# 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (all kinds) needed



## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

I am about to pull the G60 out of my 91 Corrado and install an Audi TT 180 hp 1.8t with an ATP manifold and a t3/t4 Turbo. I'm pretty sure I have most of the mechanical side figured out, except whether the T3/T4 will clear the firewall. 
*Link to current post* http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1122829 
There is a lot of information on 1.8T to A2 swaps, but not much on the Corrado. If anyone can point me to some links, I would greatly appreciate it.
In return for the outpouring of help, which I am sure will come, I will try to document the process and post it for the next crazy person performing this swap
 *Pictures* 
Does anyone know if the 1.8T accessories can be used? *1.8t accessories fit fine but I will have to modify both AC compressor hoses* 
The engine is a crate motor for a 99 TT with cable operated throttle. I have the correct ECU, but the wiring harness was cut out of the car at the firewall. *Managed to get the engine running with the cut harness, but its not very pretty* 
I will probably have to get an instrument cluster from a 99 1.8T passat. Can anyone confirm this and how hard it is to install it in the Corrado dash? *Looks like I can use the Corrado Instrument Cluster* 
If anyone has experience installing the the 1.8t wiring into into a Corrado, I would really like to talk to them *Found Wiring Diagram from 1.8T Passat AEB (97-99) in Haynes manual $15* 
*The project is finally underway* 
Did a test fit of engine and Transmission. 
Stock motor mounts worked fine, but only about 1/4" hood clearance
Cut a small section of front cross-member (non-structural) to make more room for Power steering pump fitting.
Replaced Turbonetics manifold with ATP Manifold. Turbo inlet plumbing is easier.
ATP fabricated a custom downpipe which has been installed - same one VRT installed in his 1.8T Corrado
Deltagate downpipe comes out right over steering rack, not a good idea. *Re-welded dump tube - fits perfectly* 
Waiting for tubing for FMIC, but started Engine, Runs quietly w/good oil pressure
Bought a new Peloquin for the 02J Transmission that came with the engine. I will attempt to install it. Until then, 02A willstay bolted up to engine.
Bought an uncut harness from a fellow Vortexer, will install Perfect Power Piggyback system when I go to larger injectors

_Modified by johntorg at 1:36 AM 1-15-2004_


_Modified by johntorg at 1:37 AM 1-15-2004_


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## abt cup (Aug 1, 2000)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (all kinds) needed (johntorg)*

Call Greedspeed...they put a 1.8t into a G60. Then they put that 1.8t into my MK3.


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## fastslc (Sep 14, 1999)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (abt cup)*

If the TT engine is the same configuration as the 98-99 AUdi Engines, then yes the T3/T4 will clear the firewall with the ATP manifold. You will have to run a short air filter as the intake side of the turbo allows next to no room for plumbing.
You can still use the G60 cluster if you want - you got to open it and look at the circuitry that goes to the tach - there is a Zener diode that you will need to short in order to get it to work properly. 
If your wiring got hacked initially, i would seriously look into a stand alone such as Autronics - this will save you time and money in the long run especailly if you are running that turbo setup.
sorry for the grammar.. i am in a hurry


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (fastslc)*

Thanks for the help. That's good news on the cluster. I would really prefer to keep the ECU. I may look for another harness, but I have pretty good electrical skills (used to repair computers for a living) and can probably splice this one together.
Has anyone done this conversion with the ECU and harness?


[Modified by johntorg, 2:20 PM 3-1-2003]


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (johntorg)*

I did a little research on the Autronic set up and you are right, it may be better to use it. They seem to have an "auto tune" feature that allows you to set fuel/air ratio targets for rpm ranges and then the ecu adjusts itself for those ratios. 
Does anyone have any experience with this setup? 


[Modified by johntorg, 4:26 AM 3-8-2003]


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## 1.8TsyncroB3 (Mar 7, 2001)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (fastslc)*

quote:[HR][/HR]
You can still use the G60 cluster if you want - you got to open it and look at the circuitry that goes to the tach - there is a Zener diode that you will need to short in order to get it to work properly. 
[HR][/HR]​
Care to share a little more detail on this tach mod? Will this solve the analog VS digital signal issue when driving the tach from the ECU output?
Any idea if this mod would work on a Passat cluster?


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## fastslc (Sep 14, 1999)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (1.8TsyncroB3)*

Yep Straight from the ECU - It's hard to explain without a schematic. But from memory, that's how we were able to get the G60 cluster to work. Bypass the Zener/short it and voila. If your ECU came from a newer car (using the CAN bus) you are SOL
Here are some pics of the T/T4 set up in a G60 Corrado running the Autronics Setup. Car is apart right now for some more beefing up



























[Modified by fastslc, 12:21 PM 3-1-2003]


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (fastslc)*

Thanks for the additional info. Where did you get the Autronic unit and what did it cost? The pictures didn't post (red Xs) can you e-mail them to me at [email protected]


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## 1.8TsyncroB3 (Mar 7, 2001)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (fastslc)*

When you say "newer car", what are you reffering too? I have two engines in my shop at the moment ready for swapping into two B3 syncros. One is a '97 AEB, the other is 2000 APH with DBW. Will both of these work or only the AEB?


[Modified by 1.8TsyncroB3, 4:25 PM 3-1-2003]


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## VRT (Dec 8, 2001)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (1.8TsyncroB3)*

Check ou my community site
You will see a 1.8t with a t3/t4 and a dash swap


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (VRT)*

Thanks for the pictures. My Corrado is the same color as yours. Today I pulled the engine from my car and found a broken rear motor mount and 12 years worth of dirt and sludge on the subframe. I have a few questions? 
1. Did you use stock motor mounts?
2. What kind of intercooler did you use (the giant one in the pics?)
3. You are using a TEC II, how difficult was it to set up? and how is it running now?
4. Did you swap out the dash because of compatability issues?
5. What clutch did you use? (I've got a VR6 clutch and lightened G60 fywwheel.
6. I'm using an 02A trans and the starter bolts are smaller (in diameter than the ones on the 02J that came with the engine. It looks like I can pass them through the holes on the engine block and put nuts on the other side. Did you do the same?
7. Who's Dina?



[Modified by johntorg, 1:04 AM 3-3-2003]


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## MUNKIN (Sep 23, 2001)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (VRT)*

Show more pictures of Dina


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (MUNKIN)*

The project is finally underway.
Did a test fit of engine and Transmission. Had to cut a small section of frame rail to clear turbo (nothing structural) 
Will cut a small section of front cross-member (non-structural) to make more room for Power steering pump fitting.
Downpipe doesn't fit (custom made when engine was in a Beetle)
Deltagate downpipe comes out right over steering rack, not a good idea.
*Help Needed* 
1. Need help in locating a downpipe for turbo and would like to route deltagate back into it. I am told Team PSi makes one but I can't find them. 
2. The Turbo inlet has only about 2" of clearance I need a short right angle bend to attach the intake plumbing 
I will post some pictures shortly and copy this up to my first post for those who don't want to read through everything. Please let me know if anyone finds this useful, and I'll continue, if not I'll stop taking up Vortex space.


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (johntorg)*

Photos Added


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## CorradoCody (Oct 13, 2001)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (johntorg)*

Looks good so far.
CC


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## dubwise (Nov 10, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (CorradoCody)*

how did you install electromotive? were you able to hook up to the crank trigger that was originally on the motor or did you use trigger wheel & sensor?


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (dubwise)*

I didn't install an electromotive. VRT has a TEC II. I'm looking at a Perfect Power Piggyback system now.


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (all kinds) needed (johntorg)*

Finally getting back to this project


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## VRT (Dec 8, 2001)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (johntorg)*

Hey where's your pics ?



_Modified by VRT at 9:34 PM 5-28-2003_


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## Red_Rado (Jan 27, 2003)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (VRT)*

yeah where's the pics? and what did you decide on the fuel and ignition control.
I was thinking of setting up a forum on my website deticated to 1.8t corrado swaps???
Keep us posted.


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## juki (Apr 24, 2001)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (Red_Rado)*

Where's the pics?


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (juki)*

Been away for 3 months projec re-started. Engine Runs!


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## sn1puns (Jul 17, 2003)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (johntorg)*

So it's all done now or what? I "had" a AEB t3/t4 in my corrado until I put the drain plug through the rear of the block. Doing 2.1L20VT now...yay *rolls eyes*.
There's a tach module you can buy from kinteticmotorsports (momentum's other half). Unless you figured out how to do it by yourself.


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

Not done yet. But FMIC is installed and engine runs. Still sorting out all the wires on the ECU and rebuilding the shifter (bad bushings). Thanks for the info on the tach module. did you uses an ECU or go standalone?


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## grilledpickle (Jan 12, 2001)

*Re: (johntorg)*

He's going standalone http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## bengone1 (Jun 17, 2003)

*Re: (grilledpickle)*

i just got done wiring a 99 passat AEB ecu into my 98 2.0L what questions do you have?


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## sn1puns (Jul 17, 2003)

*Re: (bengone1)*


_Quote, originally posted by *bengone1* »_i just got done wiring a 99 passat AEB ecu into my 98 2.0L what questions do you have?

You didn't have to do any wire splicing though since you went from mk4-to-mk4. I think those are some of his questions.


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## bengone1 (Jun 17, 2003)

*Re: (sn1puns)*

no splicing? it is a 2001 AWW 1.8t running 99 Passat AEB injection in a MKIII OBDII GTi. i'm gonna be pissed if they have a plug in harness available. the passat is wired like a MK IV. i had to drop $90 on the Passat Bentley and for my Digi 1 swap into my Scirocco i shelled out $80 for the Corrado version. i think the fuse block in corrados is identical to the one in my GTi...nevermind it is the same as my GTi.


_Modified by bengone1 at 10:17 PM 11-24-2003_


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## massivespeed (Oct 15, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (all kinds) needed (johntorg)*

this is long but true.............beware of perfect power
Corrado 1.8t chronicles
Or
The miss haps of a frustrated tuner
Era 1990
My buddy is looking for a new car, I suggest the new VW Corrado. He calls around and found a nugget yellow no sunroof or ABS model. After a short negotiation he buys it. He can’t drive a manual trans, not a problem I drive it home for him. I taught him to operate a manual trans that day. Skip to 1998 the car has 78k miles on it. It has had a clutch replaced, 2 minor fender benders, radio don’t work, paint is faded, and it’s blowing oil out the exhaust.
I call my buddy one day to see how he is doing and what’s up with the Corrado. He tells me he is tired of it and won’t put another dime in it. I ask how much he wants for it. $3500 is what he tells me. I had moved to Mississippi 3 years prior, so I come up to Chicago to see family. When I stopped by my buddy’s house, what I’m greeted with was one well worn pile of potential. I write him a check and tow the car back to Mississippi. Once getting it into my shop I started replacing obvious problem parts. Bad motor mounts, spark plugs, cap and rotor, fuel filter, oil change, and the drive belts. I take the car out for a test drive and it SEEMED ok. The moment I accelerated hard the car sent out a plum of white smoke. Thinking it’s the supercharger, leaking oil badly I just put the car down until I had additional time to work on it. I ordered Autotech stage 3 kit and aluminized exhaust for the car. Installed Autotech parts and just wanted to see how the car would run even though I knew it had a bad, supercharger. Started it and it ran pretty nice until I got on it. I took off the G-ladder and sent it too a supercharger rebuilder facility I found in the back of euro tuner. From the way I had to get a hold of the guy I should have known better. After arguing with the guy over the fee he never would quote until I sent him the supercharger, then arguing over the tear down fee when I told him we will not be doing business, I never got it back and the company no longer is in business. 
I march on. Well let’s give the car a compression test. The absolute thing I should have done from the beginning. Word to the wise unless you are buying a new car or a new crate motor ALWAYS DO A COMPRESSION TEST BEFORE YOU BUY. The car barely got 90psi on 2 cylinders. There was nothing wrong with the G ladder. After that little lesson I do compression test on regular basis to diagnose emission and drivability problems with every car that comes in the shop. I tear the engine down to see if I could do a quick rering and honing. Not happening the cylinders have a ridge at the top, deep enough to lose a finger nail in. two of the pistons have rings that are broken in many section and 3 of the 4 pistons have ring lands that are missing. Well I know where the white smoke came from. I have bought wheels and even painted the car at this point.
At the same time I have grown tired of 2 things in my life, Living in Mississippi and the Corrado. I move back to Chicago and towed the Corrado back with me. Once I got my new shop open in Chicago I started on the Corrado again. I Sent the crank out to be lightened and balanced. Extrude honed the cylinder head and intake manifold. Along come articles about 1.8t’s and the potential. 
I hated the paint and the wheels got scratch during the move. I sent the car off to the media blaster to strip the whole thing. The car went to a body shop where they began sanding it smooth. The body shop owner (a neighbor and friend) past away while sleeping. I sent the car to another body shop they finished the car and made it beautifully smooth. Decide to wait on the paint until I get what ever engine is going in it. Body kit was ordered from strictly foreign. Nothing much more to say about the body, I’m an engine guy. 
So now the car is sitting in front of me at work. I’m trying to figure what is it I’m going do with it. Finish the G-ladder 1.8 motor or do something else. With great pressures of needing a replacement car I figure it would be easier to buy a 1.8t, install it and be done.
Back to my euro tuner mag. Looking in the back of the mag I came across RPI. Hell I have seen article written on these guys so this should be safe I order the only 1.8t they had in Oct 2002. SEMA is coming up so I order some item before and after I went to SEMA. The Fidanza Flywheels are beautiful parts. Clutch net clutches seem to have a well thought out fiber and metal clutch lines. The two went together with out a hitch. The 1.8t came with a hole in the oil pan. The engine was out of a 2000 A4; its intake was for a longitudal mounted engine. The throttle body was drive by wire. The entire accessory assembly and its’ drive was missing. It came with a wiring harness but no computer. I called RPI to inform them of this and to try and get the correct parts sent. In the mean time I knew I wanted a stand alone computer, bigger turbo, intercooler, 3 inch stainless turbo back exhaust, and I knew I wanted to produce a kit for this conversion. Parts started coming in. I put the engine in to start making the custom parts while I waited for RPI to get me the parts that was needed from them. I called Turbonetics for a turbo they sent a t3/t4 .50 housing. I also had then to send me their inconel exhaust manifold for the 1.8t. The inconel exhaust manifold is one heavy piece of metal but it is also gorgeous in comparison to any cast iron piece. The apr/turbonetics exhaust manifold will not work on the Corrado. I called ATP their exhaust manifold is cast iron and it works on the Corrado. The waste gate bolted up no big deal. The stuff from RPI came in bits and pieces, first the oil pan, second the intake manifold, then the throttle body, and lastly the accessories and their drive. It’s about end of Feb 03 and this thing has yet to start. In the beginning of Dec 02 I order Perfect power prs4 ECU. Wired up primary components and waited for more parts to come. After everything that was needed came to get the car started it was mid Mar 03. I crank and crank and crank car wont start. I checked the wiring on the prs4 several time. It was installed per the book.
Every time I turn OFF the ignition the car would back fire. I pulled all the wiring to the individual coils and checked the connections. I wanted to see if the coils were firing, I put a ground to the trigger wire on the coils. With coils like these you should be able to hear the zap of the spark arcing across the electrodes from outside the engine. I looked at the wires to the coils a second time, and wonder why are their 3 ground going in but only one positive. That’s because they aren’t 3 grounds. The coils aren’t firing because they aren’t negative triggers. These are positive trigger coils. I called up Ida automotive (US distributor of perfect power), and they had no parts to help convert a negative signal to a positive signal to trigger the coils. Their suggestion was to use G.M. HEI coils and spring and some type of boot to cover the spark plugs. I order MSD sport compact coils and MSD Integra plug wires. I bought a ¼ plate of aluminum mounted the coils and attempted to start the motor. Nothing. I called Ida auto back told them what I did and they said that should work. Send us everything you have and we will configure it. After 15 years of be in the automotive field and several incident with companies going out of business, I’M NOT SENDING ANYTHING ANYWHERE. After checking and checking wiring trying to start and trying to start I hear a sizzling under my dash. The damn ecu is frying. I called them up explaining the problem and wondering what the hell did I do? I checked wires again and came to the decision I didn’t anything. This system is in the way their manual explains and is diagramed. I’m told by Ida auto that the unit has to go back to South Africa (where it is manufactured). I can’t believe my ears. I’ve been waiting to get this damn car running for years now I have to wait for an ecu to go across the Atlantic before I even know if they will warrantee an new part. I e-mail perfect power directly, and I’m greeted with the response that I must have found a new way to break their product, because they don’t break. I’m like WTF?!?! After snatching the unit out of the Corrado and sending it back I called electromotive and ordered a TEC3 ecu and program. Not only is electromotive technical department knowledgeable, the operating systems work off windows unlike the prs4 that utilized DOS. Knowledge is wonderful. Knowing someone that knows what he is doing makes life easier. The tech guy at electromotive not only knew most of my color codes. The man directed me to the correct factory VW/AUDI coils that are negative trigger! I had a couple of configuration problems that he helped me solve over the phone. Engine starts and dies. While tuning the engine to run a little leaner and solving the cold start dilemmas, I notice the engine had a very noticeably tick and or knock. I have a about 20 minutes run time on the motor since I bought it. I check the oil and it is filthy, I personal put new oil in it. I drop the pan and there is metal and black to rust color crude in the pan. I remove one rod and one main cap to my horror the bearing are worn awful. I was told this was an 18k motor. I bought new bearings put them in and started the car. New problem, it idled, then quit on it own. Under the assumption that the engine is still running rich and that something is wrong with my starter. I replace the starter and play with the pulse width of the injectors. Car is hard to start. It will not crank easily. Off with the pan again more metal shavings and more sludge. I took off number 3 rod cap. The bearing looked like it was 30k miles old. I took off number 2 same and the thing. I took off number 1, oh my god the whole bearing is destroyed. Compression test was good though, damn it. I’m calling RPI in the morning today is 29/Apr/03. What I haven’t mentioned so far is the stainless exhaust has taken over 5 months to get parts sent back and forth across the continent for prototype work on what ultimately is be a 1.8t conversion kit in a Corrado. What a nightmare.
July 15, 2003,
With SEMA around the corner and PRI right after that I need to get the move on. I’m afraid I wont make it to SEMA and I really need to be there with this kit along with another product I have designed to throw the industry on its ear (I’m not modest).
I haven’t received the short block from RPI yet so I’m stuck here. I will be removing the engine from the car and the cylinder head from the block next week.
Sept 30 2003,
I finally received the short block from Rpi and it’s the wrong 1.8t all the accessories that I searched for and modified do not fit this “newer” design short block. I call Dustin back and he says “he can’t believe it”. He says he will look for the correct accessories if I can find out if the engine will fit the car. Oil filter housing assembly looks as if it will lay right on the radiator of the Corrado. After fiddling with the block for about a day I think I can make it fit the Corrado so Dustin is looking for the correct A/C compressor, Alternator, power steering pump, and brackets. I took the cylinder head off the old bad engine and found I need new tools to do it (special cylinder head bolts drive socket). I ordered the new bolts and the new cylinder head gasket from miller VW. It’s been a 2 weeks and I still haven’t received the parts from Dustin yet. NO I’m not going to make it to SEMA or PRI with this car. When this car is running I very seriously doubt I will make any thing more than the performance exhaust for Corrado G60 with a 1.8t. This set up has the most potential anyone can imagine to get out of a 4 cylinder Corrado. Because of silly unforeseen difficulties this project might not become a production kit. What I am sure of is, as soon as this car is running correctly I’m selling it. It will be the down payment for my 1995 F355 spider Ferrari. With the Ferrari if I’m to have head aches like this at least when it runs, it will be worth the head aches. I still have 7k to go with the Corrado before it’s complete after I get the parts I need for it to be streetable. 
Today is 13 dec 03 I still havent recieved the rest of the parts .Im now the Chicago Distributor of ANSA exhaust so when I do get the exhaust done for the corrado it will be using ANSA muffler and resonator. Insteas of the borla muff and exhaust tech resonator.


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## massivespeed (Oct 15, 2002)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (all kinds) needed (johntorg)*

Sorry about the long previous post.
I WILL be doing the conversion kit. but it will be limited to specailty parts only. 
ONLY 30 kits will be produced. 
The parts will be: 
(1) The turbo manifold for t3/t4 (equal length tubes), 
(2) Tec3 wiring harness pre wired for factory and aftremarket neccessary electrical connectors 
(3) Turbo back 3 inch exhaust including cat
(4) Air filter to turbo piping
(5) Turbo to intercooler piping
(6) Water to air intercooler 
(7) All the hardware for the parts mentioned above (specialty oil lines incld).
(8) 3 working programs files for the tec3
the rest of the parts needed for the conversion and or upgrade are readily availible from current high performance manufactures/ speed shops.
for instance the performance fuel rail I used is from ross racing. 
The fuel psi regulator is aeromotive. 
All the connectors are factory VW, 
TEC3 from any authorized speed shop. 
Turbo, waste gate, and boost controller are all directly from turbonetics.
The injectors are RC engineering but you can use factory units.
Fuel gauge Autometer
Factory engine mounts, BBM solid mounts will work if you so desire.
oil filter relocation kits is transdapt
my only NORMAL problem I have had is finding the factory tach wire and finding an adequate upgrade for the fuel pump (22psi boost)


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## stiffler359 (Dec 11, 2003)

*Re: 1.8t into Corrado conversion help (massivespeed)*

ok, i bought a 1.8t and transe from a 2001 beetle. i have the computer, the whole car harness, pedals, and it is drive by wire. will your conversion kit work with this setup?


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## johntorg (Oct 30, 2002)

*Thread still alive?*

I was surprised to see that this thread is still alive. I have spoken to MassiveSpeed and would like to hear more about his struggle. By comparison my project has gone pretty well so far. Here's a link to the updated post: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1122829


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## mk2dub4ever (Oct 22, 2002)

*Re: Thread still alive? (johntorg)*

John, do you have any drawings how to hook up the AEB engine to the Digifant 1 
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zer...64725


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