# Modifications and Drag Times '87 Cabby



## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Yes, the little Cabby likes to go drag racing every once in awhile. Is it fast? Well, no, not really. Or at least not yet. She'll get there Just wanting a place to document and get advice on what to do next.


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Stock Cabby with 1.8 8V. Think these are somewhere around 90 horse. 

Mine is an '87 but I could only find a 1/4 mile time on a '93. 

18.1 seconds


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

May 6, 2009 

I purchased my car with a 2.0 16V already installed from a 1992 GTI. 

1991 GTI 16V will make it in 16.8 seconds 

I ran a average of 16.431 seconds at 84.3 MPH with a best of 16.361 seconds at 84.89 MPH 

Not too bad considering what it was.


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

May 5 2010 

The only changes for this session were a pair of drag radials and a fuel enrichment circuit. 

I'm assuming the drag radials helped the most. Averaged 16.36 seconds at 83.12 MPH with a best of 16.105 at 83.65 

Also managed to do a little damage this time 


















I drove it home with the exhaust cracked, but couldn't go until I replaced a blown out wheel bearing the next morning. The nice folks at BIR were kind enough to let me keep it there over night and do the repairs right there.


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Currently preparing for another summer of drag racing. Hoping to get there more than once this year. A little more drastic modifications this year. I'm now running a VR6. 

More on that here. 
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4824285-VR6-87-Cabriolet 

A stock 1993 Passat VR6 will run 16.6 seconds weighing 3152 lbs 
A stock 1995 GTI with the same motor will run 15.5 seconds at 2511 lbs 

The Cabby weighs between 2000 and 2300 lbs. I will get it weighed before I go. 

Is high 14's wishful thinking?


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## deathhare. (Apr 1, 2008)

Ive seen mk3s hit high 14s.


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

> Ive seen mk3s hit high 14s.


Stock?


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## deathhare. (Apr 1, 2008)

MOBOZO said:


> Stock?


The one I saw had a chip, filter exhaust. Otherwise stock and most of the interior removed. :laugh:
14.9


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## hecky (Nov 24, 2009)

low 13's mk2 vr6, DRC 268 cams, built head, TT exhaust, etc


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Got the Cabby weighed a couple weeks ago. Just under 2400 lbs.

Tried to go racing last night but it was not meant to be. CEL came on on the drive up and it started misfiring. Also lost control of the clutch. Had a fun drive home.

I went up with two other cars and only one got to race. One lost his alternator on the way up and spent the night replacing it.

Better luck next time.

So this weekend is going to be filled with figuring out why the clutch failed, checking the codes, and fixing whatever is causing my misfire. :banghead:


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Hit the dyno on Sunday.

Put down 136 HP. That sounds about right for a stock VR6 with 145,000 miles on it.


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## deathhare. (Apr 1, 2008)

MOBOZO said:


> Hit the dyno on Sunday.
> 
> Put down 136 HP. That sounds about right for a stock VR6 with 145,000 miles on it.


Sounds very low to me. 
In fact, Ive never seen one lay numbers that low.

If the compression numbers arent low you cant attribute it to the high miles and something else must wrong.


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

> Sounds very low to me.
> In fact, Ive never seen one lay numbers that low.
> 
> If the compression numbers arent low you cant attribute it to the high miles and something else must wrong.


So, what is normal for a stock VR6?

I checked compression before I did the swap. I do not recall the exact numbers, but they were good and even across the cylinders.

A couple of possibilities are for my low power are
1. I still have a misfire issue after the car has been running for at least an hour. It seems like something electronic is getting hot and causing it. I was thinking coil or ICM. I did the Ford coil swap and still have the same problem.
2. I get a couple of codes yet, but nothing that I would think would effect power. Vehicle speed sensor comes up regularly. Engine speed sensor and oxygen sensor come up occasionally. Usually only on longer drives.


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

I ran it down the 1/4 the other night and was very disappointed. The best I could get was a 15.9. Perhaps this is related to my lack of power and misfire issues.

It did, however, have enough power to do this.









I wish I could go once and not have any problems.:banghead:


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Time to start thinking about drag racing again.

Unfortunately, I still have not figured out the misfiring issue. However, I have been driving it and it has not been a problem yet this year. Maybe not warm enough out yet.

Plans for this season...

1.8T IAT sensor and I got a great deal on a set of Autotech 262s last night.
Install pics to come.


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## deathhare. (Apr 1, 2008)

:thumbup:


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Well, the Autotech 262s turned out to be DRC 268/264s. Not ideal for the mk3 VR6, but better than the 262s. But like I said, got a great deal on them.

Dispite some people saying I should not install them, I went ahead and did it anyway. I found plenty of people saying they run these cams on stock springs. I literally just finished. Started and idles fine. Haven't even gotten cleaned up for a test drive yet. Sorry, no pics. Got a little excited with the tools.

The 1.8T IAT is also done.

May 9th is the first open drag night at BIR. If it keeps running like it has been and the weather is nice, I'll be there.


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## 02awp18705 (Jan 19, 2009)

Good luck man , I went drag racing yesterday in my 97 jetta 8vt . My best time so far is a [email protected] . I was going for my second run and broke my ps axle :banghead:


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

02awp18705 said:


> I was going for my second run and broke my ps axle :banghead:


I been there.




02awp18705 said:


> My best time so far is a [email protected] .


Wish I had been there.


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## vento86 (Oct 13, 2008)

hecky said:


> low 13's mk2 vr6, DRC 268 cams, built head, TT exhaust, etc


 My fastest time in my mk2 vr was 12.9 
Fully gutted 
Diff 
Raddo trans 
Mk4 gasket 
268s 
Head and manifold work 
MT 205/50 15 street radials 

It was a fun car. I sold it and the kid blew it up


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Forgot to mention how bad drag racing went this year. Tranny issues would not let me shift into second gear. I only made two runs before I gave up. 

On the plus side, I did figure out what my misfire was.

So, onto plans for next year. Motor and tranny are already out for the winter. I picked up a Raddo tranny with an LSD and a 10lb flywheel. Also got a TT cam chip. I was running the chip the last part of the summer. Amazing what an extra 1000 rpm will do.

While the motor is out, going to install ARP rod bolts to keep everything together at 7000 rpm and take care of some oil leaks from the underside.


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## jodub337 (Oct 19, 2005)

MOBOZO said:


> Forgot to mention how bad drag racing went this year. Tranny issues would not let me shift into second gear. I only made two runs before I gave up.
> 
> On the plus side, I did figure out what my misfire was.
> 
> ...


 
Well do tell what the misfire issue was?


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

jodub337 said:


> Well do tell what the misfire issue was?


 It is actually a little embarrasing that I did not figure this out sooner. There was a tiny lawn mower type clear plastic fuel filter tucked up between the two fuel pumps. It was so clogged that the filter element was starting to colapse. 

It had been running fine all spring on 89 octane. The week before I was to go racing, I started running 92. It started missing at high RPM. So, I decided to pump out the 92 and dump 89 back in. I pulled the fuel line at the engine and jumped the fuel pump relay. The fuel trickled out. At first, I thought fuel pump, but when I went to take it out, there was that tiny filter hiding up there. 

I had previously suspected a fuel problem so I checked pressure at that time. I had probably checked it with engine off, so the fact that there was no flow would not have shown. 

I am still trying to understand why there were only symtoms when I ran the 92 octane.


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## 1ABrian (Sep 12, 2012)

pretty cool stuff here. You have any other pics of your ride? Kinda curious


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

1ABrian said:


> pretty cool stuff here. You have any other pics of your ride? Kinda curious


Thanks, did you see my build thread?

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4824285-VR6-87-Cabriolet

Plenty of good pics in there.


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

I suppose I could update this while I'm here. ARP rod bolts and new gaskets around the bottum end are done. Motor is back in. Had a little mishap with the tranny, but that is just about ready to go back in as well.

One little addition. I have an eeprom reader/burner on the way. Very interested to see what I can do playing around with fuel trim and spark timing. I do not expect much, and it will be difficult to know results without a dyno. But hey, something fun to tinker with.


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## 02awp18705 (Jan 19, 2009)

Good job looks like a blast to drive :thumbup:


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## neohic (Nov 21, 2010)

MOBOZO said:


> ...Had a little mishap with the tranny, but that is just about ready to go back in as well...


Other than the repair to the case?


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

neohic said:


> Other than the repair to the case?


Nope, just the case


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Kinda forgot about this thread. Had a few problems and didn't want to make them worse beating it on the track. The tranny I got with LSD ended up being junk. Thanks to the guy that sold it to me. Hoping that the LSD itself is fine. I got a stock Passat tranny and just put it in. Will maybe put the LSD into that next winter. 

The problem that has really kept me from the track is the suspension. I got coilovers and blew out a brand new set of strut mounts in a month. 

On the plus side, I picked up a set of neuspeed pulleys. 

Also, have spent time time with the eeprom burner. Haven't made any performance enhancing modifications yet, but I have successfully modified idle fuel trim.


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## Fogatti Luvs Cabriolets (Aug 9, 2013)

*10 second Cabby*

Mine must be the slowest one in earth but my mentor's is a 10 second beast that will Twist the axels every once in a while. He is a retired VW mechanic who has quite the 5 star Cabby reputation in the caribbean Islands and here in Puerto Rico. 

I know he starts with a Passat block and ends with a turbine. people in the near island pay a good buck for his manifolds, motors, motor heads etc. 

Am not into the racing or fast -er cabby quest. but i can ask him some stuff or hook you up with him. he also builds these turn key motors that are phenomenal. 

If you are interested I can ask him. 

He is not only like the cabby wizzard he also owns 37 cabbys and has his own private cabby junker (not for biz) just for himself and friends. so I also visit often as u may imagine!


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Fogatti Luvs Cabriolets said:


> Mine must be the slowest one in earth but my mentor's is a 10 second beast that will Twist the axels every once in a while. He is a retired VW mechanic who has quite the 5 star Cabby reputation in the caribbean Islands and here in Puerto Rico.
> 
> I know he starts with a Passat block and ends with a turbine. people in the near island pay a good buck for his manifolds, motors, motor heads etc.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks but, it is still my daily driver. If I can low 14s I will be happy, 13s extatic.


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

Another summer almost gone and another summer I have not made it to the track. I did rebuild the tranny his spring and installed the lsd. After putting it together, I had a whine. The whine increases with vehicle speed. So, pinion bearings, diff bearings, ring and pinion, or fifth gear. All of these were replaced in the build. 5th gear is the only one I can change without dropping the tranny. So...


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

if I get enough of an angle, maybe I wont loose any fluid.


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## MOBOZO (Dec 14, 2009)

this is actually my second attempt at this. The first time, I could not get at the top shift fork bolt with those long triple square bits.
I found these. OTC 5942 xzn super shorts. Outside hex and internal square drive :thumbup:


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