Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Sunday now - only had a spare hour so didn't get much done, made a bit of progress though. This was the engine bay in the light of day - not too bad. Bulkhead heatshield as a little bent from catching on the manifold as I pulled the engine out the day before, it will be re-shaped and put back into place.  Four branch manifold came off nice and easy once in the garage, will re-use this on the ABF engine. Wonder if it's worth heat wrapping it before re-fitting, any thoughts?   Stubbern inlet manifold allen head bolts took some persuasion to get off the head, but got there in the end. Can you spot what's wrong in this pic just after I removed the manifold?  No... closer pic of inlet port number two...  Yes - that's the spark plub removal tool thingy stuck in there - how did it get in there? Must have been restricting the air flow a little...?!?  Someone must have dropped it while fitting the manifold in the past!  Engine as it stands now, got the alternator off, loosened a few other bits and pieces... ABF engine is in the background in a nice green plastic sheet.  I intend to keep on with a bit during the week, get all the parts off we need for the other engine and wait for the lightened flywheel to come back from the machiners, sump baffles to arrive etc. then re-assemble with the 2.0 engine next weekend. Any comments and thoughts much appreciated  |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Feb 25, 2008 20:12:20 GMT
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you can get a 2.0 engine blocks with your kr head you get around 170bhp and a bit more with two exhaust cams! i have a one going spare if you need one! the car looks like it is going to be ace to! John
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1970 MG midget
1974 MG midget
1992 Audi 80 2.0 16v
1998 Seat ibiza
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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you can get a 2.0 engine blocks with your kr head you get around 170bhp and a bit more with two exhaust cams! I have a one going spare if you need one! the car looks like it is going to be ace to! John Cheers John - this car is getting a complete ABF engine though as the head on these is equally as good (probably better) than a standard KR head so no point swapping. The standard ABF cams are good too and on k-jet it should make around 170bhp with the four branch manifold and no other modifications, should be reliable too. I do have a 6A bottom end with a KR ported and polished head in my other Mk2, standard KR cams though rather than the modified double exhaust cam trick, and it goes very well. |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Another hour in the garage last night... Removed more bits from the KR engine to clean up and swap onto the ABF engine... water pump, brackets, pulleys etc...  Separated engine and gearbox...  Gearbox seems in good nick, just needs cleaning up and will be refitted with new clutch and lightened flywheel onto ABF engine. It's one of very few 'non crunchy 2nd gear' 'boxes I've ever used in a Mk2 - rare rare rare!  Took the distributor and a few other bits and pieces off after that, not too much left to get off the old engine now and can begin building up the 'new' one.  |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Weekend update - some good, some bad, some frustrating...!  First, here's a pic from last week of the car sat waiting for it's engine next to my daily green Mk2  So, Friday - started dismantling the front of the car to make access easier while Neil was working on the engines - swapping bits from the old to new in the garage. Weather was rubbish hence dark pic, ended up like this...  Wheeled him into the garage to continue, tidying up engine bay etc...  Engine bits - ABF in foreground, checking cam timing, KR at the back...  ABF sump cleaning ready for baffling... til we worked out it was alloy and couldn't weld plates in... oops...  Bottom end without sump  Saturday, new windage tray, was going to baffle as well but decided to stick with nice alloy standard sump and just fit this...  Oil pump going back on after windage tray  Fitted...  Sump on, gave it a clean...  |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Did various other bits and pieces, picking up the lightened flywheel from the (not very) local courier depot as they weren't going to deliver it 'til Monday for one. Also fitted some hoses, cambelt and tensioner, belt covers and stuff, oh, and tidied up and painted slightly grotty battery tray. Sunday (today)... flywheel time... or maybe not as we'll see!  Anyway... lightened / balanced flywheel, all the meat that's usually there next to the starter ring is gone!   After bending a screwdriver that I was locking the engine with I remembered to do it this way with some bolts and a spanner...  Test fitted new clutch and flywheel with old bolts first...  Found new bolts in bag of bits from GSF... they seem a bit short...  Old bolt for comparison...  Together...!   So, had to give up with the flywheel fitting, and therefore more or less halted progress 'til I can get new bolts from the VW dealer. I knew there was a reason I didn't get them from GSF last time I did this a few years ago on the green car! Engine as it stood...  Decided a test fit of the engine wouldn't go amiss anyway so attached gearbox and flywheel but just with a few old bolts for now.  Neil putting the manifold on, awkard b@stard that it is...  Due to time constaints, lack of bolts etc. we decided to just get the engine in more or less the right place and leave the gearbox off so I can fit it once the new flywheel bolts are in place. Shouldn't be too bad (hopefully!) with all the front panels off the car. I've done gearboxes before from underneath with the engine in the car and hated it so fingers crossed this is easier. As it stands now, Neil pointing out piece of wood acting as a handy engine brace in place of the front crossmember...  Oh well - nearly there! |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Not updated this for ages - lots of changes... copy and pasting from another forum but this should all make sense... I think I forgot to document above what fun it was changing the little ball and socket on the base of the gear lever over the weekend too. Another lovely job...! Ended up taking out the whole gearshift mechanism and working on it out of the car, after which I conclude it would be very tricky to change the ball and socket with it attached to the car!  Made some good progress this evening - picked up the rest of the flywheel bolts, put them in with loctite and managed to get the gearbox on. Correct bolts at last:  Bolt part number if anyone else is trying to track them down:  Flywheel on with bolts in place:  Predictably there are clearance (or lack of...) issues with the four branch and bulkhead so need to work on that next. With the driver's side rear engine mount bolted on firmly I can get the gearbox mount about 1mm from lining up and accepting it's bolt, but at that one of the pipes on the manifold, from cylinder four I think, just touches on the bulkhead and stops it going together. Even if it would bolt down properly it's too close anyway and I'm sure would make a hell of a racket with the engine running. Shouldn't be too bad a job to draw the engine and gearbox out complete on a trolley or the crane, adjust bulkhead and then put it back... probably have a crack another night this week after work as I'm feeling quite motivated to get this all back together! |
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Last Edit: Mar 25, 2008 8:47:35 GMT by Stu
'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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More progress last night after work... Marked up the bulkhead where the manifold would catch, and then took the engine and 'box out again. So glad I have an engine crane...!  Weighed up the options to adjust the bulkhead or engine mounts and went for a lump hammer and some brute force to the bulkhead. It was pretty tough to re-shape and I didn't want to bash it too much in case it weaked it. After some careful 'modification' it looked like this...   Not pretty but hopefully enough clearance. I barely broke though the paint as it's that thick rubbery stuff but I primered it anyway and then put the heat shield back and re-shaped it to suit the adjusted tunnel. The engine and 'box went back in relatively easily although it was getting pretty dark by now. Rear mount and gearbox mount aligned and bolted down fine once I got the driveshafts in position, bit of a fiddle but the crane and two trolley jacks helped. I didn't check clearance last night as it was too dark but the fact the gearbox would go on it's mount tells me it's better than it was the day before! Will investigate more later. |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Did a bit more on the car today, manifold to bulkhead clearance wasn't as good as I'd hoped even after re-shaping it with the hammer as per the photo's above. Bit of a pain really, had to take the manifold on and off a load of times, couldn't be bothered getting the engine out again.
After thoroughly assessing the situation I booked the bulkhead in for an urgent appointment with Mr A Grinder and everything fits much nicer now.
Whoever said the four branch on an ABF would be tricky into a Mk2 was right, quite a hold up but hopefully can make some good progress from now on! ;D
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Engine in and sparks flying while Mr A Grinder gets to grips with some bulkhead adjustment as mentioned above...   This part held me up for a while, the threaded extension bolt to mount the oil cooler sandwich plate. Got the right one in the end, it's 3/4 UNF thread is anyone else needs one - I got this one from Merlin motorsport in the end, very good service.  I decided to use this Mocal sandwich plate I had 'in stock' rather than the nice shiny new one I bought recently for this as it seemed a better fit with the extension bolt.  Mounted in place.  I bought a length of hose from my local Pirtek hose and fitting specialist and made my own oil cooler pipes, already had the fittings and clips etc. Made them long at first to allow for different mounting possibilities for the cooler.  Bit more reassembly.  Test fit of bumper etc.  As I wanted to keep the twin light grille I made up brackets to mount the cooler in a place that would allow maximum air flow but not foul the back of the spotlights. My brother in law helped make and mount the brackets and it ended up a nice neat job.   Shortened the pipes to suit and secured them, making sure not to kink any of the pipes.  Over the weekend I got busy fixing and reconnecting all the wiring, plumbing bits in, connected up the driveshafts (horrible!), bumper mountings etc. Refilled the engine and gearbox with oil, cooling system with water etc to get it looking like this....   After checking the timing, fiddling with senders, fixing air leaks, messing with the dizzy settings, ISV wiring etc. she fired up! ;D The engine appears to run well above 2k rpm but won't hold an idle, splutters and dies below 1.5 - 2k rpm really in spite of trying lots of things to keep it going. |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Got the car idling ok on Good Friday, it needed the mixture adjusting a little bit and the timing setting correctly at idle, not easy to do but advice from another forum (ClubGTI) got me there After a bit of fiddling we were left with a lumpy 1k rpm idle and the car running ok, needs more work in that area but got carried away with something else at the weekend... ... Bought a roll cage on Saturday... the man in the shop said it'd never fit in a Mk2 Golf, he was kind of right but we got it home ok anyway.... (Don't worry, we covered those feet sticking out of the back before driving home!)   Got the cage home and thought we'd give it a trial fit... er... no chance with the sunroof mechanism in there so had to book another appointment with Mr A. Grinder on Sunday...   Turns out the sunroof tray is very well fitted in on the old Mk2, took a lot of messing to remove it but we managed it. These are some of the bits that came out, didn't take photo's of the rest but there were the cables, sliding mechanism, water drain tubes and all kinds of bits and bobs!  This of course left a fair size hole in the roof of the car and the weather wasn't looking too good... luckily my brother in law called in and did a spot of welding for us to hold the sunroof panel back in place. We fitted it in central and welded some brackets to hold it in with a view to sealing around the gap with some suitable waterproof sealant. At the rear edge of the sunroof we refitted one of the roof support struts that had come out when removing the sunroof tray and welded it into place. We also bent the lip of the surrounding metal inside to secure the panel and leave a smaller gap to fill with sealant. Hopefully once sealed it'll just look like the factory sunroof from outside.   After all that we could trial fit the roll cage and measure up for where to mount the base plates for the feet. A sign of relief could be felt as we lifted into the newly non-sunroof equipped car and it fitted nicely!  Here's Neil pretending the cage is all fitted and he's not actually balancing on an un-fixed seat and holding the un-cut door bar up by hand....  Didn't have too much time on Monday but went shopping for paint etc for the cage and measured up for the base plates then put the car back to rest in the garage like this... cage just resting in position and an un-sealed sunroof  More soon. Any tips and hints appreciated on floor fixings for the cage. It did come with the base plates and all the nuts and bolts and stuff (it's an OMP one) but the instructions are next to useless so any input appreciated. It seems fairly straightforward... but then so did everything else....  |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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tri
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,572
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Mar 25, 2008 11:29:26 GMT
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Some real progress there, glad you got it idling okay. You've really put a LOT of work into this, will be good to see it on the 'ring when it finally gets there.
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 I forgot how to retro...  |
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Mar 25, 2008 20:52:51 GMT
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Some real progress there, glad you got it idling okay. You've really put a LOT of work into this, will be good to see it on the 'ring when it finally gets there. Indeed - a lot of work so far, and still plenty to go but it feels like we're getting there now things are starting to come together. Now the engine is running reasonably I can set it up better and sort out a few niggles then get the roll cage bolted in and painted, sunroof sealed etc. Brake upgrade then and it'll nearly be ready assuming nothing else falls off in the meantime... |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Mar 25, 2008 23:49:59 GMT
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Is that demon-tweeks.... round the side? If so... they told us it would never go in a car:  Swollowed it up!! We had the same problem with the sunroof in the 205... removed all the mechanisms then bolted a piece of ali over the top |
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1997 TVR Chimaera
2009 Westfield Megabusa
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Is that demon-tweeks.... round the side? If so... they told us it would never go in a car: Yes - demon tweaks, wish we'd have taken an estate car but we got it home ok in the trusty Golf! |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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J.P
Posted a lot
I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Posts: 1,175
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Mar 26, 2008 23:32:14 GMT
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Excellent write ups! All the best fitting the cage and the 'Ring trip!
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Thanks for the replies Welded all the roll cage mounting plates in yesterday, pics to follow soon. |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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Stu
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,913
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Bit late with the update this week as these pics are from last weekend and it's Thursday evening now. Not to worry, anyway, weather was terrible so before pushing the car out of the garage to start work on Saturday I took the precaution of sealing the sunroof...  Don't worry, a more permanent solution is planned but this was a quick fix so I could keep the car watertight whilst working in heavy rain. Next job was to cut and bend the roll cage foot plates to suit the car, then mark and clean up the paint and underseal to get nice bare metal to weld them to. In progress:   That's my brother in law doing the welding. I did have a go but it would have taken about a week for me to do what he did in an afternoon, and it wouldn't have been anywhere near as neat either. I need to practice my welding! Looked a bit more like this as things progressed... B pillar feet:   Rear arches:   Front legs:   I've done a bit more since then but no more pics yet, rested the cage in position, marked up the location of the feet and drilled the base plates ready for bolts. I've only drilled 8mm holes so far but think I'm going to go up to 10mm to use bigger bolts. Not sure yet whether to put little plates on the outside or just big washers, will see how it looks at the weekend when I get chance to crack on. Started to think about adding a harness bar to the cage, it doesn't have one as standard. Any tips on that appreciated, also any info on the correct height to mount the door bars? They bolt on but you have to weld the lugs onto the cage and then cut them to length you see. I'd like to get it all done soon and then I can get started painting the cage and finally installing it properly! ;D |
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'89 BMW E30 325i Sport, '04 MINI Cooper S, '09 Volvo V70 D5
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VWDan
Part of things
VW Jetta MK1, VW Caravelle 1.9TD, Audi A6 Tdi Avant
Posts: 841
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Good work there ;D
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If only everything in life was as cool as a retro VW racer.
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