ej20t 1303 project

[vw1303]

After some clutch chatter issues and wanting to keep things in place better I'm switching to solid mounts. I'm also going to reverse the rear cradle and mount the gearbox forward a few inches. Ditching the front rubber mount and going with a mid mount. I'm going to get rid of the urethane piece that the midmount came with and use aluminum and drilling through the frame horns to secure it.

[vw1303]

Flipped the rear cradle and mocked up the gear box. Going to make a solid front mount and also use a mid mount. Pulled my shift rod and found out it was bent. So I ordered up an adjustable end and am going to shorten it by 2". Also started setting up the spool differential. I installed my original ring gear and torqued it down. Then plopped it in the gear box. It seemed too tight after installing the diff cover so I removed a shim out of it. Now it seems pretty good. I measured .015" of play while rotating the diff using this method however I am a little unsure of it as this is the first time I have setup a rear end. Factory settings from the manual say .006"-.010". Any pointers?

[vw1303]

Gearbox is ready to go. Bearing preload and backlash are set on the spool.

I "deconstructed" my OEM front mount and found the date of manufacture was cast into the piece. I am going to mill down the face and resuse this piece as a solid front mount.

[vw1303]

Solid front mount.

Shortened and adjustable shift rod made with slightly heavier wall tubing than OEM.

[cookvw]

i got 2 questions for ya.

1: well i need motor mounts in my 1303 as well. i cant decide on what route to go,how are the solid mounts on the street? do they vibrate the car super bad? ive been thinking about getting some solid mounts.

2: how is the spool diff on the street? does one wheel make noise when turning tight turns? i know in your case its not a big deal as i know your wanting to drift with it. but i had to ask. lol

looking awesome as usual. ill be getting my turbo on my WBX soon, your car is a great inspiration. keep up the good work.

[NO_H2O]

Good to see it out on the street.

[vw1303]

So here you can see the stock reverse light switch and an M18 Plug I got to block off the reverse light portion of my gearbox when I was moving it forward 2". Turns out the 3mm longer in length was causing me a real headache trying to get the car into reverse. It would move back a few feet then start grinding. Ahh!! I had no idea what to do so I contacted Bruce Tweedle who knows his stuff when it comes to gears and he had heard of a problem like this when someone forgot to install a washer on the reverse light switch.

You can see on the top of the plug I installed that there is some wear in that area. So I was confindent when making a new plug using the orginal plug that it would solve the problem. Turns out it did! I would have had no clue and probably tossed the gearbox. So I am pretty stoked that this problem was cured quite easily. Let this be a heads up for anyone moving there gearbox forward that this plug can be no longer the OE one.

[vw1303]

Put a permit on the beetle and drove to work today. This happened...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ9emhSuutM

[cookvw]

thats awesome. good to see it running solid.

[NO_H2O]

Good to see it on the road.

[vw1303]

Modified by steering knuckles for for steering angle. I cut 25mm out of the Porsche 944 knuckles and drilled and reamed a 5/8" hole in them. I noticed with my BMW steering rack it requied alot of input to turn the car. Shortening the steering arm will give quicker response and allow for more steering angle. Before doing this the wheels would point about 35 degrees now the wheel will go almost 50 degrees. I will need to "massage" the inner fenders to make room for all of this steering lock.

Stock knuckle.

Modified knuckle.

[vw1303]

Finally finished my tubular front control arms.

Stock vs. Prototype Tubular

This version allows for 25mm roll centre correction. Made in Chromoly.
Length is adjustable from 0-+50mm wider than stock.
3/4" Chromoly Heim joints at both ends.



More front suspension goodies.

[owdlvr]

Very Sick.

Any chance you're coming to the Van-Area swap meet tomorrow morning?

-Dave

[vw1303]

Hey Dave,

Is that the one at langley events centre?

[owdlvr]

Nuts. Sorry I didn't see your reply. Today in Surrey, 10 am. Just search Vancouver CL for VW Porsche swap and you'll find my post. 604 902 1595 if you need to call / text me.

-Dave