I'm going to try and explain something I don't yet fully understand, plus I'm repeating (either just wrongly or maybe because I've misunderstood) things I've had explained to me. The pistons in the EV engine are non-VW Mahle's to 82.465 diameter which combined with the standard crank / rods (86.4 stroke?) gives an increase in capacity from 1781cc to 1870cc. They've 550 and 0987 scribed on them. The pistons appear to be reusable (yeah), however the rings are not (booh). The guy doing the work has made noises about getting replacements, but it seems all his usual suppliers are drawing a blank. That's far from saying they're not available, just he's spending more time than expected tracking some down. I'm concious he's running a business and there's a finite amount of effort he can give over to looking for them for me. The details - Top ring is 1.6mm Middle is 1.8mm Oil ring is 3.00mm From what I've read you can get custom rings made, presumably at a cost but obviously we'd like to source hopefully much cheaper off the shelf ones and that'd be a very last resort. I also realise all the above is probably a massive over simplification and there's plenty of other technical factors to consider. My problem is I could be staring the answer in the face and not realise it when I'm Googling etc. As usual any thoughts / pointers appreciated...
Believe we've found somewhere that'll either have what we need from old stock or if push comes to shove they can adapt existing rings to spec or indeed even make bespoke ones, though dread to think what that'd cost! Anyhow got given a piston away with me so as to send off to the ring supplier and as it'll all hopefully eventually never be seen again when the engines built back up, took some piccies for posterity / future reference. Guessing the first image shows GTiE's own mark, the conrod is a standard VW item (as it should be on a RE1900). Rings were very brittle apparently, but even after an initial clean the pistons themselves are all fine.
Wayyyyyy back on page 1. of the thread I put up an image I'd saved from years ago showing one of the two actual cars (both nearly identical in Helios Blue) that inspired me to recreate a Z20. You'll probably not overly care, but I eventually worked out it was from an ancient for sale advert by a guy called Ian Green when he owned and ran 'Wagen-Wheels'. Now that I'm back on Facebook had a trawl about and found him... and some more images. Can't believe my luck as I'd even gone as far as ringing him about 10 years ago, just in case he remembered the car or had some background on it. He was very helpful, but unfortunately reckoned everything was long gone on an old PC, thankfully it's looking like he later turned up the images below around 2016.
Have a 3 or 4mm set of stamps already but apart from I think being too small for the look I was after I was also making a real pigs ear of practising using them... really didn't want to have to make another steel plate if I buggered the original up. Having said that any images on the inter-web of what is supposedly the real deal / GTiE stamping isn't all that professional looking either! Another consideration was by the time I bought a bigger set of stamps it'd start running into serious money for what is likely a 'one of' job. Not going to drill the attachment hole until the block's back, but in the meantime got a local place to engrave the details for a fraction of the cost.
Touched on this a few pages back and with all the recent GTiE'ness going on it made me revisit things. Company still had the original artwork from the initial order of 4 - 5 years ago, just tweaked it a bit to include a solid blue inlay for the large lettering, previously it was white with a blue border. Loosely based on one you'll see in contemporary GTiE brochures...
Piston rings are on their way, if I've understood correctly it's a combination of off the shelf matches plus some needing to be made up by adapting others... ignore the previous post and sizes, they're not entirely correct. Anyhow, all this poking about with the pistons has highlighted an anomaly. There doesn't seem to be much genuine material out there to research GTiE's conversions and any that there is, is from the limited number of magazine articles / some printed books (remember those?) and sales literature / information sheets. The engine we have is stamped RE1900 and if you've read any of what has gone before you'll maybe see it's got all the hallmarks of being genuine and retaining the original modifications which make it the conversion that it was. Of those limited references the piston bore is given as 83.mm which (with the standard stroke of 86.4mm) gives a displacement of almost 1870cc, hence presumably the conversions name. My Mahle pistons are 82.5mm giving just over 1847cc. Look at the Tim Stiles passage below from his 2005 Haynes 'Golf GTI Performance Manual', particularly the reference about 1800 to 1900 conversions utilising 82.5/83.0 pistons. (I'm aware there was an 1850 conversion but my understanding is it was based on the 1.6 EG block and also used 82.5 pistons, 100% sure mines an 1.8 EV) Found this on our own forum - https://clubgti.com/forums/index.php?threads/8-valve-engines-oem-tuned-race-outputs.230780/ Snip of the bit that I think is relevant - The RLR2000 conversion seems to have come with 2x strokes, if you use the 90.4mm crank that gives 1933cc (the 94.5 gives 2020cc) so a bit short of being a 2 litre and by a much greater margin than my 1847 is to being a 1900. The reason I'm high lighting this one is to show another example of the capacity suggested by the conversion name arguably not following the actual capacity. Likely a common enough thing, one off the top of my head that I've owned myself was a C-Class Mercedes-Benz badged as a 2.2 diesel which in reality is something like 2148cc. Doesn't matter one bit to me, but was curious to know what someone else with a genuine RE1900 that has been / is currently apart found their piston size to be. Probably asking alot as it's bound to be a very small sample pool and not expecting someone else to confirm what I've found, but then again you just never know! Please, not looking conjecture or repeating what the inter-web opinions say, just actual first hand experience thanks.
Has been suggested the RE1900's 83mm pistons were Audi items, and it's very possible they were, but that it was only from after when they started to become available, prior to that and before their introduction by Audi it was Mahles used. Can't give you any more info. than that, but it'd be a starting point if there was confirmation (or not) Audi introduced an 83mm piston of some sort around the early / mid 80's?
Rings've literally just turned up... very quick turnaround and 100% recommened outfit. If you're in the market for this sort of thing, and not just obscure sized rings they'll likely be able to help - https://www.coxandturner.co.uk/ Unfortunately this time of year in N. Ireland a lot of places close for 2 x weeks holidays so have to wait a bit longer to have the block back.
Been getting a bit ahead of myself... had these made up a while ago as I knew from early on that our RE1900's plaque is long gone. There's the odd image on the inter-web and from what I can see there are two distinct 'versions'. The first has the original Silverstone address (suitable to our '86 conversion) and a later one has the Oxford Road address from when their premises moved. There also appears to be some very minor differences within those two types... spacing, punctuation, dropping the Telex number and such. Makes sense they had the plaques made up in batches as needed over the years and with there ultimately being over 1000+ conversions, revisions have to be expected I suppose. When the time comes I'll have it engraved with the correct info. for the engine but I'm going to put whatever the present day date the engine goes on it, not some 1980's one. This car's a keeper, but nor do I want there to be any circumstance in the future that would allow someone to pass it off as anything other than what it is... a recreation, still maybe one using 99.9% genuine parts but even so not an 80/90's original. Ironically what was being described as a genuine blank Silverstone plaque turned up on eBay a couple of months after I'd mine made, but it went for quite a bit in the end, way beyond what I'd have paid had I been bidding. Was reticent about posting this, there's probably a market for these and may well be folk wanting one or asking where I'd it done. I've decided to not share that info. (or sell on any)... I can't stop someone creating their own, but nor do I want to be associated with circulating something that can potentially be used to deceive. It's also arguably got the potential to undermine legitimate cars which I've no desire to do.
Got these a while back... were originally to be a backup for the metal caps, but now thinking I'll be using them as first preference instead, so as not to be having to worry too much over losing one when out and about. 3D printed and a perfect fit, just need some prep. to get them finished. You can maybe see the printing marks on the face side, but a rub down with wet'n'dry easily sorted it out. The one in the final image has just been done and given an initial blow over with primer... Zender logo still as clear as a bell.
For want of keeping the thread active... picked up a Control Pressure Regulator with the full load diaphram. Had been looking for a while but 99.9% that were on for example on eBay didn't inspire much confidence, plus cost an arm and a leg into the bargain. Lots that can be wrong with them to be taking a chance on buying by description / auction images alone. Problem solved, got one locally for a sensible price from a guy doing a Corrado transplant. Bosch number say it's for 1.8 16v Toledos and Sciroccos and that 0438140120 is the Corrado's but makes no odds, does the same thing. It's dated 161 (Jan 1991) so again could've been from any or all of them originally. Did need a clean though but also meant I could check the vacuum on the diaphram, that the brass cap hadn't previously been buggered around with and the filter wasn't bunged up. Read there's something like 5 layers to it and if it's blocked / damaged it's more or less game over, can't be cleaned or replaced. Getting there... bound to be something outstanding I haven't thought of, but if not think I've most of the main bits now.
Seems unlikely there wasn't a GTiE dealer sticker, but unfortunely yet to see even an image of one... this is just fiction, made up of a combination of text / graphics from contemporary brochures and literature.
Thunder and lightning here for the last day or so, amused myself finishing off something I'd been tinkering at for a while. The GTiE aspect is mostly fiction (some of the graphics are genuine, lifted from their brochures of the time), but the VW service side of things is a much more accurate representation, if much abbreviated version of the cars original early 80's MK1's Service Schedule. What with there going to be an engine swap, thought it'd be an ideal opportunity to reset the service history as all the original engines paperwork / history'll be coming to a halt when it's taken out after all. Got to emphasize this is just a written record for the replacement engine alone, and me indulging in a bit of fantasy... everything else such as the mileage readings / previous history etc. etc. won't be tampered with... idea is to create a new starting point for the (hopefully) evolving maintenance history of the new engine. Will fill in whatever the current install date is when known along with the other VIN / engine no. basics.
Donkeys years ago I'd made up a replacement VIN boot sticker for the MK1 (unbelieveably in 2009, according to the date mark on the sheet of them I printed off at the time). Template is long gone, but relatively easy to redo., even using the basic MS Paint that's on the PC. Used the cars original VIN sticker for the general details / spacing etc., so things like the text not lining up and other oddities are as I found them. In reality the sticker in the service book wouldn't have been so detailed either - like the MK2's stickers, that darker information on the left is already printed on the inside cover so doesn't need repeating. Took the opportunity to tweak the engine code / number / paint and options to match what I hope will be the finished cars spec! ... and yes, the weathers still sh*t here and at a loose end.
