Brake servo relocation to drivers side

[hubbadubba]

Hi
I posted a cpl of pics on a thread of how i relocated my brake servo and was asked for more info on how it was done so here goes, firstly this is more for info on how i achieved the physical fit without having to hack large chunks of bulkhead and inner wing / chassis rail away and not so much about what is the best braking component combinations, I can only comment on my set up which works very well and is a massive improvement over the standard set up, I just spent 3 years doing a resto mod on my mk1 (will start a build thread) and when considering the brakes had always planned on upgrading and curing the vague feel aside from binning the ugly look of the linkage bar set up, although there are slight bulkhead differences this should apply roughly for all the mk1/2 scirocco, mk1 golf/caddy etc models so I did the bulkhead mods prior to paint obviously.
One important fact to note is that I’m running a hydraulic clutch set up to O2J gearbox so don’t need to utilise the old clutch cable hole, you know, the one that always fails and pulls through the bulkhead so this had also been deleted/welded up but I reckon it could be retained and just have enough clearance, especially if the Diesel cable with the angled entry is used.
Also goes without saying, this is not a 5 min job and requires some specialist tools that not everyone may have access to, one for the modders out there !, please don't go chopping your car and brakes apart unless you're confident in your ability.
My set up is
Polo 6n2 8” servo
T4 25.4mm master cylinder
Original round vw fluid reservoir
Wilwood brake bias valve mounted on servo (car never previously had a proportioning valve fitted).
New Copper Nickel lines throughout.
Hel braided hoses front and rear.
Wilwood calipers up front with mk2 Golf 16v 256mm Black diamond discs, Wilwood pads.
Polo rear hubs (sealed bearings), Polo rear calipers and Black diamond discs.
Raised rear hub mounts allowing handbrake cable relocation inside subframe

I started by sourcing a decent quality servo and opted for the polo 6n2 one here, part number 6N2 614 100J as fitted to polo Gti’s and others, this is an 8” servo, not the 9” mk2 golf size but more than up to the job and the slightly smaller size over the Golf one helps massively with clearance, these go for around £20 and are readily available, it’s ball operated rather than clevis pin arrangement but can be modded to suit without too much faf,( see pics).
The servo should come with a bracket on the reverse that can be used later in the mod (pedal side of bulkhead) so don’t bin it, unbolt the bracket and use a cutter or grinder to square it off, retaining the 4 mounting holes (see pics).
Unbolt all your old brake lines/servo and linkage arrangement and cut off the front of the heavy block that your servo bolted onto, cut about 10mm down from the mounting face as in pics, this will be used for the polo servo to mount onto, engine side of bulkhead, then cut off the bracing section from bulkhead to inner wing.

[hubbadubba]

The following sections will require some trial fitting/accurate measuring !! So take your time, move you’re carpet/sound deadening away inside to avoid a fire.

Place your old servo mounting piece over the bulkhead as in pic and trim edges/corners to achieve a nice fit, notice it is offset sideways by about 20mm centre from the old hole (toward left of car), this helps with getting the new servo to fit without too much hacking of your car, it should align top to bottom though, once you’re happy enlarge the existing bulkhead hole to take the white plastic plunger part of the new servo, allowing some clearance around the plunger, then tack the old servo mount in place with the welder, notice how the throttle cable hole should just clear the servo diameter.

[hubbadubba]

At this point some trimming/modifying of the offside chassis rail, bulkhead and scuttle panel will be needed to make room for the new servo, I achieved the bulkhead and scuttle adjustment with some heat from a torch and gentle tapping, the chassis rail I decided to chop slightly (as marked in pics around the suspension turret), shave down and re-weld but I reckon room could have been made just using the torch and dressing it down slightly.
Adjustment to bulkhead is to allow bottom of servo to sit nice and tight to bulkhead, basically a half moon section needs dressing flatter, mark round the servo then dress it flat to suit.
The scuttle needs a bulge forming in it to clear the top of the servo, again just apply heat and dress to suit until a nice fit is achieved.

[hubbadubba]

Now you need to move inside, remove the steering column and modify it to suit, this basically involves chopping off the brake pedal from the column, chopping out approximately 20mm from the joining piece and re-attaching it by welding as in the pics, this step should bring the pedal into alignment with the new servo position but before doing all this, strip the column to avoid melting internal bushes etc.

[hubbadubba]

Close attention should be paid during the following steps to ensure the Polo servo actuator white plastic shroud doesn’t finish too close to the steering universal joint
As stated above approximately 20mm will need to be removed from the distance from brake pedal to column this will obviously mean the brake pedal will need to be repositioned to maintain room from adjacent pedals, just cut and re-weld here to achieve a nice position, you will have to add around 10mm of metal to brake pedal arm to move it over slightly, I did this lower down where the pedal arm has a bend.
Next is fabricate and re-weld the upper mounting point for the column to the car as you’ve moved it 20mm.
Drill out the 4 servo mounting holes through the bulkhead and bolt in the Polo servo, refit the column and check everything lines up, measure and mark the Polo ball type actuator arm allowing enough length to cut a new thread on for the old clevis pin, cut , re-thread and attach old clevis to Polo actuator and check it all works as it should.
When you’re happy with all the alignments remove the column and weld up the bulkhead properly, dress in the bulkhead behind the servo mount from inside the car as you go as in the pics (bracing bars/legs are mentioned in next section)

[hubbadubba]

The next step was an additional strengthening point I added as the original brace bar had been removed, basically I wanted zero bulkhead flex so came up with the idea of adding an additional plate behind the bulkhead and attaching it to the steering column with bracing legs, this additional bracket was the original Polo servo bracket with 4 holes that was removed earlier and cut down, as in the pics it is attached to the column by welding, if you want to add this bracket then bolt it in place behind the servo, re attach the column and fabricate a leg either side of the column using flat bar, measure it all up, cut the steel bar and tack in place before removing again and welding up, this effectively braces the bulkhead to the column reducing the possibility of any bulkhead flex.
That pretty much covers it really, like I said it's not a 5 minute job but if your doing a resto it's well worth considering as part of an upgrade, makes a massive difference to brake feel and performance, just like it should have been from the factory

[hubbadubba]

Excuse the grubby FK coilovers, they were in place till the BC's turned up !, the keen eyed will notice the callipers sit high on the axle, this is just because the subframe has been modified to run the car slightly lower but retain the wheel position in the arch (stub axle mount raised and re-webbed), hope this has been worth a read, cheers

[chopperoli]

Wow- well done, it's not very often you see someone doing something original and creative on these cars nowadays, let alone to such a high standard. Great idea. I expect you've thought about some serious exhaust heat shields already...

[hubbadubba]

Wow- well done, it's not very often you see someone doing something original and creative on these cars nowadays, let alone to such a high standard. Great idea. I expect you've thought about some serious exhaust heat shields already...

Thanks for the kind words, yeah heat shielding is now done on underside and especially around the steering boot

[essextom]

great work, will def be doing this to my next project

[antong]

Hola,

Quick question as i'm in the middle of playing this game but with added abs. Did you have to dress back the suspension turret/inner wing next to the buldhead having removed the end of the chasis rail? i offered mine up my servo last night and its too far offset still.

[hubbadubba]

Hola,

Quick question as i'm in the middle of playing this game but with added abs. Did you have to dress back the suspension turret/inner wing next to the buldhead having removed the end of the chasis rail? i offered mine up my servo last night and its too far offset still.

No mate, didn't have to touch the actual turret area just the end of the chassis rail, did you move the brake pedal over 20mm on the column, that's what made all the difference on mine, just that 20mm can mean a lot less chopping about, check the thread, should show it in pics, if not pm me for pics.
cheers

[g60sam]

Pm sent

[essextom]

any feedback on this? servo work ok? any clearence issues with anything?

[hubbadubba]

Hi Tom, I’ve had the scirocco on the road for nearly 2k miles and absolutely no issues, brakes are perfect, you know that feeling when you step on the brakes in a modern car and they work !, well that’s what it’s like , not harsh in any way either