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

[GTi T]

Hi Graham

Any idea what code your gearbox was? Guessing 02M but then I believe there's a code after it....I believe mine to be an FZQ on my 05 Leon Cupra R?

Kind Regards

Tom

 

[grahams81]

Hi Graham

Any idea what code your gearbox was? Guessing 02M but then I believe there's a code after it....I believe mine to be an FZY on my 05 Leon Cupra R?

Kind Regards

Tom

Hi Tom, the gearbox I'm using from an Audi TT its a 02m 6 speed quattro box, with a code of DQB. I can't remember what the original gearbox code was
The rear diff is a FGT code so matches nicely with the DQB

 

[GTi T]

cheers Graham, no worries, keep up the good work!!

 

[tony08hooper]

absolutely unreal!

Amazing work mate, cant wait to see more

 

[Prof.H]

Just spent an hour reading this build. Don't usually comment, but this is EPIC! The ULTIMATE build! I am truly in awe! I doff my cap to you sir, we are not worthy!

 

[grahams81]

absolutely unreal!

Amazing work mate, cant wait to see more

Just spent an hour reading this build. Don't usually comment, but this is EPIC! The ULTIMATE build! I am truly in awe! I doff my cap to you sir, we are not worthy!

Thanks Guys, really appreciate the comments

Small Update

Lately i've been working on finishing the shell ready for the re-installation of all the running gear.

I had one joint to weld and seal up under the car after the 4wd conversion... this was the front joint between the end of the rear footwells and the start of the Audi s3 rear part.
I'd already seam welded the inside of the join but hadn't finished it off underneath.

When i was welding the inside of the car (roll cage box sections & 4wd joints) the underside did set on fire a little, this was just the seam sealer / stone chip that burnt and i quickly extinguished the flames with my welding gauntlets. The fire had covered parts of the floor with black soot so i started off by removing all the damaged sealer / cleaning off all the soot.

All burnt, sooty and rusty -

Looking a bit bare underneath -

I cleaned all the metal up / removed all the seam sealer and then welded the joint up.

I didn't anymore pictures as my phone died

Once it was all welded up i gave it a lick of POR15 then PU seam sealer and lashings of stone chip.

I used Wayside adhesives products as i have had good results in the past with them. I've never sprayed stone-chip with a Shultz gun so i bought a Sealey Deluxe gun and really struggled.
The stuff was not atomising at all and coming out in a massive blobs... after much adjustment and trying to regulate up / down air pressure i was well and truly sick, so i packed in for the day and gave up.
That night i did some research and it suggested heating up the stone chip in hot water before i used it. So i tried that and it worked for about 1-2mins then clogged again

I rang my friend who had a shultz gun so popped round borrowed his and was shocked how good it was.... so all in all i wasted the best part of a day in the garage with the first gun.

I put some stone chip on the boot join and the rear arch.

Started cleaning up the front arch - dirty (wish i'd jet washed the car before i started this project)

After a bit of cleaning / sponging / scotchbrite, i repaired some rusty areas then put some stone chip on -

I'm not going to run wheel arch liners so i'm putting loads of rubberised stone chip on to protect the arches.

I've still got to put another few layers of stone chip on but it's starting to look good. Once i've finished with the stone chip i'll be putting a coat of gloss black over it to match the theme of the car.

Looking forward to finishing off the arch / floors so i can get cracking with the running gear rebuild / putting the engine back in for the final time.

Yesterday i picked up my rather large collection of parts from Lookers in Teeside - big thanks to Paul & Anthony.

Parts for the engine -

Coolant Ball
Knock Sensors (i may have overtightened the original ones so i thought better replace them)
Oil Filters ( bought a couple so i have one for after run-in)
Oil Cooler
Oil Cooler Seals
And various bolts (oil filter housing / knock sensors / mounts)

Bags of all the bolts etc -

Even bought new door seals, got some bumpers for the rear suspension.

Hopefully the powder coating will be done by next weekend.

 

[James23Parkin]

When I recently did my floor and arches, I used U-Pol Gravel-X with a stone chip gun attached to the compressor. Was really impressed with it and once cured, felt very durable. At least you got there in the end mate

It's coming on!!!

 

[grahams81]

When I recently did my floor and arches, I used U-Pol Gravel-X with a stone chip gun attached to the compressor. Was really impressed with it and once cured, felt very durable. At least you got there in the end mate

It's coming on!!!

Cheers James, I am getting there i suppose.... after tomorrow hopefully i'll be re-assembling

Some pictures i forgot to put up last time-


Front Suspension Parts -

Clips for Windscreen covers / side skirts / door seals -

Parts for the brakes -

Even bought new door seals, got some bumpers for the rear suspension.

My friend dropped off all my powder coated bits, dumped in the spare room - gonna have to shift them tomorrow or i'll be inline for earache off the missus -

All those parts shot blasted & powder coated for £100.... bargain

I did a little bit more on the shell today, seam sealed the last rear arch.... tomorrows plan is to stone chip the passenger side arches and give the drives side a final coat.

Once the shell is done i can start re-assembling the car for the final time, gonna try and get the front subframe back in then i can plonk the engine / gearbox in.... then build the suspension up :8

Cheers for now.

 

[grahams81]

Update

Just come in from the garage, today was a good day.

I started off masking around the wheel arches / doors etc ready for spraying the stone chip.

I used three cans in the end.... finished all the arches but had 3/4's of a tin left so did the entire boot floor (it was originally white from the Audi S3 so didn't match the Seat black colour)

All done -

I must say it looks pretty fantastic now.... really happy hows its turned out.

I went round my mates for a few hours after that to allow it to dry and have a look at his 6 cylinder Subaru twin turbo build.

When i came back i pulled the Quattro fuel tank out from its hiding place between my and next doors garage... been there about 2-3 years now

I then removed the secondary fuel pick up / level sensor.... then got the hose out and washed it out / cleaned it off..... it was pretty full glass and crap.

Removed the old fuel filter -

I spent a long time rinsing the draining the tank, then i wiped it clean inside and dried it off.

Next job was getting the tank in... hhhmmmm i had to search high and low for the screws, found them in the end but there a bit rusty.... as were the tank straps. I may remove them later one at a time and paint them up, but i was far to excited to get it back together.

I offered the tank up and it fitted like a glove....

Once i got up off the floor i found the filling cap wasn't sitting right in the opening

Then i forgot there was two screws to hold the filling pipe up right up high in the wheel arch, you can see the two stainless M6 hex head bolts -

Put them in and it pulled the filling pipe backwards and centralised it a bit better, then re-fitted the fuel flap assembly.... i was happy to see it fitted okay, it's not perfect but it fits.

Glory Shots -

I'm absolutely over the moon to get the shell finished and start re-assembling.... putting the fuel tank back in is a massive milestone for me, may seem insignificant to many but it means finally that the back end is all finished.

Thanks for any comments,

Graham.

 

[m0rk]

Rear subframe next?

 

[grahams81]

Rear subframe next?

I would like to get that on next but unfortunately i haven't got any bushes for mounting the rear subframe to the chassis yet.

I pressed the original rubber ones out and they deformed quite badly to remove them so i'm not happy to re-use them.

When i was researching the bushes i found that a few companies make solid rear bushes... apparently they really help stiffen the back end up but they cost a fortune $280

What i also found out was that the Audi TT cabriolet uses a solid bush in the rear holes as standard.... this is to add rigidity to the chassis.

I have requested a price from my local VW garage for 8 off them (sold in half's)
In the US the bushes are $40 each but Vagcat says the bushes should be 13 Euro's so maybe 15-20 quid.

I have also took some measurements of the subframe to have a set of bushes made, gonna get a price from VW first.

Next job will be the front subframe, then engine and box

 

[cupra.al]

looking good its nice to see the project moving on again.
i think the thing i would be dreading most in your situation would be making that exhaust manifold.
are you still going for the side winder option? i think that is what its called.

 

[grahams81]

looking good its nice to see the project moving on again.
i think the thing i would be dreading most in your situation would be making that exhaust manifold.
are you still going for the side winder option? i think that is what its called.

Thanks Al, i'm actually quite looking forward to doing the manifold - i'm definitely going to redesign it so i can access the rocker cover with out removing the manifold.... I also want to retry fitting it between the bulkhead and engine again no i've removed a load of pipes and insulation etc. If it fits i may go down this route as i'll be a lot easier all round (i.e oil drain pipework, boost pipe runs, not having to redesign the coolant pipework / coolant connection on the side of the cylinder head etc etc)

Todays Update

I had another nice day in the garage today... started off by picking up some new rear brake pipes for the trailing arms from a guy in Newcastle that contacted me via Edition 38.
Really happy with them as they look brand new.

When i got home i got cracking in the garage, first of all cleaned up after yesterdays painting.

I then dug out the front subframe from the spare room.... i ran taps down the threads to clean out the powder coating / shot material.
Looking pretty -

Photo of the new bits that i used -

I cleaned up the steering rack and replaced the OEM steering clamp bush for the Powerflex Black series one.
Mounted it all onto the subframe -

Next up i installed the OEM front 20mm ARB that i also had powder coated. I used the special copper grease supplied with the Powerflex bushes... I'm not gonna lie i struggled for a while trying to get the clamps closed enough to get the threads started but the bushes are that stiff there was no chance.
So i removed the clamps and checked to see if i could use longer bolts. I wanted to check the longer bolts were not going to bottom out on anything.
Word of warning if you put anything much longer than stock in they contact the tubes that the main subframe to chassis bolts run through.
The first set i found were about 10mm longer than stock, they contacted the tubes and would have bent the subframe a bit i reckon.... however I managed to find some that were 5mm longer than stock - this worked a treat and cleared the tubes.

Installed the TT rear subframe bushes (these are the two piece versions that are much more rigid than the OEM Cupra ones) and cleaned up the heat shield and re-attached it.... ready for installation -

I then put the subframe on a bench cushion so it didn't damage the paintwork then crawled in underneath it and lifted the subframe up.... i torqued up the bolts to 100nm but never tightened the final 90 degrees in case i need to drop the subframe again... once the car is complete i'll go over all the bolts and final torque them all -

Really happy to get the subframe back in

I had an hour before tea so i pulled my coil over kits out of the rafters, forgot how nice they look

Dug the bits out for the front struts -

I built the struts up with the Powerflex Black bushes -

I dropped them into the shell to stop them from lying around getting damaged -

After that i dug out the rose bearing top mounts i bought a long time ago... just to try them out for size, theres a few people who say they knock so i wanted to have a good look at them.

First of all i noticed that the circlip eyelets are massive... too big they are actually contacting the balls. I'm gonna get some circlips from work that have smaller holes.

I also found a reason that could cause knocking - the OEM style mounts the thrust bearing further down the shocker stem than the rose bearing style... so if you wind the shocks down when the shock is unloaded the springs and top hat are loose and would cause knocking.

I'm gonna have various length spacers machined up to keep the springs under tension even if i wind the coil overs down.

Hopefully tomorrow i'll sneak a few hours on the wishbones and hubs.

Cheers for now,

Graham.

 

[tom t]

Picking up the pace now bud! Well chuffed for ya! Bits that you're putting on now look awesome! Will be wicked when you can finally enjoy you're labour!!

 

[grahams81]

Picking up the pace now bud! Well chuffed for ya! Bits that you're putting on now look awesome! Will be wicked when you can finally enjoy you're labour!!

Thanks Matey, really picking up pace now

Update Time

The other night i decided to do a quick job, re-bush the wishbones and stick them in.
Well that never exactly went to plan.

Dug the nicely powder coated wishbones out of the spare bedroom, look awesome -

Here's the parts that i used on the wishbones, not pictured all new genuine bolts & nuts -

I started of by cleaning out the over spray out of the bush holes, Weapon of choice... i used a flap wheel mounted in the trusty battery drill -

I then pushed the new front bushes in by hand, easy peasy lemon squeeze
Put some of the copper grease supplied lube in the pins / bushes then knocked the pins in with a rubber mallet.

Then i tried to get the rear rose mounted bush in... just gave it a tap around the circumference with a small hammer thinking i would just start it off then use the vice to push it in....didn't want to start so i decided to strip the bushes down so i could fit the bearing puller set through the hole in the middle and try pulling the casing into the wishbone.

Incase anybody is interested what's inside Powerflex black rose mounted bearings -

It's made up of a PTFE lined rose bearing which is held in place by two split poly bushes then a metal disc, then a cir clip.

After removing the innards i could pass the beefy threaded rod through the middle of the bush and try pulling the bush into the wishbone.... well that didn't work either. I used a 2 ft bit of pipe on the end of a rather large adjustable spanner and it pushed it in a couple of mm.

I then busted out the digital verniers and measured everything up. Found the reason it was so tight was the bush was 0.5mm bigger than the bore of the wishbone.

I messaged Tim on here and he confirmed he needed crazy amount of pressure (15 ton) in a press to fit his.

I know the bushes need to be tight in the wishbones but i've never in my Engineering experience had something 0.5mm bigger than the bore size to fit.

I thought about dropping the casings off somewhere to have the skimmed down but then had a moment of inspiration and found something ideal for the job.
I found an arbor for a cartridge roll set was a perfect fit for the ID of the bush.... mounted in the battery drill -

I then mounted the Drill in the vice and cable tied the trigger on (i just removed the battery to start / stop it).

I then used a fine flat file to reduce the diameter of the bush by 0.25-0.30mm.
Polished it up with some Wet & Dry 320.

I then applied loads of loctite to the bush and bore and using the puller equipment pulled the bush.... i had to use the adjustable spanner and a length of pipe and it fought me all the way.
I finally got the bush pulled into the wishbone and then called it a night.

Last night i got a few hours in the garage and i built the bush back up -

I then noticed that the tapered inserts that fit into the rose bearing were sticking out different amounts on each side of the wishbone
So i re-checked the instructions and it does say to push the bush in until the inserts are centralised..... i really don't know why they didn't make the rose bearing mount directly in the middle of the bush casing.

I then did some measuring and worked out where the outer bush casing had to sit.

I had too push the bush back out which was crazy tight due to the loctite setting.

After getting the bush casing into the right position i then built the bearing back up, lower poly insert fitted -

Rose Bearing Fitted -

Outer poly insert fitted -

Then a metal disc -

To get the circlip fitted you have to compress the metal disc, i used a socket with a G-clamp to compress the poly the slipped the circlip into the groove.

Fitted them both... only torqued the bolts to the first stage, still got to angle torque them but i'll do it once i know they won't be coming back off.

So my nice easy job took me like two nights to fix oh well your always gonna run into these problems when your building stuff.

Tonight i started on the hubs.

New parts going into them, i bought FEBI parts, German made -

I then started cleaning up the excess paint from the hub, tapped the shield bolt holes out and used a dremmel to remove the paint from the ABS sensor hole.
I cleaned the hub bearing faces out, and cleaned out the circlip groove out.

I then selected the smallest ring from the bearing puller kit and it fitted like a glove into the back of the hub -

Mounted it in the vice to pull the bearing in -

All pulled in

Removed the puller assembly and fitted the circlip -

Next job was fitting the abs ring / wheel hub. I selected a spacer that sat nicely against the step where the driveshaft bolt sits.... Mounted in the vice -

I then found another spacer that was a good size to only press on the inner race. Pulling it in -

All done

Test fitted the coil over -

Found the bracket that sits in the split of the hub was not lining up with the bolt hole....

So i ground it out a bit with the trusty dremmel until the pinching bolt fitted with ease.

Pinch bolt and lower ball joint fitted torqued up to first stage, i used new OEM nuts and bolts rather than the ones supplied with the parts, i also used the powerflex grease on the upper strut and also the strut tower....
Ready to go in -

Installed but Crap shot of it, sorry the cars pushed against the wall... the only thing is the ARB drop link looks all wrong to me. May look better when the weight is on the suspension.

Tomorrow i get the drivers side done and installed.

Thanks for reading & any comments...

Graham.

 

[MrJoosh]

Really wish I had the time/money/motivation/skills to be able to do a rebuild like this to my car...

Inspirational work, subscribed, and impatient... Think you should have a couple of months off work to get everything sorted and keep me entertained with updates

Josh

 

[tom t]

I forgot to say now you're on a roll! Get back in the garage and don't come out untill it's done! Just aswell there was another update when I came to look tonight lol!!

 

[RYAN_101]

been watching this thread for quite a while now and really enjoyed seeing the steady progress you have been making, seems its gone into over drive now and your really cracking on with it. the attention to detail you pay is outstanding. I envy what you are doing and like most wish i could do something like this to a project. keep up the cracking work !!

 

[vroomtshh]

New parts going into them, i bought FEBI parts, German made -

Where did you get the new wheel mounting hubs from? I searched everywhere and no-one did them for the Cupra R

 

[grahams81]

Really wish I had the time/money/motivation/skills to be able to do a rebuild like this to my car...

Inspirational work, subscribed, and impatient... Think you should have a couple of months off work to get everything sorted and keep me entertained with updates

Josh

Thanks Josh, i also wish i had a month off work... i reckon i'd have it finished
I'll have plenty of time off work around Christmas so should be really getting there by the time Santa comes

I forgot to say now you're on a roll! Get back in the garage and don't come out untill it's done! Just aswell there was another update when I came to look tonight lol!!

Cheers Tom, i've been burning the midnight oil a few nights this week, you'll be pleased to hear

been watching this thread for quite a while now and really enjoyed seeing the steady progress you have been making, seems its gone into over drive now and your really cracking on with it. the attention to detail you pay is outstanding. I envy what you are doing and like most wish i could do something like this to a project. keep up the cracking work !!

Really appreciate the kind words Ryan....

Where did you get the new wheel mounting hubs from? I searched everywhere and no-one did them for the Cupra R

I did exactly the same and nearly ordered some from the dealer. BUT i did find these from a UK website but were sent from the US, came really fast and were priced very well.

Linky -

http://www.rockauto.co.uk

Update

Last time i updated i had fitted the passenger side strut / hub and found a little issue with the ARB fitting to the front coil over.
Before i fitted the coil over i did check and it appeared that both front struts were the same.... and the part number stamped into the body was exactly the same..... BUT it appears i missed a small difference. The bracket for the ARB from the shocker is "handed" i.e its different on each shocker, and as luck would have it i put the drivers side shocker in the passenger side.

I was quite relieved that i found this as i wasn't happy with the interference between the rubber boot of the ARB and the Shocker bracket.

First job last night was to build up the drivers side hub assembly. Cleaned all the paint out of all the threads / bores etc and built it up like the other one. Didn't take any pictures as they would have been the same as the last post.

I then removed the passenger side assembly and removed the shocker and installed it in the drivers side hub (this is why i didn't final torque any of my new bolts as i would have had to replace them all !!!!)

I decided to use the powerflex black top mounts, so i final torqued the thrust bearings / securing nut.

Installed the drivers side strut and the ARB bolted up perfectly

Unfortunately i forgot to order some track rod ends so i couldn't connect the steering. No Worries i'll do them later.
I stuck the passenger side back in next.
So thats it for the suspension for now until i order some track rod ends.

Feeling quite happy with myself i decided to get on with getting the parts i ordered fitted to the engine -

I started off replacing the bolts for the oil filter housing, as they looked a bit nasty -

New ones looking all shiny, while i was on i popped a new gasket on that i had lying around -

Next up i cleaned the threads up and fitted the side engine mount -

Then onto the new oil cooler. I removed all the masking tape i had covering up all oil ways etc

Refitted the oil filter tube and then fitted the new oil cooler complete with new o-ring seal. Oiled up the seals and torqued the securing nut up to spec. span the Oil filter on next -

Next was the accessory mount -

Engines ready to go back in !!!!

Stay tuned.