Vonov

Well, not a pile o' parts yet, but the pistons came in this week...1200 bucks, but they sure are pretty...I opted for the TuffSkirt treatment on Doug's advice, since we're going fairly large (for the AAA block) on the bore, 83.5mm. These are made by JE, 8.5:1 CR...
Now that the pistons are actually in hand, we'll be sending out the block for boring.

uncle_scott

I am very interested in this build! Do you feel confident that you have the transmission all worked out? Reason I ask is that I want to make my mk2vr6 a longtiudinal swap, and I am debating on using junkyard 944 parts to make it happen. Mine would be a very similar car, just in a 1987 GTI shell instead of the Porsche. Is there any way I can get more information about what clutch you'll be using, and details on cutting the passat bellhousing apart? Great project.

Geldfalle 944

If your going longitudinal in a GTI. Why not make it AWD? Lots of Audi parts out there.
Probably less body modification than the 944 torque tube set up.

uncle_scott

Not to thread jack since I am brand new here...the RWD would be unique, and there are multiple Porsche parts at a local scrapyard. The AWD option has crossed my mind, but in reality for a longitudinal swap it will be a similar amount of fab work to mount an Audi rear end or a Porsche rear end. I've always wanted my car to be RWD, and the allure of having it be a Porsche hybrid is almost too much to pass up. The shell of the car was $100, and I am only into my daily driven vr6 swap about $1100 total. I figure the worst case scenario is that I render a cheap shell unuseable. Before I go cutting up a GTI, a Porsche, and a transmission I want to assure myself that the tranny modification will work haha. Hopefully the answer comes. Hopefully this 944 runs in the near future. It was an inspiring build to come across.

Vonov

I think the easiest route for what you're thinking of, uncle_scott, would be to find a 4motion golf body shell, and weld in the rear tub...notice I said easiest...which doesn't necessarily mean anything about it will be easy; it'll be like grafting chicken parts to a lizard...they're both descended from prehistoric reptiles, but the changes in architecture may be insurmountable, lol...mine will be child's play by comparison.
And to answer your question, yes, I think the setup I'm working on will be very doable...I just need to work out some of the details, but I'm not altering much of the car's basic structure.

pontifex4

That was hilarious. I'm really looking forward to updates on this!

uncle_scott

I know none of it's going to be easy, and I liked your analogy haha. At any rate, I think you are doing an awesome project, and thanks for answering the tranny question. I'm going junkyard hunting this weekend, so hopefully I can begin collecting the pieces to make a longitudinal vr6 happen in my car. Good luck, and I'll be watching this thread.

Vonov

You're very welcome, and thank you, sir...you ARE posting a build thread somewhere, right?
Let us know...who knows, I might find you have an idea I'd like to incorporate in my car...as far as details on cutting the Passat tranny...I used a trans case which had already been split, and simply had the machine shop separate the bellhousing from the part of the case which held the shaft bearings for the guts. The tranny was trashed in such a manner that the case was unusable anyway, so it wasn't in the least expensive.

EDIT: One thing which does occur to me, which will make yours *somewhat* easier...you won't have a crossmember to contend with...

Vonov

Okay, the block has been sent out for boring...the oil pan is in the process of being fabricated (we decided on a steel pan, easier to weld) and the coolant routing flange is being mocked up (wish I had one of those newfangled rapid prototyping machines...ah, well, we can't all be Jay Leno).

BTW, I'd like to hear some of your recommendations on brake/rotor/master cyl setups---I'm doing this on a budget, but I want the car to be safe. I'm looking for a setup which can handle regular street use, and still have minimal fade on the occasional track day with some autocross thrown in. Track days and autocross won't be more often than twice a year or so for each. Some extra pedal effort is acceptable, but not really desirable. Maximum stopping power is paramount.

pontifex4

Having done the NA > Turbo brake conversion, I can say that what you trade away in initial cost, you gain back many times in ease of maintenance (changing pads is a breeze) and variety of pads available.

While some may disagree with this, I view 200 crank hp as the ceiling for NA brakes on track, no matter the pad compound. I think that the feel I gained with Turbo brakes in my S was well worth it, and getting replacement rotors was really straightforward.

Vonov

Thanks, Charlie, that's just the kind of info I was looking for...and I'm ALL about ease of maintenance (color me lazy) and availability is a good thing too! How difficult is the conversion, and roughly what (ballpark) did it cost? (lol, I already have the front suspension off the car right now---which is why I thought it would be a good time to ask)

pontifex4

Because yours is an early car, you'll have to find spindles from an '86 turbo. That's likely to be the most costly part. Expect to pay around $400 for four good calipers (note that while non-M030 951 brakes take the same pads front and rear, front calipers are still different from rear calipers).

A quick ebay search just turned this up (no affiliation, obviously): http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsc...Q5fAccessories

Edit: the one thing this won't address is the early NA's brake bias. See if you can get a 951 or 944S/S2 bias valve, unless you're considering an aftermarket solution in that department.

Oh, and I didn't do the installation for mine: I thrust a box of parts at my mechanic while he was finishing up a head job on my 944S. Sorry I can't offer much more detail, there. He did do it in a morning though, except that one of my camber bolts was stripped so it was another day before I got it back.

Papa Stone

Wow.. I have being looking at this for days and someone else is doing it!!
Question tony, did you try talking to the guys that do the hybrids on their 944?
http://wolfcontracting.homestead.com/index.html
The seem to be good guys with alot of experience in hybrids. Another question, did you do the torque tube extention?
I am starting to look into this, I already have the VR6 24V engine in my shop, and I am presently looking into a Broken turbo (seen a few in Craigslist in FL)

uncle_scott

I'm sure there will be a build thread on vwvortex once I get mine off the ground. I'm in the process of getting and stripping a 12v vr6 motor, and in the next couple Werks I am buying the rear half of a 944 from a local junkyard. I want to mock everything up in my garage out of the car, then hopefully cut the car up and install the rear end. Crossmembers and motor mounts will all be custom. My main concerns right now are the steering column which will somehow need to be under the tranny bellhousing, and then which hubs to have custom machined....do I machine custom 5x100 Porsche hubs for the rear, or do I machine custom VW 5x130 hubs for the front...I haven't decided. I am sure your build will be done and driving before mine is going, but I'll keep you posted!

Vonov

Camber bolts??? OMG, please don't tell me I've got camber bolts to deal with---went thru a similar nightmare with my V8 Fiero...(yeah, I sort of like "orphan" cars, I owned a Corvair about ten years ago. Painted it in Steelers colors...metallic white on the front, faded back into a pearl yellow, and where the roofline came down in the back, I carried the line down, with the back of the car in black, with just a touch of violet pearl powder in the clearcoat. Prettiest car I ever painted, and it sounded a lot like a 911.)