Project "little monster"

cool mod paul  

geeeez u sicko! wasnt long ago u were askin about doin your valver conversion now your vr'ing another mk1!!!

shame theres not many of people who can help you with this one lol

nice one good luck

Im currently doing the same conversion…just click the link(P.S start at page 6 and work backwards..good old photobucket!)
Photo and Video Storage | Photobucket
Its still work in progress, and as you can see, while its on its side i can get in and re do all the engine mounts/strengthen the front crossmember etc etc..word of advise…if you end up putting original steering rack back on, put a seem weld on the mounting points. :wink:
Oh and the exhaust manifold can be used…if i can find the link i'll post it up, but some guy stripped the heat sheild off, cut it just after the flex area, turned it over, re welded it and changed the flange on the end to mk1 type…worked well Just some food for thought! I have got a post on a forum somewhere here.. http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=38930.0
Some Gearbox info
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1063613
Keep going mate… always good to compare notes! good luck!

I'll definitely be keeping track of the progress on yours! It looks like you're around a month ahead of me. There's lots of issues still to face which you simply don't get on a 4 cylinder conversion - for example - rev counter calibration? Speedo? How to squeeze in the radiator? etc.

Tonight's update: I knew that with the custom driveshaft on the left and standard one on the right, the gearbox wasn't quite as far to the left as I'd originally wanted it to be. There's not really much more scope for playing with driveshaft lengths (the CVJ would have fouled the bodywork); and also I didn't fancy another ?400 of custom parts; so I needed to create a little more space on the right. So I swung the engine into the space available, as far as it could go before running out of space:


Typical scene now. Car is easier to push back & forth, than engine crane


(Lack of) space on the left


(Lack of) space on the right


Here's the excess of the chassis leg, which will be removed and (a) custom strengthened plate(s) fitted


These lights are going to help - I've upgraded the floodlights in preparation for the winter.

wow! that really is a tight fit!

cut that chassis leg out less weight

why dont you removed both chassis legs and fit a subframe or even space frame the front end  :wink:

How easy is modding the chassis leg Paul? Not seen it done before. Guess you have to be sure strength isn't lost and crumple zones still work, god forbid the worst happens!

the chassis legs on the front are pretty awful on a mk1 anyway i dont think it will make a great deal of difference if anything it will add more strengh :wink:

and if he crashes at high speed it wont be a problem look at the size of the air bag under the bonnet  

I wasn't planning on crashing it.

the chassis leg is pretty thick metal you got gas bottles lol

bens_cab said

the chassis leg is pretty thick metal you got gas bottles lol

Gas bottles of oxy-acetylene for cutting it?
Or bottles of Argoshield lite, for welding it back up again?

As soon as I get a day or so off work, I'm off to the metal merchant to buy a bunch of steel, I have the custom engine mounts to fabricate too.

to cut it mate

hopefully ive just got the first part of my project should pick it up this weekend

seems a shame to cut up a perfectly good syncro      

bens_cab said

to cut it mate

hopefully ive just got the first part of my project should pick it up this weekend

seems a shame to cut up a perfectly good syncro      

I was having a think about this today. I reckon with the lightness of a Mk1, the 4wd adds too much weight. In other words, the gain you make by having all four wheels driven, is more than compensated by the extra weight of the 4wd system.

Take a simple example - a 1.1 Golf will have around 45bhp, if it had 4wd it would be slower. However, a 1000bhp Golf will need 4WD, or at least RWD, to make best use of the power. Somewhere in between, there is an optimal power below which FWD is faster and above which, 4WD is faster.

This dividing line, I reckon, is around the 250-300bhp mark. Obviously its going to depend on the tyres too, and any other traction helpers like a limited slip diff.

So, your 4WD might not be the big advantage it first seems….

hmm i know where your coming from but im also picking up a 20v block which is then going to be bored out to 2.1L

im bidding on a t4 manifold so i can run a cossie turbo with external wastegate

oh and the nos kit

still think it will be slow looking at 350 bhp to start with      

bens_cab said

hmm i know where your coming from but im also picking up a 20v block which is then going to be bored out to 2.1L

im bidding on a t4 manifold so i can run a cossie turbo with external wastegate

oh and the nos kit

still think it will be slow looking at 350 bhp to start with      

Be interesting to see/compare times and power figures then. I reckon you're on for around 300-350bhp, with the NOS fully set up, any more and you're into thermodynamic overload, you could achieve the power but only for short periods of time (probably enough to make the 1/4 mile though).

My realistic estimate of power, given the following:

Stock VR6 is 174bhp
+10bhp for decat and wider/smoother exhaust
+10bhp for 264 cam
+10bhp for optimised timing and fuelling, due to aftermarket ECU
+50bhp for NOS (+25bhp initially)

= 254bhp!

there was a thing on top gear about something similar with the porsche 911 carrera 4 and carrera 2. the extra weight of the 4wd make the carrera 4 alot more sluggish and it handles really heavily but coming out of corners it really gets the power down! while the carrera 2 is a lot nippier and has more responsive handling. round a track there was almost no difference in the times.

the car will be on a diet im going to start chopping the bits off i dont need this weekend  

bens_cab said

the car will be on a diet im going to start chopping the bits off i dont need this weekend  

Keep a solid roof over your head this time though, mate!

paul_c said

I wasn't planning on crashing it.

Good point!