1975 Scirocco

This sweet MK1 Scirocco passed through my fingertips this past year. Originally I purchased it with the intention of converting it to diesel (1.6l NA VW) for my teenage daughter's first car. What a sweet and fast lil RatRod it was! At the time I owned it it was the fastest car I had ever owned, thanks to a hotrod eng/carb/exh. build by the previous owner and a very light chassis (2200lbs approx). It happened to have the perfect 5-spd trans for that diesel conversion: 5-spd FF code from a Rabbit diesel (nice and tall gearing). The idea of pulling that high performance eng and installing a 52hp Rabbit eng. was painful. Anyhow, to atone for my past Carbon sins--well some of them anyway--I recently bought the new fastest car I've ever owned. More on that some other time.....

Anyhow, here are a few pics of that Rocco that's now getting a full resto down in So. Cal.

2000 EVW Custom propane bottle bracket and new LPG tank install

 

 

 This was a long time coming but finally got it done. Lots of welding trying to save a little $$ on steel, so I made the bracket with pieces of scrap steel I had lying around the shop except for the long flat bar that I had to buy new.

I bought the LPG tank new 1.5yrs ago from GoWesty and just opened that box last week. Let's just say the past year plus has thrown me a few unexpected curve balls.... The tank is nice and rotund and a healthy 3.2gal to fill. Don't forget that with any new LPG tank you must take it to your local pro LPG folks and have them purge it before filling.

 
First I had to indulge my Yankee origins and get fully caffeinated to stay on task....

2000 EVW propex heater and propane tank install

This mod has been a long while in the works.  Having a reliable, safe and non-stinky (ie diesel powered) auxiliary cabin heater has been on my winter project list for some time.  To help fund this project I sold 2 diesel fueled aux cabin heaters I had accumulated over the years.  In my experience propane is a superior fuel source for auxiliary heaters in vehicles--even diesels--less ignition trouble and less stinky.  In this install I was able to mount the heater underneath the Syncro Eurovan and plumb all my heating duct connections through the stock rear cabin heater box, so the van body remains uncut, and the interior remains free of additional vents/outlets.  The thermostatic control is mounted on the L rear side of the B column, directly behind the driver's seat.  Wiring to this is hidden under the interior panels and exits the vehicle to the heater under the L side jump seat.  A single 3/8" hole is the only hole drilled into the body for this install.  More details to come....

Propex HS2211:

Propex heater kit

Rear cabin heater blower box w outlet hose removed , test fitting ABS pipe fitting. 

Rear blower box from below. 

Misc selection of ABS fittings and hose connectors for this project. 

Broader view of work area 

Plenty of open space even w driveline running down the middle. 

Propex heater fitted for testing clearances etc. this will be the final installation position. 

View of the aluminum brackets I rigged up w some VW radiator fan rubber dampeners to isolate vibrations/sound.

Final propex heater location. Fresh air inlet is Teed into rear heater inlet and the hot air outlet is teed into the rear heater outlet. No holes in body/floor required. 

This is the fresh air inlet for the rear heater, now shared w the propex heater. 

And this is the rear cabin heater outlet also now shared with the propex heater. 

View from rear looking forward. The Propane tank was from a Vanagon T3 or an older T2 bus. 

Front view. 

Thermostat control for heater. Reachable from drivers seat with the ole reach-around technique ;-)

Close up of heater switch. 

Wiring routing for heater. This follows under the pedestal track of the jump seat and gets 12v pwr from the aux battery under driver’s seat. 

A short run  of wiring at the bottom of the B  column I opted not to route under the panel. The plastic was not agreeable to being removed so I made this small compromise that is hidden behind the jump seat when installed, which for me is most of the time. 

Ver. 1.0 LPG Tank view from side. I’ve since installed a new slightly bigger tank I got from GoWesty when they were having a big sale. 

Here’s ver. 2.0

2000 EVW big brake upgrade

This mod was done using the front and rear brake calipers and brackets/rear dust shields from a 2001-03 Eurovan.  The only mod necessary to do this (other than having the correct brake components) is to drill the brake caliper attachment bolt holes out from 16m to 18m.  Braking response is noticeably stronger and crisper.  Well worth the effort.  More detailed pics and info to come....

 

 Also just crossed another mileage milestone 450k:

Performance AHU 1.9l TDI engine build

This build is for a customer back east who wants a powerful transplant for his EV that is also getting a syncro transplant at the same time.  This PD / AHU hybrid build got delayed for a couple weeks waiting for the some critical parts to arrive.

Build Specs:
1.9l AHU TDI engine
79.76mm O/S PD150 pistons
Integrated Engineering Tucson PD150 rods
ARP head studs
PD150 int. manifold
Colt Cam stage II Billet Camshaft
ALH injection pump 10mm
K03/04 hybrid turbo
DLC764 injectors