Audi A3 8L. Product of too much space

[bythomson]

great progress im an absolute fan of a4s not usually so much a3s but the thought of one that has more power than an s3 but isnt an s3 makes for great fun

agreed though on the grill , needs a standard one

[JonD]

Good progress so far dude. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

I recognise that multi-coloured Mk3 with the silly wheels lol.

[Chapman]

Little bit more engine assembly





Obviously no need to run the two cats due to no propshaft, so will be sticking with the standard AGU single cat and mating the downpipe to that, hence the cut.

Managed to find a really good quality bar and plate intercooler for £16 off our favorite auction site... And also a decent K04 after buying 2 duds. Cranked it over on the starter with nothing connected to build oil pressure - left the turbo oil feed loose as a telltale, worked a charm! So refitted the exhaust manifold, gearbox and put it all in the car today. Chuffed!




Looks much better with the weight back in the front. Can see the offset on the rear wheels needs work due to the standard A3 arches, may just space the stub axles. Hoping to fit the wiring loom to try and start it up tomorrow, then take it up the road to stick it on the ramps for me to make the downpipe.

[Chapman]

Its how it came when I bought it dude, only $1300

I usually dont like replicas, but its not like its a 1.6, it will be faster than a standard S3, more power and lighter

[mike-81-240d]

A3's are cool... when they don't have S3 badges on the grille. Nice start though.

[Chapman]

Thanks guys! I guess Americans don't like A3s lol

The steering wheel arrived! Immaculate to be honest, guy had 0 feedback so was a bit worried but no need . Plus stuck the new rims on to see how they fit, to get the best stance I'm looking at spacing the rears about 20mm, fronts sit lovely!





Plus some more progress on the engine...

[G535]

Nice. In for more

[PedroM]

Mooooooooooooooooore....

[JJ.]

This is going to be good! More updates please

[Chapman]

It started with doing a 1.8T conversion for a buddy, got it running but the engine had been standing a while so the thermostat had stuck shut. Matey came to collect it a bit too soon, he planned to get it home and take the thermostat out the next day once it had cooled down...except he didnt get home. So rather than buy an engine with unknown history, I started looking for a full car so I could drive it, then break the car to get some money back. After seeing a complete dog in West Wales, I saw this on eBay, watched it and someone bid on it at £800. Not wanting to pay more than that for it I left it. But after a couple of days I decided to send the seller a message saying I would be interested if they got messed around. So they did! Couple of days later I was on my way to bristol in my daily with a mate to pick it up.

Got there and the car was spot on, nothing I could knock on the price as every problem was listed in the ad.

Water light came on in the daily A4 so stopped to top it up


Driving home I noticed more and more about the car, like the fact it had
-S3 front and rear bumpers
-S3 facelift headlights
-S3 exhaust
-S3 electric recaro seats in red (wired in and working) and one(?) doorcard
-S3 glovebox
-S3 steering wheel
-S3 gearknob
-S3 headlining and ABC pillars
-S3 mirrors



In fairness it drove spot on. Couldnt fault it one bit. So the engine came out



Enough cars?


I then decided it was too good to break so I'm putting a freshly built 20V with K04 and remapped APY management in, might sound silly but it should be faster than most S3s without the weight of the 4WD, and owe me a lot less than one once I've sold the AGU management and the bits I'm not using.

Bought some 17s so I could bin the horrible things on there


Made a start on the engine work



Then as APY is drive by wire and there was no way I was swapping the bulkhead to mount the pedal, I made a bracket out of 2mm steel






Pic with the wheels


So I finished the head!


Cleaned up the block and its guts too, need to strip one of the engines outside for a piston as the missing one in this pic has a bit of damage, pinched the oil control ring


Mounted the throttle pedal, feels just about right


New main bearings bought (genuine) next step is to get the crank in, polished obviously. Had new big ends about 2k ago, checked them and they all seem fine.

Old bearings pretty scored


New genuine ones


Went to rebuild the K04 and found that it has a bent turbine shaft, so found a company who will balance for £50, and supply a new shaft for £65+vat. Should be good as new then!

Pics of Recaros...



Also won a flat bottomed steering wheel on eBay


Further progress shouldnt be too far away, I'm itching to get this on the road as its getting to winter over here and I like the idea of heaters and heated seats :s

I've got some 17" Autostrada Monzas in the unit, I think they will be too small for this, what you guys reckon? Would like some 18" ones but they rare

Also, Air is in the pipeline (see what I did there) got everything except decent rear bags so expect to see this in the weeds