Elvis - My 1.8T Build - No more time wasting!!!

Well…. I think its about time i started to show you all the conversion.  Its no-where near finished or perfect for that matter! (but it will be one day!)

Been in the making for 4 years now and after getting messed about and ripped off by unreliable people (so called friends!!) its finally looking back on track!

Its had to go on the back burner for the last 18months with planning and paying for our wedding but in 5 weeks it'll all be over and paid for so i can finally get my hard earned cash spent on the Golf again lol

Here goes…..

Here's Elvis



First i bought all the mounts needed from Vagobonds  :mrgreen:



The rear gearbox mount needed a bit of fabrication and after a few hours this is what it looked like.



Before getting the o/s engine mount bracket welded in place i needed to fit the new turbo just to check there was going to be enough clearance from the bulkhead.
 
T34 turbo in comparison with the standard k03
 


New turbo and manifold fitted to the AGU lump
 


Then while the engine was out we fitted the G60 flywheel (to be lightened at a later date) and a VR6 Helix 4 Paddle Clutch kit.



Next we lined the engine up and sorted welding the o/s engine mount bracket
 


In we go…



And Tada! Engine in
 


The string was to help with the measurements, it is NOT my strut brace!! lol









Turbo clearance not too bad, just need to make sure i firewall/heatshield it pretty well.
 


Also managed to get hold of a Sapphire Cosworth interior for the Recaros. Will get these re-trimmed at some point.



Need to upload some more pics and i will continue another night.
 
Hope you all like so far.
 
Steff

Lovely project and very nice progress - really like the color of mk1. Keep the updates coming  

love the colour mate......will be awesome when finished...keep the pics coming....

get the rest of the pics of the progress up.


hope the builds going well

That's bloody brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Love the quote "the string is to help with measurements… it is not my strut brace"  :lmao:  :lmao:  :lmao:

Are you having it as a "sleeper" or are you modding the rest (de-bumpered etc)?  Nice build!!

Looking good Steff !!
Loving your attention to detail with the build.

Hopefully see you at Santa Pod one day for some quarter mile sprinting :-)

Thanks for the nice comments guys

Mr Spudfingers…. I'm not sure tbh, i love the non-bumper look but i also wanna keep it standard. we'll see lol

Ade…. I'm sure I'll definately be seeing you at santa pod. (will post pics of Elvis with his new Super T's soon They're great wheels!)

But anyway here's another update …..

I bought a Corsa C Electric steering column from ebay (brand new and genuine GM £55!! Bargain!!) and started to strip it ready to get it all welded together after we had  cut up the old one  

This is what it looked like before,



We then chiselled off part of the casing we didnt need, which is where the corsa ignition barrell would attach (Thats the black plastic bit) We then had to remove a circlip from the inner shaft to remove it from the casing we had just removed. The casing can now be binned.

This is the after pic…



Managed to get the column tig welded by Karls mate, basically we've had to get the bottom of the column from the Golf welded to the Corsa column so that it'll connect to the Mk1 steering rack….. He's done an awesome job of it so i'm well impressed!

Newly tig'd column below


I've also decided to strip the engine for any signs of wear as i didnt know the history of the engine when i bought it…. so out it came again and started taking bits and pieces off (rocker cover, inlet manifold, oil cooler etc)



All was looking well so far The cams look nice and clean and once the inlet was off we could see the valves so had a little nosy and all looking well so we proceeded to whip the head off…..



Block looks good, No wear or movement in the pistons and checked the bores/liners for score marks etc…… clean as a whistle!
Also checked the head out, Everything looking well, Nice and clean and no play in the valves, Plugs are a good colour so it'd been running well.





Then it was time to get the sump off and check out the crank
Again, lovely and clean!! No crap in the sump which is always a good sign!! Then took off the big end and main bearing caps just to check out how they looked and they look like new!





So………. Hurray!!!! I got a decent engine! Looks fairly low mileage from what i can see!

The head was sent off to be pressure checked and all came back ok!  I was going to fit all new crank seals, piston rings, big end and main bearings but they all look fine and there's really no need.

Sneaky Elvis Pic…



Here's some pics of the bits i ordered from VW, Mainly engine gaskets and seals, Bell housing bolts and an oil pressure switch and my 4 bar fuel pressure regulator etc…







The Control Box for the Corsa C PAS Column, Its even got a control knob thing which lets you change how heavy the steering is. Its £87 quids worth :O



Also got my Neuspeed Thermostat and Fan Switch




Anyway, Got the engine on our new engine stand (its the best thing we've ever bought!! no tired knees or backs haha!)





First we spent a few hours cleaning the block ready for the paint Karl painted it though as i had a feeling i'd make a mess of it!

So here's a few pics of it now, Put the sump and the oil cooler etc back on it with the new seals etc.











Anyways that's if for now. Will again, post more pics soon!

MissMk1 said

New turbo and manifold fitted to the AGU lump
 

Good work so far

What manifold is that?

Crikey, i bought it so long ago i dont entirely remember haha

I think its from AMT. Its a 1.8T manifold with a T3 Flange
Hope that helps, if not let me know and i'll dig out the receipt for it

Steff

lookin good steffy lookin good

foxy

Looking good.
£87 is a lot for that control unit - it has a dual 555 timer in it and a few discreet components that add up to about £2.
The problem with faking the rev and speed control signals like that is that the column will over assist when you least expect it to. It will completely remove the self centring because the column absorbs the push back from the wheels, so you will find yourself wheeling it back, it makes the car horrible to drive.

RJES has a solution, we have it on Sharon's cabby. I have been struggling to get him to complete it as a saleable kit. I have pushed him via email today, perhaps you can give him a shove. It uses a ferrite core to pick up the real rev signal and gets the real road speed signal from the back of the clocks using a sensor mounted behind the factory one. His control unit then lets you control the resistance with a simple on device setup.

While you are building up you might want to considering a Quaife quick rack as that reduces the lock to lock by one turn and increases the centring force.

Yeh i remember talking to you about it Ade when we picked the wheels up from you.

Once you manage to get something sorted with the steering on Sharon's cabby would you mind letting me know as i'll be VERY interested in getting the same done on mine

Pleeeeaaseee

Cheers

Steff

MissMk1 said

Crikey, i bought it so long ago i dont entirely remember haha

I think its from AMT. Its a 1.8T manifold with a T3 Flange
Hope that helps, if not let me know and i'll dig out the receipt for it

Steff

Thought it looked similar to the original manifold with the flange on, thanks for the info.

Yea no probs Steff !

Richard is a perfectionist, but his main business is T4 to Subaru conversions, so we need to push him on this :-)

Any news yet Ade? lol

I've not made much progress over the last few months with getting married etc etc

Back on track now though, Been looking through threads for inspiriation today haha!

Will keep you all posted

Steff x

Ohhh i do have a few small updates….

It took a while to find someone confident to help with the steering (the welding part!)




These are just tacked on for the moment, once all the measurements are done it'll get welding in properly!


Looking a tad rusty there    lol


Ignition barrel on and secured


This is the view from underneath, sorry its a bit blurred!

Then on goes the steering wheel to see if its sitting correctly…..





Also…… Crackle black'd my rocker cover and painted the inlet.
I love the rocker cover, i think it looks great (its really hard to photograph though, looks much better in the flesh! lol)   be good to see what everyone else thinks though so all comments welcome…..

and this……

Rear disc conversion done now..



Nearly there….



Brackets for hoses welded at my friend garage…



Brakes under my Super T's… i love them wheels    Thanks Ade!!




After buying a pedal box and having my engine bay destroyed    worked out what we couldnt fit the pedal box and have the servo etc anyway as the hydraulic clutch m/c gets in the way so ditched all that lot and a friend of Karls did this with a few bits from Burton Power…







(Not very good pics i'm afraid, i didnt take them   )

Also had the core for the turbo turned around and actuator bracket re-welded as it'll be sooo much easier to get the exhaust and air intake sorted with the turbo the other way…..   I love my turbo, yes i know i'm sad lol





(not using them stainless oil feed pipes, just wanted to see how they looked….. not great and not practical so Karl can have them back haha!)

Boring pics time…….

All the wiring has pretty much been finished now, just needs the odd bits doing here and there (when its mapped etc)

Finished wiring under the dash with the rest of the gubbins lol



Otherside of the dash with  my ECU in etc….



2 under bonnet shots..





PAS Control Unit thingy mounted….



Definately need to sort those coilovers out…  (and bodywork!!)



Anyway, theres a boring update for you all! lol

Hopefully they'll be more exciting soon

Looking really good Steff !!

When Elvis is done we will have to have some head to heads at the Pod !!!

I always loved those wheels !!

Just re read the first page.

That is the second time I have offered a Pod challenge :-)

I have just not been able to get hold of Richard, tried via email and phone. If you do go up to his place, let me know because I would like a spare control unit off him. Perhaps we can go up together seeing as he does know me.