Stan's Epic Golf Build: 1.6se becomes 1.8T

[Stan]

thanks velly, you have reminded me that i need to get on with more pics and the rest of the story....

---------- Post added at 10:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:47 PM ----------

OK time for some more.
At last pic session we had just got out the original engine.
Out the front and lowered onto a wooden trolley and wheeled away.

Braking circuit and AC was left in. The AC rad is right in front , so I had to try and pull it all to one side to get the 1.6 out and the 1.8T in. Here you can see the AC setup dangling down - all this was simply pulled to one side and wired out of the way.



Then easy peasy out it all comes:



This is the point you realise that you have pretty much reached the point of no return and if it goes pear-shaped from here, your car is worth nothing and nobody in their right minds will tackle a half finished project and bail you out...

Didnt want to , but the bonnet had to come of to get nice vertical alignment to lift in the new engine.

OK so the block and tackle is attached to the new engine, which is also on a trolley - wheel it into place, lift it up and do up the 4 main subframe bolts. A bit of wiggling, fiddling and watching where wiring and plumbing is getting pinched etc. I had most stuff bundled up out of the way before the engine was lifted in. This part was actually pretty quick and within an hour of the old one out - the new was in, well basically. Fat bloke with silly smile is me.

[Stan]

To divert my attention for a while, i decided to sort the suspension.
Lowered pedders springs from a forum member, GTI shocks, and new springs in the rear.
New on the left, old on the right - no they are not going into the lawn mower...



Rear spring in the background.

Simple job to remove the bolts from the rear shock bases, drop the rear subframe (partially) and simply insert the rear springs. And they are red - it was meant to be. They still had a part number sticker on them, so I rang Pedders to confirm - VW Golf MK4 lowered, ok for GTI - cool, good to go in.



Is that a Whiteline rear anti sway bar in the background . ..adjustable, same source as my TT brakes, what a great forum







It so happens the the rear disk size is the same for the 1.6, GTI and Audi TT mk1, so these dont have to be changed.
However, the fronts do. I have a set from an Audi TT with 312mm disks - so big fronts going in. Initially I had all the bits except for the carriers, so I did the front shocks and springs and put the originals back on - they will still stop the car , but it will be under braked for spirited driving - oh, and it's not compliant without the upgrade either....
Seb and Courney (Bugracer and white vr6) are sorting the carriers, expecting them very soon...

Original brakes, new (well used A3 1.8T) shocks and (newish aftermarket) springs



Rear antisway bar goes on next:

U bolts go over the rear sub frame (instructions are on their site in PDF)



Droplinks mount to a spacer block at the base of the rear shocks





Select a hole for stiffness - towards the end has more flex, so second stiffest setting here:

[Stan]

The plumbing was very straight forward, most of it was already in place. Line for the clutch in and that was nearly it.

The wiring was another matter, as you have seen from the saga earlier in the thread and a specific thread on it in the mk4 section.
There are 3 main looms if you like.
The base loom that stays in the car - your lights, fuses, relay panel and fuse panel etc...
then there is the ECU, which has 2 big plugs on it and each has a wire bundle. These bundles plug into the existing loom and onto stuff like your sensors, coil packs, starter, AC compressor, and you name it.

ECU change over:



From the ECU left bundle to main car loom - look similar, but plugs are not compatible:



that was because it's a 2000 model car and the engine was from a 1999 car, also from VW to Audi. Wires were essentially the same.

tried this to test, haha :



Ended up doing this, multipin plug kit from Jaycar:







This join lives inside the covered wiring channel that comes from the plenum chamber / rain tray (where the ECU lives).

The right bundle mostly stays in the plenum chamber and terminates in three plugs - orange, brown and green. My original were orange brown and white. That means green plug goes into the white socket, after a bit of modding to make it fit, as the plugs and sockets are keyed.



So here is where they live:



These plugs turned out to be the source of my non starting woes - more later

A couple of the other plugs were different as well, but the wiring was the same, so splice and dice the plugs (AC compressor, alternator...)









these were soldered properly and the dodgy tape is replaced.

[Stan]

Intercooler on - mounting points were already there - love the Germans





Ordered a new pollen filter, easy fit with all the trim off. ECU is on the left. Bits still had my name on them as labelled by Matt at Camden GTI before sending them down, haha :



Engine and wiring esentially done. Exhaust mounted up etc. On cranking the car cranked but wouldnt fire. Pump could be hotwired to work, but wouldnt otherwise. Pump tested fine and so did the wiring from it. This saga went on for weeks, crank no fire.
Everything got blamed, bad earth, fuel pump relay, base wiring, ECU, you name it - And it was all checking out OK. No fuel, yes spark.
Wiring diagrams, phone calls and some great help from Matt, Gav and Jmac got it all down to a single f*&king wire. A model year change over thing, swap from brown to orange plug, bullet connectors and ta da , it fired first try. It goes via the relay panel to the fuel pump, hence all the error issues that a dud fuel pump relay would produce (yes I did try swapping it as well...)

My diagram of the 3 main plugs - ECU, to the 3 plugs to the fuse panel in the car. It shows original sockets, original plugs, new plugs and wire colours. i made a few diagrams like this to help me sort out where stuff went as I was fault finding:



---------- Post added at 11:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 PM ----------

The airbox from the Audi goes in the same place, but it has a MAF sensor and stuff on it, that isnt on the base car. It's pretty specific, so i had to use this airbox. However its air intake is different and doesnt fit on in my car. Solution: pull it off and cut another hole as well to let air in:



While i was there I got out the trusty dremmel and cut out all the baffles and bits that impede airflow, and cleaned up the bottom of the box:





Front bits back on and finish off the reassembly:





Windscreen was cracked at some stage, so out with the old,:



And in with the new, well done to O'Briens

[Stan]

Wheels, 18s I hear you say.

Well ,no. i had a set of 14s originally on the car. No way were they gonig back on. But I did also have a set of original mk4 GTI 16s, from the forum, of course. I like to see a bit of rubber, and dont want tire stretch and excessive poke etc. Some guys love all that, and on some cars it's cool, but not for me.

They were a bit scuffed up , just an electric drill and a nylon wheel and most of the scuffs were gone. These also cleans up alloy lips as well, but take care, and be even, or you will stuff the wheel.



Most wheel scuff dont even get to the metal - these wheels were like this: alloy wheel, high build primer, colour, clear. Surprising how much damage you have to do to get to metal.









this is similar to the way those onsite repair guys do it.
I was going to colour match the paint and do a local repair on each wheel.
Then i was going to rub them back and just paint the whole wheel.

Then i rang a local powder coater who told me he would blast and coat them for $45 per wheel. I couldnt paint them for that! So powder coated it was - storm grey:



Dont make too big an initial judgement on stance etc, as after the car is complied etc, it's getting spacers - so for now pic is just for colour

[Neroo]

great work man , loving how you modified your own 1.6 instead of going out and just getting a gti ,most people probz would discourage it but for some reason i aprove hehe it makes the car feel better when you know you did all the hard work yourself, plus you learn a whole lot of things along the way keen to see what comes of the car

[Stan]

Thanks Neroo.

In reality getting a GTI makes more sense, how ever this has cost me less. I could collect bits at a time instead of a higher initial outlay.

It is satisfying that I did it myself, and I know a LOT more about mk4s that I did at the start, and a nice selection of new swear words too..

Not for the feint hearted though...

saga continues - a long time ago in a garage right down the back.....

With the car running and the wheels on it was time for a late night drive to the car wash and clean everthing up and a test run:



Brakes were woeful and a full alignment was needed...fun to hear the whoosh of the turbo though

I wanted a different look and had ordered a body kit from Regula Tuning in Germany via ebay. It was TUV approved and fibreglass. About half the price of other body kits landed.
Here is the process:

Front back and skirts were packed in bubble wrap and shipped as you see. Took about 5 weeks, amazingly no damage at all:



I decided to fit the front only at first:



.

Only mounting hardware were these inbedded screws in the top edge:



Some colour matched can of Tornado Red (LY3D) and we are on the way:





Self tappers along the top and the mouting screws holt it all on.

Hard to tell here, but the front body kit sits a couple of inches lower than a standard one, and with the car lowered, it was pretty low:





I have driven it around like this for a couple of weeks. I like the look of the kit (I understand if you don't). But it is too low and hits every driveway I enter or exit. A total pain in the a$$ and I am not getting airbag suspension, just too costly.
Trouble is compounded by the fact that it is fibreglass and easily damaged. The bottom edge was getting scraped to hell and there were small fractures everywhere.

So time to make a home made rally bash plate! You can actually see the edge of it in the two pics above...

[Stan]

Stan's home made bash plate:

3mm aluminium checker plate:



Fixed to car with double sided tape and clamps - trace around for shape:



Cut out with a jigsaw fitted with an aluminium cutting blade (yes they make ones just for that!):



Mark in half the width of the bottom lip, and drill screw holes every 100mm or so, also stick double sided tape along this line (overkill, but it stayed on)



Stick and screw it on with self tappers:





Unseen here is a tie point from the centre of the rear edge to a bolt hole in the motor - held with beefy cable ties at first. This stops it from flexing and wobbling across the back edge.

Then sprayed the front edge.

How does it work?

Awesome! In fact too good. Scrapes are fine, but if you as much as bump a fixed object there is absolutely no give at all and all the force is transmitted through the bumper. This causes the mounting points to fracture and stress cracks in the bumper. A heavy scrape will do this as well - so in some ways - no better off.

I have now repaired and repainted this several times, and the final solution for now will be this: Bloody thing is coming off and the original is going back on - for now.

I'm going to take a 2 inch section out of it and see how it goes. It is flat across the front though , so any approach that causes a touch is almost always a direct hit, so we will see.

There is also a cunning plan to section it and if it still causes grief to recast it in ABS plastic..not as tough as it sounds, or so my feeble mind tells me - ingnorance is bliss (it must be or this project would never have got off the ground...)

So, coming up - big brakes go on (car in the garage at the moment waiting for caliper carriers to finish that one), old bumper back on and remodelling the 'glass bumper...

---------- Post added 25-11-2011 at 06:53 PM ---------- Previous post was 19-11-2011 at 10:46 PM ----------

Big brakes are now on and the original front is back on - the other one was just too impractical for daily driving.
Some pic updates are on the way soon

[Water Boy]

Well done Stan for finishing the conversion. IMO the stock bumper is so much better looking and doesnt give any hassles with low drive ways, much better.

Keep up the good work.

[Stan]

Thanks mate, yep the Regula brand bumper isnt for everyone - back to stock for now...

ok so big brake upgrade time:

1.6 brakes are not big enough, so it was GTI or Audi TT for me, as those were the parts I had.

I had GTI calipers and carriers, but no hubs, and TT calipers and hubs but no carriers - so decided on the TT items.

incidentally the carriers and hubs for the 1.6 are a combined unit

Also calipers and pads for the mk1 TT and the mk4 GTI are the same.

Carriers were $260 EACH from the stealers and $99 from ECS - no used items from Audiwreck and the like - and they would only sell complete units. Seb and Courtney from Euro Revolution to the rescue with an order from the States

My TT ones (gold) vs GTI - a bit bigger due to larger rotor size:



You have to pull out the whole strut and hub assembly to change it all over. Nice guides on vortex and UKmkivs
Oh, and undo the 30mm axle nut (single use item) before you jack up the car - they are torqued up TIGHT.
Essentially take off the caliper and hang it out of the way.
Remove the strut and hub setup - undo steering ball joint, lower control arm ball joint, and pull it free of the axle stub - get a puller for this if tight.
When it is all out swap the calipers - more space and easier to catch the brake fluid spills and clean them up (we dont want stripped paint and rust now, do we?)
Replace the hub (good time to do wheel bearings), and stick it all back in
The carrier and caliper just bolt on the back with 2 bolts - so easy I can do it.
Dont forget ABS sensors and pad wear connectors.
The ABS sensors from the 1.6 bolted straight into the TT hubs, I imagine the same unit for all.

1.6 rotors are 280mm
GTI are 288mm
and TT (mk1 FWD) are 312

The rears for all these models are the same at 232mm - so they stayed in.

1.6 vs TT:



The TT rotors will fit behind a standard 16 inch GTI wheel

New ones in:





You could paint them to make them look pretty, but I didnt have time (daily driver...), I might later on.

So it all looks like this now:







Check those rotors:





Spacers to come...