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

[Stan]

I have a 1.6sr mk4 Golf MY2000, the car in my sig.
Actually a nice little car, but I wanted more zing.
I am a guy - so i decided to pull a perfectly working daily driver apart and make a project of it.

So at this annual leave I decided it was time. Parts were sourced mostly through Matt at Camden GTI - a nicer guy you won't find, and some invaluable advice as well - like "Dont build a car you can buy..."

Other bits like wheels and brakes sourced on the forum here.

I gave myself 2 weeks and so far it has been three, with wiring being the main issue (it could also be ECU related), and the car still not on the road...

Base car is an 2000 model AKL VW Golf Mk4. It is supposed to be a special edition, but really it means a rally with pretty seats. About 220K klms on the clock and a nice straight runner, with a nice body. Engine is fine, it's just that it is the 1.6

Engine is an AGU Audi A3 1.8 Turbo, stock.

I got the entire front subframe, engine, gearbox, driveshafts, ECU and Loom (well most of it), exhaust and ancilliaries except for the Aircond compressor- but I had one of those.

I actually left the AC and braking circuits in the car , undisturbed to do this.

AC became tricky to work around, but it worked.

This has step by step pics but here are a couple of teasers to start you off:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110822_144520_374-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110829_133405_460-2.jpg

remember this was a working daily driver.

Build was commenced in a garage slightly bigger than a single car one.

Suffice to say, it's taking a while and Mrs Stan is not impressed anymore...

[GOLFBALLS]

Haha! Bloody classic. I like the "dont build a car you can buy" line, and the fact you ignored it!!
Good onya mate:)

[Stan]

Seemed cheaper than trading up to a GTI, but I dont think it will in the end....

[Jmac]

Ah well when its up and running reward yourself by tuning it. Whats the issue with wiring? I deal with these a fair bit.

cheers
Jmac

[Stan]

plugs from mains looms to connectors in plenum chamber have different wiring, slightly

Also wondering about my instrument cluster and the ECU, signals to fuel pump relay....car cranks but wont fire.

[Stan]

More pics

Start with a perfectly good car, a smallish garage and a couple of weeks leave...

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110822_144639_296-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110822_144739_85-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/Copyof20110822_144714_640-2.jpg

Standard 1.6sr:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110822_144544_937-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/Copyof20110822_144822_538-2.jpg

Engine cover off, take plenty of reference pics too (wont put all those here

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110822_155941_835-2.jpg

This is what is going in: Audi A3 AGU 1.8T

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110822_144536_858-2.jpg


What could possibly go wrong???

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110822_144520_374-2.jpg

[Stan]

Easiest way to do it in may case was to pull the front out of the car, raise it up and pull out the whole front subframe, with engine, gearbox and driveshafts etc, all in one go:

Remove the bumber and grille (vortex had a good post on this)

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110822_213315_476-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110823_140541_265-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110824_115923_6711-2.jpg

I initially didnt want to remove the bonnet, but had to in the end to get the chain hoist nice and squre overhead.
White tape in pic is either labelling (you just cant do enough of it), sticking screws that come out near their holes, or to cover air intakes etc...

Front bar, front clip and headlights would have come off in just two complete pieces; however, i have airconditioning, so they have to come out in pieces to work around leaving the ac circuit fully intact.

AC cooler is in front of the radiator:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110824_121631_8531-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110824_121208_9221-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110824_142046_882-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110824_142108_218-2.jpg

[Water Boy]

Good work Stan. I thought you werent around this forum since we meet at the photoshoot night. Huge props on doing the conversion.

[dylan8]

Will be watching this.
Have this in the back of my mind for when something major goes wrong with the bora.
Doing all the work yourself? Have you done a engine swap before?

[Stan]

I always look in, just not a big poster. When this is on the road again , i' will bring it along to a nightout. Met lots of nice guys there, and will catch up again soon

[Stan]

Dylan, the mechanicals arent too hard, it's getting all the wiring and computer sorted that is the biggest hassel.
I've mostly finished this, just catching up with the thread.
The car cranks but wont fire. Low voltage at the fuel pump is one issue, and I'll change the relay, but suspect that isnt it.

Engine and loom are from a 1999 car and the Golf is a 2000 - guess what - a changeover year....

I've changed engines in a Toyota Corona (mine), rebuilt a Datsun 260z motor (mine), Ford Escort (mine) and helped with a Merc Fintail (which was actually the easiest.)

i also have an Austin Healey Sprite ('60 Bugeye) the was a ground up rebuild over several years - It's now my daily car whilst the Golf is out of action.

[Stan]

Empty the radiator, unplug everything (and label it with tape), undo any hoses etc that attach to the body - heater hoses etc.
Remove the scuttle cover etc to get at the ECU -Unplug the cables from the ECU
Wiper mechanism is held by 3 bolts and the lot pulls out in one piece, motor and all (love those Germans) - undo the wire clip to the wiper motor. Then you can get to the fuse box wire junction and take off the lid and unplug the 3 plugs there:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110823_211049_765-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110823_212507_109-2.jpg

While you are at it the plenum chamber will be full of leaves, dirt and crap - get it all out and clean it up, unplug the drain holes etc. Also the time to replace the pollen filter, it lives under here too on the passenger side

Unplug and label any other wiring that enters the car or attaches to the body
Undo the throttle cable at the firewall
Disconnect the steering column from inside the footwell - remove the footrest, and plastic shield and undo the 13mm bolt - easy

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110827_165042_775-2.jpg

Undo the 30mm hub nut and slide off the whole hub and brake assembly, unplug the wear sensor and the ABS sensor cable.
Leave the front suspension hanging by the strut towers, but remove it from the axle spline - gentle tapping from behind should get you there
Undo the o2 sensor cable - juction is in the black plastic box under the floor at about the driver's seat
Undo the connection between the down pipe and the rest of the exhaust.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110828_144137_530-2.jpg

At this point I made a wheeled frame for the engine to by lowered onto - just 4 pieces of stout timber with a swivvel wheel on each corner - I used long screws so the screws held the wheels and the timber together.

The engine is now supprted with the chain hoist to take the weight for when the subframe bolts are undone and then the whole lot lowered onto the frame/dolly...

[jnrm3]

hey stan, this is coming along nicely.
we had a similar issue where the car was cranking but wouldn't run. long story short it ended up being a coded key/ecu not sure if the audi's had this feature. it looked like a black ring that sat around the ignition barrel which linked up to the ecu once it was hooked up and had the matching key it started first kick.
also have a gti and a 1.6 here both complete cars if you need to reference anything. i will hopefully be doing this conversion very soon.
cheers
steve

[Stan]

hey Steve, not sure how useful I am, but if I can help in any way at all let me know.

Yeah, it all needs coding up. I have the original key, ignition and cluster still in the car - so the immobiliser etc are not talking to each other. However I thought that it should still crank (which it does), then run for a few seconds (which it doesnt) and then stop....

thanks for the offer, may need to take you up on it

[Stan]

on with the show:

undo the sleeve that connects the down pipe to the rest of the exhaust:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110827_170256_356-2.jpg

The gear lever needs to be disconnected too.
Pull off the leather surround and the clip around its base, pull them up and you can get the knob off.
There are 4 bolts holding this on - 2 up front which you get at from inside (take out the astray as well, it just pulls out) and 2 from under the car.

To get at the under car ones you have to pull off the aluminium heat shielding from under the floor - the big panel at the front and the middle one...as seen on the above exhaust shot...

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110828_144741_557-2.jpg

unbolt the engine mounts.

Now check again for all piping and wiring that may be connecting the engine to the car....

[Stan]

Time for some more:

Remember to label stuff. i labelled the bits I pulled off the old engine and then made labels for the corresponding bits on the new one.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110823_205045_832-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110823_131903_270-2.jpg

Any screws or bolts removed were either put back into the holes they came from or taped and labelled next to where they went.

If it is a duct or hole, tape it up or stuff a rag in it - bits of debris in an engine can kill it - even more so with a turbo:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110823_131914_863-2.jpg


With everything undone, labelled and taped up. The engine is supported with the chain hoist.
Time to undo the engine mounts. I checked the part numbers and they are exactly the same. So Initially I undid the bolts that attach the mount to the engine - These two:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/Copyof20110822_155931_4761-2.jpg

And similar on the other side. This allows the engine to drop away, free of the mounts. When the engine was out I completely removed and exchanged the mounts , as the others were a good 100K kms newer.

With the mounts undone, the whole front subframe is held in by 4 bolts. You can reach them easily enough without getting under the subframe - so if something goes wrong, you dont end up with an engine on your head....

This is the AGU, but it shows where 3 of the 4 subframe bolts are. these bolts actually go in the other way around, they are in this way so they dont fall out:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110822_204027_5231-2.jpg

Same from under the car. Circled is the o2 sensor housing - it is simply a cover and two cables clip together beneath it. Undo this connection, as the forward cable is attached a sensor on the downpipe:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110822_203806_5301-2.jpg

At this point the engine is held by the hoist and ready to be lowered onto the dolly. Go very slowly as something is sure to be still attached. As best you can, run your hands around the engine to feel for any possible snags. If something needs undoing , stop the lowering, undo it and continue. I had a mate helping me at this stage to help guide the engine, an extra pair of eyes and this is potentially dangerous - good the have someone else there:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110828_155240_665-2.jpg

Things snag up a bit, so take your time and deal with them, but in a very short time you get this:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/09/20110829_133405_4601-2.jpg

[dylan8]

Between you and James im keener then ever to do mine!
Dont see many threads with pictures, look forward to the rest.

[Stan]

it's kind of fun, but I am at the point that I wish it was finished.
My mistake was that it is my daily driver - it takes for more time to do right than I had planned.

Yeah, James' project will be interesting to watch as well.

Happy to give both of you any help I can.

If you want a specific pic, ask now - I might already have it , or can take it before the project ends

[Golf Loon]

Nice thread Stan. Are you any further forward with the wiring?

[Stan]

Thanks mate, you've been an awesome help.

Nope. Still the same issues, something is up and I cant find it. A few of the wires are different colours, but they still go to the same places according to AKL and AGU wiring diagrams.

Car still cranks but doesnt fire - i know for sure it's not fuelling - pump and relay are good, so i'll be @#$%ed as to what is going on.

[Jmac]

Replied with some info on the Mk4 section mate

[GOLFBALLS]

You sure its not something simple like a faulty crank angle sensor or something? If thats dodgy the engine will crank over but not fire iirc...

[Stan]

crank angle sensor is fine, vagcom shows 200+ rpm on cranking - so the sensor is working. good idea though

[GOLFBALLS]

Did you find out if the plugs are sparking?
Does the 1.8t you're using have the seperately amplified coilpacks, or the individually amped ones?
And i know i'm scraping at the barrel here but did you fit a new fuel pressure regulator. They are prone to fail...

Just making sure you havent forgotten the simple stuff as these faults often are ;)

[Stan]

spark at plugs
separate amp for coil packs
original fuel pressure regulator
with fuel pump relay hotwired there is fuel at the plugs

Battery to relay circuit checks out as does the pump to relay circuit - that leaves ecu to relay, a dud earth or something.
All fuses ok
ecu/engine was from a pranged car, but the airbags didnt go off, so there goes my theory that the ecu was holding back the injectors and fuel pump relay.... or maybe it is, nothing to suggest this on vagcom though

on cranking only 5 volts at fuel pump and 5 volts across the injectors

Golfballs i think you are absolutely right - it's a simple thing, it just comes to tracking it down

[Stan]

Jmac has pointed out that the wiring is different on the fuel pump relay between the two ecu/cars, i think were are onto something now

[Stan]

SUCCESS !!! Got the car to run after changing a wire in the plenum chamber from the brown plug to the orange one, which involves the fuel pump relay!


Thanks guys, especially Gav who spent a lot of time on the phone with me and Jmac who discovered the actual wire (after a fair bit of time checking out circuit diagrams - he is the wiring guru, will have to get this guy to chip it later).

Also to Steve who offered me the chance to try his computer and check out his cars if need be.

What a great forum

stand by for more pics and updates... :)

[GoLfMan]

glad to hear that you have progress :D

[AlexRO]

good to hear !

[velly_16v_cab]

epic build fella...glad you got it sorted in the end!

[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.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110826_160120_71-1.jpg

Then easy peasy out it all comes:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110829_133405_4602-1.jpg

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.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110830_171054_421-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110901_110827_719-1.jpg

[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...

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110904_162157_874-1.jpg

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.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110831_165801_626-1.jpg

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110831_165817_437-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110831_165711_796-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110831_165657_468-1.jpg

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111015_232430_488-1.jpg

Rear antisway bar goes on next:

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111017_211458_234-1.jpg

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111017_211529_764-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111017_211423_481-1.jpg

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111017_211515_674-1.jpg

[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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110901_113921_702-1.jpg

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110905_110858_617-1.jpg

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 :

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110907_111148_281-1.jpg

Ended up doing this, multipin plug kit from Jaycar:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110922_141150_515-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110922_141120_265-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110922_114403_985-1.jpg

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.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110922_132948_984-1.jpg

So here is where they live:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110904_135036_468-1.jpg

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...)

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110904_140049_663-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110904_141044_345-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110904_141227_671-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110904_145938_963-1.jpg

these were soldered properly and the dodgy tape is replaced.

[Stan]

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110905_132339_210-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110905_134818_611-1.jpg

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 :

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110905_235943_476-1.jpg

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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20110922_132116_419-1.jpg

---------- 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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111012_095547_819-1.jpg

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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111012_095527_181-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111012_095516_890-1.jpg

Front bits back on and finish off the reassembly:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111017_232442_518-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111017_232532_218-1.jpg

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111021_094217_827-1.jpg

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111021_102022_374-1.jpg

[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.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/Photo0987-1.jpg

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.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/Photo0988-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/Photo0989-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/Photo0992-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/Photo0996-1.jpg

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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111103_194829_8081-1.jpg

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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111018_215114_429-1.jpg

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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111018_102303_257-1.jpg

I decided to fit the front only at first:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111018_103240_671-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111018_103223_440-1.jpg.

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111018_103250_677-1.jpg

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111018_110055_187-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111021_132729_202-1.jpg

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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111103_194802_762-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111103_194812_687-1.jpg

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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111101_100635_857-1.jpg

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111101_101311_99-1.jpg

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

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111101_103348_77-1.jpg

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)

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111101_104220_460-1.jpg

Stick and screw it on with self tappers:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111101_162302_681-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111101_162407_970-1.jpg

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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111122_112209_300-1.jpg

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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111122_111333_985-1.jpg

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

New ones in:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111122_111138_135-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111122_111049_907-1.jpg

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:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111125_193121_820-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111125_193104_218-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111125_192647_117-1.jpg

Check those rotors:

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111125_192607_812-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2011/11/20111125_192544_467-1.jpg

Spacers to come...

[Water Boy]

Some all red tails like Matt's would go well:

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/304988_243576355688074_100001071341153_674957_1270 715263_n.jpg

[Jace]

Nice sleeper, I'll see you torque-steering around town soon.

[Stan]

Red tails on red might be a bit much - but interesting idea. i actually like the aftermarket hellas on it. Blacked out oem might look good too. I like the debadged look of Matt's car, and might make my VW badges match the wheels in a metallic grey...

Thanks Jace, after looking at a few build threads now, mine seems a little tame - but for me sleeper is good.

[Jmac]

Looks like you are having fun with it now Stan, Good work, glad the wiring help gave it the minerals, sorry keep calling then the minerals but have done for years. Anyway, keep up the good work mate.
Jmac

[Stan]

Thanks Jmac - it was your persistence with the wiring diagrams that finally got me going mate. One wire - who knew?
Also Gav was a big help, spent ages on the phone and got my diagnostic testing sharpened up.

A few things still to sort:

Brakes need going over again

Left front wheel seems to have to much negative camber - nearly touches the shock at the top, right side seems ok....oh the pain

Speedo is out of calibration - reads about 10kph under actual speed....

[dylan8]

not a fan of those tails or kit sorry. but its your car!
Glad to see you pulled it off and think it came out cheaper then buying a gti! now i really want to do my 1.8t bora later on.
so any other plans? are you going to register it as a 1.8t?

[Stan]

Yes, wondering about the kit myself.... well we all like different stuff.
I wanted something other than a standard look or another R32 knockoff - however they do look good....

I will run it standard for a while and decide on the kit...

Yes I will register it as a 1.8T once all the niggles are sorted - last thing I want is a car that cant be legally driven or sold and not to mention insurance aches if there is a crash. That shouldnt be too hard - or a whole new saga. I will update here as I go through this as well.

I have a full funtion mk5/6 steering wheel to go in and I want to try and get the buttons all working.... another awesome electrical challenge

Aftermarket cruise control and remote locking kits still to go in

Bora 1.8T idea sounds great - happy to help if I can Dylan

[dylan8]

Yes, wondering about the kit myself.... well we all like different stuff.
I wanted something other than a standard look or another R32 knockoff - however they do look good....

I will run it standard for a while and decide on the kit...

Yes I will register it as a 1.8T once all the niggles are sorted - last thing I want is a car that cant be legally driven or sold and not to mention insurance aches if there is a crash. That shouldnt be too hard - or a whole new saga. I will update here as I go through this as well.

I have a full funtion mk5/6 steering wheel to go in and I want to try and get the buttons all working.... another awesome electrical challenge

Aftermarket cruise control and remote locking kits still to go in

Bora 1.8T idea sounds great - happy to help if I can Dylan

it probably doesnt help from even your perspective when the 'in thing' is still OEM+ as far as im aware. bodykits will make a come back i bet!

Wouldnt mind a newer wheel in my car also! will be watching to see what you do there.
Now that yourself and James has done it makes it seem more achievable (not just some mess on vwvortex haha)

[Stan]

I still have the kit and will mod it a bit, so OEM is the way for me too currently

vortex has been an invaluable source of info, as has ukmkivs, but I hate going to a thread and finding all the pics are down, or it's just all text.

the amount of stuff I have in my head now to do with mk4 conversions and electronics is now 10 times what it ever was - shame I know nothing about the other marks... lol

[dylan8]

yea but im sure you can apply it to anything!
I find ukmkivs really good, lots of good info without all the excessive vortex rubbish and lack of links/pictures as you said

[Stan]

still trying to sort the camber issue - i think something is bent - hope it's the shock and not the hub casting.....

[KKK VR6]

Nice progress


still trying to sort the camber issue - i think something is bent - hope it's the shock and not the hub casting.....
really keen to know the outcome of this, as iv got a camber issue to, which looks to be like something is bent.

[Stan]

Thanks for the kind words mate.

There were really only 2 things it could be - the shock absorber or the hub casting.

Swapped the shock over, as it was the most likely thing to be bent - same issue.

Just had a new casting arrive - and will put it on over the next couple of days, when I can afford to potentially be without the car for a couple of hours. Really it's all it can be - as the strut pushes into the top of the casting and the relationship of these two pieces are all the affect camber to the degree it is an issue.

here is the TT suspension setup. i have the TT casting and the GTI strut pushes into the top like in this pic. Lower control arms and other bits are similar, but different:

http://www.vagcat.com/p/B229/407110.png

the relationship of the strut (number 9) and the hub casting (number 7) is fixed. And regardless of the top and bottom mounting point - which could change camber a bit - the relationship of those two parts doesnt change.

Because the mounted wheel leans in at the top - negative camber - it almost touches the strut / shock absorber - moving top and bottom mounting points, subframe adjustment, and camber plates dont change that particular relationship - hence the shock absorber or the casting is damaged. i guess we will soon see....

Pics to come of before and after

[Clarkee_vw]

Thanks for posting all this info on the conversion.

I've just brought a half cut mk4 gti to do a swap in my golf. Hopefully be easier then yours.. Lol :)

[kendog]

Thanks for posting all this info on the conversion.

I've just brought a half cut mk4 gti to do a swap in my golf. Hopefully be easier then yours.. Lol :)

Clarkee, going for it mate! I'll be very interested to see how this comes along!!! Good on you.

[Stan]

Clarkee, do a thread mate, it should be awesome. Let me know if you need to know anything

[euro swag]

Got any more pictures of the silver golf??

[Stan]

Got any more pictures of the silver golf??


try Waterboy. He posted the pic

[Water Boy]

Keen to see some updates Stan!

[Lucky13]

If you haven´t done it yet, the speedo can be easy adjusted with the VW diagnostic tester. But at 100 km/h is ist always 10 km/h lower, thats normal. so when you are going at 110 you still good for the 100km/h speed camera ;-)

[Stan]

altered a setting on VCDS and speedo is now absolutely spot on

[defie]

how have i not seen this thread before lol love your work mate keep it up!

[Clarkee_vw]

Stan where did you get your brakes from?

Sent from my GT-I9305T using Tapatalk 2

[Stan]

On the forum, carriers came from ECS in the States

[Stan]

Whole list of stuff yet to go in: black leather seats, sat Nav, mk6 steering wheel, 17" Audi tt wheels, k03s inbound, new tune to suit, and need a paint less dent repair to front guard

[kendog]

Sounds good Stan!

[Stan]

now has one of these:
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2013/04/SPMTrackEditionDownPipe3-1.jpg

from Tim at Dub Addiction

and custom code stage 2 from Gav...

[dubster99]

Everytime i read this stain i get more keen to do mine! Even harder now with the little one but shall start saving for ecs parts so i can first get engine in then get my millteck system and ft put in then :)

[Stan]

Will be a great conversion if you get the chance dubster. Have the TT wheels on now, looks better... Pics soon

[sports racer]

Now that it's all a distant memory would you still do it again or buy a GTI?

Still got the bugeye? Pics?

Cheers

Paul

[dubster99]

Hey stan a few questions, how did you lift the engine out by? Just chains? And where would i fasten the chains so i can lift it out? :) starting to get the 1.8t out this week :)

[richieblue83]

SUCCESS !!! Got the car to run after changing a wire in the plenum chamber from the brown plug to the orange one, which involves the fuel pump relay!


Thanks guys, especially Gav who spent a lot of time on the phone with me and Jmac who discovered the actual wire (after a fair bit of time checking out circuit diagrams - he is the wiring guru, will have to get this guy to chip it later).

Also to Steve who offered me the chance to try his computer and check out his cars if need be.

What a great forum

stand by for more pics and updates... :)

f*%$*ng great thread this. stan sorry if im hyjacking but i really need help.
i know this thread abit old but this thread is the closest i could fine to my problem.

now i have a 2002 bora/jetta. which was a 1.6 16v bcb engine,
but i've now put a 1.8t auq from a seat cupra. same as a golf i believe.
anyway im now stuck on this fuel pump relay wire in the plenum chamber.

could you please let me know which wire or 2 this are please? and being the seat is a late 2000 model would i need to change a wire?
and also noticed an extra wire on the bora's original 1.6 loom in the plenum chamber?

please help someone:facepalm:

[Stan]

pm sent richie

[richieblue83]

ok i can now finally post pics of me motor :banana:

8757
8758
87598760
and now8761

ok its still not finished, i need the speedometre programmed and i wanna put new brakes on her. but not long ago lost job. so things are now moving slowly, but damn i cant wait to test her for the first time.. dont get me wrong i have started her up.
sorry stan again for hyjacking.

[Stan]

Sold the Bugeye to put in a pool for he kids, easier to buy a Gti but worked out cheaper at the time. I won't ever get back what was spent

[Stan]

Bora looks good Richie, vcds can recode the speedo

[dubster99]

Hey stan was reading through your build and realised that the agu has 4 plugs in the plenum and the 1.6 has three :/ also my cars a 1999 and the agu is 2001 which involves the wiring change? Got a diy on how you fixed this? And any other plugs that had to be changed? Cheera mate! :)

[Stan]

Hey Anthony, this was my setup:

Original sockets in the car - from the 1.6 there were three - Orange Brown and White. 3 sockets in the plenum and 3 plugs.
Car is a 2000 model, 2000 1.6 and wiring

AGU had 3 plugs Orange Brown and Green: a 1999 model and hence 1999 wiring.
Orange and brown went in their respective sockets, and I slightly modified the white plug to go into the green socket: see page 4

I made a map of the sockets and the colours of the wires that went to them, and same for both sets of plugs, to see what matched: See page 4

I initially left everything as was - car would crank but not fire. Everything else appeared to work.

In the end the only wire that needed changing was the one from the fuel pump relay to one of the sockets (cant remember which one, but it was a purple wire. I checked out some wiring diagrams for the 1.8T to try and work out which was the correct wire on the plug to swap them.

In the end Gav (hvw100) helped me out with working out the wires and Jimmy Mac had a big hand in helping me test what was working.

So to summerise - only 1 wire was out, it came from the fuel pump, and when mated with the correct wire in the 1.8T plug, by shifting the wire in the socket, it fired up and has been running ever since.

[Water Boy]

Hows this going Stan?

[Stan]

going well thanks, a few gremlins to sort which i think are heat related causing a flat spot but still have it.