and another year...

I've been driving and fixing, fixing and driving. More fixing than driving.
Power Steering pump howling...AGAIN...
The forged pistons slap like crazy, sounds like a diesel.
Sounds like the pilot bearing (which was new) is failing.
I did weld my own 2.5" exhaust, starting right after the header. High flow cat and two big Magnaflow mufflers, still sounds loud and growly, almost too much for my taste.
Motor mounts are going, I get sweet vibrations through the chassis at higher rpm.

I think I'm gonna pull the engine...again.
Fix the worst offenders and drive it though the winter. Once it warms up, buy a new short block and go back to stock pistons/displacement. While it's out, fix the pilot bearing and motor mounts. Make it nice to drive (finally)

Then I can take the bored block and put on the 20v head, work out the turbo, get things pretty, then swap the built motor back in...if i get that far.

another year...

wow...this has been a slow project.

The car is running!
I gave up on the 20vt dream, or at least postponed it. I decided that having a running/driving 10v is better than nothing, so i finished putting it together and installed it.

The only real problem was the head bolts. The 20v head studs i bought were the wrong thread pitch, so I ruined the stock threads when I "chased" them with the tap for the 20v studs. $500 worth of time-serts and an hour of work fixed the problem, but a painful lesson to learn. (don't trust parts distributors, do your own homework and testing)

Took the car for a spin (she started right up after install...horray) Power steering pump started complaining immediately, speedo, fuel gauge, and coolant temp gauge all not moving. rad fans don't turn on, driver's CV joint is really noisy, and one brake light is out, but that's not a terribly long list for a car last driving 3 years ago.

A year since my last post...

It's been a rough year, and my car projects have taken a back seat.
I'm back to work on the eurovan, i've collected a pile of parts.
Today I tried to install the head, only to find that the ARP head studs were too short. Apparently the threads in the block are deeper (the block is taller than a regular 10v) so I have to find some longer ones.
Aparently BMW 3.5L inline 6 head bolts will work...we'll see about that.

Besides the failed head install, I did pressure wash the tranny on my driveway...I'm sure the nieghbors hate that.

Machine Shop Done

After 2 weeks at the machine shop, they are finally done. It's not their fault however. I 'misplaced' one of the rods. It only took them 1 day after I found it to finish the work.
Ramco Machine in SLC does good work. They get all my machine work jobs. They like the variety of 4 and 5 cyl motors we take them, compared to the V8's they work on most of the time :)

Bodykit Pchop

I don't really like the new audi front end. But I think it could look cool on a van. So I made this.
It needs some more work, but i like where it's headed.

the plan

Here's the quick pchop I did when I bought my 93 VW Eurovan MV. Dead Sexy.
I bought it with a dead motor (coolant hose blew, kept on driving)
So far i've pulled the motor, found/rebuilt a head, bought forged pistons, found a audi 10v turbo and manifold, and aquired a VEMS genboard v3 for engine management.



Left to do:
Rebuild motor
VW Blackmagic paint
Airbag Suspension
19" Axis Milano wheels (falken koblenz in the pic, but i allready bought the axis)
Leather seats (probably audi silver)
Custom body kit

Finally Arrived...

After waiting for a month and a half, my forged pistons are here.

soo shiny!

Now it's off to the machine shop with the pistons, rods, crank and block. The block is being bored to 83mm. The rods need to be bushed, and the whole assy balanced.