Project: Back to my roots.

Discussion about automotive projects
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ryed
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Project: Back to my roots.

Post by ryed »

My automobile history started with a hand-me-down 1973 VW Super Beetle. That didn’t last long, as my sister (hand-me-downer) swerved to miss a squirrel, and met a parked car. Somehow the parked car won. Next was a 1984 Audi 4000S Quattro, purchased with years of grass mowing, snow blowing, and movie theatre concession labor $. This is the first of many cars I wish I never sold…

Next was a trade for a modified 1986 VW GLI. Fun car, but didn’t stack up to the 5 cylinder 4000. Then somehow I got into a GMC Jimmy, WTF was I thinking? Then while keeping the Jimmy, I acquired an 84 GTI from my cousin, who had just crashed his 16V swapped VW caddy. This is the 2nd car I wish I never sold…

Next the Jimmy was replaced with a 95.5 Audi S6. Car #3 that I wish I still had.

Then life and work led me to needing a truck, Toyota Tacoma, which I supercharged, which was pretty awesome… for a truck. Next was a 2001 Audi A6 2.7T 6-speed. Great car, but soon after we moved to a house on a long muddy dirt road. After getting stranded a few times, I realized that it was time to move on again.

Traded it in for a used 2004 V8 Touareg , which was no sports car, but chalked up to vehicle #4 that I regret loosing.

Blah Blah Blah. Fast forward more recent history… Seth let me drive his Subaru at the first autocross @ Sugarbush (I think…). I was hooked. Shortly thereafter I had the “opportunity” to acquire a 1994 Miata R-Package. That was in 2007. It was an awesome car for so many reasons. But now with 2 daughters, almost 6 years old, and 17 months old, that I need to drive to school, daycare, etc. the Miata wasn’t getting much time on the road ( no back seat).

So I listed the Miata for sale/trade. No pressure to sell, but I started actively searching for a replacement.

After countless, email, texts, and phone conversations with someone that had a potential trade, enter Project: Back to my Roots (with some boost!)

Image

1991 GTI, VR6 Turbo swap

The work was done by: http://www.mmiconcepts.com/srvcpics_1.a ... ntrecord=1

They did the following:

Complete custom VR6 turbo swap along with painting the engine bay black.
Garrett journal bearing T3/T4
Tial 38mm wastegate w/ custom recirc. to downpipe
ATP exhaust manifold
Custom 2-1/2" to 3" stainless steel downpipe
SP short runner intake w/ fuel rail adapter
Tial BOV
Precision FMIC
Custom 2-1/2" stainless steel intercooler piping
C2 42# Software and Injectors & 4" MAF
SP Turbo Steel Head Spacer and ARP head studs
Custom 3" Stainless Steel Exhaust w/ Borla
Walbro Inline Pump
Clutchmaster FX 300 Clutch
Peloquin Differential
VR6 gas tank and in tank fuel pump
Manual boost controller
5 Lug conversion w/MKIV Front Brakes & MKIII rear brakes

Needless to say, it’s a beast. Happy and humbled to be back to my roots.
1991 Alpine White GTI VRT "Polar Express"
2012 Ford F150 Ecoboost "Tullibee"
2017 VW Alltrack "Betty White"
"Never run out of real estate, traction and ideas at the same time" - Unknown
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Rabbit Farmer
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Re: Project: Back to my roots.

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

Let's see some under hood pictures.... :popcorn: :3gears:
Steve #702
Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
It takes hundreds of nuts to hold a car together, but it takes only one of them to scatter it all over the highway. - Evan Esar
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ryed
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Re: Project: Back to my roots.

Post by ryed »

Rabbit Farmer wrote:Let's see some under hood pictures.... :popcorn: :3gears:
At your service:
Image
Image
1991 Alpine White GTI VRT "Polar Express"
2012 Ford F150 Ecoboost "Tullibee"
2017 VW Alltrack "Betty White"
"Never run out of real estate, traction and ideas at the same time" - Unknown
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Rabbit Farmer
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Re: Project: Back to my roots.

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

Yep... that looks like it will be a lot of fun.
Steve #702
Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
It takes hundreds of nuts to hold a car together, but it takes only one of them to scatter it all over the highway. - Evan Esar
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teenwolf
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Re: Project: Back to my roots.

Post by teenwolf »

Ah a practical race car :D can't wait to see this thing go!
'84 GTI 1.8t
'90 Corrado G-fix me
'88 Audi 90 20vt
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ryed
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Re: Project: Back to my roots.

Post by ryed »

Practical... Exactly how I sold the concept to my wife. :lol: :3gears:
1991 Alpine White GTI VRT "Polar Express"
2012 Ford F150 Ecoboost "Tullibee"
2017 VW Alltrack "Betty White"
"Never run out of real estate, traction and ideas at the same time" - Unknown
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8valvegrowl
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Re: Project: Back to my roots.

Post by 8valvegrowl »

Holy wheel spin! I bet that is a hoot. Nice find! :mrgreen:
'99 9.3 - Torquey noodle-mobile.
'08 9.3 SportCombi - Family Wagon.
'87 900 - 8 valves of pure fury.
'91 Legacy AWD - Sold :(
'74 MGBGT - Stage: Welding project.
'87 4Kquattro - Gone, but not forgotten
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ryed
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Re: Project: Back to my roots.

Post by ryed »

So the first trip to SLMP with the VRT was a blast :3gears: , and overall a success, with minor setbacks… At the end of Saturday I started to hear a “clunk” from the left front suspension on hard braking. Then Sunday on my first run it seemed worse, and I noticed that the paint on the strut tower started to crack.
My suspicion was that the rubber strut mounts were shot, so I ordered a new set. Pictures don’t do it justice, but after removing the driver’s side coilover, it was clear they were toast:
Image
And the bearing exploded when removed:
Image

After buttoning everything up, I went for a quick test drive and found that the “clunk” was still there… I didn’t have time to investigate further, so that will have to wait for another day.

On to the running gear…
The VRT has been converted from 4x100 to 5x100. Currently the car sits on 16x6.5 wheels with 205/45’s, and 42mm backspacing (plus 7mm spacers up front, and 17.5mm spacers in back). I test fitted one of Larson’s 4x100 15” wheels @ SLMP and confirmed that they will clear the calipers (barely).

So I was on the hunt for 15” wheels that shared similar other dimensions to the 16” wheels now on the car. Easier said than done… There were plenty of aftermarket options, but offset and hub bore numbers were off. I know I can get hub rings and different spacers, but I really wanted to find the “right fit.”

Luckily I found these 15” wheels off a Corrado:
Image
15x6.5, 5x100, 43mm backspacing, exactly what I was looking for! They came with 165/50 tires (weird size) that are essentially brand new. They’ll come off and go up for sale. I’ll be ordering something much stickier in a 205/50, which will match my existing width and diameter exactly. This will be my street/auto-x set-up for now.
1991 Alpine White GTI VRT "Polar Express"
2012 Ford F150 Ecoboost "Tullibee"
2017 VW Alltrack "Betty White"
"Never run out of real estate, traction and ideas at the same time" - Unknown
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ryed
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Re: Project: Back to my roots.

Post by ryed »

So I went to Mt. Philo for my first-ever hillclimb. Humbling, but incredibly fun.
Image

So much fun, but pretty scary cosidering the consequences of going off roading in a tin can. I started talking to Joey Kale about putting a cage in, and it looks like that's the direction I'm headed... Time to start stripping out the interior:

The driver's floor looks to be the worst. Luckily it's all just surface rust.
Image
Underneath the driver's seat looking pretty good.
Image
Still a lot of scraping to be done on the passenger floor.
Image
Underneath the passenger seat also looking pretty good
Image
One of the previous owners decided it was a good idea to line the rear hatch area with ice & water shield. That was a lot of fun to remove. Still some small pieces left, and I need to figure out what nasty chemical to use to remove the brown residue.
Image

Glad I got in there, as I found a mouse hotel underneath the passenger dash area. No more insulation for them to nest in now!
1991 Alpine White GTI VRT "Polar Express"
2012 Ford F150 Ecoboost "Tullibee"
2017 VW Alltrack "Betty White"
"Never run out of real estate, traction and ideas at the same time" - Unknown
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Rabbit Farmer
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Re: Project: Back to my roots.

Post by Rabbit Farmer »

Nice! :3gears:


:popcorn:
Steve #702
Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
It takes hundreds of nuts to hold a car together, but it takes only one of them to scatter it all over the highway. - Evan Esar
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