Blast from the past - Marmite

[steve bain]

so a bit late in updating this. but here it is...

ultimate dubs. really good to meet the others. The show was interesting, not quite my cup of tea as most were new cars on air ride with wheels worth more than my car, but it was impressive the time and money that went into some of these!



I also impulsively bought a vw sharan. It is vile in every way so for its short existence in my ownership it was named, 'sharon the turd'. overflowing ash tray, mcdonalds chips and milkshake on the floor. It was rank. But... it cost me £150 and it had a unmolested smooth running VR6.

Out it comes....in the dark as usual!







goodbye 'sharon the turd' it was a rubbish 2 weeks! I even had to pay £20 to scrap it.



i removed the engine with trolley jacks and its a heavy old beast so i needed to lift it up so i could make a trolley to move it around. i don't have a engine hoist so used two bins, a length of wood and ratchet straps. worked fine....



i tackled the engine loom which started off life like this



and i removed all of this 'non essential rubbish'



i also stripped all the 'non essential' parts off the engine so i have less to think about, so i removed the SAI, EGR, PCV, AC, PAS and auxilary water pump. I also stripped off loads of coolant pipes to bare bones.

after a bit of tidying it now looks like this...



the plan is to order the engine mounts on pay day form Classic-vw, then strip it of all brackets etc and send them to be powdercoated and paint the block with high zinc paint whilst i wait. I plan to get the intake manifold painted to match the wheels.

The classic-vw mounts are from epytec and are 'bolt on' rather than the other type which has to be welded in. This will allow me to put it back to the 2.0 litre if i ever change my mind. I will need to have custom driveshafts made but i'm ok with that. I can then modify the original 6-2-1 manifold to fit as its pretty free flowing anyway and make a new 2.5" exhaust. other than that its just wiring and radiator really. no big deal.

I have to buy a new gearbox unfortunately as the sharan used two types, one i could use, and one i could not. guess which one i got!! that will probably cost as much as the car did, but ho hum.


I will probably get grief for putting a 'heavy VR6' in, but i have always wanted one and they sound amazing. My car isn't exactly a track car so won't really matter and i figured 1.8T conversions are quite common so i would do a retro conversion. listen to this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCBpOLX66JY&t=11s

I plan to get everything ready for the conversion over the summer and do the conversion over the winter ready for next summer.

be nice to hear any thoughts...

[steve bain]

Well, I managed to pick up an a2o gearbox and shifter with cables for £80. Its vr6 specific so not super common. Pretty pleased with that.

I'm not sure I can wait until the winter to fit it!

[steve bain]

so i'm not doing a straight vr6 swap anymore.

i've decided to do a vr6 turbo! the plan is for 300bhp when i install the engine this year but sizing everything to allow 400bhp in the future with some extra (but costly) modifications.

i am very excited about this as i get to learn something new... best plan ever!

[Risocco]

Mental. You hero.

[BlackGTX]

looking forward to seeing masses of box section bracing going in

be a savage car when its done

[steve bain]

hey all,

So i have been using the scirocco and all is good with her.

I have also been slowly gathering parts for the vr6 conversion and have started tidying the engine. UPS lost the o2a gearbox i bought! but i picked up another one last night for £120. this one has the mk4 golf o2j shifter set up which is supposed to be a good upgrade. there was a cheaper one i could get but i figured for an extra £20 i may as well get the upgraded one.
I seem to have sorted some 100mm driveshafts too. just need to order the engine mounts and i think i am pretty much good to go.

slap the engine in, change the length of driveshafts, make exhaust, bit of wiring, plumbing and its done. easy.

I have also decided to put the turbo idea on the back burner as i priced it up and even with secondhand parts its still about £1500!

Everything i am doing is bolt on and is reversible so i eve change my mind its no big deal

[mr.brown]

Your car should already have "100mm driveshafts". The changeover was August 84 for injected cars

[steve bain]

Your car should already have "100mm driveshafts". The changeover was August 84 for injected cars

i have a vague feeling i had 90mm. i know i had an issue in the past with the wrong shafts / cups and swapped one or the other about 10 years ago! i get a fair few cross over parts on mine.

either way, i want to try to keep my original parts so if i get bored of the vr6 i can stick my original one back in and won't have to hunt down parts. i need to chop them up for the vr6 conversion and it seems very permanent!

[mark1gls]

My brothers 1984 Storm has 90mm cups and drive shafts fitted.

[steve bain]

so just a small update to keep this on the first page!

i have now ordered the mk1 golf / vr6 bolt on conversion mounts form Classic-vw for £300 inc the rubber inserts. like this...



They are made by epytec and are basically rip offs of the tried and tested eurowise ones which look like this



I spoke to mark at classic-vw and he was mega helpful and knowledgeable.

I also won an auction for the weld on piece that will allow me to quickly and easily fit the clutch master cylinder so I can have a hydro clutch. that was only £50 with the master cylinder and bits so pretty happy with that. apparently its the full kit which has springs etc too.



it welds on like this, and although i could fabricate it, for £50 it takes the guesswork out. retrofication make the kit and its normally pretty pricey!



I've also done a bit of general tidying of engine and replacing broken bits and bobs like plastic pipes, mounts etc. Once the mounts arrive i'll send a box of bits off to the powdercoaters. I've decided to do the manifold and mounts in cream to match the wheels. i'll just get everything i can powdercoated as its cheap enough and makes it far nicer to work on!

I also spoke to my buddy who is a codded welder and he said he is happy to weld and sleeve the driveshafts which is great. I just need to collect the patients from shane!

the facebook part of the forum also tells me that a mk3 golf tdi rad will fit under the slam panel (not much room with the vr6) and all the hoses are both on the passenger side which is correct for the engine. a bit of googling does seem to show it as true which is good.

I also have a 22mm m/c fitted and am sure from memory it had an extra tube coming off the reservoir which i reckon i can use for the clutch too which would be cool as would then just be a pipe instead of a second reservoir.

All in, its moving along and i should be ready to do the conversion over winter without feeling like i am spending a bomb in one go!

i am not sure how many other mk2 vr6's there are in the country, but there sure isn't much info on it!

[steve bain]

new ancillary belt arrived today. for the ac and pas delete you need the Dayco 6PK1105 which is 1105mm long and obviously shorter than the standard belt. info more to help anyone googling in future than anything else

[mark1gls]

Looks like you have plenty to keep you busy...

[steve bain]

i always do. its the best way! the alternator is playing silly buggers on the 2.0 now too! typical.

[steve bain]

hydro clutch conversion arrived today. just realised i only got it a tenner cheaper than brand new. it is new though so not a big issue, just not as big a saving as expected.

[G Beats]

Car looks lovely at Ultimate Dub's well done.Now on with a new Project I read here will keep you very busy indeed.Will there be a new one next year after this one or will this be it ? Please let me and us know your thoughts on this here.As of course it always makes good read what you are doing Steve.