H20 Germanlook

[Shadowbug]

well I've got my '54 beetle almost complete (just a few engine things and electrical to do) and have purchaced my next project, and have been thinking of what to do.

the project is a '85 Golf GTI, and the plans are to convert it to rear wheel drive and porsche wheels and brakes.

got a couple of questions that I thought someone here might know the answer to.

I know theay the 944 front suspenstion is based on a combination of parts from the rabbit and Superbeetle, I'm wondering how similar are is the complete 944 front suspension to the Golf? dimentionally?

if it were similar I'd swap out struts and spindles from a 944t into the golf, as well as the stearing rack.

rear suspention would also be from a 944t (amazing at the amount of room a golf has in the rear, should be a matter of fabricating mounts)

as for drive train, it will be getting 16v aba turbo, I may use the 944/924 tranny-tortion tube setup, or I may just adapt a toyota 5 speed tranny and rear differential.

[boygenius]

WOW that sure is an interesting idea. :agree: A question on the rear suspension... Why not just re-drill the rear hubs to accept porsche discs to simplify the building proccess. My friend had a golf and it was a pretty narrow car, the 944 rear suspension might push the wheels too far out. I don't know if you want the whole wide body look.

[zen]

you've got some fun projects going on. i've been debating if and what i might do to my '84 Vanagon. it is just meant for Home Depot runs and such, but it is hard not to want to do something to it. thinking of holding off though as i want a vert again. i still love the 80's water stuff. i had a '79 Rabbit vert, '85 jetta, '88 GTI...all great cars.

[Shadowbug]

944t rear suspension in a golf has been done, but yes it warrents some carefull measuring, if it won't work well, I'll use a beetle irs setup (same as 944 n/a) and adapt the brakes.

as for redrilling the rear to accept porsche dics and bolt pattern, well it would be a little difficult to make it RWD like that.

[boygenius]

Originally Posted by Shadowbug

as for redrilling the rear to accept porsche dics and bolt pattern, well it would be a little difficult to make it RWD like that.

Duhhhh. :whoops: good point... I forget that there are FWD cars.

[8v fury]

Also check the www.vwvortex.com forums, they have a couple of people that have either done it or have information on what you need to due. My friend is doing a rear wheel drive conversion on his rabbit. The engine has not be decided yet.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by zen

you've got some fun projects going on. i've been debating if and what i might do to my '84 Vanagon. it is just meant for Home Depot runs and such, but it is hard not to want to do something to it. thinking of holding off though as i want a vert again. i still love the 80's water stuff. i had a '79 Rabbit vert, '85 jetta, '88 GTI...all great cars.

Zen, do you know that the Vanagon is an excellent platform for a Subaru motor......nudge nudge, wink wink... see http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...nagon/messages

Rob.

[zen]

yep. will probably go that way, but only after killing this engine and it is in pretty decent shape. haven't decided if i want to sink any money into the van or not. it is really just supposed to be a hauler.

[boygenius]

Originally Posted by zen

haven't decided if i want to sink any money into the van or not. it is really just supposed to be a hauler.

Keep telling yourself that....


You can't resist much longer.

[Shadowbug]

I've located a 944 turbo chassis that is stripped of everything excep the running gear (motor is gone, but everything else is there)
so If i can score it for the right deal, I'll pick it up and begin grafting it into the Golf

[Shadowbug]

Decided to post a condenced version of my build progress, with the new name for the project "Projekt Violent Blue"

well I've been working on my golf for about 2 months now and have made some progress

(click for larger pics)
some pics from when I first picked it up




rims I got from a friends burn up MR2
beadblasted and ready for powdercoat.


body on the rotissiare, seam welding and bodywork begin





I cut out the rain tray and began welding the strut towers, I'm still in the process of cleaning up the engine compartment, won't be quite the minimalist look of some of the cars you see, but will be much cleaner than stock




I'm also installing a half cage, just to give a little more protection and stiffen up the chassis a bit.


and for some performance upgrades, engine will be a G60 turbo, the turbo is from a friends Toyota Supra, low miliage and decent shape, good for 20+psi so I think it'll do nicely. Paired with a Volvo intercooler, should be good for a few HP
and my intention is to adapt these RX7 Turbo brakes on corrado rotors (if I can fit them inside the 15" rims) for a little extra stopping power. they will be powdercoated Wagon Red


powdercoating

mirror chrome base with a heavy coat of translucent blue applied while hot (doing it hot makes a big diggerence to final finish on translucents)
I was thinking of doing translucent over solid blue for a candy effect, done it before with good effect, but I like this finish, also did the oilpan and some other miscelaneous parts, we'll have to see how they hold up to the heat.

I have begun assembling my engine



some of the other things on my list of to-do's

removal of hood louvers
shave roof mouldings
tinted plexi hatch and rear quarter windows
big window doors
big bumpers
2 chambered fuel cell (1 race, 1 street gas)
Megasquirt FI + EDIS ignition (assembled and waiting)
rebuilt and powdercoated suspension with poly bushing kit.
ts getting a corrado dash too,

I'm still working a deal on the 944 chassis, so we'll see if I'm able to go that route

[zen]

looking like some good progress. i am waffling all over the place about getting back into an old school water-cooled for a daily driver. now that the wife did a career change and is going the self-employed route, i can't take the chance of something major going wrong with the 944T. i've been debating between Mk2 GTI, SLC Corrado (the leader right now since i loved my first one and it has so much going for it out of the box), 1303 vert, oval, or vert ghia. sooo many choices, so little time.

keep us updated on your progress. really looking forward to it.

[Shadowbug]

things go well with this conversion and I'll be looking for a corrado, an audi 32v V8, and some big turbos, I'll let you do the math.

[Panelfantastic]

You know what engine also works real well in a bus...

A buddy of mine just told me I'm getting my '60 ragtop body back from him as he has given up on it... I have sick plans already.

[zen]

Originally Posted by Panelfantastic

A buddy of mine just told me I'm getting my '60 ragtop body back from him as he has given up on it... I have sick plans already.

uh oh.