V8 Mk1 6 speed with power steering

[pantera2075]

A couple of questions if you don't mind - i'm looking at the 4.2 for my pantera:

What is the donor car for the engine?
Is the box from the same car?
Is it a 4wd box with the rwd blanked? Is it flappy paddle?

And I agree, you're a loony - in a nice way

[Jim-SR]

what cars that its going into anyhow as it looks a bit wider than normal? is it having custom rear suspension and subframe or is there room for the old rear cradles?

Its a normal mk1b chassis, with wide arches, it uses the stock rear suspension triangles with no need to extend or widen anything.

Sorry tiny i reckon anyone above 6ft would have difficulty fitting in, you could do this to a mk2 though and still fit i reckon.

for what the engine will cost i reckon slightly extending the footwell forwards and running a high end pedal box (Tilton) would probably free up another 3-5". considering the money that will get spent elsewhere, i dont see a reason why someone 6'4" couldnt be adapted to fit in reasonably comfortably. the biggest issue is usually a steering wheel hitting legs, but thats an easy fit, you can free up enough space to get someone bigger in.

this will be an awesome conversion. next step is a Jag V12

[System-G]

Couldn't agree more. Although if the owner can fit, then there's no reason for the additional work

Also along the same train of thought - you may as well also do a decent brake set-up using AP Racing or Brembo components with individual master cylinders for front & rear. May as well go the whole hog propperly

[Jim-SR]

ST205's are equally as capable, the only reason id take a Brembo or AP caliper over an ST205 setup is weight. ST205 calipers weigh 1-2kg more than an equivalent "racing" caliper. and the discs are fat and heavy and probably weigh another 1-2kg over a thinner more efficient disc. its all unsprung weight. on a road or track car it simply doesnt matter, on a race car it starts to, depending on the price differences.

[System-G]

I'm sure a ST205 calliper will be OK on the front, but you would still then need to find an equally capable rear calliper too. And also a master cylinder up to the job too. So you may as well go the whole hog and do it properly

IMHO, you need to get the car handling and stopping very well as the chassis was never disigned to handle the power Paul is putting through it.

Also with different weight distribution you will want the maximum amount of bias adjustment too to get the braking balanced decently in both dry & wet conditions.

Naturally if it's going to be a show car that will be trailered everywhere then it doesn't matter.

[PW@Woodsport]

What is the donor car for the engine?
Is the box from the same car?
Is it a 4wd box with the rwd blanked? Is it flappy paddle?

The donor for my AHC engine was an 98 S8 (340bhp version) but you can use the more common ABZ 300bhp version found in the A8.

No the box is from an A4 2.5 TDI,perfect ratios for the v8 and very strong....the TDI clutch is also used on a custom flywheel available from Deltavag.

No it's a front wheel drive box, all audi gearboxes will interchange which is nice, it's a full manual 6 speed.

Totally agree Jim,i did look at extending the footwell area or just modify the pedals for a few more inches, not a hard thing to do, that would make it possible for anyone over 6ft to drive it.

Brakes wise i already have the daddy of all brake set ups, im going to be running 325mm Bmw 330D front discs (the largest disc that will possibly run inside a 17" wheel and i have a pair of porsche 996 radial mount 4 pot calipers to go on those discs.

On the rear i have mazda rx8 front discs,these are 323mm diameter, and rev3 mk2 turbo calipers that have been extended to fit onto the 323mm disc.Im also fitting an adjustable bias valve and might even retro fit ABS onto the car considering im fitting ABS sensors for the traction control system to all four wheels.

I think i have most bases covered in the brakes/suspension areas although im betting something i haven't considered will raise its head.

Here is the front brake set up ( i know my discs are rusty!)



And just to put the disc size into perspective here it is laid on top of a stock mk1 alloy wheel



If these don't stop it i might as well chuck an anchor out of the window.

[System-G]

If these don't stop it i might as well chuck an anchor out of the window.

Not wrong there

But am a tad concerned about the rear being up to the job.

I guess it will be a "let try it and see" before it's properly set in stone?

[PW@Woodsport]

IMHO, you need to get the car handling and stopping very well as the chassis was never disigned to handle the power Paul is putting through it.

Agreed, at the moment im second guessing what needs to be done.... i think i will only get a true idea of the handling/braking when its first driven in anger, i could be miles away from what is needed... im just treating this as a base starting point.

The car will be mainly used for weekends/shows and the odd trackday, certainly not a daily driver.It could end up being an unmanageable hard to drive monster, only way to find out is to have a go!

[PW@Woodsport]

But am a tad concerned about the rear being up to the job.

Yes i agree, id love more pistons at the back ideally, but the handbrake mechanism needs to be incorporated which rules out using the porsche 996 rear calipers... i could fit a separate h/brake caliper but it all starts to look a bit messy.

Suck it and see job

[monkeymax]

Holy mother of...
That's incredible - one heck of a lot of stopping power there, that's for sure!

How're you planning to fit the ABS (if you don't mind me asking...)? Will you have to use different hubs for the sensors, or can they be retrofitted to standard hubs? (in fact, are you even using standard hubs, as I'd assume you've not stuck to standard driveshafts...)

You say you've got suspension covered - is it gonna be corner weighted then setting up some coilovers based on weights?

[PW@Woodsport]

The car has all four hubs as standard, although im having the rear hub machined out to take a mk2 wheel bearing, this will let me fit the mk2 stub axle and therefore go with mk2 turbo outer CV joints which are much thicker than mk1 splines.This will mean doing a 5 to 4 stud conversion on that stub axle though which is a shame because my azev wheels were originally 5 stud.

I can use the ABS rings on the mk2 CV joint and drill the hub to take the ABS sensor, or i can simply point the racelogic speed sensor at the inner CV joint bolts,it will read off those.

On the front i need to install mk1 rear stub axles into the mk1 front hub,then fit an empty celica st165 outer CV joint into the hub, this will have an ABS ring on it that i can pick up from.

The suspension is my own homebrew set up of home made coilovers and koni inserts, i have also got helper springs on there as well in case the car goes airborn lol....



I've done the usual mk2 turbo ARB mods as well with full polybushing,twosrus rear track rods and stainless steel rose jointed droplinks made specifically for this car.

[Tiny]

Just a wild stab in the dark but from the amount of custom work im thinking your looking at £10k+ for this?

[PW@Woodsport]

You mean in terms of offering this as a conversion to customers? or the cost to me building this?

Im a long way off being able to offer this as a customer option.I also wouldn't like to say how much money i have in that car!

[Icsunonove]

Crikey Moses! That's going to be one hell of a beast. Looks like an awful lot of work though. Good luck Paul getting it finished

[crazybrightman]

slightly off topic but as you mentioned the usual mk2 arb mods what are they? i have the mk2 turbo rear arb but is the front also swapable?
if you are thinking pedal boxes demon tweeks have a few at a big discount in their motosport sale at the mo.

[PW@Woodsport]

When i say usual ARB mods i do of course mean usual for 1.5 builds, so a mk2T one on the rear, no need to do the front as its pretty beefy already.

[vishpish]

this is ace!

goddam paul you really are a magician with mr2s!

by far the best car garage in the uk man i want to come visit and see this thing lol!

[PW@Woodsport]

A bit more progress, i spent my weekend on the car and i have managed to sort out a way to control the gears.I had a long hard look at the audi gearbox and its selector rod and decided an Mr2 style shifter assembly might work.The plan was to make everything from a Mk2 NA box work.... and after a few hours work i managed to attach the mr2 forks....



Mk3 cables were found to be the perfect length to stretch from the gearstick to the box linkage....



This works really well,i can get all 6 forward gears very easily and reverse.At the stick end it needed a little more work, i had to lengthen one of the cable holding brackets and extend both cables with tubing, finally attaching the mk1 cable ends onto the mk3 cables.It all works really well and a massive hurdle out of the way.



I have also rebuilt the front engine bay crossmember but forgot to take pics.

[Fog on the tyne]

This really is seriously amazing stuff....what on earth to you do and think about in your spare time???

[Lauren]

Wow Paul, you are mental! But in a good way.

Do you think you will be extending the passenger/engine bulkhead in order to cover the engine? Was just thinking it might be a tad warm and noisy!

I do think I'd go without ABS.. all they ever seem to do is kick in too early. This is exactly why I bought an early Teg... didn't want the ABS.