And some progress.....

Front end of the Golf is 100% apart in terms of the frame rails and body work. I have not touched the subframe and control arms yet... I'm hoping to be able to wait on the swap to the new parts.

For sale... cheap. One skid plate.



Frontend off the 20AE. I removed the AC condenser and radiator.


About to wash the fender, hood, front bumper/rub strip, grill, and replacement door (from the last shell that I stripped for the roof). I had to purchase one fender new (yep, from the Ford dealership)

Two very full nights of work and only three images that doesn't look like I did a damn thing.

The black rim was damaged in the incident. I'm either going to get the silver rim (I have four of them) painted to match the other three black rims as I like how they look, or I'm going to swap all the tires over to the silver rims.


Two nights.... Removed the subframe and discovered that the exhaust was in perfect condition thanks to the power steering rack protecting it (can you say "sarcasm"... I knew you could). Spent a long time removing the subframe and rack from BOTH cars and then putting the good subframe and rack on the Golf. Finally, progress moving forward where I'm putting good parts on the car.


And finally ready to go to the body shop...

I am pooped....

Well, the Okemo hillclimb isn't looking good as I am now at the mercy of the local machine shop. I have no idea what his schedule is, but experience shows that 1-2 weeks is the minimum. I want to get the block, crank, end caps, and pan cleaned and the block decked. I was tempted to put it together "as is" but with this much time into it, I'm not cutting corners just so I have to do it all over again.

Car is at Junction Motorsports (Chris Putzier) to get the front end straightened out and painted. Since I was pushing to be ready for Okemo on August 7-8, 2010, I told him to get it straightened out so that I could put it together and race it, even with all the multi-colored parts. Seems like painting it now is the way to go. (sigh)

Presents arrived. I have been ordering stuff based on my original build receipts. I don't recall why I got certain things from FastAddiciton.com and others from axismotorsport.com. (and then others directly from Autosport, 034, Jegs, etc.)

Regardless... the toys. Timing belt, rod bearings, head bolts, hood pins, new control arms with poly bushings already installed (surprising cheap as compared to buying just the bushing and then having them installed), Autometer A/F gauge (replaced under warranty), and 14 head gaskets. Huh? Should have been 1. Funny thing is that Joe (Axismotorsport) was telling me that he accidentally ordered 44 instead of 4 of something else recently. His new nemesis is the number 4 key on his computer.



I was looking at the timing belt tensioner and trying to figure out why the hydro pushrod was not centered where it should be on the swing arm. A "slight" crack was discovered to be the culprit.





And a questionable part. The #4 piston looks like it experienced some pre-detonation. The edges are a little rough (porous) and one noticeable flaw is the very edge of the piston on one of the intake valve cutouts. Is it enough to scrap the piston? (last I checked, they weren't selling single pistons). Also pictured is the perfect #1 (same as #2 and #3)





Engine block completely disassembled and boxed up with the crank, oil pan, end caps, etc.

14 Head Gaskets! I hope he didn't jinx ya.

Some progress.... with most goals obtained tonight.

Spent a lot longer at an organizational meeting for Wolfsgart tonight and didn't get started on the car until 9ish.

My goals:
Disassemble old Golf race engine to get the pistons/rods out and scrap the rest
Clean up Julie's half of the garage in preparation for cleaning and preparing the 20AE engine for the Cabriolet
Remove the engine from the 20AE
Put the Cabriolet in the garage

Three out of four ain't bad. I didn't bother moving the Cabriolet inside as it was late.

Close up of the questionable piston. She is a goner. It looks like the top compression ring failed (second image) and started to breakdown the piston.






And all the other pistons and rods are perfect.... doh!



Engine is out and ready for disassembly to match the same setup as what is currently in the Cabriolet.



The dreaded aluminum oil pan. Even it is was all steal or the hybrid pan (metal bottom with aluminum top) it would not have survived. On the other hand, it might have protected the oil pump (seems to be the only damage).



Soooooo tempting, but I didn't want another late late late night.


I don't think it will wash out. Oh well... can't keep things forever.

Steve, awesome work! So fast too! Pics are great ...

maybe he thought it would be a good idea to lower the compression a little bit

Not happy with the Cabriolet. I figured out that the timing belt became loose (Rabbit style tensioner) and crashed cylinder #1 valves. Figured I would remove the head to see what I was dealing with... either swap just the head (easier); or the head and pistons; or worse case scenario, the whole engine from the 20AE. I plan to rebuild 100% over the winter to make it all pretty. Well, I cannot remove the valve cover without removing the turbo. @#%@@#$@# I even tried removing the long studs in the back of the valve cover to no avail. Trying to remove the four bolts that hold the turbo to the manifold, but that is very frustrating also.

Giving up for the night... planning to drive the Jetta to Wolfsgart. Bah!

From a large pile of twisted metal....


She's home! (panels are just hanging on the car)

that looks great, should look like nothing ever happened once it's completely back together