Grahams81-Leon 4wd, Big Turbo - Back in the saddle :-)

[t0m]

Incredible

Thanks for the update. Coming along nicely Graham! It's the attention to detail which I most admire from all this work, you're not content until you get perfection each step of the way which is why this is going to be such an awesome project car to look back on for many years.

 

[grahams81]

That looks incredible and like an amazing amount of fab time and trial fitting!

I love watching your work, wish I had the time/patience/money to do something like this.

Thanks Mate, appreciate the kind words.... and thanks for the links gonna have to watch that

Wow truly amazing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cheers pal

Looking good. Do you got enough space for a downpipe?

Thanks, yeh got plenty of room now i've pulled cylinder 1 runner in

Incredible

Thanks for the update. Coming along nicely Graham! It's the attention to detail which I most admire from all this work, you're not content until you get perfection each step of the way which is why this is going to be such an awesome project car to look back on for many years.

Thanks as always for the kind words Tom my perfection (OCD) comes at a price though, it takes me ages to do anything

Manifold Update

Luckily this week i haven't been away with work so i've had a few late nights in the garage progressing the manifold.
First job was standing and staring at it for an hour.... planning the sequence for welding it up, on a job like this you really need to think about it before teararsing in and welding joints which block access to others.

Once i had a "grand plan" in my head i set about final cutting and replacing some of the pipes and fitting of the pipes correctly together, then chamfered the joints to be welded.
Then i started stripping the manifold down into sections to be welded.

Before starting to weld i decided to do a few practice welds to obtain correct settings for current etc..... and to try a back-purge a weld. I found 75 amps seemed about right on the 1.6mm Tungsten.... i did buy some 2.4mm Tungstens as a welding friend suggested they would be better for penetration.
Anyhow i found the 1.6mm worked fine with adequate penetration so stuck with it.

Trial weld -

Once i was happy i started welding up the hard to reach bits - first up the bends for the turbo flange -

For those that don't know about gas "Back-Purging" basically you fill the inside of the pipe your welding with inert gas (pure Argon for Stainless Steel) - this stops any reactions with the oxygen i.e oxidation and stops any "sugaring" or rough burnt metal on the inside of the joint.
This not only helps with the flow but also creates a stronger joint, also if you don't back-purge the small parts of oxidation can become loose during the many heat cycles and detach then wreak havoc with your turbine wheel.

Shot of the inside to show the benefits of back-purging -

Next up i decided to split the collectors and weld the end pieces to them as once the collector is fully assembled access would be difficult. Welded the ends on then finally welded the collector back together -

Due to the angles involved when making the shallow angle merge collector it was really difficult to weld the rear of the collector (Where the two pipes join) but i managed to get it by sticking the Tungsten out by like half an inch.
Also due to the depth of the cut of the collector angles its impossible to have full penetration (yeh i know i said full penetration )
I decided to weld the inside of the collectors, i turned the current down and carefully welded the inside edges together... to be honest i don't think it was necessary but i'm quite happy i did it (even if it was very difficult)

Inside shot of the collector after welding -

After a dose of grinding with the dremmel -

Before going any further i then re-tacked the manifold back together to check for fitment of everything (it's normal during welding for joints to pull and distort) and its easier to waste time re-checking everything than cutting and re-welding joints....

Once re-tacked i then finalised the end positions for the other collector, and prepped it ready for welding -

Ends welded onto the collector for 1-4 -

I then removed the end pipe and welded up the collector, again inside and out...then AGAIN re-tacked the bend to the collector to check the correct position -

Then i re-tacked everything back together AGAIN and finalised the bend positions to the Turbo flange and tacked the bends to the flange -

Next i decided to weld the two bends together, i did this so i could weld the inside of the pipes to each other.... i ran some welds on both sides of the pipes to keep them aligned to each other, quite hard to see but -

I then removed the bends from the turbo flange and welded round them, again access was tricky, i had to lengthen the tip and turn the gas flow up high but i got it all welded

And the most important bit - the area between the two pipes which forms the divided part of the flange -

I then filed the assembly flat with a file, so there was no nasty gaps with the turbo flange, then rebuilt the manifold again to double check alignment of everything and tacked the bend assembly to the turbo flange. Once happy i then started to weld the bends to the flange.

All done -

I've still got to grind the inside of the turbo flange to smooth the area between the pipe and flange, then weld round the inside of the flange ports.

Quite happy with the progress, thats all the very awkward welds done, "should" be plain sailing from now.
Gonna do a few hours on it tonight, hoping to be finished by the end of the weekend.

So long !!!

 

[KebabWarrior81]

What an epic build Graham some quality workmanship gone into this top job mate

 

[cupra.al]

some lovely welds there i love seeing finished manifolds they are a work of art and i love to see a good weld too top job dude.

 

[grahams81]

What an epic build Graham some quality workmanship gone into this top job mate

some lovely welds there i love seeing finished manifolds they are a work of art and i love to see a good weld too top job dude.

Thanks Lads

Quick Update

Just come in from a few hours in the garage.

Started off by welding the collector for cylinder 1 & 4 to the bend off the turbo flange -

Next up i tacked the manifold back together for cylinder 1 & 4 and prepared it for welding the remaining joints. Also connected the purge line and blanked the ports with masking tape -

Then i put lots of tack welds on each joint to try and stop any warping.

Again it wasn't easy to get access to them all but got there in the end, a few are not to pretty but functional.

Just got to final weld the pipes to the cylinder head flange then move onto cylinder 2 & 3.

Cheers,

Graham.

 

[grahams81]

Manifold Update

Well it was a good weekend working on the manifold, really happy about it

So last update i'd just finished welding up the runners for cylinder 1 & 4.... i then mounted the cylinder head flange against a nice thick bit of aluminium to help draw the heat from the flange to minimise warping -

All done, again really tricky to get in to weld with a standard torch... i wish i had a micro torch, it would have been a lot easier, but they are pricey for just one job.

After that i didn't take so many photo's as it was just a repeat of the earlier runners, basically build it all up finalised all the angles / bends etc tack it up, then final welded the merge collectors to the flange bends, then removed the runners, purged and welded.

Cylinder 3 slightly changed, all done -

Next up i rebuilt Cylinder 2, finalised the angles / lengths and tacked it back together -

All done

The next job was to grind the inside of the T4 turbo divided flange, the reason was the pipes were slightly larger than the turbo ports. I used the dremmel and various grinding bits to put an angle on the flange, once i got the shape right i ran a weld round the inside of the flanges.
Then i ground everything nice and smooth and polished it up a bit -

I then did the final bit of welding - the inside of the runners, i didn't add any filler to these welds, just cranked the amps up.
Still got to smooth them out a little and chamfer the head flange.

Next i started to flatten the turbo flange, it was warped pretty bad from the welding, especially the centre divided part was approx 2mm raised up.

I simply used a large flat file and kept filing across the flange from different angles....

Followed with some 320 wet & dry paper on a large flat block of aluminium -

It's pretty good now but still not 100% - i'll give it another going over later just got bored lol

I then bolted the manifold onto my mock up head to check for flange warpage, it is warped but due to the slots milled into the flange it still pulled up ok without any gaps etc (i checked by trying to insert a feeler gauge in-between the flange and head face)

After that i nipped it onto the engine and took some photo's -

Next i decided to clock the turbo properly and line up the centre housing to align up the wastegate bracket. The only problem is the centre housing doesn't have holes all the way around for the bracket. So i had to turn the housing so it's not level until it lined up.

Plenty of room for a nice fat 4" downpipe

So this week i need to order some materials for the down pipe and hopefully get cracking on it next week end.

Thanks,

Graham.

 

[KebabWarrior81]

That manni has finished off lovely Graham

I'm a fabricator/Welder by trade and love to see this kind of stuff take shape. Will sound naughty when it's all finished mate.

I'm an aircraft fitter now and miss doing jobs like this

 

[Ronin225]

Looking good graham, there is light at the end of the tunnel
Ive got a load of the standard heat shielding that mounts to the bulkhead of leons/s3's you can have for nothing if you want to cover the ABS unit and loom channel, etc that may get a bit hot being that close to that huge snail

 

[grahams81]

That manni has finished off lovely Graham

I'm a fabricator/Welder by trade and love to see this kind of stuff take shape. Will sound naughty when it's all finished mate.

I'm an aircraft fitter now and miss doing jobs like this

Thanks Buddy

Looking good graham, there is light at the end of the tunnel
Ive got a load of the standard heat shielding that mounts to the bulkhead of leons/s3's you can have for nothing if you want to cover the ABS unit and loom channel, etc that may get a bit hot being that close to that huge snail

Thanks for the offer Tim but as you've heard i'm gonna go another direction now.

Sad update

Well i've not been looking forward to doing this but here goes.... I've decided to abandon this project

Rob (kelz) pointed out in his build thread about the fact the car will need an IVA test to go back on the road all legally..... so i started to investigate and right enough if the monocoque chassis has been cut / modified then the car would have to be IVA'd and go onto a Q-plate.

After a bit more investigation and research it looks like the IVA would be a nightmare...... think measurements taken between wiring loom supports and brake pipe supports etc, and much more stringent than the cars are built originally to.
Also receipts for parts / chassis bits used on all the build etc etc..... although all the parts in my build are 100% genuine i don't have receipts as most were bought from breakers or eBay over the years.

Also a major thing that's been bugging me was the fact that i put a roll cage in the car..... when i started building the car i didn't have a child and to be honest wasn't even thinking that far in the future.... so the Leon can never used with the family due to no rear seats.

So i was left with a few options -

1....Plough on with the car, try and meet the needs of a IVA test..... pay the £500 and hopefully pass it and get a wanky Q-plate car.

2....Scrap the idea of it being a road car and turn it purely into track car.... downside how many trackways am i really gonna do to justify keeping it, also i would need to buy a car trailer (£1000)

3....Buy a "real" 4wd car and transfer all my parts over to it - engine / all running gear etc

4.... Sell everything and buy something else.

Many would say just get it MOT'd and it'll be fine but as i'm now a grown-up i can't do that... for me it's gotta be 100% legal ..... the more you read about the IVA test you realise it's up to YOU to inform them if the chassis has been modified / suspension / engine replaced etc etc.

After a bit of thought i've decided to go for option 3.....it's the easiest thing to do to obtain a true road legal car that can be insured legally.

So i'm now looking at buying either -

Golf 4motion - Pro's....Cheap as chips & common as muck - Con's....They come with a 2.8 so would have to change the loom / work out any issues with the loom's clocks etc.

Audi S3 - Pro's....Easy to do no loom swapping etc - Con's....there generally the most pricey.

Audi TT - Pro's....Same as above easy peasy and quite cheap - Con's....there a bit girly

I've been talking to Tim's friend Michael who i've bought bits off in the past... he has a S3 in for breaking at the moment so i may go down that route but i'm still a little undecided.

So at the weekend i'm going to start removing parts from the shell to sell and try and recoup some of the money i've throw into this project over the years..... loads of parts to sell.

I know it's been a massive waste of money / time and effort but i've enjoyed getting this far, i just wish i'd looked into the legality of it earlier..... TBF m0rk did mention it early on in the project but i kinda dismissed it.

The really good part is i can use all the freshly reconditioned drive train / suspension and forged engine along with manifolds etc etc.

So BIG sorry to all those that have been following the build over the years, but i really appreciated the support from everyone along the way.

Thanks Graham.

 

[Rob Kelz]

Noo! You can't abandon it this far into the build man sorry for putting a downer on things regarding the legal side of things mate this is an awesome build/thread such as a shame it's coming to an end

I've decided to complete mine, if it has to be on a Q plate then so be it as it will still be a unique car regardless of what the numberplate is and so is yours!

 

[RDS]

genuinely gutted mate. Have you considered trying to get hold of a mk1 LEON CUPRA 4?

best of luck with whatever you decide to do going forward

 

[adam cupra 20vt]

I looked into IVA tests a few months ago. Bit of a grey area but if you don't put it in for one and it's all insured correctly ....

 

[grahams81]

Noo! You can't abandon it this far into the build man sorry for putting a downer on things regarding the legal side of things mate this is an awesome build/thread such as a shame it's coming to an end

I've decided to complete mine, if it has to be on a Q plate then so be it as it will still be a unique car regardless of what the numberplate is and so is yours!

Don't be sorry mate, it was something i'd been wondering about for a while.

genuinely gutted mate. Have you considered trying to get hold of a mk1 LEON CUPRA 4?

best of luck with whatever you decide to do going forward

Thanks bud...I've thought about a Leon4 mate, but they are pricey and would mean importing one.... not worth it when i can get a S3 or TT for around a grand-ish
I will make something good in the end

 

[grahams81]

I looked into IVA tests a few months ago. Bit of a grey area but if you don't put it in for one and it's all insured correctly ....

Yeh but it's not right, i'd maybe consider it if i hadn't plastered my build thread across most VAG forums lol
The fact is it needs it or my insurance would be worthless..... and the police could just take the car off me and crush it..... probably wouldn't happen but not worth it in my eyes

 

[Big Lee M]

Truly gutted for you mate, it seems to be getting harder and harder for us modifacation lovers. Would it be the same if I decided to 4wd my Leon?

 

[elominat]

Is this a 1. April fool?

 

[ibizacupra]

dissapointing

 

[tufftybloke]

bad times dude....

Get an S3 mate (we can be S3 buddies LOL!)... there are loads for sale these days and can be picked up pretty cheaply especially if they have issues...

If you need any S3 related advice then let me know... I know a thing or two about them...

<tuffty/>

 

[rainbird]

Denied

I can't see myself ever going quite so in-depth with a project as you have been here, as I'm sure is the case for most other people, so it's been great to be able to follow your thread for far too long now.

Still, decisions is decisions and all. Onward to bigger and better things

 

[Murdered LCR]

Carry on this won't be the same in a S3 / Golf