Orwell gets boosted (another 1.8t 20v swap)

[mk1vDUBtec]

Hello all! I've had my '84 rabbit gti for about a year now and have decided to do the 20v 1.8t swap. I bought a passat from a coworker 3 weeks ago and have been parting it out since. I'm basically ready to start the actual swap portion now. Enough said, onto the pictures:
The day I bought her... monster truck status!

a few mods and 9 months later:

+ heinous wheels:

The donor:

Engine out!

My progress for the last 2 weeks has been parting it out, making some money back and getting this thing out of the garage/yard so I can start on the rabbit:

After dealing with some very stubborn rusted downpipe bolts and that stupid cover between the trans and engine All of the wiring gets taped up and labeled and the trans is dropped and the motor is pulled out.
Bumpers make for a very convenient tool shelf

I ordered a sach's power clutch kit and lightweight flywheel from bfi along with their stage 2 front motor mount and HD other motor mounts.
I sourced a vr6 water pump pulley so that I could run the h2o pump and alternator on the same serpentine belt. I also got a TDI oil filter housing to clear my front motor mount and a 16v timing tensioner to clear the side motor mount.
I've got a 2.0 aba laying around, I think I'm going to use that oil pan (as long as it fits), but drill and tap it for an oil return line from the turbo.
I wanted a k04, but due to money and availabilty constraints, I just got a rebuild kit for the k03 for now
I also have 10000 other things that I need to decide on what to do (such as catch can, fuel line routing, etc.) but what fun would that be if all that stuff were figured out? thats what a build thread is for right?

[DREWHALL]

Awesome, can't say I'm much on the blue but doesn't look terrible. Good luck.

[mk1vDUBtec]

Thanks for the kind words
To tell the truth, I'm not too sure either. Oh well it'll stay until the wheels get traded or someone buys them off of me. I like they way it looked in the 2nd picture. OEM +

[mk1vDUBtec]

Did some Purple-ing and some power washing yesterday.
Before:

After:



Debating on what color to paint the bay...
Any ideas?

[IronTrap]

leave the bay the stock color.

[8v-of-fury]

A vibrant colour lol

[deathhare.]

A vibrant colour lol

Agreed..do it like neon purple or gold metal flake.
You'll get a killer high post rating lickety split.

[mk1vDUBtec]

Agreed..do it like neon purple or gold metal flake.
You'll get a killer high post rating lickety split.

haha, Yeah I'm having a tough decision. The two forementioned are what I'm deciding between, so now you've made me even more split!
Either stock color or black (hides dirt) for a basic look
or red or (I'm kinda feeling this vibrant one) teal for that outstandish look. I'd probably be more likely to keep my engine bay clean if it was a nice bright color, but that is a lot more work and defects are much more noticable.

[OLD-GTI]

haha, Yeah I'm having a tough decision. The two forementioned are what I'm deciding between, so now you've made me even more split!
Either stock color or black (hides dirt) for a basic look
or red or (I'm kinda feeling this vibrant one) teal for that outstandish look. I'd probably be more likely to keep my engine bay clean if it was a nice bright color, but that is a lot more work and defects are much more noticable.

i understand personalization and all, but why ruin what looks to be a nice clean GTI with a silly colored engine bay?

if you're going to spray it, spray it silver.

[mk1vDUBtec]

decided on leaving the bay the stock color for now. I might get a can of the the silver and touch up a few spots, but I need to get this thing finished by mid-September, so painting the bay is not a huge priority right now
I was busy tonight,
Started working on fitting the intercooler (it's off an evo 8, it's a little big so I gotta cut some stuff out)

I cut out that middle rad support, the intercooler will be the rad support itself once I get some brackets made for it. cut off an existing bracket:

Got a TDI oil filter housing so that I could clear the front motor mount of a mk1. This is a picture comparing the installed TDI to the oem 1.8t housing:

No power steering or fan needed here! So I trimmed the bracket to save on space and weight:

I put got a new thermostat and put the brand new water pump that I had just installed from the 8v onto the 1.8t.
I also got a vr6 water pump pulley so that I can run the serpentine belt. Everything lines up! and you can also see my custom cut alternator bracket


Also took the oil pan off of the ABA i have laying around and bolted that on along with the ABA pick up tube. I'm going to buy a bung from Summit and weld it on for the oil return line from the turbo.

Need to install the timing belt and 16v tensioner that I got as well.
Not going to be able to work on the car next week unfortunately But the week after i should have the turbo rebuilt and hopefully a new intake manifold and oil return line mounted and it'll be ready to bolt into the Rabbit!
Then comes the fun of running intercooler piping.
Thanks for watching!

[Vamped]

Cool build.................what was wrong with the passat donor car?
I like it tho, not feeling the blue.

[mk1vDUBtec]

Cool build.................what was wrong with the passat donor car?
I like it tho, not feeling the blue.

Thanks!

There wasn't too much wrong with it actually. The whole suspension was shot and the front bumper/clip was pretty well scratched up, but it was inspected and everything. I just wanted the motor and ecu, and the guy had too many cars, so he sold it to me (and I make more money back selling individual items rather than the whole car)

[mk1vDUBtec]

back from a weeks vacation!
Took the oil pan off so that I could get my machine shop to weld in a bung for a return line from the turbo.
Also took off my intake manifold. I'm gonna have them weld a log onto the runners because I cant find a reasonably priced 225hp TT manifold.

Received my 034 motorsports catch can adapter as well as my catch can, sachs power clutch kit, lightweight flywheel, and hd motor mounts in the mail while I was gone! It's like Christmas!!

I also sanded down the engine bay today and primed it. Local paint store will have my paint for me tomorrow (I decided on going the stock color in the bay, LE7Y silver) so that'll be tomorrow's project.
Keep in mind this is just a quick paint job, I'm on a strict time line, I'm only doing this because I have a few days of slack at the moment. Engine is on schedule to be dropped in next Monday.

[mk1vDUBtec]

Update:
Motor mounts are a complete pain in the a$$ to take out and put back in. *I only got the passenger side done tonight.
But I also painted the bay. *What do you think? *Turned out relatively well I think...

^^ and you can also see the new techtonics short shifter I isntalled tonight! *Man, half of my bushings were actually missing (that explains the super sloppy shifter). *I'm so glad it came with new ones.
Also, the screw holes for the passenger side motor mount weren't used in the Passat, so they were all rusty and the bolts wouldnt go through, so I re-tapped them and they work well now.


Also got a serpentine belt, but it's about an inch too short :-(
Also got catch can fittings, so that's complete!
Finishing swapping the new HD motor mounts and timing the motor is my agenda for tomorrow after work. *

[BennettVW]

Nice, ill be following your build, im not far behind you with the swap.

[mk1vDUBtec]

Nice, ill be following your build, im not far behind you with the swap.

cool!
Do you have a link to your build thread?

[mk1vDUBtec]

I got a lot of stuff done today!
I bolted the passenger side engine mount on, with the new HD insert. Since the engine mount is off of the Rabbit, the timing cover isn't made to fit it, so I did some custom fab work:


Then I timed it with the new timing belt and the 16v tensioner (used in place of stock tensioner to clear side motor mount)


I also did some fab work to the top timing cover in order to make that fit around the new engine mount as well:

Progress! Finally starting to a little more like a motor and less like a hunk of metal.
I also returned the 38.5" 4 rib serp belt and got a 40" 5 rib belt (for $6 less? wtf?)
HALLELUJAH IT WORKS!!! (and quite well, might I add)

everything lines up, I spun it around a couple times to make sure nothing would work its way off

Also stopped by Home Depot and got some fittings to adapt a catch can hose to the fitting I got from 034 motorsports to run a catch can off of the block (instead of all that PCV crap).


The problem I'm having now is running coolant lines. I've got to figure out exactly what goes where and how it's getting there. I muffed up and when installing the rabbit water pump, I also installed the rabbit waterpump housing, which has an extra port, hehe. Anybody got any ideas?
Here comes the engineer in me, I'll make it work to my advantage

[Vegeta Gti]

your gonna regret cutting out that rad support section.. intregal piece on our cars. btw.. from experience, inserts are a waste with the torque these engines make.. they pop out and tear.

[mk1vDUBtec]

your gonna regret cutting out that rad support section.. intregal piece on our cars. btw.. from experience, inserts are a waste with the torque these engines make.. they pop out and tear.

Okay, thanks for the info
they're kind of a cheap fix for now (I went to order a whole stage 2 motor mount kit from bfi, but they're out for a while, so I just got the front stg 2 one) I'll get better mounts after it's all running and everything (because I have a deadline for this build).

As for the center rad support section, I'm going to make it so that the intercooler itself is a part of the rad support.

[A1steaksauce]

your gonna regret cutting out that rad support section...

oh wow, just noticed that too....

seriously put that back in. unless you plan on running hood pins and/or reenforcing the cross brace piece

[mk1vDUBtec]

oh wow, just noticed that too....

seriously put that back in. unless you plan on running hood pins and/or reenforcing the cross brace piece

reinforcement will take place.

[Vegeta Gti]

I have. allstg2. love them, make sure no one leans on the rad support!

[mk1vDUBtec]

I have. allstg2. love them, make sure no one leans on the rad support!

really? good to hear! (because that's what I'm prob going to get) I assume no problems then.

and hahaha, yes, maybe I'll put something temporary in for when the engine gets dropped in (just in case anyone is tempted to lean on it )

[B4S]

Um...what downpipe is that? Am I the only one who noticed it's a little odd?

[mk1vDUBtec]

Um...what downpipe is that? Am I the only one who noticed it's a little odd?

It's because it goes with the aftermarket header that's on the JH. the Header goes from 4 to 2 and then downpipe from 2 to 1. It bolts together at that 2 section (I'm guessing for ease of installation).

I'm not sure what brand of header/downpipe it is because it came on the car when I bought it, but I know that when I didn't have a muffler, it sounded like a worked engine and it was also ridiculously LOUD, like I couldnt even hear my radio.

I'll post a picture of the header later. (I'm probably going to sell the header/downpipe, lmk if you're interested , I also have an audi 5k t-body with a ported i/m to match it that I never installed. )

[.:V.R.6.6.6:.]

Awesome G/L with it!!

[mk1vDUBtec]

Awesome G/L with it!!

Thanks for the kind words!
You live in Philly? Sweet, I go to school in Philly.

[Vegeta Gti]

i also suggest BFI's front crossmember support and large washers....that front mount is a severe weak spot..pulled mine completely through twice lol

[GaTeIg]

i also suggest BFI's front crossmember support and large washers....that front mount is a severe weak spot..pulled mine completely through twice lol

Better yet... safe a lot of money and buy a front brace from Rob. I one and the fit was perfect. His email is sales at dauerhaft.com.

[mk1vDUBtec]

Better yet... safe a lot of money and buy a front brace from Rob. I one and the fit was perfect. His email is sales at dauerhaft.com.

I appreciate the suggestion! I just sent him an email.

I have lots of updates, but I just got back from the garage and I'm exhausted. Will post the updates tomorrow

[vdubspeed]

I cut that support out of my core support and after one pass at the track I went STRAIGHT to the hood pins.

My hood was seriously about to rip the core support.

I still regret cutting it and that was 5 yrs ago.

Also...try to get more breathing than just that small port you adapted to on the block. It's a turbo car friend...they have lots of air moving in the crank case. If you don't help it then you will get oil leaks from seals.

Lastly, put the passat waterpump back in so you have only the upper port which goes to the side of the head. You don't want to use the rabbit one unless you plug it(they have caps at advance auto but they won't last forever.)

[mk1vDUBtec]

I cut that support out of my core support and after one pass at the track I went STRAIGHT to the hood pins.

My hood was seriously about to rip the core support.

I still regret cutting it and that was 5 yrs ago.

Also...try to get more breathing than just that small port you adapted to on the block. It's a turbo car friend...they have lots of air moving in the crank case. If you don't help it then you will get oil leaks from seals.

Lastly, put the passat waterpump back in so you have only the upper port which goes to the side of the head. You don't want to use the rabbit one unless you plug it(they have caps at advance auto but they won't last forever.)

For the waterpump, I'm sending the top port to the oil cooler, the middle port to the stock rabbit pipe (for expansion tank and heater core), and the bottom port to the radiator. It worked out pretty nicely, I think.

and the catch can port is fine. There's really not that much air going through there that it would blow a seal before it went through the air port.

[mk1vDUBtec]

updates!

I switched to an 2.0 ABA oil pan. I had my machine shop drill and weld in a piece of pipe for an oil return line from the turbo. Also, the stock oil pan held the stock baffle in place, so I bought an ABA baffle/gasket combo and used that instead:



I got some goodies in the mail

Forge Splitter Valve (adjustable diverter and bov)
Sach's Power Clutch Kit and Eurospec Lightweight flywheel:


I also painted a few accents anodized blue to match the grille/wheels.


Pressure plate bolted on:

Then got the clutch centered and flywheel bolted onto the PP. Next came bolting the trans and starter on!




So I started rebuilding the k03 turbo and when I took the shaft out I found this:

NOT good.
But the guy I bought the car off of assured me the turbo was good and that if it wasn't for some reason, he'd give me some money back, so I'm going to talk to him and hopefully get $100 back. I'm so glad I decided to rebuild the turbo. I would have been pissed if I got the car running and the turbo blew right afterwards.
But it kind of worked out in my favor because I just picked up a k03-s today for $130. I know it's not too much better than the stock k03, but hey it's at least 10 hp for like $30 extra
I was kind of pissed about the turbo holding up progress, so I decided to drop the motor in yesterday. It only took 25 min and it fits like a glove!!!



with the evo 8 intercooler. I have to modify the radiator a little bit to make it fit:


I probably have to relocate the battery to the back too, unless i move the radiator some in order to run a charge pipe to the drivers side intercooler outlet.

So I made another error and forgot to check the clutch release before I dropped it in...
I can pull the clutch lever all the way up with my hand, which I shouldn't be able to do. the axles spin when the lever is up and down (disengaged and engaged), so something got screwed up...
Anyone have any ideas what I did wrong?? I'm going to take it out tomorrow and try to figure it out.

[GaTeIg]

Anyone have any ideas what I did wrong?? I'm going to take it out tomorrow and try to figure it out.

Did you adjust the cable all the way in and out? I've ran into the same issue.

[mk1vDUBtec]

Did you adjust the cable all the way in and out? I've ran into the same issue.

I didn't even hook the cable up. I can pull it up by hand. I think the whole way (until it's reallly close to hitting the trans mount).