# Nate's weekend cruiser - Summer approaching...



## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

I've taken apart my old TT and have tons of good bits and spare parts. Some of them will find their way to "new" TT also. So went to Germany and picked up almost similar TT than the previous one. Roof lining is one step brighter and doesn't have Bose. Instead it has navi and cruise control, that I didn't have before. I searched hard for the previous one because I wanted black car with black interior and good condition. Today the task was even harder, finally found unmolested one. Drove it 550km home with 17 year old cam belt, that was scary.

Had to be APX as EURO 3 emission class cars are easier to modify legally.

I try to do most of the work myself, because this is a hobby and I like it  I will also try to explain why I do things and how so some one might find useful info.

Part lists for different parts of the car: (will be updated when done)

*Bottom end*
-JE 83mm pistons with 9.5:1 compression ratio (2816 aluminium)
-JE case-hardened high-nickel carbon steel wrist pins ( 787-2250-18-PTC)
-IE tuscan 144mm connecting rods
-ARP crankshaft bolt
-IE crankshaft pulley kit with pins
-1.8T crankshaft timing wheel and bolts (use new bolts!)
-06A103021C block bored to 83mm 
-Mahle Motorsport main bearings, kit VM1028
-ARP main studs and nuts 204-5408
-Mahdle Motorsport connecting rod bearings
-ALH 1.9TDI crankshaft with 95.5mm stroke
-Febi / Bilstein waterpump

*Head*
-AGU big port cylinder head 
-Supertech valve guides and gaskets
-Supertech valve springs (exhaust dual spring) and Titanium plates
-Supertech Inconel +1mm single groove exhaust valves
-Supertech coated +1mm single groove intake valves
-IE Aggressive street camshafts IECVA2
-IE cam gear + ARP bolt and friction disc
-Febi / Bilstein camshaft chain and hydraulic tensioner
-Febi / Bilstein camshaft gaskets 2 pcs 32x47x10mm 038103085C 
-Febi / Bilstein ylinder head valve cover gasket 058198025A
-INA hydraulic lifters
-034 Motorsports TFSI coil adapters
-TFSI coils
-OEM exhaust manifold studs and nuts

*Clutch kit 883089 000052*
-SACHS Race clutch disc 88 1861 999 878 
-SACHS Race steel flywheel 00 3071 000 141
-SACHS Race pressure plate 88 3082 999 798
-ARP flywheel bolts

*Audio system*
- Front MDS Fanatic FP series 6.5" base plus tweeter kit

*Suspension, wheels, tires*
-H&R 25mm front ARB
-H&R 21m rear ARB
-AST front adjustable coilovers with 80kg/cm springs
-AST rear adjustable dampers with 108kg/cm springs
-CompBrake rose joint top mounts 
-Front Powerflex bushes and Defcon/Cookbot inserts
-Rear adjustable tie arms
-Autumn/spring (Winter) OZ Superleggera 18x8" with 225/40-18" Continental Conti Winter Contact TS 830P
-Summer OZ Superleggera 18x8", front 215/40-18", rear 245/35-18" Michelin Pilot Super Sport


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

*Bottom end - Pistons*

I want to have a fast spooling motor with wide power band. This will be a street car so I'm prioritizing spool over max HP. Americans will tell you that there is no replacement for displacement and they are right. I don't know how much the hike from 1781cc to 2067cc effects, it's only 16%. I think in these turbo engines the flow of the head plays a bigger role, especially in the higher rpm when there is less time to get the fresh air to cylinder and exhausts gasses out. Displacement should help on turbo spool and off boost so I decided to do stroker bottom end with 95.5mm stroke TDI crank shaft. I had laying around balanced/bearings polished TDI crankshaft and Audi S3 06A block so it was an easy decision to use those.

I've dropped the block and the pistons to machine shop for measurements and drilling. I've asked 0,10mm piston wall clearance. JE recommends 0.004" (~same), what I've read this should be good tolerance for 2816 aluminium. I wen't for coated skirts as OEM pistons are also have these. Should give some extra protection. Basically there were two choices for material 2816 and 4032. In the first one the main additive is copper and in the later one silicon. 2816 is stronger, but 4032 doesn't wear so fast on the contact with cylinder walls. This car won't see cold starts and doesn't get too much miles and is likely to make quite a bit of power so I went for 2816. Because of the long stroke piston speeds are high so wanted strongest possible pistons. IE also sells nice piston kit with all you need: pistons, rings, wrist pins (tool steel) and wrist pin rings.









_JE piston kit_

















_JE pistons with 83mm diameter for 95.5mm stroke crank_

So the final thing about pistons is the compression ratio. Here again I went for spool against max HP and took 9.5:1 compression ratio. This might sound crazy but, I'm going to take the big numbers with E85 (70-85% ethanol and rest gasoline), knock is not an issue. Will be flexfuel mapped so can drive with gas also but then less boost and timing.


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## intott (Apr 7, 2015)

Watching with interest


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## ProjectMick (Sep 29, 2015)

Very interested to see how this develops.


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

*Bottom end - Rods*

Pulled out one of the rods from the old engine to make a little rod comparison. I was too lazy to remove the piston as those clips are fiddly to put back.

I decided to go for IE Tuscan connecting rods. They are riffle drilled, not crazy expensive and should take my torque levels with ease. On my previous engine I had SCAT rods, they are not riffle drilled like the OEM and I wanted to keep that feature. That is why I didn't reuse these.









_OEM, SCAT, IE Tuscan_









_OEM drilling is very large, maybe it's actually drilled and not electrical discharge machined_









_OEM and Tuscan are I-beam and SCAT is H-beam profile_









_Small end comparison. SCAT has holes on both sides, Tuscan one on top and OEM has no holes but an oil groove inside the small end. All have some bronze bearing metal sleeve inside the small end_

Started cleaning my garage, you can imagine it's a mess after taking one car apart in there. I should get the block back already next week so need check I have all the needed parts to continue when it arrives. TDI crank needs work that is next on the menu. Couldn't find it yet tough :lol:


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## Delta4 (Jun 19, 2015)

What are you doing turbo wise, hybrid k04 ?


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Delta4 said:


> What are you doing turbo wise, hybrid k04 ?


I already have EFR6758 (T25 A/R .64) from previous project, will reuse that on this project.


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## Delta4 (Jun 19, 2015)

Will that achieve the fast spool that your seeking i mean early in the rev range


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Delta4 said:


> Will that achieve the fast spool that your seeking i mean early in the rev range


In short yes, hoping for full boost between 3500-8000rpm. Search my old EFR 6758 thread it has some graphs of the spool on stock size/head engine.


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## Delta4 (Jun 19, 2015)

Will do, this sort of stuff i find interesting, will be following this thread


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## TT Tom TT (Oct 9, 2015)

Sweet build man, there's not a chance I'd do mine over again and I've not even finished it yet. Respect to you for doing a V2 ...


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## Beunhaas (May 14, 2014)

Finally another real build thread!

I did read somewhere that you could make a 2.1 or even 2.2L from an 1.8 with a certain stock TDI crank. Why not going bigger to increase low end and spool while you are already boring and stroking the block?

Keep posting the good stuff [smiley=thumbsup.gif]


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Found my long stroke (95.5mm vs stock 86.4mm) 1.9 TDI crank that has been sitting in a box for more than five years 

First removed the crank sensor trigger wheel. They are different in TDI and 1.8T.








_You can see that timing marks are different, TDI has two "flat sports"_

Also noticed that there is a hole missing on the 1.8T trigger wheel, there is a pin on the crank that needs this hole. So have to drill one where the X is.








_TDI on the left, 1.8T on the right_

This new trigger wheel I bought from IE has slightly different design, my current engine has holes this one has metal but with different distance. Part number is the same. Might get geeky and measure with oscilloscope if they produce same wave form...








_OEM trigger wheel of 1.8T APX engine_









_Here the locating pin that the hole needs to be drilled to the trigger wheel_

Trigger wheel bolts need to be always replaced, there are some stories on the internet where trigger wheel got loose and things got ugly. Trigger wheel bolts are interesting, they made snapping sound when cracked open. The have this non slip type of texture on the back side of them.









_Crank trigger wheel bolts_


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Next was time to look the timing belt pulley. It's easy to see that it's different size (wider) and has less teeth.








_TDI crank with stock pulley attached and 1.8T pulley next to it_

Then took the crank bolt out. Crank bolt is called in Finnish often as "King bolt", I think it underlines nicely how important this bolt is  Here is a small comparison of the bolts, TDI one has little longer thread section than 1.8T ones.
















_Left to right: TDI, OEM 1.8T, ARP 1.8T_

Once I got the pulley out I noticed that the end of the crankshaft is different between TDI and 1.8T. Already was thinking that I need to take it to machine shop as they looked so different.








_End of the TDI crank_









_End of the 1.8T crank_

Also the pulleys looked different from inside








_TDI vs 1.8T crankshaft pulley backside comparison_

But for my surprise the diameter of the crank tip is same and the pulley fits to TDI crank. It's a tight fit as it should. The key just lays on top of the flat surface.








_1.8T pulley on TDI crank_

Like this it would be quite risky installation in my opinion. I have the IE pin kit that will add two pins for added safety. I think I will still put some good locktite to the joint to make sure it wont move. Heavy ARP bolt should also help with the clamping force to add friction.









_Two pin holes on IE crankshaft pulley kit_


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Today picked up the block from the machine shop









_Bored to 83mm, honed and top/bottom decks straightened_

Next I chased threads. Use cheap Chinese taps as there can be sand etc dirt in the threads that can damage the bits. You don't want to destroy proper expensive thread taps for this job. 








_Thread tapping_









_Plugged threads with random bolts_









_Two light coats and one medium wet, 10min between coats. Used VHT Engine Enamel paint_

After painting is done it's time to start checking bearing clearances and ring gaps.


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## intott (Apr 7, 2015)

Loving your work. Wish I did this to my block now ( the painting part  )


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## TT Tom TT (Oct 9, 2015)

intott said:


> Loving your work. Wish I did this to my block now ( the painting part  )


I was literally just wondering the reason behind this? What is the benefit? Something cooling related? Aesthetics?

First thing that came to my mind was it being harder to spot an oil leak :evil:!


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

TT Tom TT said:


> I was literally just wondering the reason behind this? What is the benefit? Something cooling related? Aesthetics?
> First thing that came to my mind was it being harder to spot an oil leak :evil:!


Hey this engine won't leak! :lol: 

From practical angle the block is iron and it will rust fast if not painted. It's painted from the factory but paint was cracked and missing on some spots so decided to spray it. Engine also has to look mint when done 

I was thinking of sand or soda blast the out surface of the block, but then the risk of sand getting to some oil paths corner was too big concern so abandoned that idea. It's good enough now.


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

While I was on holiday some packages arrived.

Before I left I did some research on main bearings. General opinion seemed to be that best ones out there are Mahle Motorsport ones. Also found out that for high RPM use you should use full and grooved bearing on all locations. UK based company makes these bearings and Mahle has bought the company or the right to sell these under their brand.

Here is some interesting read for those whole like the technical details:
http://www.vandervell.co.uk/aftermarketrange.php

I think that main bearings are important for this motor as it has long stroke crank. Also upgraded camshafts should push the peak power up on the rpm range. Hoping to set the rpm limit to around 7500rpm.









_Mahle Motorsport main bearings_








_Kit number VM1028_


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Today had a chance to sneak to garage for few hours. Started by chasing all the threads for the main studs.









_ARP stud kit_









_Installation instructions_

Noticed that after boring the edges are very sharp inside. If the piston skirt comes out from the bore I need to to sand these round to prevent extra wear. We will see when I get to the piston install.









_Sharp edge of the bore. Thread in the picture is where the oil squirter is installed_

Then installed the studs and bearing halves with groove to the block. Lifted the crank in place just to try it. 








_Crank trial fit_









_Cleaned with ultrasonic cleaner some bolts that I'm reusing_

That's it this time, slow progress but better than nothing...


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## rusTTy_racer (Sep 7, 2015)

Slow and steady is often the best way! 
Great build and attention to detail!


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Went work with and wanted to trial fit the pistons. Wrist pins were a good fit out from the box. Assembled one piston to a rod and stared fitting bearings. Right away when I opened the box I noticed that the notch was missing... That can't be good that could spin the bearing more easily. It also looked a bit narrow but for that I don't have comparison so wasn't so worried.

I bought these bearings long time ago and part number is 4B1609H-STD, correct one is 4B1606H-STD. So have to shop new set of rod bearings.

















_Wrong bearings_

I thought that I can still trial fit the rods as the bearings fitted otherwise good. So they clearly were for same size rod. Now things got ugly. Big end on the rod was way too small for the crank, I must have wrong crank. [smiley=bigcry.gif] It's a shame as I already balanced it and polished the bearings at the shop.

The part number of the crank is 038 105 021 K and it's from AVF 1.9TDI 130hp. To me it looks like forged crank because the seam in the middle is so wide. It has markings like 038J GER DE MS 11









_Crankshaft seam_

I'll measure the crank diameter tomorrow then I know for sure. At this point it looks like I need hunt another 95.5mm stroke TDI crankshaft...


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Looks like there is around 3mm difference









_Crank shaft rod journal in the region of 50.8mm_









_Rod bearing inside diameter in the region of 47.8mm_

It might be possible to machine this crankshaft down to suitable dimensions. That is not an easy task I assume, have to call to my local machine shop for comments and price estimate. Likely better result will be achieved with a new crankshaft. There might be some heat treatment on the surface to make the journals harder. After taking 1,5mm out that would be gone. Found out with http://www.realoem.me that at least these VAG 1.9 diesel engines use 038 105 021 E crankshaft so they should work:

AGR 90hp
ALH 90hp
AHF 109hp
ASV 109hp
ASY 64hp
AQM 68hp

So early TDI engines with no power. Looking at the figures it feels a bit frightening that the plan is to push 500hp/8000rpm on a crankshaft that was designed to do 109hp and 4000rpm... Well those Germans like to over engineer I guess :lol:

Would love to find a new crankshaft, just to be safe. If anyone know where I could get one at decent price let me know. Audi price is 1400€ and with that money you can get a billet one. Billet one is tempting also, but it's a big hit.

To be continued when I have a crankshaft that fits and proper bearings for connecting rods :evil:


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

New crankshaft arrived, from ALH engine this time and now things look much better.









_ALH 1.9TDI crankshaft_









_Quick trial fit. Looks like the piston design includes clearing oil jets_









_Once again different looking timing wheel that I already removed_

Now the crank is at the machine shop. They check if it's straight and if so then they balance it. Bearing surfaces looked really good so likely no need to polish those.

Also ordered Plastigauge and Mahle Motorsport rod bearings. So if the crank is good, I can start putting the bottom end together when I get it back.


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Connecting rod bearings arrived









_Mahle Motorsport connecting rod bearings_

It looks like it takes a while to get the results of the new crankshaft, so decided to trial fit the head to the block.










Looks good already. Quick review of what is done to the head. Starting point was bare big port AGU head. Stripped it down and sent to a shop to machine +1 oversize to intake and exhaust vales. Also deck surface was machined, seals and valve guides changed. Those are not DIY jobs so had to use a pro to do it for me. Came back from the shop looking like this.









_+1mm diameter Supertech inconel exhaust valves and nitrated +1mm diameter Supertech intake valves_









_Supertech titanium retainers and springs_









_Spring details_









_Supertech guide and seals that were fitted to the head_









_Exhaust side spring comparison OEM single vs Supertech dual_

Measured some weights for the valvetrain components:

*Exhaust--------------------------------Supertech-------------------------OEM*
Retainer + spring plate----------------------8,9g----------------------------------15,1g
Valve------------------------------------------45,5g-----------------------------------41,5g
Spring (dual on Supertech)-----------------42,3g---------------------------------41,5g

*Intake---------------------------------Supertech--------------------------OEM*
Retainer + spring plate--------------------5,0g------------------------------------8,3g
Valve----------------------------------------31,5g-----------------------------------31,5g
Spring---------------------------------------23,3g-----------------------------------23,4g

Weight wise there isn't much between them. Weak point here is the sodium filled exhaust valves, they will give up on high rpm and high HP use. Changing full valve train might be a little over kill, but gives a peace of mind. For most upgraded exhaust valves are enough.


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## intott (Apr 7, 2015)

Lovely work nate! Once again you've excelled yourself.

Did you give the machine shop valve installed height ect? What did you did regarding valve seats? 
I also hope you were cheeky and asked the shop what the new volume of the head was so you can work your compression ratio out easier


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

intott said:


> Lovely work nate! Once again you've excelled yourself.
> 
> Did you give the machine shop valve installed height ect? What did you did regarding valve seats?
> I also hope you were cheeky and asked the shop what the new volume of the head was so you can work your compression ratio out easier


Job was done in a shop that is specialized in cylinder heads, so I basically gave the stripped head and parts and asked to put it together with new parts. I have no flow data as I didn't have camshafts yet. There was no need to change valve seats, there was enough room to machine new sealing surface to them. I could try to measure the volume, but not sure what I would do with the info. On stock head compression is 9.5:1 with these pistons, valves might sit a bit deeper now so compression is likely little lower now.

Today a quick visit to the garage









_New OEM studs and nuts to exhaust manifold side_









_Adapters for TFSI coils_









_New water pump to block_


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## rusTTy_racer (Sep 7, 2015)

Have you got a BHP figure in mind for the finished motor?


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

rusTTy_racer said:


> Have you got a BHP figure in mind for the finished motor?


I'm trying to build as fast spooling engine as possible with decent amount of power. Due to not optimal stroke/rod ratio (downside of gaining more displacement with longer stroke TDI crankshaft), I'm not sure how long the engine will last (pistons and rings) if revved too high. That might limit the max output. Top power should be between 450-500hp.


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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

You complete fantastic work Nate, keep it up and keep posting, i'm following in the background! 8)


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Picked up the crankshaft from the machine shop, good news it's straight and now balanced with flywheel and pressure plate. Will be using the clutch setup from my previous engine, undecided about the clutch disc. The organic one that I had was very nice to drive, and I think I'll go with that. Street car anyway so need to be usable.









_Pressure plate, flywheel and crankshaft balanced. Whopping 28,5kg_

Ideally I should have had also the timing belt gear and accessories belt pulley on the crankshaft when balanced. I just forgot those...









_Pin sanded down so that the crankshaft can accept 1.8T trigger wheel_









_New trigger wheel installed with locktite and new bolts_









_Next it was crankshaft in place_









_Wipe the protective wax off from the bearings_









_Trial fit with caps and ARP stud kit_

I was just about to get to interesting stuff with Plastigauge and bearing tolerances and then noticed I didn't have 12-point 16mm socket with me that fits my torque wrench. So next time bearing tolerance measurements.


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

So it was time to measure main bearing clearances. Second attempt with more tools. Easy task in the end, but takes some time. I made it two times, in the between turned the crankshaft 180 degrees. Same results both times.

First you need to wipe out all grease from the surfaces and clean everything very well. Then lay the crankshaft in place, you can't rotate it after laying in place as there is no lubrication on the surfaces. Put a strip of Plastigauge to the bearing surface.









_Plastigauge set on the journal surface_

Then put the caps in place with bearings and tighten. These ARP studs are instructed to be tightened to 70 lb-ft in three steps, I did 30-50-70.









_Tighten in three steps with torque wrench_

After that removed the caps carefully. 1-2-3 and 4 for are easy as you can grab them with pliers. 5 is a bit more tricky as the timing gear is on the way. After that use the measuring tool to tell you the clearnce.









_Clearance 0,038mm_

I got exactly 0,038mm on 1-2-3 and 4. 5 next to the flywheel was little over that, but still closer to 0,038 than the next stipe of 0,050mm.









_There was little more wear on the journal next to the flywheel_

Internet tells me that I should be between 0,02 and 0,06mm. I'm right in the middle of that so I'm very happy, it's spot on.

Next it's time to see if the luck continues with the connecting rods bearing clearances...


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## IPG3.6 (Sep 5, 2015)

This is really good to see with such detailed step by step

Look forward to doing mine when the time comes!!!


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Not much progress, been busy trying to get my Caterham back on the road. Now that is waiting parts from the machine shop so had time to work on the TT. For the change I looked the car I got for this project. In the end I used the from the old car the door cards, drivers seat and back part of the backseats. Cleaned all leather and gave them a good buff with liquid leather. Pretty happy of the end result.










Since this was a non Bose car I have to do something to sort the radio. I wan't to keep the OEM look. So first phase was to remove front door cards and replace front speakers.

Bought two sets of MDS speakers.








_MDS Fanatic FP350 - 4 ohm - 6.5" - 180WRMS with 25.1mm silk tweeter_

Went for these speakers as they are right size for TT and MDS has very tiny amplifier that is designed to run these speakers. They advertise that amplifier is made in Sweden, typically Swedes make decent stuff so I was sold. So far I've just replaced the fronts. Difference is already incredible, can't wait to hear how it sounds when all done.









_Base and tweeter fitted to original locations. For the splitter that was the best location to put it_

I used original wiring harness and plugs. Tiny amp will likely make the sound even better. New mosfet amps doesn't need to be big to make power. Amp is rated 80 WRMS per channel. It has 20A fuse, so in real life it might give 50-60W per channel.









_Tiny amplifier that will be mounted somewhere behing the dash or to glove box_

While door cards were off I also decided to put some soundproofing of the doors.









These cars are very well put together, all wires are well connected etc. So I was somewhat amazed how bad the OEM sound system was. For example the splitter between base and tweeter was just a single capasitor  Also the speakers them selves looked to be very cheap stuff...








_Capasitor found on the wiring between tweeter and base element_


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Just noticed there is not any pictures of the actual car :lol:









_This is how it looked last summer_

I had 12 pcs of 18" OZ Superleggera wheels on mixed condition. 8 were found to be OK, so sent them for blasting and powder coating.









_Result was better than I expected_

Had one set of middle europe winter tyres, so installed them to worst four of the refurbished wheels. Will buy new rubber for the summer.








_Allroad TT at its best :lol: Doesn't look much with stock suspension 225/40/18" and no spacers_

I also sent some front and rear suspension parts to sand blasting. Then painted the parts with epoxy primer and black epoxy paint. Maybe I will still spary some stone chip paint for the top layer. These parts are from the old TT and the plan is to drop the old subframes out as a whole and install these refurbished one in.









_Ready for paint. Already poweflex bushings and Defcon/Cookbot inserts_









_Painting work_

Took the hubs to a local shop so that they pressed the bearings out. New ones went in nicely with a cheap bearing install kit.








_Bearing install tool_









_For the bearings went with SKF and hubs from Febi_









_Pressing the bearing in_









_Done_

At bottom end I had already checked the crank clearance and all was fine there. Next job was to file the piston rings, some filing was needed but not much. Bought the basic manual piston filer tool with diamond wheel, worked OK. Time consuming job to go back and forth. Measure - file - measure - file - measure - file...

JE Pistons came with good instructions

















For the gap I went a bit under the Circle Track / Drag Race spec. I don't mind adding oil, but I do mind piston ring scoring.

Next step was weight balancing the parts. That is where I'm at right now. I've weighted everthing, they are not far off. Should be pretty easy to get everything even. Some dremel work required to remove material. Lot of good videos and tutorials on this at youtube. So won't cover that here.









_Work in progress_


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## Beunhaas (May 14, 2014)

Nice to see some progress again. Always liked your previous build and this one is definitely going to be as good if not better [smiley=cheers.gif]


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Pistons balanced. Was relatively straight forward job. Match the pistons and wrist pins so that you are as even as possible. Then remove material from others to get to the lightest weight. For me that was with JE pistons, piston rings, circlips and wrist pins a total of 408.7 grams. Removed most of the material from pistons. Tried also removing inside wrist pin, that was difficult. These are branded as "tool steel" wrist pins, material is quite hard. So resulted mostly on flying sparks and was afraid that it will kill my grinding tool quickly.









_Tool used to remove aluminium from the pistons_

Connecting rod balancing wasn't as easy. I don't have an actual bench for it so I tired to quickly hack together something that would do the job... Here what I came up









_Rod balancer attemp_

It didn't work. Scale was giving me different readings when I removed and reinstalled the rod. Also just lifting the rod small end from the scale could result in different value. So will drop these to a close by machine shop that is specialized in engines. Easy job for them and I don't fancy building a proper system as I don't do this very often.

By the way the JE pistons skirt coating is waste of money. Way too thin layer and wears away already on test fitting the pistons and yes I had lubed the combustion chamber walls. I've seen that the skirt coating works on OEM pistons, JE coating is just not as good.


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## nate42 (Apr 9, 2008)

Made a list of things to do and had a reality check for the summer. I have quite limited free time nowadays, so putting the new engine in for this season is too ambitious. Engine in and out is not that hard job, but I need to add bunch of sensors for data-logging. That is a bit more tricky and I want to do it right and properly, that takes time.

So for this season I will settle with the stock motor, but will change the suspension and brakes. I will build new subframes front and rear (from the parts of the previous TT). Drop the old ones out and then just lift the painted and shiny ones in place. At least that is the plan :lol:


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