Nina's 20vt swap

Engine picture

2011-06-11T21:18:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about it and I don't think I have posted a picture of the engine bay in running condition.

I spent today working on getting the Race Technology dash running better. You have to tell it what every channel coming into is, what you want it called, and where to display the info. While I was working on getting the fuel sender functioning I realized that I had made a mistake in the wiring for it. Apparently there is some functionality in the original gauge that gets lost when you remove the cluster. I had to add in a pull up resistor and change the reserve fuel circuit a bit, but it is functioning now. I will calibrate the dash on that circuit tomorrow. I also want to move the fuel pump and fan relay circuits onto the vems tomorrow. Then I can control when they come on an off from within the computer. I'll leave in the override switches, never know when I might need one again.

Event pics

2011-06-09T20:49:00.000-05:00

Well I had fun. The car doesn't handle like I want so before we add any more power to it we will have to do some suspension work. I figured I would put up a few event pics though, you know just to prove that it is really running. The fist one is for Marc to show off the nice EFI Express stickers and the second is for me.

I never had the car smoke the tires coming out of a corner before! After we do the suspension work and add some nice sticky tires it just might be a rocket ship.

Loaded up

2011-06-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

Just sharing a pic of the car with some stickers applied loaded on the trailer. Tomorrow will be her return to the autox track. I don't expect anything magical to happen since there is lots left to do. Right now we are not using electronic boost control so we are limited to mechanical control. I also will change the wiring of the fan and fuel pump circuits so that vems has control over them. Wild guess that we are running about half the horsepower that I would like, but you gotta start somewhere and she needs a shake down cruise. I need to see how the car tracks with the current boost curve. Hope it not to laggy for what I need. It sure is fun on the highway though.

Ramblings

2011-05-27T08:14:00.000-05:00

I have done quite a bit recently. Once you get the motor to run you begin to find all the short comings of all the powered systems. I had a couple of fluid leaks that I had to fix. There was a small vacuum leak on the mounting flange of the throttle body relocator that was fixed by honing that surface true. I had forgot to switch the two pins on the secondary crank trigger. That results in intermittent misfiring that makes the wideband read full lean all the time. I can't say enough about Marc with EFIExpress. His support of the VEMS has been outstanding and he really knows the system inside and out. Thanks Marc! The tune is pretty good for sitting still so to get to more of the cells I will have to start driving it. That being said I need to get seats and belts installed today. I'll keep plugging away at this thing, but I think we're out of the woods now. Lots left to do though before its over.

I figured that everyone has been waiting for this...

2011-05-24T18:59:00.000-05:00

Well we got it started! For sure there is much left to do, but it runs. She's really rich in the video. I have a wideband issue to sort out before I can tune, but I still can't believe that it runs.

Last of the turbo plumbing

2011-05-21T22:57:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of what I was describing before.

Supplemental power

2011-05-18T14:13:00.001-05:00

I should have seen this coming. When it comes down to it there isn't really enough fuse slots to reuse for the engine transplant. I'd hate to pile a lot more onto the dme relay, since they can already be problems. I just got in a seven circuit fuse panel to support some of the stuff in the car. Installing it and doing the last wiring bits is on the plate for tomorrow. There will be pictures of this also.

Exhaust assisted CCV is done

2011-05-18T14:06:00.001-05:00

This whole bit here may have to be changed depending on the class I race in. They still haven't decided if it is legal or not. Anyway it is pretty simple. You collect gases from the port on the back of the head and the block, they pass through a filter of sorts (i used a pro vent), and then they go into the exhaust pipe. The whole purpose is to not put oil vapor into the intake and maybe get some negative pressure into the crankcase. Who knows how effective it really is, but we're trying it out.

Power Steering is done!

2011-05-18T13:57:00.001-05:00

That pretty much said it all. Hopefully it works right with the recirculation and all. I'll drop some pics in so you can see where everything ended up.

Turbo plumbing

2011-05-18T13:53:00.001-05:00

I finished up the turbo plumbing, to include the air filter/connecting pipe and the boost control solenoid. I made the intake pipe from a 4"drawn aluminum elbow. It took a bit of cutting, fitting, and rewelding but it worked out pretty well. To preserve all the space I could I removed a section of the turbo inlet and installed provisions for a v-band clamp. I'll drop some pics in here when I can.

Lots new

2011-05-16T08:12:00.001-05:00

I have done a lot of stuff to the car recently, working on it just about every spare second that I have. Last night I actually cracked the motor over for the first time.

Thermostat housing adapter

2011-03-28T19:47:00.000-05:00

This one took some tinkering to get right, but its finally finished. All of the hoses are the original Porsche ones. I went that route because they were all new and hopefully I will remember what they came from in the future.

You can see that it passes very close to the water pump. I had to make it in this manner so that the alternator (which isn't installed in this pic) will have enough room to move around just to the right of the pipe. It's adjustment arm travels over the water pipe to the mount by the cam sync sensor (not installed in the picture either).

Here is a little different angle. The AAN comes with a composite thermostat housing, this one is off of a 7a I think, but it could have been an older motor. I got lots of parts like this from Force 5 Salvage. You can google them if you need some bits.

Bellhousing finished

2011-03-28T19:38:00.000-05:00

I wanted to show the final version of the bellhousing. It is ready to be installed in these pictures.

All the lines are -3AN. The supply line goes through the original fork hole and the bleed line goes through an opening that I made.

One shot from the rear face. The lines are braided stainless with a teflon jacket, but I put some rubber hose around them for protection where they pass through the bellhousing.

This is a closeup of the boss that I fabbed for the bleed line to pass through. It was made from some 120" thick aluminum tubing and welded into place.

Intake system

2011-03-28T19:29:00.000-05:00

So, I know I have touched on this area before, this will wrap up the first try at this. I really want to get one of the Porsche manifolds and reverse it like I have seen on the web, but this should get us going.

This is a top down view of finished throttle body relocator. The red wheel you see on the TB is from the Porsche TB. I originally got it from Lindsey Racing. The shaft of the Audi TB is slightly larger so I reamed the hole slightly, removed the Audi bits and installed the Porsche unit. A small hole in the cable wheel allows you to install a bolt to keep the wheel from spinning on the TB shaft in an undesired manner.

Here you can see the bolt I was talking about. The small gold wheel used to change the cable direction is actually for a shower door. It has sealed bearings and seems to be a good fit for the application. Lots of goosing the throttle has yet to make the cable come off the wheel, but I'm still concerned that this may need some attention.

This is showing the room we now have between the brake master cylinder and the intake. I used the stock 944 cable and didn't modify anything else in the system to get it to function again.

Fuel System

2011-03-28T19:15:00.000-05:00

So the rest of the fuel system is in place as pictured below.

Here is the front of the EFI Express rail, you can see that the forward lifting point is going to be in the way. I bought another lifting point and modified it. I removed the lifting eye, moved the mount for the cam position sensor down and added an attachment point for the alternator adjustment.

Here is a view from the front with the new 630 cc injectors. The braided lines attach to the stock hard lines in the passenger wheel well.

This one shows the location of the Aeromotive FPR. In the upper left you can see the LS series coil pack replacement units that I sourced from EFI Express. They are located where the heating and a/c unit used to live. A little hole cut through the sheet metal lets the coil leads pass from the motor straight to the coils.

Slacker

2011-03-25T06:15:00.002-05:00

I know I have been slacking....a lot on the blog, but lots of updates are coming so check back. The time to start it up is getting close.

Arghh

2011-02-03T07:18:00.000-06:00

I can't get anything done with this weather. So I surfed the net for a bit and found a funny video about a 5 cylinder engine and had to share this one.

More Bellhousing

2010-12-31T14:08:00.000-06:00

Okay so I got the adapter back and have fitted it to the bellhousing, so lets check it out.

Below you can see the assembly bolted in place. I'm going to route the supply line through the hole that the 931 clutch fork came through, so the bearing journal is going to be in the way.

A die grinder made short work of that job and now there should be plenty of room for the hose with a 45 degree end on it to attach to the bearing.

Adapter is back in place minus the bolts. I used a marker to show that the bolts that hold this in place will be under the bearing, so I used counter sunk 8mm cap screws. The OEM bolts here are 7mm, but I couldn't find any counter sunk cap screws in that size.

Finally here is the bearing back on top, there should be plenty of room for the hose now. Be sure to blend out the marks from the die grinder. Aside from possibly cutting the hose they could give a crack a place to start.

Things on the horizon

2010-12-29T18:46:00.000-06:00

I have been over and over what I should do about instrumentation. I like how easy it is to read analog gauges and have to say that I like how they look also. However I think that going digital just makes more sense. There are many different digital systems to choose from. You can spend weeks looking into this subject, I know I have. So I promised myself that I would just go with the Race Technologies Dash2 and DL1 data logger. One of the main factors for choosing this one is that it can read info from the VEMS and log it. Most of the others won't. Along with this will be a fiberglass replacement dash probably from Broadfoot racing, also a rollbar setup that can become a full cage if need be. Most likely I will go with the unit from Hanksvillehotrods. It welds in with lots of different options. I still need two OEM cup II rims that are 9 inches wide and probably a set of Sparco harnesses.

Final clutch parts

2010-12-29T18:33:00.000-06:00

Hopefully the last of the clutch parts will be done tomorrow. I feel like this portion of the build is holding up the whole of everything else. I have pretty much totally replaced the whole clutch system with Tilton products. Probably about 1300 usd not counting the flywheel. Painful for the pocket book, but hopefully it removes the growing pains. The clutch is a twin disk unit, I went with the 61-802 throwout bearing, and will order the 75-750u master cylinder after I measure what length hydro lines that I need. The part that I am waiting on is the adapter plate to mount the throwout bearing into the bellhousing. The machinist is also truing the turbo manifold and making some alignment pins for me.

Now you don't have to have all the parts that I have used. I'm sure that the original master cylinder would work with the right fittings. The threads in the end of it are m12 x 1.00 FYI. Your stuck with switching to a hydro bearing although there are many to choose from, and there are a lot of clutch options out there if you are creative with mixing and matching. You could probably do it cheaply for about 3-400. My route will be more like 2k with the flywheel and all thrown in.

EFIExpress Chevy coil swap

2010-12-29T18:16:00.000-06:00

I haven't even heard this motor run yet, hopefully it does. Anyway without knowing the service history of it I figured I would just replace the ignition system in an attempt to avoid some problems in the future. If your 944 isn't gutted like mine you will have to find another location for the coils than were I plan to place them. Just by laying the sparkplugs out it looks like they will reach this location fine. On first look I think I will run the supporting wiring to the VEMS through the grommet that the heating units low speed resistors got their power from. It's located above the battery just behind the vacuum reservoir. I'm waiting to get the motor back in before I move too much farther with this portion of the project. The big plate under the coils is covering the hole where the heating and a/c unit used to be.

Flywheel Sync Pin

2010-12-29T18:03:00.000-06:00

When I ordered the 034 flywheel there was some concern over whether or not the pin that triggers the VR sensor would be in the correct place for use with the VEMS system. To me it sounds like the VEMS ecu requires the pin to be more precisely located than the stock ecu requires. The failure mode is basically a non start condition. The computer requires the Camsync and VR reference pin to both be seen at specific locations before the motor will start. Marc at EFIExpress educated me on how to check if your pin will be close enough, so I'll pass this on to you guys. This is simple enough if I understood it correctly.

Below you are looking at the camsync hall sensor (the flashlight is shining on it). It's easy to find, just follow the wiring. We are concerned with the dark area behind it, which is a cutout in the perimeter of the disk behind the cam sprocket.

Below you are looking at the left most sensor (it is pointed between the flywheel and block, not at the starter teeth). This sensor is the one that the pin will pass by. Roll your motor over clockwise like it was running. When the pin is centered on the VR sensor go to the front and check the placement of the window behind the camsync sensor. If your sensor is in the window your golden, if its about 180 degrees off give the motor another full revolution and recheck, if its not 180 degrees out but not in the window either then your pin is in the wrong location (you'll have to correct this before the motor will start).

Bell housing

2010-11-24T06:10:00.000-06:00

I am working with the bell housing now. The spacer plate and bell housing have been welded together. There are a couple of areas that I'm reinforcing by adding material. The area that the starter goes through will get a cover made for it. I still have to cut away a portion of the spacer plate to allow for the rpm and position sensors to pass through. There is also the original 931 starter boss that needs a cover made.
The steel coolant line that runs the length of the drivers side of the block has been modified to remove the provisions for the turbo cooling pump. The aluminum water manifold just under the intake manifold still has to be dealt with as it has two passages for the turbo pump that need to be blocked. Looks like I will just weld them closed also.
The oilpan is resealed and torqued down. I've got a new timing set to install, make an adapter for the hydraulic through out bearing and I think the motor can probably go back in. We'll see what else crops up that needs attention.

Its getting colder again

2010-10-29T04:37:00.000-05:00

I don't care for cold weather much and its headed this way again. That also means that we have passed the one year mark since the motor was pulled. I was hoping to have it done before now, but oh well. I turned on the lights over the week end and everything on the rear of the car was working. The front still has everything removed for now. Hopefully the wiring is pretty much done chassis wise. The motor is coming back out this weekend hopefully for the last time before we try to start it. While that is out I'm having the turbo overhauled, installing the clutch parts, pulling the head (to have a peak at the cylinder conditions), and some general house keeping.

Interior shot

2010-10-11T20:25:00.000-05:00

WTH, my interior fell out. Well I bit the bullet and decided the best way to make it faster is to loose some weight so she's going on a diet. There won't be much left when I'm done. Right now I am neck deep in the wiring. Hope this works out, LOL.

Progress picture

2010-09-16T19:55:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture as it stands tonight. I have to finish up the IAC plumbing, but you couldn't see that in this picture anyway.

Oil Cooler

2010-09-13T20:50:00.000-05:00

Okay last weekend I got the brackets for the oil cooler made and welded into the car, the hoses are made and the whole mess is installed. That took a while. I spent a lot of time just staring at it until I settled on the final spot for all the parts. I'll put a pic up shortly. I cut the end of the turbo housing off and welled in a bit of a bend so that it is angled towards the intercooler properly. There is a 7a thermostat housing on the way so I can fabricate the neck that I need. The AAN neck is plastic, where the 7a is aluminum. So keep that in mind if you will need to change this part. Maybe if I'm lucky all of the stock radiator hoses from the 944 will hook right up to this motor. I also started on the bracket to locate the IAC valve, but my allergies got so bad I had to go lay down. That sucked and tomorrow I head out of town for work. Oh and there is only one hose left to make and the fuel system will be finished. I will have to post those pics also. Lots has been getting done, except for posting on the blog.

New Seats

2010-09-13T20:41:00.000-05:00

I ran across a good deal on some brand new Sparco Evo seats that were being sold on Craigslist. We actually took them out of the bubble wrap for the first time so I could check them out. The seller has a nice BMW track car that I got to check out while we were talking. Thanks again if your reading this! Now I'll just have to pick up some brackets.

Power Steering Ressy

2010-09-13T20:37:00.000-05:00

There is a nice place to put the res for the power steering on the drivers side of the engine bay. That places it above the pump and behind the swaybar bushings, so hopefully my days of bad bushings are numbered. I carefully removed the mount from the passenger side wheel well, cut some parts off of it, added some new parts, and now it bolts to two unused holes that already existed in the drivers side shock tower.

Throttle body relocator

2010-08-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

I'm sure that I mentioned at some point in the past that I would have to do something about the brake master cylinder hitting the throttle body. I have debated on many different ways of doing this, but went with one of the simplest ways that I had come up with. I simply made a new section of tubing to move the throttle body more to the center of the car. It also aligns it with the intercooler so that I only have to use a short straight piece to connect the two of them. And this was the first true test of the TIG unit to see if it was really working. I had to open up the power output selector and manually move the contactors into the AC position, but after I did that it worked great. The weak link was me, like usual. I took a few practice welds on some scrap and then just went for it. Since that worked, I will be able to reinstall the original braking components for now and leave that upgrade until later. Here is the pic of the new tubing.

Its not polished or anything yet, but functionally done. The brake parts that are visible are from the s6, so just ignore them. As an unexpected bonus I think that the position is now correct to use the stock 944 throttle cable...maybe. I also got a couple more oil lines made, picked the location for the oil cooler, mounted and plumbed the oil filter relocator, changed some belts in my mom's car, and replaced the gears in the Corvette's headlight motors. Its been a busy weekend, but next week has a three day long one!

Clutch Arrived!

2010-08-28T07:58:00.000-05:00

I finally got the clutch in. It sure looks nice. All this time we had been waiting on Tilton to make the disks. I ordered all of these parts through Marc at EFI Express. He has been a lot of help and I'm sure he will be glad when I get this done so I'll leave him alone. Here are a couple of pictures of the clutch though.

I'm heading to the garage to get started again.

Intake hoses

2010-08-12T18:42:00.000-05:00

Here is a pic of some silicon hoses that I ordered online. They look like quality parts, I just wish the colors of the two pieces matched each other better. Kind of disappointing. Oh well they should work fine. I'm pretty sure that I have repaired the TIG welder. The last of the new parts should be in tomorrow and I'll give it a shot on some steel this weekend. Monday my Argon bottle should show up and in about a week I should have the aluminum elbow in for the throttle body relocator. Moving that a bit should allow me to retain the stock brake setup.

Mondays

2010-08-09T05:24:00.000-05:00

I worked on the car yesterday for a bit. I'd been working on the TIG welder trying to figure out why it doesn't work. I found a dead contactor for the main transformer. Hopefully I can still get parts for this old thing.
The VEMS is so small that it easily fits where the stock ECU was (in the passenger floor board). I was surprised to see that they didn't put any kind of mounting points onto the casing. However it is easy to mount the VEMS by cutting a slot into the factory mount and using a large band clamp to secure it into position.
I also cut out the end plates for the throttle body relocator. I expect the tubing to arrive next week so I will have to get that welder running.

Still here

2010-08-03T20:22:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a bit. It's been hectic here. Work has me out of town during the week and we've been racing the Corvette during the weekends. As a side note I won the ASP class at our divisional event against a Nissan GTR. I didn't know if I could pull that off or not. Last weekend, at a local event, I finally beat a guy that I have been chasing for a long time. It was a very tight race with 503 thousands of a second separating us at the end of it. I don't think I will be as lucky next time so some extra effort will be in order.

Okay so the state of the car is disassembled. Now that is nothing new! I made the turbo return line. The braided stainless looks nice. Actually they are very easy to assemble. I was into making the turbo feed line when I discovered that there isn't room for the fittings that I bought, putting a 90 degree elbow in there should solve the problem. I dismantled the Audi harness into all of its individual parts and cleaned it all up. I'm pretty sure that the intake plumbing is sorted and its parts are to be on order shortly and we're waiting for another round of hose parts to arrive at MC Racing for pickup. I moved an old TIG welder that I have to the project side of the shop, hopefully it functions because I've never hooked it up even though I've had it about 5 years. I don't like the idea of having to find a different one or farm out the TIG work, after all this is a learning experience also.

Not cool

2010-07-22T18:55:00.000-05:00

Well I have a mid divisional event this weekend that we'll run the Corvette in so I decided to put fresh tires on her. While the passenger side rear was off I found this.

We replaced all of the rotors within the last month when we switched it to Hawk HP+ brake pads. Luckily I had kept the old ones to be safe....really I just hadn't taken them to the trash yet. So I would give Wagner Corvette rotors a big thumbs down. On the other hand though I would give the Hawk brake pads a huge thumbs up! If you aren't wearing a seat belt when you press the brakes you'll be going through the windshield.

Parts are arriving

2010-07-21T18:40:00.000-05:00

Well most of the oil system parts list is here, but a couple are back ordered. Like a lot of other parts that I have chosen it seems like you have to be patient for them to show up. All of the clutch parts are still on hold thanks to a shortage of Tilton 944 rally pack disks. The VEMS is here and I have started to go through the wiring. Not to bad so far, but I haven't gotten very far either. The EFIExpress fuel rail is in and looks to be pretty nice, I should go out and see if it fits.

Anniversary

2010-07-14T04:50:00.000-05:00

I've been posting info to the site for a year now. Doesn't seem like that long to me, but I bet most of you want me to get this thing finished. My clutch plates from Tilton won't be back in stock for at least 3 weeks, so we will work on the wiring and finish up the fuel system as soon as the package from EFIExpress gets here.

Oil System Shopping List

2010-07-06T18:32:00.000-05:00

Since some of you may be interested in the actual part numbers, here is the shopping list that I sent out to get quotes on. The blue items were ordered from 034Motorsports. The rest of them are being quoted. Hopefully there aren't any errors, but I won't be able to tell you until I assemble everything.

1.      Turbo oil lines
    a.      Return line
        i.     T3 Turbo Drain Flange with -10AN / x2 / 034 motorsport / upper and lower ends use the garret t3 flange
        ii.     T3 T4 Oil Return Flange Gasket / x2 / 034 motorsport
        iii.     Fragola #104510BL / x1 / -10 45° HOSE ENDS-BENT TUBE
        iv.     Fragola #70010 (bulk/ft) / 19” / -10 Series 3000 SS Hose
        v.     Fragola #100110BL / x1 / -10 STRAIGHT HOSE END
    b.      Supply line
        i.     KKK Oil Inlet Flange Kit / x1 / 034 motorsport
        ii.     Fragola #497306BL / x1 / -4 Nut X -6 Male SWIVEL FLARE EXPANDER
        iii.     Fragola # 104506BL / x2 / -6 45° HOSE ENDS-BENT TUBE
        iv.     Fragola #703006 (bulk/ft) / 24” / -6 Series 3000 SS Hose
        v.     Fragola #491953BL / x1 / METRIC ADAPTER -6 12 X 1.5
        vi.     Fragola #999212 / x1 / 12mm crush washer
2.      Remote oil filter
    a.      Permacool 1711 / x1 / Summitracing
    b.      Fragola #481610BL / x4 / -10 X 1/2” MPT STRAIGHT ADAPTER
    c.      Fragola #100110BL / x4 / -10 STRAIGHT HOSE END
    d.      Fragola #70010 (bulk/ft) / 30” / -10 Series 3000 SS Hose
3.      Oil cooler
    a.      21300AERL / x1 / Summitracing / 13 Row Oil Cooler -10 AN
    b.      Fragola #461018BL / x2 / METRIC ADAPTER -10 18 X 1.5
    c.      Fragola #999218 / x1 / 18mm crush washer
    d.      Aeromotive #15608 - / x2 / ORB 10 AN-10 Male Flare Fitting
    e.      Fragola #109010BL / x2 / -10 90° HOSE ENDS-BENT TUBE
    f.       Fragola #104510BL / x2 / -10 45° HOSE ENDS-BENT TUBE
    g.      Fragola #700010 (bulk/ft) / 64” / -10 Series 3000 SS Hose

More items completed

2010-07-06T18:15:00.000-05:00

The whole exhaust is complete now from the front to the back. I sat down and figured out all the plumbing to complete the oil system, sent out some emails and I'm waiting for the quotes to come back. I had hoped that I could reuse the oil cooler from the S6, but I don't know what kind of fittings that it uses. So if anybody needs a good cooler and lines let me know. Anyway I have located a nice replacement that uses AN lines. The oil system changed a little from before, because it now retains the stock filter housing. I really wanted to keep the thermostatically controlled oil cooler part. Hooking up the cooling system shouldn't be too hard from my assessment. I'll have to make one pipe to move fluid from the lower port on the block to the lower port on the radiator. I have the stainless inbound for that task. There are some other problems in the cooling system to work out since the new turbo isn't water cooled, but they are nothing to write about for now. Pretty sure that all of the parts are inline for the power steering system. Hopefully removing the restrictor in the brake stage of the p/s pump will allow it to circulate without aerating the fluid. We'll just have to try and see on that one. It looks like the S6 power steering cooler will mount nicely into the front of the car after making a couple of new brackets and I believe that I can relocate the original Porsche p/s reservoir bracket to the drivers side shock tower to hold the original reservoir over the pump. The only real problem is the intake plumbing. It is doable a couple of ways I am just trying to make the final decision.

Great Vendor

2010-06-25T05:38:00.000-05:00

I have gotten a lot of great parts, technical advise, and service from Marc Swanson at EFIExpress. Hopefully you'll remember him next time you need something. If you are building your own exhaust he is the only place I have found to get the headside exhaust flange made from normal steel and if it isn't on the website give him a call because he probably has it anyway.

Next week

2010-06-24T04:58:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't been posting a lot lately. Its gets really busy at the end of every quarter at work, but next week I will be on vacation with lots of parts at the house to install. I still have some exhaust work to do, but everything is here. On the way is the VEMS computer and multi-disk clutch assy. If I make it through all of that I can plumb the coolant system. So there should be some good times on the way.

Accessory Bracket

2010-06-13T08:30:00.000-05:00

I went and picked up the bracket this week and snapped a couple of pics for everyone. Hopefully with the pictures that are already up and these you can see how it all works.

This one is the side profile. If we start on the left side of the picture and move to the right we have the top mounting bolt, alternator boss, 2 mounting bolts, idler pulley support, and power steering bosses.

Here is what you would see from the front of the motor. The left most part curves to match the side of the block.

Well I'm going to go see what I can get done of the exhaust this morning.

Update

2010-06-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the really brief update, but work is really keeping me busy for the moment. I finished the accessory bracket and it is at the powder coaters, pictures will follow. The VEMS computer and clutch assy are on order. I think you guys will like the clutch. It's going to be on the outer limit for a street car, but I want as much acceleration potential as possible. A new dash system will follow shortly. I think that most of the major systems are coming together now. I need to build the exhaust and work on the plumbing layout for the p/s system next. Later

Rainy autocross

2010-05-17T21:37:00.000-05:00

The event on Sunday was in great weather. It was fun like always only this time I took my brother-in-law offroading in the Corvette. The people who saw it said we made a great splash. Check it out for yourself.

Accessory bracket

2010-05-17T20:29:00.000-05:00

Well the accessory bracket is pretty much done. It holds the alternator and power steering pump nicely. I tried to keep the weight low in the car and put the pump at the bottom so it doesn't leak into the alternator. Hopefully the Audi one doesn't leak like the Porsche system does. I had a local guy machine a mounting boss for the idler pulley that you can see in the pictures and then welded it into the bracket. The power steering pump uses three bolts to hold it in like the original Audi mount used and the alternator uses a lower pivot and the adjuster from the Porsche engine. I had to shorten the adjuster 2.5 inches to make it usable. Just cut of the nut on one side, cut the tube down to size and weld the nut back on. The two rod ends needed about .5 inches removed from each end also. The engine side mount for the adjuster is welded to the bottom of the lifting eye that bolts to the cylinder head. I don't think I will have any problems with belt squeal, hopefully. Soon I will drop it by the powder coater and post pics of the bracket by itself.

Saturdays progress

2010-05-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

I added the alternator's pivot point to the bracket and decided that I will surely need to have an idler roller involved to minimize belt squeal. So after scrounging around in my local parts store I found a roller that looks suitable. I just finished drawing up some plans for a spacer bushing that I will need to get the pulley mounted. Hopefully I can get them dropped by a machine shop this week. I'm trying to keep things kind of modular so that if a part fails I can redesign without major work. Hopefully the first design is adequate. Yea right. LOL.

Sundays effort

2010-05-02T19:49:00.000-05:00

Well today I finished installing the new fuel pump. Hopefully the new foam sealing strip that I installed will keep some of the crud out of the pump's cavity. All said I was not the happiest with the fit of the 044 pump. Don't get me wrong, it will work fine, but you can tell that the space was designed for a different pump. So with that project down I moved back to the front of the car and made a bracket for the power steering pump. I'm using the pump and alternator from the Audi so that the belts will not be an issue. I've heard that the 7a motor has a v-belt setup so you could use the Porsche pump and alternator if you'd like, you just need to source the correct harmonic balancer. Hopefully there won't be any issues will pump output volumes or pressures, but if they crop up I'll let you know. It would be doable to fit the pulley from the Audi pump onto the Porsche pump with a little work. I have to get a steel tube to make the alternator bracket and then I will post some pictures like normal. I have both units mounted as low as possible on the drivers side. There was quite a bit of room in that area. My only concern now is routing of the lower radiator hose. Some sort of custom hard line may be in order.

Fuel system parts

2010-04-29T17:34:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of most of the fuel system parts. You can see the 044 pump, new filter, deka 4 630cc injectors, aeromotive AFPR, and other associated parts. Not pictured is the fuel rail (still waiting for it to be made), tank filter (already installed), and some hoses and fittings (waiting on the rail so I get the right parts). You can see the AN 120 degree elbow on the end of the pump that adapts the pump to the tanks line size.

More Relaxing

2010-04-25T08:20:00.000-05:00

This was my fastest lap from last Saturday. I'm becoming a lot more comfortable in this car.

Fuel Tank

2010-04-25T08:14:00.000-05:00

I pulled the fuel tank down yesterday to look for a leak. The car has always seemed to have a fuel smell inside. It ended up that at some point in the past a sub-woofer was mounted to the back deck with screws that went into the gas tank. When I got the car, I cleaned out everything that I didn't like, to include the sub mounts. I can remember that those screws were about 2 and a half inches long. So anyway I fixed the holes, checked all the lines and reinstalled the tank. I got a great deal on a 044 pump so I went with it instead of the HV pump that I discussed earlier. When taking the old pump off the hose clamp that connects the tank line to the pump just fell off. It was completely consumed by corrosion.... glad I found that! Now I am missing a piece of plumbing though, because the 044 doesn't have the same type of outlet port that the stock and HV pumps do. That's alright as I needed to order a new filter, new tank pick up, and compression fittings to convert the hard lines to AN lines up front. I'm still waiting for the new fuel rail to become available from EFI Express. That should be the last piece of the fuel system to acquire and then I can check that one off of the to-do list. Well I think that I will head back to the garage and find some more trouble to get into, maybe some wiring.

Relaxing on the weekend

2010-04-13T05:03:00.001-05:00

We got one of the gopro hd camera's and I put it on the window of Jenn's car to see how it did autocrossing last weekend. I'm pretty happy with it, the camera and my run. Hopefully I processed it correctly so that it looks very nice on everyone's computer. Have a good one. Lots of fuel system parts are on the way!

Exhaust manifold part 4

2010-04-04T18:58:00.000-05:00

Still not completely finished, but I was checking the fit and figured I might as well snap a couple of pics. The first are just some of the manifold laying on the floor.

Here are a couple showing how it is fitting into the engine compartment. Looks like I will have plenty of hood clearance. Although I wonder if it will bake the paint off of the hood. I might add some heat shielding to counter that. I will definitely have to add some shielding to protect the timing belt. The hot side is really close to it.

Once I get done fiddling with the finish of it I will have to get the exhaust flange resurfaced to get rid of a little warping that occurred from welding it all up.

Update.

2010-04-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

Briefly, I wanted to update everyone that the manifold is virtually done. It is just some cosmetic stuff left because I want it to be pretty. LOL. Our Corvette has been giving me fits since last weekend so I have been focused on that so we can run it at an event this weekend. Nothing major is wrong, just an electrical gremlin in the steering column causing the fuel to cut out over 2mph. The parts are inbound, and I think I can get back to the manifold now. Hopefully everyone isn't too bored yet.

Exhaust manifold part 3

2010-03-23T20:40:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on it, mostly just blending welds trying to get a seamless look. Just a lot of unnecessary work, but I don't want it to look like a turd when I'm finished either. I'll keep on top of the progress reports.

Exhaust Manifold part2

2010-03-14T17:31:00.000-05:00

Well I didn't get done, but I am so tired I can't see straight anymore. The only part left is the transition from the end of the manifold to the turbo flange. The wastegate and rest of the manifold is completed and fully welded. I think I'll pick up some metal this week for the transition piece and then it will just need to be cleaned up. There isn't much room for the holset, but they are huge compared to a stock turbo. Overall a manifold isn't hard to make. The hardest part is making the end of the round tubing fit the rectangular T3 flange.

Exhaust Manifold

2010-03-10T18:58:00.000-06:00

I am making progress on the manifold. I decided to go with a log style do to the limited room available. It exits towards the front of the engine and will place the turbo at the right front corner of the car. Since the body of the turbo is so large I had to remove the power steering reservoir bracket as well as the one for the headlight motor. I guess that means I'm converting to fixed headlights. I don't mind really as I was pondering that move to get rid of more weight. I'm planning to use a full 3" exhaust from the turbo back and its looking like I will have the room. The exhaust will sort of travel over the manifold while the wastegate pipe travels under the manifold reconnecting just above the starter. All of the guestimations have been accurate so far. If the success holds out I may have the time to get the manifold all assembled by the weekend.

Picture contest is over

2010-03-03T18:40:00.002-06:00

Thanks to everyone who voted! However we didn't win. Guess I will have to keep my day job...lol.

Motor mounts are back

2010-02-27T09:03:00.001-06:00

I picked up the motor mounts from the powder coater earlier this week. The one that appears to be shorter is for the passenger side. Like I said before the drivers side needs a spacer at the engine in order to use a flat plate. You could also contour the plate on the engine side to get rid of the spacer, but that makes attaching the tube for the cross member more difficult. Fitment on the passenger side is really close to the starter. I didn't actually try to pack it in this tight, but it will leave plenty of room for the 3" exhaust. Fitment on the drivers side is good also with plenty of room for the steering shaft.
To make these I made tracings of the original AAN mount by gluing card stock to them and cutting it with a ball peen hammer. The same way you would make a custom gasket. Then just move the patterns to some .250" plate steel and cut them out. I created the feet with some paper and a compass while watching television. Transfer the pattern to some .250" plate steel and cut them out. Next I mounted all the pieces and positioned the motor with an engine hoist. Using PVC pipe that was close to the size of my tubing I made some mock ups. Its really fast to work and cheap to start over if it doesn't work out. After that you just recreate them with your .120" chromoly tube and weld it all together. It doesn't take any special equipment other than a welder to do this, just some patience. Now I can drop the motor back in and start the exhaust manifold.

Fund Raiser Alert!!!

2010-02-26T19:44:00.001-06:00

Okay this may seem weird, but just to the right of this post at the top of the sidebar is a link to a photo contest that I entered. That great picture of Nina that you can see was taken by my wife Jenn. Top prize in the contest is 1000 dollars! That will buy a few more pieces for this project. So if you would, click the link and vote for us. BTW you can vote once a day until 5PM central US time on the 1st of March. Thanks!

Oil Pan Finished

2010-02-11T18:49:00.000-06:00

The oil pan is back from the powder coater. I have to say that I am pleased with the outcome. Hopefully my baffles will be adequate to combat starvation at high g loads. If need be I may add a Accusump system, but I will give it a go without one first. No sense in adding unnecessary parts. I sloped it slightly from front to back to aid in drain back. The bottom of the front portion is within .500" of the front cross member The bottom of the sump doesn't hang down more than .500" below the front cross member. The donor pan was from a 3b motor and the rest was fabbed from .070" sheet stock The bottom portion is made from 13 individual pieces of material. The whole pan was assembled and then welded inside and out. The outside was then ground down for a nicer finish. So check out the pics. I don't have measurements on this part. I just fabbed as I went along but basically tried to maximize the volume of the pan an ended up with a shape that resembles the Porsche unit. I guess those guys did their homework. Sump capacity is right at seven quarts, on par with the Porsche pan. If you add in the remote filter and cooler system I will probably be pushing 9 quart system capacity I would guess.

Clutch problems

2010-01-30T10:15:00.000-06:00

I have been researching clutch options lately. I really want to set the car up with a twin disk unit, but it looks like the flywheel will have to be custom machined. That equates to some serious dollars for a chunk of steel. It just baffles me that I can't find someone that makes a flywheel for this application. If I decide to go with the twin disk unit it will most likely be a Quarter Master 7.25" unit. On the other hand I could use a Fidanza aluminum flywheel and something like a Southbend clutch. If someone knows where to get a flywheel for the minidisk, please drop me a line. I know that there are plenty of lower budget alternatives to make it work, but I'm looking for a fast revving engine to get the turbo spooled up as quickly as possible. Sure I'm going to sacrifice some drive-ability with either setup, but this isn't a DD car either. I'll keep searching and post the results.

Tial parts arrive

2010-01-30T10:06:00.000-06:00

I wanted to show off the awesome parts that arrived this week courtesy of my new friend John O'Connell at the Turbo Center in St.Louis. Seems that they are a full service turbo shop located in my home state. They can rebuild, balance, and fab up parts for your turbo system. I wouldn't have known about them at all, but luckily when I called Tial looking for a distributor they gave me their phone number. If your looking for competitive pricing in the Midwest and great service give them a call at (314) 481-3778. I was really surprised by the packaging. I'm not sure what I expected, but I was impressed. The parts are really nice looking also, hopefully they perform just as well. BTW the wastegate is the newer Tial MV-S and the BOV is the Tial Q. Here are a few pics.

Now I need to return to the shop and finish the oil pan today.

Oil pump pickup tube

2010-01-24T17:35:00.000-06:00

The pickup tube is complete. I ended up using parts from two pickup assemblies and some new tubing also. I didn't want to have so many joints in it, but I don't have a bender for this size of tubing. When you make this take your time and make sure that it follows the windage tray closely so it doesn't hit the shallow pan. I didn't care for the amount of tube that extended past the point for the braces so I added in a piece of strap to protect the assembly from vibration. Hopefully this design is adequate because if it breaks the motor isn't going to be happy with me. I'll finish the oil pan this week and post some pictures. By then the rest of my parts for the turbo manifold should be here and I can get started on that. Here are a couple of pics of the pickup tube.

Exhaust manifold flange

2010-01-20T17:38:00.000-06:00

Well I had every intention of making my own manifold flange from some bar stock to save some money and also to get one in mild steel. However I am running out of time to get this project wrapped before the autocross season starts and just happened to notice that EFI Express is now carrying one in mild steel. So I ordered one from them at the end of last week. This thing is nice! If you need one in mild steel this is the only place I know of to get it. If your tastes are stainless, then 034 Motorsports can hook you up. Here are two pics I snapped for you guys.

I almost have the oil pan finished up I just need to wrap up the pick up tube assembly before I weld the back of the pan into place. I'll drop it off at the powder coater as soon as it is finished. Also on the way are some Tial products and the t3 flange.

Motor mount drawings.

2009-12-30T08:32:00.001-06:00

I have gotten a request for dimensional drawings of the motor mounts that I came up with. Sorry to say that I don't have any CAD drawings of them. I'm more of a make it by feel person when it comes to one off parts of this nature. I can tell you though that I attached some card stock with spray adhesive to the original Audi mounts, then I used a ball peen hammer to gently punch out the bolt holes, after which I transferred the the card stock to .250" thick plate steel and cut out the rough shape. Once both plates where made I bolted them to the motor. The drivers side mount is more involved because the original mount is z shaped. Making a z shaped mount would have proven difficult for me plus there was an issue with a bolt hole being covered by the support tube. I ended up making the mount from flat stock with a standoff welded to the backside of the mount to compensate for the original z shape. This also eliminated the problem of the support tube covering a bolt hole. How you make the feet will depend on which motor mount you decide to use. I recommend something very hard to really limit movement of the motor, there just isn't enough room around the motor for it to be swinging about without hitting something. After I made the feet and had them mounted where the original Porsche mounts where, I used PVC pipe to quickly develop what the connecting pipe should look like. Once that was done I made a new one in .120" x 1.500" OD tube and welded it into position. I started with the passenger side mount and then the drivers side mount. Things to be aware of are that the motor doesn't' want to hang from the hoist at the right angle. I used a ratchet strap to correct this during mock up. Also repeatedly make sure that your height and lateral positioning are correct during the process. If I remember correctly it was 13.5" from the crank bolt to each frame rail to keep it centered. The height has a very small window in which the pan will not hit the frame, but the hood will still close. I will measure it again, but iirc the bottom of the lowest point of the block needs to be 1" from the cross member, this will leave about .500" for the passenger side of the oil pan and .500" for clearance. Take all this with a grain of salt though as I am in the process of making the pan right now and will make updates as problems arise. I will post pics of the mounts when they are removed for powder coating, that should help out if there is any confusion.

Filter relocator

2009-12-22T19:14:00.002-06:00

I did receive the filter relocator and I think it will be perfect. Its threads are correct for the block, but it doesn't come with the threaded tube. I still have to get that part yet, however this will save a ton of space and move some of the oil lines away from the turbo and exhaust. One thing to be aware of is that mine has casting flash and residue from being threaded still evident in photo two. Be sure to check for this if you use one.

Motor mount pics

2009-12-22T19:00:00.002-06:00

Here are the pics that I promised. I wish that they were better, but it is hard to fit my camera in there. I will put up some more when I have them powder coated for the final installation. First is the drivers side, second the passenger side.

Motor mounts finished

2009-12-20T17:44:00.000-06:00

I finished up the motor mounts today and I think they came out pretty nice. The actual isolation pad is made from polyurethane. I figured that the weight of the motor would compress them some so I tried to compensate by hanging the motor a little higher than I wanted it to actually be. After completing the mounts and lowering the engine into the car they didn't compress like I thought they would. I have 1 inch of clearance on the p/s of the engine for the oil pan, but I'm worried that the hood isn't going to close now. I really wanted the exterior of the car to remain unchanged. I could probably have some of the isomounts shaved off at a machine shop and still use the current engine mounts.
I also cut the reservoir off of the donor oil pan to make way for a 944 like sump. Since I have a weeks vacation starting soon I should wrap that project up pretty quickly.
One last note is that I have located a HY35 and it is en route, so we'll get to see if that will fit under the hood also. If rumors are correct I should be able to hit my horsepower goal of roughly 400bhp. It will be months before we learn the reality of the situation though. As there is much to complete first. I will post pics of my mounts soon and the turbo when it arrives.

Slow going

2009-12-15T18:59:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry that I haven't been getting a lot of info up here lately. I have been working on it on the weekends when I can, but work and the holidays are really putting a dent in my schedule. I have completed the p/s motor mount and the d/s motor mount is about 50% finished. I'm using a polyurethane engine mounts that I am sure will compress under the weight of the engine, I just don't know how much. I'm trying to get the engine close to the hood to leave more room for the oil pan. I won't be happy if it doesn't fit under the hood. Also I have changed my mind about the turbo. I'm now searching for a serviceable Holset hy35 with a 9cm housing from a Cummings diesel truck engine. I think this looks to be a very good match for this motor. They have been used rarely on Audi's, but with good results. Part of my reasoning is price. Garrett = 1300 USD, Holset hy35 = approx. 200 USD. The savings is almost the cost of the vems ecu or perhaps an lsd transaxle. Reason 2 is of a surging issue that I keep hearing about with the Garrett turbo that I was after. Reason 3 is that Garretts aren't really rebuildable, but a Holset is easy and cheap to rebuild. Reason 4 is that the Holset isn't water cooled, thus simplifying installation and allowing the removal of more weight and components from the AAN. The final reason is that this car is all about taking the less traveled road so....why not.

The Oil Pan

2009-11-22T14:59:00.002-06:00

I've probably mentioned this before, but without rereading my own blog I can't be for sure. So that being said I'm sure that everyone knows that the nice aluminum pan that the AAN comes with won't work for this swap. Well to be truthful there isn't one that will work with this swap, so we need to make one. With Bullmoose's guidance I sought out the pan from a 10v I5. These are made out of steel and will be easier to modify than the aluminum one. It took awhile, but I finally located one on the eastern side of the US at Force 5 Auto. When buying one be sure to get the block to bellhousing brace also that is in the pics below. I was also sent the oil pump pickup tube. Hopefully I can use it to lengthen mine, as material to lengthen the tube with wasn't something that I had thought about yet, maybe I lucked out on this one. Notice that you can see the part numbers in the second picture in case you need them.

Oil filter clearance

2009-11-22T12:24:00.001-06:00

I began lowering the motor into the 944s engine bay last weekend. Well the farther you lower it the more items you have to remove. It is currently in position and bolted to the torque tube. I think that if you made allowances with wiring and plumbing it would be possible to change a clutch in the future by moving the engine forward instead of the fiasco that occurs on a stock 944. There is a large amount of room in front of the motor compared to the original engine. So on to the topic of this post. You will find that the oil filter will land right on the top of the steering rack. Aah crap...that's what went through my mind. So I removed the filter and lowered it to the right height. While there isn't enough room for the stock filter there does appear to be room for a part made by Trans Dapt. The part number is 1413. They call it a 90 degree oil bypass adapter. Here is what it looks like.

You wont find the AAN listed in the applications guide, but cross referencing the AAN oil filter over to units that are listed in the guide indicates which model to use. Turns out that the Audi uses a Ford oil filter. I thought that was funny for some reason. So the plan for oil filtration at this point is to relocate the filter while retaining the factory cooler and turbo connection points. The filter will mount onto either these two items.

The 1028 vertical filter mount

or the 1045 horizontal filter mount

At this point I would imagine that I will be using the 1045, but I'll leave that decision until later.

Engine fitting

2009-11-08T19:50:00.001-06:00

Well I was able to trial fit the motor into the 944 today. It became really obvious that the stock exhaust manifold won't work unless you tilt the motor clockwise. (as viewed from the front of the car) I know that the guy in Russia tilted his motor for some reason. I assumed it was so that it would fit under the hood, but maybe it was to make use of the stock turbo manifold. I'll have to go review the videos and see if I can tell. I couldn't get the engine lowered into place completely due to clearance issues with the stock oil pan. (I was told this would happen, but I still had to try.) I would really like to modify the aluminum one for the final product, but I am currently trying to locate a metal one from a 10v I5 to determine how it will need to be modded. If anyone can help me out with that drop me a line. Measuring from the pilot bushing to torque tube mounting surface on both engines shows them to be within 1\16th of an inch. I'm not sure but I think that will be close enough. Other than that I didn't get anything else done worth noting.

944 powertrain is removed

2009-11-02T20:00:00.001-06:00

Well I didn't intend to pull the tranny out at first, but this was one of those live and learn things. The motor basically has to be lifted straight up to be removed from the car. This means you have to move the torque tube rearward, which entails that the transmission must be removed. The clutch fork pivot pin and I duked it out for a while. I don't think that it had ever been removed before. Long story short I got it all pulled out in a day. Now for some clean up work and I'll start looking at part fitment. I'll have a business trip this week so I won't be able to get anything done with the project.

The future has arrived

2009-10-17T14:38:00.004-05:00

This morning I pulled the motor from the S6. I took everything not likely to be used for the project and the accessories off of the motor and then gave it a cleaning with the power washer. It doesn't look to be in bad shape. I don't think that the timing belt has been done in quite some time. The rubber portions of the motor mounts literally fell apart. I think a good front end collision would have sent the motor sailing out of the car.

The project has begun.

New kid

2009-10-14T17:09:00.003-05:00

I thought that I would show you the new member of the family. It is just a crappy little video taken with a cell phone, but it'll show you enough. We picked up a z06 Corvette for my wife to enjoy and use for autox. I like it, it's comfortable, really fast, seems to handle well, and is nice and flashy. This one has the red and black interior.

Here is another vintage commercial that relates directly with her car.

Now I know that your going to say that the 0-60 time in that ad just isn't going to cut it against the z06 and that is just one more reason for this engine swap to be done post haste. I hope that 425 bhp will be enough to best the z06. Time will tell.

Debating....

2009-10-12T19:47:00.002-05:00

I had a pretty good performance at the event that I figured would be the last for the year, but I may be in contention for a trophied position. If that is the case then I will put off the start of the swap project until after the last official event is over at the end of October. If I am out of the running then I will go ahead and start the swap. Now I'm just waiting to see how the points pan out from the last event.

Starting weight

2009-10-09T08:10:00.002-05:00

I didn't really think it was this heavy, but the scales revealed 2,750 lbs. That is with a half tank of gas and the a/c system already deleted. Now we will have a basis for comparison after it is all said and done.

Just about time

2009-09-30T18:42:00.002-05:00

My barn project will finally wrap up this weekend! I'll also do a timing belt job on our 2003 Golf TDI. She finally rolled 200,000 miles last month. That is such a great car, I would recommend it to anyone. It still gets 48 mpg and runs like a sewing machine, even if it sounds like one to. LOL. We added an engine hoist to the tool cabinet last weekend. I have to go buy another engine stand since the Porche engine will need a home until I find a buyer for it. Oh, Saturday I am going to take the 944 to get weighed. I figured that it would be nice to have before and after weights, since I know that someone will ask. Until then though my wife has found some nice vintage commercials that I remembered from back in the 80's so I'll pop one up here now and then. I liked this one alot.

One more for the Audi side of this project....hehe. You'll see what I mean.

Baseline Dyno Run

2009-09-15T05:54:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday we took Nina to MC Racing to get baseline readings to know what I have been working with this season. Also I figure that anyone who might be interested in buying the motor after it is removed might feel better if they had the information. By the way if anyone is going to need a 2.5 that runs well let me know. Then I can buy more parts for the 2.2. If you've seen a dyno pull on tv then you've really been there, done that. Except when it is your car. It gets more interesting then, even a little exciting. So on the final run Nina pulled 128.46 hp at the wheels. Online sources indicate that the car had roughly 150bhp originally. Using a standard 15% correction for drivetrain loss brings us up to 151.13bhp. Pretty much right where it should be. Truthfully I didn't expect that at all. I mean that is pretty sweet that a 22 year old motor is still making full power. Below is a scan of the dyno sheet.

Brief Update

2009-09-08T19:30:00.002-05:00

I'm currently out of town on a business trip. I kept busy over the last weekend working on project number two. It is the last of the construction on our shop building. I have vowed to get this done before I start any new projects, including going any further on the engine conversion. Luckily I made alot of progress and hopefully will be done with another weekend's work. If I make that goal I am still way ahead of the projected start date at the end of October. I made alot of headway on the wiring harness. I have selected all the wires that I will use in the swap. However until it is actually running I will not be cutting out any of the wires. All that really means is that after I have the car running I will have to remove the harness again, clean, customize, and then reinstall. That might seem like a pain, but I won't ever be happy with it if I know that I half-assed a part somewhere. Well until next time. I'll try not to take so long.

The calvary is here!

2009-08-27T19:56:00.003-05:00

I've been doing a lot of poking around on different Audi sites for information on the various swaps that these guys are doing. Many are putting the 20vt into older cars and dealing with wiring issues similar to mine. During my travels I have run across Mr. Paul Nugent who happens to host s2central.net and also created s2forum.com. He has agreed to help with the wiring concerns that I have and all should be sorted in short order. If I can develop a pdf file half as good as his, the wiring in this project will become a cake walk for anyone who follows the path I'm beating down. You should check out his sites. They are loaded with information and knowledgeable people to chat with.

Brief note

2009-08-24T18:28:00.002-05:00

I am almost done with a spread sheet that will detail the electrical requirements of the engine. Stay tuned and I'll post it here first.

Wiring

2009-08-19T18:40:00.003-05:00

Well I have had the wiring stretched out in the living room since last week. I'm sure the mess and the beeping of the multimeter are about to kill my wife. Looks like the harness is in really good shape. Everything checks out okay with no damage to any of the connectors. I've traced all of the ECU pins to their destinations and marked everything. If I'm looking at it right there are only a couple of wires that will require power, and a couple of grounds. The harness is pretty specific to just engine functions. I do have a couple of wires that I need to verify their function before I remove them. Also I want to keep the Vag-com port intact and functional, so I will have to figure that out before I post the final procedure on this part. Here is a picture of the harness laying on the floor.

Nothing much

2009-08-17T06:13:00.002-05:00

I worked on the S6 this weekend. The engine is ready to come out save for the motor mounts. I have the wiring harness removed and labeled. I need to find info on what the engine requires to operate so I can remove the rest of the circuits. Other than that I don't have alot to report.

Bell housing trial fit

2009-08-07T07:43:00.002-05:00

There has been some concern about whether or not my adapter plate is actually the correct one, so I took it and the bell housing out to the s6 for a little tinkering. Now keep in mind that this is not a confirmed "yes it works" post, but it looks really promising! First I tried to just slide the bell housing over the clutch and onto the motor. It didn't work. I had been told that it wouldn't but I just had to try, it's in my nature. It seemed to be hitting the starter gear teeth. I couldn't tell for sure laying under the car with a flashlight. Next I placed the adapter plate onto the engine and it cleared the ring gear with no problems. Putting the bell housing onto the adapter plate also seemed to clear with no problems. Woohoo! Just keep in mind that I was juggling two parts and a flashlight on my back before I left for work so I don't know if bolt holes were lining up, but it made me feel better.

Fuel pump solution

2009-08-07T07:19:00.007-05:00

Finally I have come to a decision in this area. I know that somebody will say that this is overkill for this project, but I will have room to grow. After a lot of digging around on different sites and reading a lot of flow information I came up with the following. Keep in mind that as pressure rises in a fuel system that the flow rate of your pump will decrease. The inverse is also true. To make matters worse there is no standard that manufacturers use to test their pump output.

The stock Bosch replacement pump for a 944 is p/n 0 580 464 069. It is rated for 98 L/hr @ 4 bar.

The stock Bosch replacement pump for the S6 is p/n 0 580 31 068. It is rated for 120 L/hr @ 3 bar.

With the difference in tested pressure I would assume that these pumps are about equal in flow at the same pressure. That would be for a stock application.

Since my 944's pump is of an unknown age and I hope to eventually be at a level of about 400bhp I decided to err on the side of caution and replace it with Bosch p/n 0 580 254 044. This unit is rated for 200 L/hr @ 5 bar or approximately 270 L/hr @ 3 bar. It's currently very popular in cars making at least 500 bhp so I have every confidence that it will supply enough fuel for my needs. It is also almost a direct fit for the 944 application. Just for your information there are several other Bosch units that fall in between the 069 and 044 models, but to tell you the truth I got tired of trying to figure out how small is too small.

Side note: As far as just using the s6 pump on the 944 until I start raising power levels...well you can't. The s6 is in tank and the 944 is in line.

Another note: After writing this info I have continued to receive information from different people. They have informed me that there are a lot of people with modded 951's making 400-500hp that are using the stock pump. That may be true, but it makes me uneasy. That being the case I may rethink my decision on using the 044 and try to find out the part number for the Bosch HV pump. It has upgraded performance over the stock pump, but not as much as the 044. I could live with that.

There are three main reasons to not go too big when selecting a fuel pump.

1: A larger pump requires more power to operate. This is going to take hp to produce, plus your wiring may not be up to the task of the increased current requirements.

2: Something I was not aware of until researching this topic, but it makes sense. If you circulate way more fuel than you need it will begin to actually act like a cooling system and transfer heat from your engine bay into your fuel tank. That is not a good thing.

3: Oh and this one is important to everyone. A larger pump costs more.

Final thoughts:

Alright the mystery is solved. I'm now going to choose a different pump. This is the mysterious Bosch HV pump. I located someone who read the numbers off the box for me so that I could look up the flow rate and current draw. Supposedly it is good for 450 rwhp sustained. That certainly will supply what I need without getting overly large. Here is the number break down on the three models for this car.

0 580 464 069 - 98 L/hr @ 4 bars - max 7 amp draw - stock replacement
0 580 254 910 - 130L/hr @ 5 bars - max 10 amp draw - this is the HV
0 580 254 044 - 200L/hr @ 5 bars - max 15.5 amp draw - this is the 044

On to the next problem.

Monday morning

2009-08-03T06:04:00.003-05:00

Well I haven't done a single thing to the swap project over the last weekend, but I did get one of the home improvement projects done. One more to go and I can get started on the swap. I got a hold of an Audi service manual late last week. It looks to cover just about the whole car, so I hope it will allow me to make sense out of the wiring harness. I also picked up an HD camcorder to use for documentation of the swap. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will be able to get Nina to a dyno that is here in town and find out what she is good for in the stock configuration. I figure that will be a fun comparison to the finished project. I also found that Sokol (the Ukrainian guy with 20vt swapped 924) is using a walbro 255 liters/hr fuel pump in his car. I'll compare that to the S6 pumps flow rates to see how it stacks up.

Throwout Bearings

2009-07-27T19:05:00.002-05:00

After some research on this topic I was able to get a couple of preliminary options sorted out. First I was talking with the gentleman from Russia who indicated that his car is operating with the bearing from an Opel Vectra C. I have also found that Tilton makes drive line components and several of its products look like they may be the ticket for this project. Their bearings are also adjustable for custom applications. I'm hoping that they might have a unit that will bolt up to the original guide tubes mounting holes. I can only guess that they will cost more than an OEM part and I still need to take things apart to find one that will actually work. I will post p/n's when they become available.

Audi LSD

2009-07-27T18:47:00.005-05:00

It is true that you can use the LSD unit from the rear end of the Audi V8Q. This is a torsen type LSD. You will need the LSD and drive shaft flanges from the V8Q. There is also a little machining that needs to be performed on one side of the diff and the flanges have to be redrilled for the Porsche bolt pattern. Supposedly it works well if you want to use this type of diff. Reports are out there that these units are going for around 100 bucks which means that are practically free. If I didn't have my heart set on a clutch type diff I would give this one a try. Here's a link to get you some more info if you need it.

http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=23820

2009-07-21T17:51:00.002-05:00

I am in a research phase right now since I have several projects around the house that need to be completed before I get to carried away with the engine swap. I have just heard that there may be a suitable Audi LSD unit that could be used in the 944 transaxle. Also I am searching for information on a hydraulic throwout bearing that could be used for this application among a lot of other things. If you care to make any comments on the blog or want to post info, you will find a comment button at the bottom of every post. You can use that to post replies here.

Following the site

2009-07-21T06:03:00.003-05:00

Okay I'm not totally sure about this everyone, but I think that by following the site you will get notified when I make changes. Surely you don't want to miss anything. If your interested in this option just use the link in the minions section on the side bar. Should be pretty easy.

K24 Turbo

2009-07-19T17:31:00.003-05:00

The car I bought came with an extra K24 Turbo. Either one will need rebuilding if the cores are good. I haven't taken them apart for inspection yet, but I'm debating on whether I should replace them with a different unit from the get go. Low rpm boost will be very important to me, but the car will run to red line all the time also. I think this topic will take a lot of research. I'm wondering how many hp the stock turbo is good for and what its spool characteristics are. I've got a couple of places to ask, but if anyone has been down this road, drop me a line. I will post the information that I come up with.

944 running with 7A installed

2009-07-18T12:52:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty sure that this is a video of Bullmoose running his car up. Sure looks like it anyways.

Audi I5 20v Turbo

2009-07-18T07:57:00.004-05:00

Here's an important item that you will need also. An engine! We are sourcing ours from a less fortunate Audi S6. I believe that it is a 1996 vintage, but the year that you pick really depends on your personal preference. I hear that any of the I5 motors would work in this swap, it is just a matter of how you want the motor to be equipped. I personally was looking for an S4 or S6 built between 1992-1997. You'll find that S4's were built until about 1994 and then renamed S6. In the 1997-1998 time frame a different engine started being used. Before the S4/S6 series there was a Audi 200 20vt that was made in 1990 and 1991, I think. So if my dates are wrong shoot me a message and I will correct them. In this configuration there seems to be a distributor and a different intake manifold. Older than these are Audi 10vt cars which are also usable.
The reason that I chose the model I did was because it has no distributor and the intake manifold begins on the driver's side of the engine. The Audi 200 20vt has a distributor and the intake manifold begins on the passenger side of the engine. Obviously the S4/S6 power plant is a closer match to how your 944 is configured right now. I'm making the assumption that this will make all of the intercooler plumbing easier to install.

Audi 2.7 TT Filler Plate

2009-07-18T07:31:00.005-05:00

The next piece that you will need is called a filler plate. It's found on the Audi 2.7 TT equipped cars. So far this has been the hardest part for me to locate due to the fact that noone knew what I was talking about and I didn't have a picture. Bullmoose did a good job of describing it to me and luckily had a p/n to. The part number for the piece he used is 01E103551C. A dealer ship looked it up for me and said it was superceded by the number 01E103551A. The second number is the one that I located here in the states. The dealer also thought that part was applicable to both manual and auto cars. I hope so because mine is from an automatic car and Bullmoose's was from a manual car. The future will let us all know if both parts are correct. There are also several thicknesses of this peice available. You want the one that is about 11.2mm thick. I don't know the part numbers of the thinner peices. Here are a couple of pics to help you guys find the right parts.

Bell housing

2009-07-16T19:46:00.010-05:00

Okay in my searches around the net and through conversations with Bullmoose I have found that the 924 has a bellhousing that is suitable for this swap. There are two to choose from actually. A 924 bellhousing is equiped with a cable clutch and will work, but there is no provision for a slave cylinder, which we all know that the 944 has. I opted for the 931 bellhousing that came with the hydraulic clutch. It didn't take much searching to find one although I was warned that they were rare. Maybe I got lucky and if so I hope that it continues. Here are some pics to help out with the id of the proper part.

A word of warning here though, I haven't actually checked parts for fitment yet so buy at your own risk until I have time to make sure that it works.

Another note is that the Porsche uses a pulling motion compared to the Audi's pushing motion. Bullmoose solved the problem with a custom clutch fork. He did mention though that using a hydraulic throwout bearing may be a better option. We'll see when we get to that point in the build.

I'm told that some clearancing will be required inside of the bellhousing to make it fit properly. Time will tell and I'll put it all in here.

Swedish Dyno Video

2009-07-16T19:35:00.005-05:00

I had forgotten about this one.
Mapping Nira I3 - video from Maxtuning.se
It comes from sweden and it looks like they are doing a good job on this one. You can dig around in the website and get some info, but the translators that I have been using aren't that great. If this doesn't inspire you then, just move along. LOL

Websites

2009-07-16T19:19:00.003-05:00

I'll list some websites that I have been digging through looking for info. If your reading this you will probably be familiar with at least some of these.

Porsche sites
http://www.hybrid9s.com/
http://rennlist.com/
http://www.924board.org/index.php
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=10

Audi sites
http://forums.fourtitude.com/
http://audiforums.com/forum/
http://www.motorgeek.com/index.php?page=2
http://www.audi20v.net/home/
http://www.s2forum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2

There are alot more in my bookmarks, but these are the ones that I go to first, they get alot of traffic and each one a large archive of posts. Those should keep you reading for a long time.....

Starting out

2009-07-16T19:04:00.004-05:00

Okay so I know this blog was built for a certain purpose so lets get on with it. I began researching this project about two months ago and all I can say is that there isn't much info on it. Let me rephrase that, if there is alot of info on it somewhere I hope someone will let me know. I did find one guy in the Netherlands who has gotten a 7A engine into his 944. He goes by the name of Bullmoose on some of the forums that are out there. He also has a site up that shows some very nice photos of his work. You can find it here http://www.944-20v.nl/ . I've been talking with him for a while and gotten alot of my info from him. Thanks for the help Bullmoose!

There is also a guy in Russia who has gotten the AAN into a 924. Here you can see a video that shows his car running. I haven't been able to find out anymore about this conversion.

So as you can see the pickings are pretty slim. I keep hearing that it has been done before, but now on knows by who so I have to assume that when mine is complete it will be the first in the US.

Catching up

2009-07-15T05:56:00.005-05:00

So to bring everyone up to speed it is mid July and I have been to 6 events so far. The car does very well competing in the CSP class. I believe that we are fourth overall at the moment and the people beating us are on r comps. We started out running 15" phone dials with Direzza Star pec tires. I really like those tires, but they are only available in 195's for that rim size. I just didn't feel that there was enough rubber under it so I searched for some new rims. Being in the Kansas City area we have a nice site called http://www.kcws.org/ there you'll find alot of 944 guys. Check it out, they are very helpful. Eventually a set of 993 cup II's came up for sale, which I purchased. They came with Sport Contact 2 tires, 205's front and 255's rear. I ran them for one weekend and didn't care for how the car turned. It was pushing alot. I was able to dial most out with the rear bar, but I opted for new 235 Ecsta XS tires in the front. Although I haven't run them yet I can tell from street driving that I have alot more grip up front. Rear bar adjustments are going to be mandatory at the next event. Besides that the car has had alot of other mods now, a/c delete, short shifter, AFM refurb, water pump, belts, hoses, ps pump, steering rack, the list goes on and on. You will find with one of these cars that most previous owners just put gas in them and after 20 odd years of use they need some attention. Shortly I will begin the info on the swap, but I wanted to lay some ground work and figure out how this blogging stuff works. I'll leave you with a more recent pic that shows the new rims on the car. If anyone happens to have a good condition front valence panel that they would like to see Nina wearing, drop me a line.