It Begins: The S3 1.8T into my '85 Mk2 GTI

[GOLFBALLS]

Wow its been a long time since i was on here!
I finally put the CAI that I bought from Matty T on the car a few weeks back, after having it sitting in the lounge room for 8 months or some crap...
A lot less turbo whoosh, but more induction roar. It's also improved the power a little on those hot Perth days! Amazing the difference a 10 degree drop in intake temperature can make!

I put some ducting pipe in to be sure it was sucking fresh, cool air from the front...

[GOLFBALLS]

In other news, some minor maintenance stuff. Had one of the rubber breather tubes blow off the charge pipe (the one that connects to the n75 valve). Idled rough as old bags and i could see black fuel smoke pouring out the back, but it went like stink for a while!!!

Wheel bearings, brake fluid, CV's & service next week...

HEY 1000 POSTS!!!

[ByronRichesMk1]

Good to see this car is getting some love! Such an awesome bit of kit

[Stiggy_21]

Great work wade!!

[GOLFBALLS]

So, after getting a little telling off by a cop, I've decided to jump into the risky unknowns of legalising this car.

There's been some chat about licensing modded cars, and it seems to be a subject everyone either avoids, or just simply are really unsure about. You never see a mention of it in any magazine or build thread. So here goes!

Basically, what the would-be modder SHOULD do is plan their mods in detail and BEFORE even lifting a spanner, filling out a 'Modification Application (Light production) Vehicle' form which can be found on the DPI website.

Fill it out, take it to an auto engineer to sign and mail it off. I included some literature about the different European models to show evidence of different power outputs, engine types, brake & wheel width options etc just for good measure.

Then what's supposed to happen is they mail back and approval or pending approval after additional info is supplied. You build the car, get the auto engineer to inspect and sign it off and then go over the pits for licensing.

But, seeing as though most of us have just gone ahead and already built our cars while they were already licensed it makes things a bit tricky. Especially if the car is your daily/only car!!!

Chapter two coming...

[GOLFBALLS]

....Because I was cheeky, and swapped my engine without telling the authorities, I have to be very careful how I now get the car certified without ending up with a yellow sticker, and thus no (legal) car to drive. I'm still not even sure it will get passed!! But, this is my plan and might be helpful to you other modders on here.

So the convo is already done. I can't go back to standard. If I book it in to the pits as is it will probably fail, so I went to Southam automotive engineering for a quick look over just to get a picture of what stuff I'll need to change/fix to keep the inspectors happy. I also took the application form. They also did the brake test and noise level test while I was at it so it's all ready to show the dpi when the time comes.

Then I sent off the form and he said to call him when I got a reply and we could finalise things and make any necessary changes.

So now I'm nervously awaiting a reply from the dpi to tell me whether or not my "proposed" (*cough cough*) mods are ok.
In the meantime I went and got it filled and detuned with E85 (which cuts about 70% of emissions) and yesterday had the 5-gas emissions test. The guy said I should just scrape through!!!

Depending on your car, you may need other info like a weigh bridge printout after the conversion, a bhp printout off the dyno, etc.

Hope that's a help to any confused modders out there!!

[GOLFBALLS]

So far the things I've been advised to sort out are:
-Child restraints back in (for 1990 on)
-fix a few little oil & coolant leaks
-raised suspension 20mm
-secure any loose wiring
-exhaust touching body under car
-small hole in seat bolster fabric
-battery box with cover & vent tube
-rear wheel bearings/brakes
-lh cv boots
-speedo cable
-put charcoal canister back

[Water Boy]

Good work mate!

[roccodingo]

Cool Wade, Terry seemed to be a easy sort of a bloke to deal with as well as an extensive knowledge base. I have lined him up to do the Mk2 rocco certification once it arrives.

Did you do the gas analysis at Roadbend ??

What has the cost to engineer been like so far ??

PS no suprise that you had to raise it, guess your driving with an oxygen mask on now....

[Jarred]

All the sort of stuff is normal Roadworthy stuff here in Vic. (apart from emissions and brake testing). Thanks for putting this up, although my concern is that it will probably be slightly different in every state (and for every different swap as well)