14th April 2006
"Removing the 8v"
With the whole interior bar the headlining removed to make way for the mk3 dash and RHD conversion next on the list was the engine bay. I had also removed the entire LHD loom as with the fusebox relocating to the opposite side of the 'cabin' the engine bay harness no longer reached and would have to be a) modified to reach or b) replaced with a complete RHD version. I opted for option b in this case so the entire RHD 90 spec loom has been agreed @ £48. I haven't paid for it yet so I haven't fitted it either! Once I purchase the new loom it'll all be fitted into the car. I will be removing some parts of the engine harness as I won't be running the 8v engine in the car anymore, but I want to retain the original sensors so that my clocks still function perfectly unlike before.
This is how the day started. I'd removed the radicator and intake eariler and drained all fluids apart from oil from it.
With the gorgeous welsh weather truely coming out it was a lovely day to work outside on the car. Also it showed off the true colour of my car - IT'S NOT BLACK! After removing the front of the car it became obvious why the side parts of the bumper which cover the lower front of the wings were so far away from the wings. Some donut in the past had fitted the guide peices that attach to the wings upside down putting the guide further away from the wing. They had then spaced the bottom section out with rubber washers holding it all together with a nut and bolt.Â
I rectified this little annoyance ready for when I refit my bumper.
Next was to remove the driveshafts so that the engine could be lifted out. After separating the hub housing from the wishbone aswell as the trackrod end and shock the driveshaft refused to part company with the hub leaving my no option than to remove the 2 together and attend to that problem in the workshop. I have G60 280mm brakes replacing the original 239mm GTi ones aswell as the driveshafts I removed from my blue mk2 so I wasn't that fused. Ali is having the GTi ones for her car so I best separate them later on. My shocks are also being replaced with the KW setup I bought a few months ago, but they're at Voodoo's workshop so i can't swap those over just yet.
With both driveshafts and hub assembley removed it was ready to lift the 8v free of the engine bay. The exhaust was causing more problems in the fact it had rusted itself together and I couldn't get the downpipe to separate from the cat. I guess this was coming out together then. I did split the exhaust after the cat though. With the remaining subframe bolts giving me loads of trouble, but no more sheering off it dropped to the floor. luckily I had already got the engine on the hoist so that didn't crash to the floor with the subframeÂ
1, 2, 3....
I shall be removing the sellable parts such as the alternator and starter motor and moving the HT leads and Dizzy cap onto my daily 8v runabout and scrapping the rest. If anyone is interested in this engine PM me and I'll leave it as it is!
With the subframe removed from the car you can see the remains of the bolt I sheered the head off sticking down. It's on the left just next to the row of sockets on the floor. I will need to weld a bar to that to try and remove it from the car. With the cross member, subframe and radiator supports all removed from the car I dowsed them in cleaner and pressure washed them off ready to recieve a nice coat of black paint so they should be looking like new when they go back into the car. not covered in oil and grim.Â
I will also remove the LHD PAS rack and fit the RHD one I removed from my blue mk2 before refitting commences.
When it came to replacing the original rod shifter with my cable one I needed to slightly modify the mk3 shifter to allow me to bolt it to the bottom of the car. This was only as the housing was slightly too wide for the bolt holes. Using the angle grinder I cut 4 half moons into the housing which lined up with the bolts perfectly.
All that was left for me to do then was slide back under the car and fix the shifter in place and replace the heat shield. voilaÂ
I'm now waiting for the tools to rehone my bottom end so I can fit the new low compression pistons and rebuild the 20v engine back up and bolt on my k04 turbo. As funds are still very tight I won't be able to buy the DTA management loom or get it remapped so it could be a while before she's putting 280bhp to the floor.
Tomorrow I shall be working on fitting the mk3 dash in and more than likely replacing the headlining as it's just getting battered in the back of the car. Might even drill the holes needed to fit the steering and brake servo if we get some tank cutters.