# Audi Fox Project



## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

I know, I know. Its an Audi. But those forums are dead, so I thought I'd post over here on the VW side of the 'Tex. 

I bought a clean PNW Audi Wagon Automatic to build into a fun little project. I'd built a Dasher in the past, so was somewhat familiar with the B1 chassis, but there's always new challenges! 

I used some Dasher seat bases and installed some Recaros (posted in another thread - http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4978348-B1-2-Recaro-Seat-Mount-Fabbing-from-Stock

I also started modifying the front and rear suspension. 

Lowering the rear of a Fox wagon is pretty darned simple - here's a little photo how-to to show what I did and what the results were.

The rear is easier (no change in alignment, no spring compressor needed) so I did that first. 

Since this is a B1, in addition to a wagon, there are no off-the-shelf lowering parts to buy. So, I decided I would start by cutting the springs a bit to stiffen and lower it so it is better to drive and see if there are any clearance problems, etc that crop up before going lower, and possibly getting some even stiffer springs. 

Put it up in the air, supported the axle, disconnected the shocks, let the axle down and pulled the springs out. I decided to start with one and a half coils cut off, because I can always go back and cut more, but its hard to add it back... 

New shocks next to the old Sachs shocks - old ones still work well, but Konis are stiffer and cooler, of course... 










Stock spring next to the cut one, closeups on approx height measurements, just to get an idea. 










Stock:










1.5 Coils cut off:










Well, the rubber snubber should probably be shortened since I was lowering it, so I cut off about 1.5", as I figured that would be a good place to start. 

Stock snubber:










Cut snubber:










Piece cut off:










Bolted everything back together, dropped it down and it sits about 1.5-2" lower, though doesn't look 'low' compared to most lowered cars. Good start, though and will give me a chance to drive it and see. Next - to do the front!


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Rear End after lowering:










Stock frent end for reference (forgot to take a 'Before' rear end photo!) which sat about the same height as the rear:










Car seemed to settle a touch more after some driving on the way home - we'll see how it sits after a couple days. There's an autocross at the end of the month. If I can replace the cylinder head, exhaust, transmission, and front suspension, I might compete. Phew that sounds like a lot.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Not a whole lot of pictures to update on the rear suspension, but a few important points. 

I removed the cut down stock springs - ride height was perfect for looking lowered, but wasn't as stiff as I wanted (goal is to be able to autocross and do track days, so it's going to have to be pretty stiff - much moreso than most people want to put up with). 

I had several springs laying around to try, and knew I could get some Volvo 740 rear springs like I did in the Dasher last time. The 1979 BMW 633 CSi rear springs happened to be about the right height, only a slight bit smaller in coil diameter, larger in cross-sectional diameter (thicker wire), and much stiffer. 

I decided to try and install them as-is to see where I was starting, in terms of ride height and stiffness. I also removed the konis and installed KYB gas-a-just shocks. Having the 2 shocks next to each other at the same time confirmed my thoughts that the KYB is actually stiffer than the Koni. While I know the Koni is a much higher quality piece and will last much longer, I am really after some low-dollar handling, so went with the gas-a-just. 

Here's a photo with the BMW rear springs: 










It rides a bit higher than I want, but the spring rate is about right. I'll cut them down a bit in the near future, and see if I can adapt a rear sway bar (as the Addco one, which is the only one available, isn't a very good design).


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Well, when I had a slow day at the shop, I pulled in the Fox to cut the front springs to bring the front down to match the rear. 

I ended up cutting just under 1.5 coils and it dropped down the front end to match the rear. Probably around 2" - more than a lot of people would want, but looked pretty good IMO. 










Like an idiot, I forgot to photo the front end in its lowered state. It matched the rear nicely, just hiding the top of the tire (185/60R14 on 14x6 alloys). 

Anyway, it wasn't as firm a ride as I had hoped, so planned to install some stiffer springs when I got the chance. 

Well, yesterday I pulled the Fox into the shop and removed the front suspension. I decided to use B3 Passat 16V front springs. On my Dasher project, I used some A2 16V lowering springs, but it never felt stiff enough, so I am hoping cut down B3 springs will work. 

Here's a photo of the Fox spring on the right, with its upper spring cap and the extra piece I cut off. On the left is the Passat spring with its smaller 'pigtail' top and the associated upper cap. 










A couple things to note - the diameter of the coils is slightly smaller on the Passat than the Fox springs, meaning for the same vertical height of spring, the smaller diameter one would have a shorter total length (imagine if you unrolled them to straight and laid them next to each other), meaning a stiffer spring rate. 

Also, the wire diameter on the Passat was slightly greater/thicker ( than the Fox wire diameter. This also means that for the same height or length of spring, the Passat would be stiffer than the Fox spring. 

Passat Spring:










Fox Spring:










With my entirely unscientific spring-rate measuring of placing all my weight (155lbs) on each spring, next to a measuring tape, the cut Fox spring seemed to depress around 1.5-2" and the Passat spring (uncut) seemed to depress no more than 1". Using this general info, I decided to cut the Passat spring a little bit conservatively. I ended up cutting 1.25 coils from the bottom of the Passat spring.

Here's a photo of the Fox (on the right) and Passat (on the left) springs, cut, and with their cut off pieces. The cut Passat spring is almost the same hieght as the cut Fox spring, but being stiffer, likely won't lower it as far. 










We'll see - I found a ball joint problem, so will be a bit before I get it back together.

More on the ball joint problem - 

When I bought the car, it had a little clunk on the left front front, when I wiggled and tugged on the front wheels, I got a ball joint clunk. I ordered new ones, but knowing it would be a bit til I got to it, I just didn't drive it much or hard. 

Well, apparently, the joint wasn't really that bad (it older and worn, but not clunky needing replacement). Apparently, one of hte two bolts that hold the ball joint to the control arm had loosened up a bit. Good thing it was a lock nut adn didn't fall completely off - though I don't imagine it would be much worse! 

Here you can see the outer bolt hole that got damaged. 










I thought about picking up a used one, but thought I would try welding up the sides and grinding them back flush because it would only take a few minutes and cost almost nothing. 

Here's after I welded it and ground it. 










Quick shot of spray paint to cover the bare metal.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Here's how the front sits on the cut B3 springs. Little more cutting to get the ride height where I would like it, but for the snow busting this winter, it isn't bad at all. 










Interesting to note - I pulled the swabar to make it easier to drop the ball joints out of the spindles. Since I had it out, I placed it next to the larger diameter Quantum Syncro Wagon swaybar for comparison purposes. 

Interesting, the QSW bar appears slightly *narrower* than the Fox bar - which is interesting for the wider front track of the QSW. Likely due to different attachment points on the different length control arms, but might make mounting it to the Fox arms a little easier. Has a couple sharper bends, too.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

*Easy 10.1" Front Brake Upgrade.*

Yep, for the later B1 models, that use the 3" caliper bolt spacing (center-to-center), it is essentially a bolt on, with a brake bleed thrown in. 

I picked up a pair of Scirocco 16V front calipers from the boneyard recently - the pistons moved freely, and the car looked halfway decent overall, so I was hopeful the calipers would be in good nick. Picked up some new pads and 10.1" rotors from the local supplier, and went to town. 

I mentioned in another thread that the 9.4" solid rotors on the front of my 79 Fox were almost new, as were the brake pads, but having done a number of 10.1" upgrades, I really wanted the better brakes. 

Jack up the front, remove the wheels. 
Remove the two 15mm bolts that hold the caliper to the spindle - then support it so it doesn't hang on the hose. 

Remove the phillips screw that holds the rotor on. These can be stubborn and hard to get out, so I like to spray it with PB Blaster prior and let it soak a bit, then get a Phillips #3 screw driver that fits very tightly, and hit the screwdriver with a hammer with a few hard wacks. 

After pulling off the rotor, I gave the hub a quick wire-brush to make sure it was a clean surface, put on the new 10.1" rotor and reinstalled the phillips screw.

Now, because I am not replacing brake hoses (I really should) I unscrewed the hose from the old caliper by spinning the caliper, as the hose won't spin unless I undid the other end where it meets the hardline. After spinning off the old caliper, I spun on the new one, and put it on the over the rotor (loaded with new pads of course) and installed the 2 15mm bolts and snugged the hose back up. 

I had a buddy in the shop so did a quickie bleed to remove the couple air bubbles that got in, bolted the wheel on and that's pretty much it. Instant better front brakes. 

Here's the original 9.4" setup:










Here's the 10.1" setup:










A comparison of the rotors:




























Comparison of the calipers:




























Haven't bedded in the pads yet, but it already feels better. As an aside, I noticed my brake lights weren't working very well (didn't stay on 100% when I applied pressure) and then noticed some minor seepage from the brake light switches on the master cylinder. Replaced those and brake lights work great again. Check 'em people!


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

*Automatic to Manual Swap*

Well, a day of working in the shop, and being distracted by potential customers online and a manifold nut fighting me means not much progress to report. 

The drivers seat, center console, shifter, and brake pedal & pivot assy are removed. Shifter cable is out. 

Since the PO had some exhaust work done, the exhaust back of the downpipe was all welded completely together, so I made a cut in front of the muffler that's right in front of the rear axle, and tried to get the slip-fit connection at the end of the downpipe off. 

No dice - it wasn't coming apart, and I realized I had another downpipe, so figured I would just unbolt the DP from the manifold. Well, the nuts had been rusted, and even though they were 12mm originally, it was a loose fit now. I got all but one of them - the most difficult of course. In the middle, between the two outlets, on the back side. 

Up in the air - the best I can do without a lift:



















Comparison of the Auto and manual shifters - the maual has a wider footprint - might need some new holes drilled to mount.










Comparison of the brake/clutch pedal assys. The Auto brake pedal and pivot is very different from the manual brake/clutch setup and longer pivot pin:


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

I learned in process, that the Fox bodies between the manual and the automatic transmissions are different! The autos had much wider transmission tunnels, to the point that they used very different pedals. Of course the auto only had a gas and a brake pedal, but the auto offsets the pedals to the left about 3"!!!! A chap on the DOG forum tipped me off to it right before I tried mounting them. Nothing is easy on the B1! 

Anyway, I had a set of manual pedals from an Audi Fox GTI, but I needed to mod them to fit. After thinking about it, I decided to use the auto brake pedal, cut down to be a manual size, and mod the clutch pedal to match the offset of the brake pedal. 

Up in the air - the best I can do without a lift:



















Comparison of the Auto and manual shifters - the maual has a wider footprint - might need some new holes drilled to mount.










Comparison of the brake/clutch pedal assys. The Auto brake pedal and pivot is very different from the manual brake/clutch setup and longer pivot pin:










Comparison of the automatic (freshly pulled and greasy) to the 9Q QTD trans. 




























On a side note, does anyone know if the bolts to hold the flex plate to the crank on an auto trans are shorter or the same length as the flywheel bolts to the crank on a manual?


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Here's the auto brake pedal with the chunk I cut out of it (and trimmed a bit off the bottom and the other side to make the manual brake pad fit it). My reasoning was that the distance between the gas pedal and brake pedal was correct already, so I wouldn't mess with that side much.










Here's a comparison of the manual and auto brake pedals - the auto with the much greater angle of pedal bracket. 











Here's where the manual brake and clutch pedals end up when mounted in the pedal mounts, but with the auto gas pedal. The brake is right on top of the throttle! 










The brake and clutch pedal have about 1.5" to 1.75" clearance between them, which I wanted to keep if I could. (Hard to tell from the picture because I couldn't keep them on the exact same plane, hold the tape measure, and snap a picture at the same time. 










So on the far left, is the clutch pedal, and on the far right, the brake pedal with the larger offset I needed to replicate. 










I was almost surprised how easy it was to bend the clutch pedal arm, simply chucking it in the vice and using some very large channel lock pliers. Here is what I ended up with:










It placed the pedal just over an inch away from the brake pedal, and was as far left as I could go before hitting the inner fender bulge. It will have to do. No more wearing big work boots to shift in this car! 

Now, since I had made 2 significant bends, the pedal was in the correct location right-to-left, but I'd used up some of the length so it was a bit higher than the brake pedal. So I sliced it off, and slid it down about 1/4". Welded it back up. Then, added a brace behind it, and because the clutch pedal arm had so much more offset than before, and was a thin metal, I bent up a reinforcement piece and welded it on, careful not to overheat near the plastic bushing!



















Tomorrow I should get the pedals in, torque converter off, flywheel & pilot bearing on, and the clutch installed. *Maybe* see if the trans will go on with the auto trans mounting ears still on the tunnel. Probably not...


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## flatnbagged (May 10, 2010)

Damn super jealous of this. I want one so bad haha. Looks good. :thumbup:


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Thanks. Wish the project would prgress more quickly - if I just had more time or more money to throw at it at the same time.


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## flatnbagged (May 10, 2010)

greggearhead said:


> Thanks. Wish the project would prgress more quickly - if I just had more time or more money to throw at it at the same time.


Haha I'm in the exact same position with my build. It'll be done before you know it.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Ah, yours is the Quantum coupe getting the VR6 - NICE!


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Well, installed the modified pedals - think they will work great. And with that reinforced clutch arm, even if I go with a stiff pressure plate, don't have to worry about it flexing. 

Here's the unmodified manual clutch and brake mounted in an Automatic Body:











Here's the auto brake with the cut down pedal, and the manual clutch pedal, modded to match the auto brake offset (they look like different heights, but its only because they are not pulled out even):











We'll find out if I got the placement right when I go to heel and toe!


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Well, didn't get a lot accomplished today, but at least some progress!

Removed the torque converter and flex plate, installed the lightened flywheel (14.5lbs vs. 21lbs) and new Sachs clutch (stock will have to do until the engine gets swapped). 











Also discovered the steering rack tension was out of adjustment, so tightened it up to reduce some slop. 

Finally, battled the last seized and rounded off nut holding the old downpipe to the manifold. It was already leaking at the gasket, or I might have left it. Had to be the middle one in the rear, where it was shielded by the downpipe and very hard to get to. It finally yielded to the cutting disc and hammer and chisel.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Oh, one thing I didn't mention was that I used an Audi 4000 4 cyl clutch kit - its 210mm as opposed to the 200mm Audi Fox/VW Dasher clutch kit for approx the same price. At least a little more contact surface.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Realized I forgot to post photos of the Lightened flyweel. 

The stock flywheel weighs about 20-21lbs. This one is about 14.5lbs. Most of the weight was removed from the outer ring, which is the best place to remove it. 

Had the friction surface re-surfaced, just to make sure:











Then, there used to be a raised ring on the outer edge - it actually went 'up' from the level of the ring gear. I had that machined 'down' to be level with the rest of the inner part of the flywheel.


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## _drtydub_ (May 3, 2010)

nice :thumbup:


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Well, more progress, and more roadblocks. If I realized what would be required to swap a manual into an Automatic-transmission body, I may have waited for a manual before buying the wagon! 

Anway, the QTD trans mount did not line up and bolt on - the mount arm had interference with the subframe. Likely some minor differences in the subframe construction between the B1 and B2 versions. At least it did look like it would work. 

I had to cut a section out that was interfering, and thought about welding in another piece to replace the one I removed, but it was gonna be tight no matter what. I also had to rebend both ends of the mount to be more flat. I decided to just reinforce the mount rather replace the section I cut out. 

The stock, unmodified mount:




















After I cut a section out, welded in a flat bar section in one of the reliefs, and double-layered the end near the cutout. 











Even with all this done, the mount is only really able to control right and left movement. Up and down movement isn't controlled very well at all. In looking at the now-unused auto trans mount on the body, and how it was pretty much right above the manual trans mount, I thought I might as well make an 'adapter' mount to tie into that as well. Grabbed some steel stock from the scrap pile, bent up some pieces, welded them together and voila! 



















And with a quick coat of paint...











Here you can see the two mounts together. The QTD one linking one of the subframe bolts to the bottom of the trans mount bushing, and the fabricated one linking the auto body mount to the top of the trans bushing. Right and left movement, and up and down movement should be really taken care of, but still through the rubber bushing, so vibes shouldn't be much worse than stock.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

On a positive note - the extra sheetmetal "blisters" that are on the 4spd Audi Foxes/VW Dashers are nowhere close to being in the way on the wider-tunneled Automatic. So there is plenty of room for the 5spd. 

As a negative, there is no boxed section for the shift linkage to go through, so I will need to fab that up so the linkage can go through the tunnel and has clearance to move. I was gonna make a short shift setup and replace some bushings with rod-ends, but think I may just try to get her back on the road!


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Mounting the shift linkage - 2 of the mounting studs from the auto shifter line up and are correct for the manual shifter. I only had to drill 2 rear holes for the 4 corners of the shifter mount. Viewed from underneath, the holes in the 2nd layer of sheetmetal were clearly visible, so it made drilling them much easier. 

I do need to cut the tunnel and make a more vertical wall for the shifter rod to pass through. Cutting some of the carpet and insulation away reveals the exact tunnel shape. If I make a few slices and section in some sheetmetal, it *should* end up with the shape I need and still allow the center console to cover everything back up. Fingers crossed.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Well, got a bit more accomplished today. Cut the tunnel and sectioned in the new sheetmetal pieces, welded them, cut a new hole for the shift rod and boot, and undercoated it. Bit of a hassle getting all 3 pieces to fit right - likely would have been easier to cut it all out and make one piece from scratch, but live and learn. 

Here's the trans tunnel with no hole and no way for the rod to go through a hole if I cut one. I would have needed to cut a really long oval, and would have been pretty touch to seal. The small hole there is where the auto shifter cable used to go through. 










I made two cuts front-to-rear on the tunnel, and one across, connecting them. This allowed me to pry up the sloping part to basically horizontal, and the rear part (with the old shifter cable hole) up to vertical. I added to side pieces, shaped like triangles, and a rear piece, rectangular, but bent at 90 degrees, to fill in. 

Welded up with a layer of undercoating:



















From underneath:











With the shifter and rod in place:


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Well, I almost got my short shift build done. Thanks to the VW Fox FAQ, btw. 

This is the stock piece of 5 spd shifter linkage (stolen from the Fox FAQ)










Lengthening it below the shifter connection point in the middle makes that move farther, as the top is what is moved by the shifter and the bottom is held in place by a stay-rod. That stay rod uses the plastic cups and metal balls that VW uses on a lot of their linkages. 


I ground off the ball so that I can use a heim joint or rod-end for a more precise fit. I also cut it apart and welded in just over 3/4" of material. 



















Tomorrow to make the stay rod from 1/4" round stock, get the shift linkage ALL DONE, and hopefully the clutch and throttle cables done. Maybe even the new motor mounts...


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Well, I re-modified the tunnel, making my addition come back farther, so the angle down to the transmission would be better for the shifter rod. More cutting and welding, but came out just fine. Center console still fits and covers the tunnel and shifter correctly.

With the short shifter built, and the rod-end (heim joint) stay rod built and installed, I started to install the new/old downpipe and contemplate teh BMW engine mounts. The downpipe was precariously close to the subframe. In my thinking the slightly taller and stiffer engine mounts should give more clearance. Well, not quite. I installed them, and the downpipe wasn't much better. But - the front mount was now angled too high to fit into its cup. Sigh. 

Realizing some of the error I had created with modifying, the stock mounts were obviously collapsed, and I had built my custom trans mount so the assembly was level - to the lower collapsed mounts. With the taller mounts, the angle had become too much. So I needed to shorten the trans mount. But, even doing that didn't allow the front snubber to fit in its cup - I thought about spacing out the cup, but decided to extend the shaft of the snubber mount (thanks to some input from a shop regular). 

That is done, the trans mount is shortened, but not welded, and it was Friday night and time to shut down the shop. Have to wait to Monday to finish up the trans mount, and start fabbing the exhaust. Then cables and axles and some other little stuff. 

Longer transmission tunnel extension. 










Collapsed B1 mount (not as collapsed without weight on it) and the E28 BMW mount. 










Problem comes when you try to mount it, and the offset in the mounting studs becomes apparent. I had to remove the brackets from the block to fit them in there, and turn the driver's side mount 90 deg from where it should go. Also, the tangs on the BMW mounts had to be cut off, and the grooves for locating the mounts didn't line up, so they may move around a bit, but I'll keep n eye on it. 

Side view of stock mount:










Side view of BMW E28 mount with offset studs:










Front snubber mount - cut off, and one from a rabbit, cut off with more length to weld in its place. 










New longer piece welded on:


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Well, with the shift linkage finished, the trans mounted correctly and level, I started the exhaust. Had a bunch of 2.5" tubing and mandrel bends, and started cutting and welding. Got it completely tacked together, and then went back and started seam welding.


Here's the rearmost piece - the top of the photo is coming out of the muffler, right in front of the rear axle. 










From the other direction - the closest is the ned coming out of the muffler then up and over the axle, and around the spare tire well.


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## strictlyA2 (Jul 27, 2002)

I'll be following this one! Fox Wagon!


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## mike in SC (Apr 29, 2004)

Nice work. You make it look easy.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Thanks guys - but I don't post the photos of me banging my head on the wall or swearing. *That's* what makes it look easy. 

How that rearmost section fits on the car:










The muffler and towards the front, with the resonator:











It's 2.5", mandrel bent, with a perforated core resonator, and a cheapie Thrush Turbo muffler. I've got a Magnaflow straight-throw after the turbo goes on.


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## ModernDayThorns (Mar 24, 2008)

I like this thread. You've done a lot of nice work. :thumbup:


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Thanks guys - I really appreciate the compliments. Its a lot of work sometimes, and I like seeing a solution through the problems that inevitably present themselves when you are modding. Moreso when it's a path less taken. 

Anyway, I got the clutch cable through-hole drilled in the firewall and cable routed and connected on both ends. Pics tomorrow.

On the throttle cable- the automatic cars used a 2 piece cable. It came out of the car at the bottom of the firewall, pointing down towards the transmission. It went to a pivot bracket on the trans, and then a 2nd cable went up to the throttle body. Weird, I know. The manual cars had cables that came in very high on firewall and was a very short curve to the throttle body. 

Well, with both auto and manual pedals in front of me, I could really examine them. The auto petal goes to the left of the mounting point (because of the wider trans tunnel) while the manual goes right. Each of them have mounting 'ears' that the cables actually connect to, and they are mounted on a splined shaft on the pivot of the gas pedal. 

Well, I have a buddy in the shop swapping in a 1.8T in his Rabbit GTI, and his throttle cable was available and much longer than the manual Fox cable, so I tried it in the auto (downward facing) hole, and routed the cable to the throttle body. Perfect length! The cable end at the pedal was different, but I figured I could just weld the manual/A1 type end from the manual gas pedal to the auto pedal and all would be good. 

Not quite so - pics will explain tomorrow.


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## Scurvy Bandit (Sep 12, 2003)

Nice work Greg!!

Too bad there isnt a market more for those rides, Im sure you could make some serious classic owner's happy.

I want to see this thing BOOSTED! :beer:


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Well, here are the auto and manual gas pedals next to each other. Easy to see how the manual version goes to the right from the pivot and then down to the pedal. It also has a very long arm going up from the pivot point to where the cable connects high-up through the firewall.

The auto version, because of the much wider trans tunnel, goes to the left from the pivot, then down to the pedal. It has a very short upward arm to the cable, and the cable actually coems through the bottom of the firewall, *up* towards the lever arm. It goes to the auto trans, where there is a linkage/pivot, and that has another cable that goes up to the throttle body. 










After test fitting a Mk1 Rabbit cable in the lower (auto) firewall hole, I thought, "I will just put the manual cable end (ring) onto the auto pedal arm, and use the Rabbit cable. Simple!"

Well, if you notice the difference in arm length, you will realize, as I did shortly before installing it, that the medal travel will only ever open up the throttle body about 25" when the pedal is depressed all the way! The auto trans pivot multiplied the gas pedal action to get full travel. 

Here's the (incorrectly) modified pedal arm - auto arm with manual ring:











I realized that I had to use the manual arm, on the auto pedal, re-weld the ring BACK onto that arm, and modify the bends slightly to clear the heater/blower housing, and drill a fresh hole in the firewall to pass the cable through. 

Of course, the auto pedal is a different shaft diameter than the manual, so I had to drill out the pivot hole in the manual arm to fit the auto pedal shaft splines. Nothings easy! 

Here's the hybrid pedal arm, up from the pedal, with the cable mounted and passed through a newly drilled hole. 










As an aside, I didn't have any cable bushings to fit into the ring, so I used a hole saw and cut a circular section out of a cutting board. Wasn't a tight fit, so I heated it up with a torch and clamped it in the vice to fill up the hole and mushroom it out on either side a touch. Worked great. 

Here's the cable pass-through from the engine bay. Had to use a 90 deg drill adapter to avoid removing the master cyl and booster. 











Here's the clutch cable with hole I drilled - wasn't too bad.












Got everything kinda buttoned back up, started it, and.... 

The exhaust sounds perfect to me. It is mildly louder than stock at idle - not much. When you rev it a bit, it sounds a little snorty, and at upper rpms, it sounds pretty authoritative. 


On the negative side, it appears that the QTD Trans I bought a long time ago is stuck in gear. I can't change gears, and the shifter won't seem to do anything. I'll check into it more next week. Monday, it rolls back outside, either under its own power or being pushed - other projects to attend to!


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Scurvy Bandit said:


> Nice work Greg!!
> 
> Too bad there isnt a market more for those rides, Im sure you could make some serious classic owner's happy.
> 
> I want to see this thing BOOSTED! :beer:


Thanks man - I gotta get your truck in and get it done!


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Well, I decided to drive her out of the shop and take a break and get some other vehicles worked on (to make an income again!). 

It sounds great - the engine revs MUCH quicker with the light flywheel (vs. the torque converter) and open exhaust and makes me want to tear up some corners, even though it is just a lowly 1.6. My neighbor that is a V8/Jeep guy came over to compliment me on the sound, even! 

I also received some Audi 4000 aluminum subframe bushings in, so the when I do the engine swap, I will install these to see if they fit. If not, they will be modified to fit, as has been the theme of the car so far!


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## ms.golf (Oct 22, 2005)

I enjoy this project :thumbup:


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Thanks man. I broke down and picked up a used VW Fox 4 speed to throw in there while I tear apart the QTD 5-speed to fix it. The down time has also led to me ordering a limited slip diff through a friend. Heh. Getting antsy to throw the turbo on it, and maybe some nitrous. Might see just how much the 1.6 can do!


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Its ALIVE! 

Well, it runs and drives at least. The 4 speed is unentertaining with super wide ratios, but the wagon is fun to drive as a manual vs. the automatic. Accelerates twice as fast, at least by my perception. 

I decided to cut the springs some more to get the ride height down to a respectable level, since snow season should be over. 

Cut an additional 3/4 coil off the front (B3 Passat) springs. Dropped it to a very good height - no more gap, but the tires are mis-sized. This means a total of 2 coils cut from these springs.

Cut 1 1/2 coils off the (uncut) rear BMW 633CSi E24 springs - but almost one full coil was a dead seating coil. Also brought it down to a no-gap height. 











I threw on some cheapie 15x7 wheels I got in a trade for a LeMons Rabbit, but they have 195/55r15 tires - little to tall, but gives me a good idea of height and fit. The rears rub a bit, but fender lip rolling should solve it. WIth 195/50 or 45 series tires, should fit perfectly.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Couple other things to note - with a few more miles under its belt, the stiffer BMW engine mounts *do* cause a fair amount of additional vibes. Nothing too bad for me to put up with, but the wife would likely complain after a while. I suspect they are similar in stiffness to the 034 ones. 

The rear springs (BMW E24) had rattled a bit around the upper metal cylinder, as they didn't have a rubber 'isolator' like the stock ones. To remove this, I had some 1/2" heater hose, and used a heat gun on the spring, and the hose, and sprayed WD40 inside the hose and onto the spring. With some persuasion, the hose slipped over the top coil and has helped to quell the clunks quite a bit. I also installed some spring retention tabs on the bottom perch, to make sure they couldn't jump around at all - pics in the near future. 

One little problem, in relation to the swap, was the throttle pedal today. The cable half of the gas pedal assy, which was adapted from the manual version to the auto lower 'pedal' part by enlarging the hole to slide over the larger splines - slipped today, giving the feel of a broken throttle cable, or the floored pedal with no throttle! It took a bit of roadside fixing, but just tightening the pinch bolt some more did the trick, careful to make sure the throttle body was wide-open when the pedal was at its stop, and not putting undue stress on the cable or pedal assy. 

THe exhaust sounds great - and I've gotten some thumbs up from other drivers I didn't exect. The handling with the stiffer springs, lower ride height and wider wheels and tires is a welcome change. The engine is definitely more responsive - a lighter flywheel is a great addition if you are doing a clutch, and shouldn't cost much at a good machine shop. 

Also, the mileage appears to be much better over the auto - after 2 days of running all over town and lots of full throttle, I have burned less than 1/4 tank - the auto would have been more than 1/4 tank down. No hard numbers yet, but soon. 

Couple more updates - I've got a weird lurching under deceleration only, and right around 2500rpms. If I even touch the throttle pedal, still allowing it to decelerate, it disappears, but not sure what it is. Maybe the weird combo of engine/trans mounts? Eh. 

I got an Audi 2P close-ratio Audi Transmission! I'll try to install it soon, likely replacing the 100mm CV flanges with the 90mm ones off the QTD and see if I can adapt the shift linkage alright. Ordering new strut inserts soon, and some wheels soon I hope. Maybe some window tint and other goodies too.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

I got the 2P Audi Close Ratio gearbox in. Its heaven. Night and day difference between the crazy wide ratios of the VW Fox 4 speed. 

Also picked up a set of Corrado Steelies with good tires. Nice difference.


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## dasherinoz (May 19, 2011)

I love VW steelies, great choice! :thumbup:

My 4 speed box makes me laugh. I can easily do 80kph in second! Crazy


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Thanks - you are right. The 4 spd would only be appropriate in a V8 I think!


Just ordered a carpet kit to start doing some more to the interior, and get some window tinting scheduled, plus making plans for the bumpers...


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Gotta brag a little. I got a big thumbs up from a lowered A4 today, and while filling up on gas, had a guy in a newer Landcruiser come over and gush about how clean and cool the little Fox was.


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Fixed the shift linkage that was hitting the exhaust tonight. A combination of 2.5" exhaust where 1.5" was previously and short shift linkage (much longer) where stock linkage was previously. It involved a vise and a beer and a big yank. Bent to perfection. 

This thing is more fun to drive every day. Biggest complaint is that the pedals are close together and I have to be careful when heel-toeing.


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## ms.golf (Oct 22, 2005)

such a cool project! Nice work man :thumbup::thumbup:


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

Thanks again. High compliment. 

Got the bronze window tint done tonight, strut inserts ordered. Step by step.


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## flatnbagged (May 10, 2010)

Looks amazing man. Keep up the good work and get that thing out to some east coast shows! :thumbup:


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## greggearhead (Jul 28, 2002)

So AutoAnything sells stuff they don't have or know if they have etc. Crossed them off my list forever. 

I bought a pair of Rabbit Bilstein Sport strut inserts and installed them tonight. Holy crap they stiffen up the front. The shorter extended length helps keep the springs in their perches at full droop, which didn't happen before with the Monroe Sensatracs (and cut B3 springs). 

The Rabbit strut inserts are shorter, so I used a galvanized 1" joiner section, about 44mm long, needed grinding to fit inside the strut housing. 

Pulled the BMW engine mounts and replaced with heavy duty B1 mounts. Less vibration but not night and day. 

Also replaced the Thrush turbo muffler with a Dynomax turbo. Little more sound, little quicker revving. =)


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