R/H/Side Direct Action Servo Conversion

Im a new member and i have something to share with all R/H/D mk1 owners! Recently i have designed, built ,tried and tested a direct action servo conversion! Tested in wet and dry conditions using big disks up front and disks at the rear with ABS installed taken from a 6NO polo! The result was good to say the least! It was powered by 2.0L 16v Turbo motor breaking from 130mph to 0 took very little time with no drama. Dont always believe what your told "cant be done" I got all the answers i need!

Happy new year.

Great....any details or pics?

moved to Modifications

Everything has a cost and if the cost is too much most people will happily try tried and tested ways.
but if the cost is reasonable the i think you will have a queue of people.

IIRC the bloke who runs the Caddy forum did this on his VR6 converted Caddy by modifying the bulkhead using Mk3 VR6 parts (?)

Can you not just use the servo from an auto they sit on that side  :dontknow:

paul_h said

Can you not just use the servo from an auto they sit on that side  :dontknow:

I've not seen a RHD auto with a servo on the RHS?????

Looking at the pic looks like the servo's been moved on this car:

• Can see the old brake pipes ending where the servo should be
  Can see the black mark on the passenger bulkhead where the linkeage would have been bolted up[/list:u]
  
  
  Cheers
  
  Rich

I can mate now you mention it.
It bbelongs to a friend of mine and i will ask him how he did it

If you move the servo over to the drivers side, would a 16v engine still fit in there??

MK1Allan said

If you move the servo over to the drivers side, would a 16v engine still fit in there??

For a start, unless components or bodywork are chopped around, the servo doesn't fit on the other side. Hence you need to relocate slightly, or use a different servo/MC.

Plenty of people have done it before, with a custom pedal box, its nothing new really.

or with a remote servo

Ive done it on my conversion- I decided to keep the Mk1 pedals and steering column and make the servo and m/c linkage line up by relocating the servo to the other side. The main reason was my Mk1 didnt have the bulkhead brake linkage or servo when i got it so it made sense at the time!

Not an easy job in hindsight- took a fair bit of faffing about, welding brackets and chopping the chassis leg. I should have used a complete Mk2 pedal box/servo/master cylinder assembly and just cut out a nice big hole in the bulkhead, welded in a plate to bolt it to and then added some new bracing for the column.

Interesting to see that RHD auto pic…  ops:    

...which ive also just noticed has clearly been modded!!!

i used a mk2 golf g60 abs system, i welded the mounting bracket to the mk1 crosslinkage so its still on the lhs of the car but the brakes are really good

Yeah it has been modded and from what i know from doing the conv the brake pedal must have been radically altered cos i know you cant put a servo that size where it is without altering the leg! it took me two months every day near enough to install a servo that size in the same central position as the original clevis pin with out sacrifice of any original component and not to mention the much needed additional monting panels to the bulkhead[structural support] so the whole assembly dont move about under foot! i used a servo not aservo pump or a remote servo and i had a whole lot of other work after and unless you really know what you getting your self into dont even think about it! you will end up well and truly stuck and unless you can do a david blane and reverse the damage you done or got a spare bulk head layin around you`d be mad to! it aint any where near as simple as just movin a servo in you have to make a pedal box, remount this and that and i tell ya there is no room for error! I have kept the isolator panel so the heater vents are still just as usefull otherwise engine fumes if any use at all! then then there`s the good old clevis and rod shortening if its not done right you will definately melt the nylon inside the servo so its unusable as it is shorter than any other! I have photos that illustrate how technical it really is and i want to show you all but i cant for legal reasons. hold tight save your cash and the future of your car do it the easy way when someone shows you how! :wink:

You don't have to make your own pedal box - you can buy one for a Mk1 Golf, pretty much 'off the shelf'. I personally can't see the point, the crossbar arrangement, once properly set up, isn't a big weakness.

People tend to fit pedal boxes for another reason - so they have a different master cylinder, which allows for adjustment of front/rear brake bias (ie track situations).

OK OK ABS! Only worth thiking about if you have the extra leverage gianed  by direct servo and new pedal if you instal ABS to car with L/H/S sevo all you will do is prevent the wheels locking up plus you got to change loom+hubs truthfully it is a dangrous thing to do and in all honesty very few can stand by the claims they make if you know what im saying! some of you out there are full of crap that endanger lives! and many sheep will follow blindly! if we do these things to our mk1s knowing in our subconcious were not really sure if we know about what were trying to achieve or if its safe! we should leave wives. kids.friends etc any where other than in our mk1s cos thier lives are worth more than a few points scored by wanting to be the daddy! leave the most crucial safety factor alone untill you really do know whats what!  l

AND if you can buy a pedal box off the shelf???  d`they do the pedal length to any requested? oterwise how do you know they will mate up? They wont! ive been down all these old chestnut covered roads there aint no other way of doing it and making it work ask your self why C+R or TSR never offered us the one thing we really needed? i will put you right when you try and prove me wrong this is the kick up the arse this scene needs THE TRUTH!

I can see im rufflin feathers so i will leave you to argue amongst each other and in the meantime think before you bullshit! ops:

golfgod said

AND if you can buy a pedal box off the shelf???  d`they do the pedal length to any requested? oterwise how do you know they will mate up? They wont! ive been down all these old chestnut covered roads there aint no other way of doing it and making it work ask your self why C+R or TSR never offered us the one thing we really needed? i will put you right when you try and prove me wrong this is the kick up the arse this scene needs THE TRUTH!

The truth is, the cross linkage arrangement and servo on left hand side, isn't that bad. A lot of people's braking issues are down to poor maintenance (including not changing brake fluid that often), lack of adjustment on the cross linkage and the auto-adjusters in the rear drums not working.

Typical upgrades? 16V servo and master cylinder - costs maybe ?50-60 and is DIY-able, good upgrade. Pads and discs? Again, easy enough for the home mechanic to do. Then you're into bigger discs, etc, once again the info is out there and its not too difficult to achieve. I think relocating the servo and MC to the other side, is a long way down on the list of things to do.

So I don't think there's any 'secrets', mistruths or massive conspiracy about braking systems, or any particular aspect which the world is waiting on. The early Mk1s are over 30 years old now, and with the later models, a lot of the above stuff is now tried and tested and commonplace, which means the average Jo or Joe can ask questions about it, and get help. This is a factor not to be overlooked.