24 Oct Swap Meet
We’re getting close to finishing up our two concurrent motor swaps, so let’s take a look at the progress of one thus far.
We’ll start with that VAG 1.8T motor we were working on last time. As you may remember, we said we switched from the standard head over to the “high flow” version of the same head. Well, we also transferred over the intake manifold from the “high flow” design, as well. However, that left us with one issue — the standard fuel rail we had wasn’t meeting up at the same points on the new manifold, making it impossible to bolt down. Impossible’s not a word we enjoy, nor a word we embrace, so we rolled the motor over to fabrication, tossed the fuel rail onto the welding table and shouted at Tom until he welded the mounting brackets in the correct spot. Here’s that rail, tacked up just before the final welds.
At the same time, we finished up installing the remainder of the valvetrain, torquing everything down to the correct specs in preparation for the attachment of the external bits of the motor.
Once we had the modified fuel rail in hand, we bolted it to the motor. With the valvetrain finished, we sealed up the motor’s innards and began assembling all of the fans, pulleys and hoses that must be attached prior to the installation of the motor into the vehicle itself.
Next thing we knew, we had enough of the wiring and external parts attached to get the transmission in place. So with a little help from the engine crane (to raise the motor up) and a tire (against which the transmission is resting, as there’s not a good spot to mount the crane’s chains such that the whole assembly is evenly balanced), we attached the transmission and are still continuing to attach parts as we speak.
In the event you’re wondering what we’re putting this motor in, it’s a car that we’ve been meaning to put a motor into for quite some time, but we haven’t had the chance to just yet. If you’ve ever been by our shop, you may have a seen a motor-less B5 Volkswagen Passat sitting in storage, getting a little dusty. Well, after a deep cleaning both inside and out over the course of yesterday afternoon, she’s all set up and ready to meet her new heart. We’ve got the front clip still sitting upstairs, as it won’t be going on until the motor’s in its final resting place.
While we’re finishing everything for the swap, Zak is taking the exhaust to fabrication, where we’re getting rid of some failed catalytic converters in favor of something that breathes just a bit easier.
We still have the Cosworth/Supertech/Mazda motor being assembled in service, as well, so there’ll be plenty more engine-swapping coverage as soon as we get all our pictures in order. Not to mention the 3 or 4 other projects we’re currently working on, as well. So, in short, we have a glut of coverage that we’ll be sharing with you shortly! Stay tuned!
No Comments