Black Sportline 16v G60 Conversion

So after about 7 years of owning the car I thought it was about time I got my act together and go through with the plans of converting my black Sportline from the original 8v Dx to a full ABF G60. Having already started the strip out and rebuilding the engine i've quickly realised that this conversion has the potential to bleed you dry financially but the idea of a valver is doing it for me so i'm going in!

 Bit of background on car/engines etc. Bought the car off a guy called Steve up in Grantham, it was immaculate and if I'm honest it was pure fluke that i got it given that I didn't really know what I was buying. Enjoyed it for a few years then went to uni and didn't do much with it.





Upon my return I wanted to do G60 8v conversion so a corrado was purchased from kettering took all the bits out i needed and sold the shell to a guy that breaks corrodes on the isle of wight



  Pretty much as soon as i'd got the 8v out i started reading up on 16v g's and after seeing jamie fagan's jetta it sort of made up my mind for me.
That same week i noticed an engine listed on ebay which pretty much included everything I needed and looked decent! It was a 1.8pg bottom end with ABF head plus the parts he had with it were endless! Regrettably though I missed out on it, so pushed on with starting the whole process from scratch.


Got an ABF lump from a guy in oxford which turned out to be in pretty good condition thankfully! I wanted the engine rebuilt and had toyed with the idea of doing it myself but I wasn't going to fall into the trap of starting something and not finishing it or missing something out so spoke to JP at JNL Racing and arranged to have it fully rebuilt! The spec for rebuild is as follows:

ABF base    Full valve trainForged pistons
H Beam conrods83mm overboreFresh liftersArp mains and headstuds re using original cams in a ported head
Inconel inlet/exhaust valves All parts like tensioners seals pumps etc new.
Custom sump
RS2 inlet manifold machined and portmatched
Stage 4 Supercharger rebuild

 Will put up photos and progress as i crack on with it, feel free to leave comments, i'm probably gonna need a hand with this one   

Looks really nice. Toying with the idea of G60 if my DX gives up, wish I had the skills but I fear it may be a cheque book moment! Will be unique when it's done - look forward to the updates.

Thank you mate! I'm looking forward to using it again! I have got a pg engine sitting in storage from the corrado if ever you do decide to go down that road

Spent the last few days cracking on with getting the front end tidied up. After having clear most of the engine bay and taking the front wings off I was pleased to see that there wasn't any rust! 

The lack of rust might have had something to do with blanket of waxoyl that had been sprayed everywhere! I did toy with the idea of leaving it there but wanted to be sure there's nothing lurking so I set about stripping it back. 

Initially didn't have
A clue on the best way to remove it but after a few false starts I had a go with an industrial steamer. It takes a while but gets it off without having to go mental with grinders chemicals etc.

Now I need to decide on what's best to recoat it with, have seen the green and white tetra shutz stuff on eBay which is a decent price. Was also toying with a tin of paint on.

Anyone got any recommendations on what's best to use?

Be watching this one closely

Loving this, keep up the good work bud.

Hope your up rating your brakes? What gearbox you going for?

Cheers fellas! 


  hibbs - ha ha definitely mate! The brakes were shocking with the original engine so gonna get the G60 rado brakes rebuilt and also chuck on a mk2 servo and master cylinder. If the g60's don't feel up to it will look at something a bit beefier but I reckon they should do the job. 

Bought a CTN 02A from a breakers up in Aberdeenshire last week, putting it in to get rebuilt next week, all new bearings and picked up a quaife LSD to go in it!  It felt like Christmas when it got delivered! 

Gonna have a crack at spraying the engine bay next weekend, it's all in the prep right? 

Will post up a few more pics of the bay when I sort my other camera out, got loads of the old engine and corrado on there as well 


 

Got The RS2 inlet aqublasted, didn't realise the finish you can get from the process, will eventually paint etc but looks nice as it is just Need to decide on colour scheme.

Was originally going to go body colour black with red writing but as hypocritical as it sounds, I want it look as OEM as possible so possibly red or black writing with lacquer? Suggestions welcome! 

Oh thought I'd add for the purists out there that I do still have original engine, gearbox and ancillaries. This will be getting a rebuild at some point just in case I ever want to go back to stock. Will finish this one first though 

Will update on ecu and loom this week 

Will be keeping an eye on this one, looks good! 

Looking good mate. Your totally right in regards to painting the bay, prep it right and all will be good I spent ages prepping mine and it came out mint. Will be following this closely good luck. 👍

Wow great work being done on your Sportline. Will be a bullet when complete. Keep up the great work and look forward to the updates.

I tried loads of blasting methods and have had the best results from vapour blasting. The finish from cast aluminium is excellent. I painted mine after but next time I think I'll just lease it and not paint it.

jp's engine work looks awesome as usual…

did he rebuild the charger too? i didn't realise he did chargers

Looks great, will be keeping an eye on this.

Good luck with it all  

Awesome build