White Cabby Build

Hi

Thought i would copy in my info from the Cabby forum…

Intro thread : http://www.golfcabrio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=103

BBS refurb thread: http://www.golfcabrio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=122

Moving from the BBS back to the car, i had my body shop bloke visit and let me know what else had to be removed, and to talk over the finish i would like and the parts i must sort out.  So today i started on removing the windscreen, when i say remove, i mean break .  But it looked original and in direct sunlight it was impossible to see through due to the 25 years of pitting.

I also removed the very large wire looms from the N/S engine bay to allow access for the sprayer.  Threading these through the bulk head and not dislodging something for the future will be interesting, but I have a few months before its put back together  and at least the car is ready for spraying.  Just got to wait till he has a space to take on the job, 2 months he thinks

BTW Yes they are tuna tins for strut caps





Next I finally made some room to removed the head for cleaning another day, and noticed how many paint marks people had put on the pulleys over the years! Talk about a minefield.  Anyway head and sump removed, distributor removed and these lower pulleys not really aligning with anything :shock:  

Hi

Carried on striping the engine down and coming across a few problems.  The cylinders have a few raised lips so i will need a little rebore,  However being in the trade the 0.5 oversized pistons are cheap!  And TBH even retail its cheaper than anywhere i have found in the UK and these are Nural German OE pistons.  A local racing engineers are going to have a look at the rebore, once they inspect the block.  But…and its a big but, i think i have a few scaring horizontal lines in cylinder 1  :shock: , not sure yet if i should be to worried but I will wait to see what the expert says.





On the other hand i got my gearbox back from a local gearbox specialist Last Transmissions in Ipswich.  I wasn't after much just diff seals, centre seals and bush.  But buying the pullers and seal kit was only slightly cheaper than an expert doing it so, i handed over the cash and got it done :thumbup:




The gearbox is nearly ready for painting, but its way down the list of jobs.
 


And while im here I cleaned up the inlet manifold ready for a coat of silver

Before


After



Also Picked up this new 4 branch manifold. Not that I want to head down a road of performance,  I like the torque of the 8v (had one in a Mk2 GTI and liked it as well) and feel the 1.8 8v is plenty for a 900kg car.  The 8v is also not the best looking and a little unfashionable but thats cool.  The main reason for it is the poor original manifold and the thought of attempting to refit with its nightmare-ish  C-clamps and tapered seal.  :shock:



Anyway not a great deal done this week, but its really a case of waiting for the block to be inspected and the report will make or break the next few months?


Thanks Unkle

Cut out engine mounts today,  surprised to see that they are original VW ones!

Either way they had to come out.

Cut out rubber





Cut groove (so you can see what you are doing)


Cut liner without cutting the outside edge and remove.






Also got this template made,  it will need to be 8-10mm thick but that?s the local engineers job! :thumbup: The idea is for this to take the engine movement without the need for poly bushes front and rear, which trasnmit too much vibration into the chassis. The front engine mount (when aligned) has 8 to 10mm of play, moving the front engine mount (closer to the engine) by using a backing plate to the mount, should reduce the engine movement and also prevent the need for harsh poly bushes…  Thats the theory.

Hi

Block is now off to the engineers "Coltek Racing" for an update on the condition, so fingers crossed it will only need a little re-bore.

Taking pics for this site and posterity has just saved me a real big headache, and i can only emphasize how important it is to take pics as you go (if this is your first time, like me).

I removed the crank and pistons, and proceeded to place all the components in plastic fruit trays marked 1,2,3,4 and front in the appropriate place.  However i started to panic (2 days later) as i realised that the front wasn't the front when the block was upside down on the stand the side facing me was the back. So ibegan to worry had i taken this into account when i took them off… Anyway i noticed a small lump on the conrod base and began to trawl through my pics to see how it was before the rod and base was removed.  Thankfully i found a pic with it installed with the lump on the side prior to dismantling.  ops:   I knew at what position i had taken that pic so i can sleep easy again now… :thumbup:

The pic that saved me





Everything in the shed away from the dirt and dust in the garage, and ready for cleaning.






My Vinegar production area  

Got the info back from the Engineers

The good news is the head is fine and will need a rebore only, the lip thats formed on all cylinders especially on #1 will only need 0.5 oversized pistons and rings.

So the news

1: The lip on #1 is off centre to the others, indicating play or conrod bent slightly, after checking its the conrod bent but this can be jigged to spec.

2: The crank is in great nick but he wants to polish it as its at spec (at my expense)lol.  

3: The head will be skimmed due to stretching.  (Apparently its common for the head to be slightly distorted and a skim will sort) Cheers Paul C.

4:  0.5 Re-bore

5: Oversized 0.5 Nural German OE pistons from work

6:  Then just replace main and big end bearings.

Then essembly :shock:



This is before i move back to the head, which may need valves etc.  :crazy:

But i keep on thinking "Do it right, do it once" and with the engine i don't want to mess about in 15,000 miles time.  A suspension bush is ok to replace but major engine work is something i don't want to be doing again when its back together…

Hi

While the block is away being sorted with the crank I haven't had that much to do.  These are the pics before it went away (it needed a clean   )











Just some cleaning of a MK2 wiper motor the sump and a few other parts like camshaft caps and bolts etc.




Took the drive shafts apart, inspected them and will assemble soon when painted, one was really stiff although without damage so its possibly just been assembled without matching things up (possibly).



Also while i was bored i though i would share the pic, and I?m sure its something being a cabby owner we would all like

The holy grail…


I wore white silk gloves just to open the box!!  

All new:
header seal
Passenger and drivers door seals
2x B pillar seals
2x C pillar seals
Boot seal

 :thumbup:

Hi

Had the German OE Nural pistons delivered with the pins, rings and clips, oversized 0.5  = ?160.  I weighed them and all are within 2g of each other so no worries about lack of balance. (subject to conrod weight)






Gaskets with the crank plates seals in



I decided to take the inner CV joints apart and they are both very different in feel.  One is completely free moving and the balls drop out of the race yet don't have any play (to indicate wear) so seems ok.  The other is really stiff, I had to put the driveshaft back in just to be able to pitch the race from side to side.  Now its all cleaned the ball bearings need to be pressed firmly into the race and snap into position,  they are such a tight fit that they won't rotate.  Which CV is correct the tight or free moving one?


Thanks in advance  

Hi

Got in from work today and set straight to work on the head.  it looks in a bad way but its only caked on dirt, its off to be skimmed and cleaned so i will only get the worst off.




Removed the valves, springs etc, and gave the head a bath in degreaser and hosed down, degreased again and another hose down.




Sprayed with WD40 and ready to drop off at Coltec Racing Engineers  tomorrow.




8:50pm After that little lot, i need to kill someone on COD4

Looks like a great project you've got yourself there.

I'm interested where you got that box of new seals from as I've had to many problems tracking down them for my rebuild project.

Keep up the good work!

A kind person from this forum sold them too me some time ago, when they decided not to finish a cabby build.  All genuine vw ones too!

I think orignally they came from GPC in Hitchin (formerly Luton as it says on there website)  But circumstances have force them to stop selling them i understand (currency rate).  I think you can get them from German sites and US ebayers, at a high price though…

Hi

Just an update

I got my block, rods, head, and valves back for the engineers,  Just like everything else in life it cost more than I thought.

The block was rebored and skimmed.
The head was skimmed.
All the valve guides were replaced.
Exhaust valves replaced.
All the valve seats were re-cut.
Hot tanked block and passageways cleaned.
Micro polished crank.


I kept on thinking that for a car that does less than 500 miles a year this wasn?t all necessary, but its better to be done once than have it running lumpy or excess valve chatter when its all back together, and besides its not like a set of brake pads that can be changed in 30 mins, this thing will not be coming apart again!!

Polished crank


Clean the rods and fitted the new pistons




Before I fully rebuild the head I wanted some therapeutic cleaning and spraying. So I started the metering head, fuel dist, throttle body and manifold cleaning.  Then the use of  matt black, and silver engine enamel for the various parts after masking and etch priming the parts.


Donor TB from a late 89 GTI cabby (top), used to replace springs and mechanism on mine, (which has less tacked on parts and looks more tidy)



fitted springs and cleaned up



Manifold cleaned with oven cleaner foam spray, which works perfectly on baked/caked on grease and oil, far better than degreaser!! Spray in 10mins later wash out!!




Fuel dist ready for matt black spray


The finished product with metering head, new gasket and fuel distributor


I know it looks like its got too many battle scars but its kind of part of the car so i left the inlet stock, marks and all…




Next week I will be painting the block prior to building it all back up…  

nice work, reminds me of when I did mine

madone_si said

nice work, reminds me of when I did mine

Thanks, I have your build saved to favs for reference on the engine colour etc.  

I just hit a problem yesterday that will delay me further, but its getting there slowly.

shopping for a few bits.

Genuine front and rear mount, bolts, grommet, and hoses from Gates,  I thought about Samco, but too shiney for me,  then thought about Samco classic and didn't think the car needed them while these are still available.  

didn?t see the point in fitting old parts back on.



The engine side mounts will be from Febi, along with the top mounts and arms, and a few other items.

 

Also the big end bearings are by Glycol,  Never heard of them myself, but noticed the genuine VW ones have the same logo.  I assume Glycol make for VW and did so back in the day?

nice work. love new parts being delivered

that reminds me i must give you mate a ring to get my parts  :roll:

Very cool will keep an eye on this & on your box of seals  

Baz

Thanks Baz

jellybelly said

nice work. love new parts being delivered

that reminds me i must give you mate a ring to get my parts  :roll:

No problem mate when ever you need them they aren't going anywhere


Finished the gearbox, head and block tonight prior to Por15 EE, the brown patina look gives the block a kind of vintage theme, shame it will be covered on the weekend.

did you get your big end bearing from were you work bud, could do with a set of them as well

Yeah i did

3 types for the DX engine are possible and 3 types possible for the main bearings as well 8O .  With or without oil slots,  locating lugs, sputter bearing options etc.  The numbers don't cross from the originals as VW left 3 numbers off the originals (VW codes contain 9 digits the bearings only have 6 digits) so i am told

Let me know when you are ready and we can have a look

Looking good mate exactly what i will be doing hopefully.