Nowanker

Knock on wood...
I think the car is complete and ready to run. After alot of aggravation, it's done 3 complete track days now without crapping out.
Really brief summary:
Not the brightest idea I've ever had. Suggesting that, in fact, I AM a moron.
But a darned tenacious one.

Not so brief summary:
Lots of f------g' around to get the engine in the car, and hooked up to the torque tube.
Lots more pain in the *** getting the AEM Infiniti to actually fire the car.
Once it actually ran... spent alot more time going through the rest of the car after it had been dormant for so many years.
During all this, we moved from the Bay Area out to a semi-rural part of Southern Oregon.
Bad news/good news there: Beautiful property, 30x40 shop, affordable... but the 4 1/2 hour tow to Thunderhill made testing sort of tough. More good news: there's a kart track 20 minutes away that hosts autocrosses.
Great opportunity to break things efficiently.
In order:
Radial clutch slave, twice.
First time, it made1 lap. Wishfully thinking it was a random failure, I just replaced it. 2nd visit, another single lap. Looked a little closer, found the input shaft was actually deflecting enough (.100" radially) to wipe the inside and burn it up from the friction.
The original starter arrangement I used involved taking a chunk out of the stock bellhousing. That might have been it, or might have been the loose fitting pilot bushing, or combination of the two. Some internet sites claim the 1.8T automatic crank is the same as the stick. My test engine wasn't!
Cured that by using a stock bellhousing, modifying the VW starter to fit, and installing the 'race' motor with a proper pilot bearing.

Low oil pressure on hard rights (or was that lefts?).
For packaging purpose, I used a square dry sump tank from a circle track car. Looked like the baffling was good, but evidence to the contrary... Easy enough to make my own baffle set with trap doors, etc.

Oil leak.
Thought it was the F cover gasket. Turned out to be the oil galley plug behind it. NEVER had one leak before.

Random running issues.
These were hinted at on the dyno, with lower than expected HP output and hard to pin down timing settings. It took a couple of trips to Thunderhill to really show up... Shutting off under load, and dropping cylinders.
Not 100%, but pretty sure it was that cheap-*** Chinese alternator, feeding A/C current back into the sensor circuit for the ECU. Caught it at the track not charging at all. Replaced it, but also rewired some of the engine, just because I didn't like the way it looked. Didn't find anything wrong there, but then the problems vanished. Re-dynoed the car Timing map was better and HP was up significantly!

Oil leaks.
Of course, only showed up at the track...
Sprayed everywhere, hard to pin down. Thought it was the oil filter block off/oil line plate on the block. Replaced the gasket, also pulled the motor to check the oil galley plug at the back.That one was OK.
Back to the track, still leaking. Traced to oil blowing out the dipstick tube due to inadequate crankcase ventilation. Redid my catch can/vent.
And so far, so good...
The last adventure was painting it. Maaco painted my M3 race car a few years back for $800. Looked great, held up just fine. Shopped around here, expecting prices had gone up a little... Everyone was uniformly $2500 for just a scuff/seal/shoot. Couldn't bring myself to pay that.
Further evidence that I may be a moron: Painted it myself. Probably spent $1100 on a gun, material, etc. Took forever, and the hardest part was waiting for a few warm dry days in a row to spray. Came out OK! It's a good solid 10 footer. Easily adequate for a race car.
Before:


After:

JRP944

Your perseverance has paid off! Glad you've got everything sorted out and can enjoy it now.

JRP

Nowanker

I forgot the chapter about the repeat turbo gasket failures!
Not much joy to change them, either.
Dunno what the cascading chain of events was, but the rash of gasket and fastener failures was cured with the shotgun approach.
Milled manifold flange .000 flat
Milled turbo flange likewise.
Slotted turbo bolt holes to allow expansion. All the previous fasteners showed evidence of bending.
Inconel studs (sourced from Flyin' Miata, of all places...)
'Stage 8' locking nuts.
Hope that chapter is behind me for good.

F3ARED

New livery and wheels look good mate, although you still need to take some video of it in action How do you find it compares vs a modified 951?

Nowanker

Previous version had a 3.2 turbo, around 325-350 RWHP on a hub dyno. This one dyno'd 260 at 16 PSI, on a Mustang.
Sooo... seems a little short on HP.
Dyno operator believes a Dynojet reading would be right at 300, which is right near the limit for the NASA ST2 class. Plenty more boost available if I'm short!

Hadn't driven the car in a long time, but relying on memory, it drives just as well. Quick and well balanced, easy to drive fast.
Made some minor aero and suspension changes, so it should have a little more grip. Still learning the unassisted brakes, but I do like the feel.
Hope the VW engine is more durable than 951!

Tony5

These are the threads I think of when someone tells me an engine swap is just a weekend and a case of beer away from completion.

Nowanker

I do love those 'Do you think this engine would fit?' threads. If the question even needs to be asked, it's way out of reach.
There's a reason most engine swaps are never finished... even if there's a kit available.
I enjoyed the challenge, but a sensible person would never have started the project in the first place.

Tony5

I can't count the number of times someone in a FB group has posted "I have spark but it won't start, don't know where to go from here so I'm gonna LS swap it". Brother, if your diagnostic skills begin and end at checking spark, I've got bad news for your engine swap odds of success.

I've swapped two of my vehicles, and just the other week helped a buddy with an E28 535i, all direct bolt in swaps with engines that belong where we were putting them, and it was still nowhere near a plug and play weekend job. I've assisted with the non bolt in type swaps also, and the likelihood of those ever being properly finished is very low.