Hi all, Wanted to share some of my mk1 build progress so I have some context when asking questions from the forum, which I'm sure I'll have plenty of. 1984 Rabbit GTI, I bought in 2008. - Was swapped to a standard 1.8T in 1998 (first a1 1.8t swap in the US) so it's been a 20v for more of it's life than it was an 8v. Competed in the 2003 European Car 1.8T challenge and finished 3rd overall. Was in various trim forms over the years, mostly t3/t4 60trim spec making 300whp, but in 2011 after engine failure I took it off road to begin collecting parts to rebuild it. I wanted to keep it a 20v since it had the history, but since I was rebuilding it anyway, might as well upgrade a thing or two while I'm at it. Here's a list of what I have so far: - New from VW AEB large port head (will be built) - 034 Motorsports carbon fiber coil pack cover - Precision PTE5857 w/ billet internals - Forge Motorsports blow-off valve - INA aluminum baffled oil pan - INA 06A mini race alternator kit - 83mm Mahle Motorsport Powerpak stroker pistons - 95.5 ALH crankshaft (needs to be knife edged and balanced yet. Any feedback on Eurospec Sport billet cranks? Hear they are made in China and better to stick w/ OEM?) - VWM/ Gemini 6-speed 02C Works Rallye gear box (0-miles, shipping from UK. Anyone know if mk1 02A/J mounts will work on this box?) - VWM 15x7 5-spoke alloy wheels (3 complete sets) - VWM Italivolanti steering wheels - VWM gauge cluster (custom) - VWM dead pedal - VWM shift knobs - VWM rubber floor mats - VWM badges (many) - NOS early westy deluxe grille - BBS front spoiler - Zender 3pcs rear spoiler - 4 point K-bar lower swap bar - Wilwood brake kit for front/ 1 piston disk brakes in the rear (might upgrade this kit) - Carbon fiber hood What I need - Skoda Octavia 17/21 angle drive - ATP lower bearing girdle for gearbox - intake/ exhaust manifolds (thinking FFE tubular for exhaust and SEM for intake, but hoping for suggestions) - Block (Hoping for some input here on what is the best block for reliability. Am 06A 1.8T block is what I had planned to use. But seems like rod ration isn't ideal with 220mm block/ 144mm rods... Was suggested to use the ALH block w/ 159mm rods for a better rod ration.. any input here?) - rods will depend on the block) - Haldex rear diff (curious on this one too. Everyone uses the Gen1. But why not consider a Gen 4 diff? Is it only because there are only LSD options for the Gen1?) - Suspension (currently on Weitec coilovers, will need to change as they're tired) - Shift tower (want to use CAE "underfloor" type but can't get feedback on if the cables will work. Seems since I'm going to be totally building the center tunnel in the car custom this wouldn't be an issue, but the stateside dealer said they couldn't guarantee anything. An old school smiles or VWM type would be neat too.. but hard to find.) - Want to get LSW Designs carbon fiber roof skin and rear hatch as well, to lower the center of gravity a bit further. With taking the weight out of the top and adding weight below the floor as well as widening the stance it should corner pretty well. - Weld in custom roll cage. - Misc odds and ends.. Any feedback on those points is much appreciated! Will add pictures in a bit.. Cheers, Isaac
Cant really help much except to say yes the Rallye 02C box needs same bracket set as you would use for 02A/J. sounds awesome
Your obviously going to need a rear beam which you haven't mentioned The rear shocks will be shorter due to the different location also if converting to syncro beam
Thanks! Wasn't sure if it'd fit w/ the added gear. I assume I may need to trim the inner well. Thanks! I'm not planning to do the common mk2 Syncro beam route. I'm designing an independent subframe that will support the diff and provide mounts for double wishbone rear suspension. Planning to use NA Miata race spec rear knuckles as they're 4x100. The rear shocks will mount to the lower control arms, similar to the Miata, and will modify the rear strut mounts with camber plates for full adjustability. Pics to come..
The Std 95.5 mm ALH crank will do the job.... and dont need knife edged, btw counterweights are there for a reason.
Here's some of the VWM stuff.. maybe some recognize the gearbox? It's owned buy a guy in the Uk, he bought it from the Netherlands and never installed it. These are all his pics because it hasn't shipped yet. Had 27K on it when it was pulled from the Rallye and had 1-6 VWM race gears installed. 0-miles since then. Has ARP bolt kit as well. Actually not sure what diff is in it, but if anyone knows more history would love to hear it. IMG_1473 by isaacpettit, on Flickr IMG_1499 by isaacpettit, on Flickr gemini 02c 3 by isaacpettit, on Flickr gemini 02c 2 by isaacpettit, on Flickr Will have one of these installed as well once it's in the states: https://www.aptuning.com/store/vw-c...9/aptuning-lower-pinion-bearing-girdle-detail and of course the angle drive will be changed. It's supposed to be rated at 600bhp. I'm building the engine to be able to make that, but will plan to run it under max performance to boost reliability. 4x100 15x7 VWM wheels I have two complete sets of the ones on the left, and one complete set of the one on the right. They're identical offsets, but the style is slightly different. Not bends or cracks, only some mild stuffing on the lips but all buffs out. Eventually will powdercoat at least one set black as that's my preference. IMG_2397 by isaacpettit, on Flickr IMG_2386 by isaacpettit, on Flickr IMG_2387 by isaacpettit, on Flickr Untitled by isaacpettit, on Flickr Have begun sanding down a few, the powdercoat is tough though.. image by isaacpettit, on Flickr image by isaacpettit, on Flickr I've collected a few spare centercaps as well lol IMG_1866 by isaacpettit, on Flickr Rebuilding my 160mph/ 8K tach with custom VWM gauge faces. Had a few sets made w/ redline and w/o. They have provision for backglow as well. And some spare VWM centercap stickers.. IMG_1864 by isaacpettit, on Flickr Worked the gearing in the odometer back to 0-miles so it will be accurate to the engine. IMG_0960 by isaacpettit, on Flickr IMG_2297 by isaacpettit, on Flickr My favorite wheel, Italivalonti VWM. Re-done to add girth. Planning to rewire one of the horn buttons to act as my remote boost control for switching between low and high. image by isaacpettit, on Flickr Untitled by isaacpettit, on Flickr Second wheel, also an Italivolanti wheel but momo VWM horn button IMG_2926 by isaacpettit, on Flickr VWM rubber floor mats. All rubber so just need some attention and they'll clean up nicely. image by isaacpettit, on Flickr image by isaacpettit, on Flickr Misc badges.. my wife got me the power rabbit badge for my birthday last year and I liked that, so have been calling the car that. Planning to graft some of the aluminum badges into the fenders and then use the older logo one for the grill. image by isaacpettit, on Flickr Shift knob options.. the all aluminum one from Trimsport is the heaviest and has the best feel in my opinion IMG_3024 by isaacpettit, on Flickr More to follow...
Thanks for the reply. Have you had a negative experience w/ a knife edged or lightened crankshaft? I plan to run a Fluidampr dampener and lightweight flywheel. Hope for a responsive engine, but could do without excessive engine vibration and chatter. I haven't done anything to the one I have yet, so appreciate the feedback. Thanks, Isaac
Better get some pictures of the car itself.. This was it before the engine failure. IMG_0002 by isaacpettit, on Flickr IMG_2796 by isaacpettit, on Flickr IMG_2630 by isaacpettit, on Flickr Now, stripped out.. waiting to be rebuilt SFYH0918 by isaacpettit, on Flickr IMG_1712 by isaacpettit, on Flickr image by isaacpettit, on Flickr
There is infact nothing wrong to knife edge a crank.... on condition its done the correct way and for the right reasons A knife edge crank is meant to have less drag while spinning, but only the leading edge should cut trough the air/oil mixture l Altough often the trailing edge is also done as on this aftermarket VW crank Often a knife edged crank is a way to reduce weight on a crank with a side effect of less drag... this is often done by machining half the counterweights away ... Im not a fan of this.... as high rev torque is helped by a heavier crank.... On the 600 Hp rating for the gearbox... i rate that as very optimistic, given its imo the same or atleast very similar to the Gemini / VWM street helical 6 sp gearkit
Thanks much for the feedback. This was the type of back and forth I was hoping for. In my understanding a lighter rotating assembly will rev quicker, although also fall off quicker out of throttle. I like a responsive throttle, but if the gain is slight in comparison with other negatives, it's something to think about. Can you help me understand the benefits of a heavier crank at high rev torque? Regarding the rod ration of using an 1.8t 06a block w/ 95.5, I've heard it won't be able to rev quite as high anyway, as say if the 92.8 crank is used. I'd like to feel comfortable being able to rev to 8K on occasion without concern. I thought the same thing. With as much as I have into the box I don't want to grenade it right away. On the other hand, there are VRT setups running around with 02A/J boxes that don't have gear kits in them on comparable torque figures. My thinking was (a lot depends on how you drive as well), with the girdle I'm adding and the ARP bolt kit, plus the gears being stronger than stock, it should be capable of 20% more power than a stock box w/ an LSD? I'm hoping someone with the Gemini kit will correct me if I'm way off. Thanks again! Isaac
In my understanding a lighter rotating assembly will rev quicker, although also fall off quicker out of throttle. I like a responsive throttle, but if the gain is slight in comparison with other negatives, it's something to think about. Can you help me understand the benefits of a heavier crank at high rev torque? A lighter crank is indeed more responsive but it must be placed in the right context...Imo there is not that much gain below 7500 rpm to be exited about....once we speak 8 - 9 K and more, its another story... As its a Turbo engine what imply lots of torque... there are other ways to make the engine responsive > fast spool up ( but thats another story) Div1 supercars in rallycross use quite heavy cranks in their 600 hp engines...and they are very responsive .... A car with a leightweight crank and flywheel doesnt come as good of the line at a standing start and has way more chance to stall the engine when there is much grip ( tyres and track) while those that have extra energy stored in a heavier crank / flywheel assy make fast starts every time...like a hammer Regarding the rod ration of using an 1.8t 06a block w/ 95.5, I've heard it won't be able to rev quite as high anyway, as say if the 92.8 crank is used. I'd like to feel comfortable being able to rev to 8K on occasion without concern. 144 / 95.5 = 1.507 144 / 92.8 = 1.551 Both rod ratio`s are pretty low but there are more engines with similar rod ratios that spin 9k... I thought the same thing. With as much as I have into the box I don't want to grenade it right away. On the other hand, there are VRT setups running around with 02A/J boxes that don't have gear kits in them on comparable torque figures. My thinking was (a lot depends on how you drive as well), with the girdle I'm adding and the ARP bolt kit, plus the gears being stronger than stock, it should be capable of 20% more power than a stock box w/ an LSD? I'm hoping someone with the Gemini kit will correct me if I'm way off. Indeed , on the road and normal driving conditions its all more or less smooth and it can survive ...while on track or in motorsport with grippy tyres and harsh driving, it can kill a gearbox within short notice.... Having used the Gemini 6 speed helical and the grA straight cut gears dogbox, i can say its good material, but not intended for these torque levels.... the weak point on 02A / 02J gearbox is were the bearings are between 4th and 5th gear , the oem casing is just not strong enough to cope
HPR, thanks very much mate! I would have thought the difference in responsiveness would be more relevant down low. Hoping the extra displacement and tubular exhaust mani contribute to quicker spool. APTuning in the US has some products for the 02a/j series boxes that have proven to help support them under high loads, but the lower bearing girdle is the only one I think will be applicable to this box. Any products from Europe that mitigate the issue? I went with this box over an O2M for a number of reasons, historical significance not least on the list, and don't mind limiting the engines performance to reliable figures for this box, but the setup should make 500bhp at least. Again, appreciate the input! Isaac
Lots of views but no love!? Haha Feeling good about my crankshaft then. As far as 1.8t 06a block vs ALH 06a block goes, any input? Rod ratio on the prior isn't ideal but isn't way out of acceptable range either, and others have gone that route with good results. Any reasons why an ALH block is a better route? My goal is to build the engine over spec and run it under max performance to try to maintain reliability as much as possible. Not worried about good/ ground clearance as I can prop the hood if need be and have a shallower oil pan. Cheers, Isaac
Do not worry in this social media age, the right people are watching and commenting! ALH block? As we are in different markets, reminding me the origins of that code please?
No worries Eddie, I believe it! Sorry, ALH is the code for the mk3 generation 1.9TDI engine, same one the 95.5 crank I'm using comes from. 034 Motorsports in the US used one for their time attack A4 a number of years ago, utilizing a FSI crankshaft though. That block is 16mm taller than the 1.8t ones, so rod ratio is potentially improved. Thanks, Isaac
The FSI crank is 92,8 mm and gives the best rod/ stroke ratio > 1,71 vs 1,66 on TDI crank with 159 mm rods in a tall block ALH block is stronger, altough there are rallycross engines with ca 800 NM Torque who use an ABF block altough the dry sump pan forms a strong crank girdle..... and these engines endure extreme loads All in all, you can make everything work....with the right solutions
Thanks. The 2008cc setup utilizing the FSi crank is pretty common in the states (granted for good reason). Probably the most common setup for engines with built bottom ends. Since my car was the first 1.8T mk1 in the US, I wanted to build something of the ultimate 4cly 20v engine; responsive, good power, reliable, but a bit different. 1.8T swaps are a dime a dozen and there's pretty much no "unique" setup, but the 2067 route is less common and hence attractive to me. Suppose at a certain point it comes down to preference..
