adding it to his lineup of restorations. But even a seasoned vet like Jamie has limits, and with too many projects already underway, he couldn’t give the Harlequin the time it deserved. That’s when Kyle received the call he’d been waiting for since childhood.
A quick wire transfer later, Kyle and his buddy Tony were on the road to Pennsylvania in a truck packed with spare parts, “just in case.” What they were about to drive home was technically a car…but only technically. The drive back was a beautiful disaster. A mix of triumph and chaos. Kyle finally had his Harlequin, but the car was in no shape to make the 340 mile trek to Massachusetts. So naturally, he drove it anyway. Bald tires. Destroyed ball joints and wheel bearings. No first gear. A cooked clutch. And to top it all off, no wipers…in the rain. But they got it done and 36 hours later, the car was back at Tony’s shop.
The teardown began immediately. In just five days, Kyle and Tony stripped what remained of the car down to its bare bones. They built a custom rotisserie and began sourcing replacement parts from Raybuck, VW Heritage, and local donor cars. But after the full sandblast treatment, the reality hit hard: the car was nearly beyond saving. What metal remained was riddled with rot. For a moment, Kyle wondered if he had finally bitten off more than he could chew. But he had already committed. More importantly, his nine-year-old self had committed.
Over the next year, Kyle and Tony replaced almost every panel on the car…rockers, floor pans, door bars, strut towers, you name it. They went as far as stitch welding, panel bonding, fiberglassing seams, reinforcing jack points, and slathering the shell in POR-15 and Lizard Skin. The motor went to Kinsley Automotive in New Hampshire for a full rebuild, while the uniquely quirky Harlequin “Joker pattern” interior headed to Inside Out Customs in Lunenburg, MA for a complete revival. And then came the signature of every true Harlequin: the colors. Tornado Red. Ginster Yellow. Pistachio Green. Chagall Blue. This part had to be perfect, and Kyle made sure it was. The paint shop tackled each color one at a time, and Kyle made frequent trips with spray-outs in hand, ensuring each shade matched the original OEM tone to the last detail.
With just seven months left before Kyle’s planned debut at Wolfsgart 2021, the real crunch began. The engine and transmission were tackled first. By May 15th, the engine started for the first time. By the end of June, the mechanical portion was complete. Now it was a race against the clock.
Kyle took his 30-day work sabbatical and lived in the shop. Day in, day out, he pushed to finish the car. New glass was installed. The interior was set in place. All exterior body panels fitted and aligned. And on July 28th, the car finally rolled out of the shop. The following day…it rolled into Wolfsgart. All for this. The car was finished exactly as Kyle had envisioned it. Three years of frustration, dedication, sacrifice, and pride all paid off here. Long term builds like this are rare in car culture today. Too often, people rush to throw parts at a car in six months just to say it’s “done.” But those quick projects rarely build the deep bond and appreciation that comes from years of learning, failing, rebuilding, and pushing through. Kyle’s Harlequin is proof of what real pride and passion look like. Hopefully, the younger generation can take a page from an OG who’s still doing it the right way.
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Engine:
Original aba obd1 block, forged crank, skat hbeam rods, techtonics tuning pistons, .040 over, 11.5:1 compression, spa turbo head gasket, ARP hardware, king bearings, OBD 1.5 S-code head, 288 techtonics cam and HD vale springs, titanium seats keepers and retainers, hand ported and polished head by Black Magic Metalworks, Techtonics stainless header, custom stainless exhaust, vibrant performance vbands, xforce varix muffler, ABT exhaust tip, custom G60 valve cover, individual throttle bodies, 6AN fuel lines, Bosch 330 injectors, custom catch can, serp. belt conversion with Gruven pulleys, mk4 ignition coil, mishimoto vr6 radiator with custom overflow and polished hardlines, custom fan shroud, microsquirt stand alone ecu tuned by built industries
Trans:
VR6 clutch conversion, G60 02A trans with custom powdercoated case, mk4 shifter with solid mounts, diesel geek sigma 5 shifter, Audi TT shift box, TDI 5th gear, Corrado trans brace, reinforced shift fork, Mad Dog machine manual master cylinder bracket, Wilwood Master cylinder, wilwood proportioning vale, stainless hardlines
Body:
Replaced panels: Inner, outer, center rocker panels on both sides, both rear quarters, both strut towers, both floor pans, rear apron, engine bay shaved, shaved rain tray, gas door panel replaced, frame rails repaired and shaved, reinforced jack points, spare tire well cut and replaced. OEM euro CL hatch, jetta front end conversion, hella magic colour tail lights, blanks, and turn signals. Front bumper light mounts custom flushed forward by perfection pastics
Wheels:
OEM VW teardrops converted to 3 piece. 17×8.5 square with staggered lips and barrels custom brushed and tinted faces and polished lips by MR1 Wheel Refinishing
Suspension:
Airlift slam series bags, dual 444c compressors, 3P management, custom hardline floating tank, tie rods flipped and welded sleeves, unix ball joint extenders, custom machined and narrowed mk2 strut bushings, Black Magic Metalworks billet strut caps, manual steering conversion, Mad Dog centering plates, custom camber shims
Interior:
Custom cluster made by Cluters by Litke, EZ wire body harness, custom 3P controller mount by Perfection plastics, factory seats skinned and rebuilt with new foam and larger bolsters, headrests deleted, OEM leather outter and factory harlequin centers with custom stitching in harlequin colors, door cards wrapped in factory harlequin fabric and stitched in matching harlequin colors all by Inside out Customs, anniversary jahre seat belts, matching harlequin fabric shift boot, bluetooth amplifier and radio delete, black pillars and suede headliner with matching black grab handels and black corrado dome light
Shout outs
Tony from Black Magic Metalworks
Johnny from Inside Out Customs
Billy from Built Industries
Kingsley Automotive
Perfection Plastics
My Wife Steph
The merry band of psychos crazy enough to take this on with us including YC, Body Mike, Tyler, Kay and anyone else who helped source parts or turned even a single wrench on this thing.
Here are a few of the build shots from Kyles’ archive.
Protect The culture 