Engine Work

Following the work taking place on the engine to strip the head, it was sent off to a specialist who pressure tested it and also refaced it. I ordered a new cometic headgasket and fitted the engine back together. I had problems fitting the tight belt but got there eventually.

Before filling it with coolant I decided to try and fire it up, if id done something wrong I didn't want to have to drain it again! It wouldn't fire...

A quick google and a check and I hadn't connected the connector that connects on to the dizzy cap. Connected that and it fired straight into life. As well as this I took the opportunity to repaint the rocker cover black and also the heat shield (although keeping underneath silver). This just tidied up the engine a bit more as the rocker cover had peeled a lot.

Next is to finish the fitting of the exhaust (1st back box) and jack the rear of the car up whilst filling with coolant. Ill then run it at the same time to remove air from the system.... Hopefully!

Following that, it will need an oil filter and oil change to clear the system of any contaminations from during the work.

I can then move on to the other jobs;

* Fit rear camber bolts
* Arrange Geo Setup
* Get Rear side windows fitted
* Fit door solenoids
* Wire up rear view camera
* Complete exhaust tip and surrounding mesh
* Mesh over brake reservoirs

Then hopefully the exterior will be close to completion.

The good the bad and the ugly..

A fitting title to this update. so lets look at the good first.

I managed to get 120 miles under the belt and the car felt fast even though its only running 7psi and will be up'd to 15psi. That's about where the good ends in this update.

The bad was the car was overheating. Id try various things, fixing some minor leaks and then also adding some bumper vents to feed the radiator.

These kept temperatures stable and low but as soon as I went on boost that's when it overheated, also the car seemed to be drinking water and then the final part was the exhaust fumes smelled sweet....so I knew what the issue was. Either a cracked head or headgasket, my gut instinct was headgasket.

So the ugly...Apart came the engine, the good news is the block itself looks in good condition and I got on to cleaning the pistons and the block face, although the pistons were not that dirty and came clean easily which is good. Also with the large engine bay it was easy to do this work.

So the head is currently off being pressure tested and either refaced or skimmed this week. I've ordered some new hoses which ill replace that sit under the turbo as I may as well do it whilst the turbo is off saving another job in the future.

Although its annoying to have to do this, the job isn't actually that bad but purely because I have plenty of room to work in so hopefully have it back together by the end of the weekend and running again.

And finally here's a walkaround video...make sure you watch till the end for a clip of it on the road.

Meshing, lights and other parts...

So I'm back from my holiday to Oz, unfortunately I became quite ill on the way back so couldn't get back on with the car for a few days.

It was my first chance to check over the paint since it was sprayed....overall I'm very happy, there are some bits that have not come out perfect but all in areas you don't see so not an issue and I'm very happy with the body work they did, especially in getting the doors to line up better.

So I cracked on with a couple of easy jobs first, changing the orange indicators to be clear just to help modernise the rear a bit more. It will require still more work in this area to bring the rear up to the same level of style as the front. I also fitted the rear view camera

Before:

After:

Next I worked on fitting softer springs to the front. I currently had 5kg springs (280lbs/in) and I've gone down to 4kg springs (225lbs/in) so we will see if that makes a difference. I haven't changed the back currently. As i'm looking to change coilover there, ill explain that closer to the time!

As well as this I took this time to fit the HID lights, the standard bulbs looked very yellow and didn't go with the cars look. I'm very wary of blinding other drivers although that chance will be slim as the lights would have to point up a mile from this ride height! So I got only 35w ballasts to use with 43000k bulbs. If they are not bright enough then I can upgrade the ballasts but ill need to ensure my wiring can take that. The 35w I knew wouldn't be an issue.

The final job I was able to fit in was to go round and fit the meshing (harder than it sounds), I've left the front bumper currently with the finer metal meshing I originally fitted, partly because I don't want larger stones hitting my radiator, so ill see how I get on with it like this for now, but all other holes have been done with Audi style plastic meshing. It was high quality 4mm thick meshing, in the end to fit I heated it to bend it around edges and pin itself and then followed this up with some tape and pinning it and then applied sikaflex. doesn't look overly pretty from behind but looks great from the outside.

Also in the meantime the exhaust end piece has gone so that I can have a piece made in the style I want. I also need to fit a polybush engine mount, with the engine fully mounted to the engine, when the torque makes the engine roll the exhaust moves with it, so i need to minimise this roll effect so the exhaust doesn't move as much.