Brutalising the Hairdressers Express

[Essex2visuvesi]

So I have one of these:-


A great car and is good fun but could do with a bit more oomph
1st idea was to fit one of these

But finding a suitable gearbox proved to be a fruitless exercise so I started thinking about a V6 swap.

One night while browsing the bay of many Es I stubled upon this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182275138565
Some beverage tokens changed hands and its now in my shed :)

The manifold shows signs of a previous repairs by untrained marmosets


this has been handed to my tame fabricator who will either repair or make a new one.

The turbo has been tested and spins up nicely on compressed air with no leaks. No play in the shaft either.

The turbo is missing the actuator, but I have managed to source a replacement.

The kit also comes with an e-manage blue (frustratingly I just sold an Apexi PFC last month :icon_cry: ) but has the cables and software so I'll run with it for now

A beast of a dump valve

Not sure if I'll keep this as I do prefer the sound of wastegate chatter

Also in the package was the wiring loom, boost sensor, some hoses and a few other bits.

I've ordered in a few extra bit to improve reliability:-
Mishimoto Radiator
Oil cooler kit with auxilary oil pressure and temp gauges
Boost gauge (tho I did realise that buying a mechanical one was foolish as I'll need to run a pipe through the cabin )

Further mods will include a barrel type charge cooler to keep the pipework nice and short

Next step will be to do a head leak check, and compression test before I start the fitting process

[Grenade]

With all that kit- the hairdressers will run away! Cool wheels man :)

[Torero]

Great and very brutal mod. My only concern is with an oil cooler, charge cooler and turbo unit where is it all going to fit :rofl:.

I'll be watching this with interest as I'm loving the MK3 at the moment keep us updated with plenty of pics :thumbsup:

[Essex2visuvesi]

With all that kit- the hairdressers will run away! Cool wheels man :)

I don't like the wheels TBH and am awaiting delivery of some Std wheels powder coated white.
Also since that pic was taken the silly rear wing has been removed

Where will it will all fit? I was a master of Tetris on the GameBoy back in the day :thumbsup:

Chargecooler Radiator will most likely be routed to the front of the car above the spare wheel with some vents cut into the bonnet.
As for the oil cooler.... who knows? Untill I start offering stuff up it's still a bit of a mystery.

Its all quite exciting as I haven't done one of these projects in a while

[Goldy]

Nice project, I'm following this with interest, I'm thinking mk3s are the future....

[Essex2visuvesi]

Head gasket leak test was successful :)


after 15mins of Idle, no bubbles or colour change :bounce:

The same cannot be said for my Alfa 147 :( decided to test that as well and it seems I have gas in my coolant :evil:

[Torero]

Can you fit the oil cooler just below the firewall bulkhead? as long as it's clear from being knocked it should get free air flowing through it that is being channeled from the underside of the car. It's also close to the oil pump so there isn't a massive drop in oil pressure.

Alternatively, it would need to be mounted in the engine bay on the side and you could get a 15 row cooler with a 7" electric fan wired in. There are plenty of these on eBay as a kit and the whole lot comes in around 100 notes.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AN10-15-Ro...4AAOSwmc1XPXhI

[Essex2visuvesi]

This is the one I have ordered. Not sure where its going to fit yet, but I thtought a smaller one would be easier to locate
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152148252270

[Torero]

This is the one I have ordered. Not sure where its going to fit yet, but I thtought a smaller one would be easier to locate
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152148252270

That'll do fine as long as you have free flowing air passing through it to keep the oil cool.

The only reason I mentioned the 15 row was that a 7" fan will fit on it that can be electrically actuated so it reduces the need for free flowing air.

[Essex2visuvesi]

Parts arriving on a daily Basis :)

We now have:-

Manifold & Turbo wrap
Reading the articles there seems to be a lot of heat so decided these would be prudent

Oil Cooler Kit
Overkill? perhaps, but better to be safe than sorry and the sandwich plate gives me the feeds for my oil pressure & temp gauges

Apexi Air Filter
Genuine not a copy. The one in the kit was bent and well loved and I do like the Apexi filters

Braided Oil return line & Hose Finishers
Bit of bling never hurts, and the feed is braided so might as well make them match

New Sump
Makes the fitting of the oil drain easier and the old one will be retained so if it all goes Pete Tong I can go back to N/A

Timing chain tensioner
The seal on mine is leaking a bit so decided to replace the whole thing

Just waiting for the Turbo Manifold to be returned from the fabricator and I can get started