# New Beetle Sex Change



## TightDub (Dec 24, 2003)

I decided to wait til I had some progress worth sharing. 









July 10th I finally cleared my garage for space to do the swap. 









An so it begins..


















Lots of cleaning to do at this point. I got a really low milage motor so I refuse to install it in a dirty bay. 









First round of cleaning..









This is when I got the second low milage motor home.


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## billymade (Jan 29, 2008)

Wow! Good Job; this sounds like a ton of work! Any performance upgrades? Are you upgrading to a 02m six speed trans or sticking with a auto or 02j five speed? What other mods are required; to make the VR6 work in the New Beetle? (e.g.: ecu, speedo, electrical harness,etc). Great project!


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## TightDub (Dec 24, 2003)

Im using a 5spd gearbox. I may do a swap later but for now Im happy w what I have. The harness is all plug and play. It does route a little different and its a lil longer but u can install it in the same spot no prob. The only upgrades will be the TT downpipe and cat w a C2 Motorsports tune. Im modding a spare factory bezel to fit the mk4 vr cluster. But for starters I will roll with the beetle cluster. Theres a guy here that did a swap who says it works fine w his swap.


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## SMG8vT (Oct 8, 2004)

Looks good! Subscribed.:thumbup:


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## SMG8vT (Oct 8, 2004)

Disagree with your sig btw, I've got both and I still have friends. How you treat people decides that and it doesn't matter what suspension / wheels you run.


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## SMG8vT (Oct 8, 2004)

Talk to Autohaas, they've got all kinds of MK4's to part out and they're straight up honest guys. It's not the typical sleazy junkyard people are used to dealing with.


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## TightDub (Dec 24, 2003)

Cleaning a lot of stuff








Decided on wrinkle coat for now

















Prior to install

















Its sits waiting on a few parts. A harness being one of them. I was checking ac hose clearance..the intake is off again waitng..



SMG8vT said:


> Disagree with your sig btw, I've got both and I still have friends. How you treat people decides that and it doesn't matter what suspension / wheels you run.


:laugh: Atcually I agree w u...It a sticker my friend made cause a guy said it to him....lol I did the sig a while back to support him.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5813912-Bags-and-RS-S-won-t-get-you-friends-stickers

Sorry for the delay in response. I was thinking noone would chime in since the forum has a ton of advertisements on top an few active threads. Glad to see yall in here tho:thumbup:


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## TightDub (Dec 24, 2003)

billymade said:


> Those sound like good prices; on the rebuilt long block end of things, things are still pretty high at this point:
> 
> VW dealer
> 
> ...



I think Billy had everything covered in his replies.:thumbup:


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## SMG8vT (Oct 8, 2004)

Nice progress! Thanks for the reply. :thumbup:


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## TightDub (Dec 24, 2003)

No offense intended but..Maybe u should create ur own thread to discuss ur car issues in. None of ur post have anything to do with the original reason I posted. The forum is full of folk who can help u..meanwhile this thread is already off track.


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## Halfwalker (Aug 16, 2014)

True - sorry about the hijack. Reason I came to this thread was the Beetle with engine removed - was looking for how to do that.


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## billymade (Jan 29, 2008)

Thread cleaned up; on my end! :wave:


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## TightDub (Dec 24, 2003)

Thank yall so much for not taking as a dick move. Honestly I you tube procedures jus to get an idea what Im in for. If it looks hard or too tedious..I will consult a few VW tech I know...so I dont do this soley on my own merit. I wouldnt advise any of this Im doin to someone. And Im not the one for definate advice...but I will tell u I dont know...which helps a lot. Feel free to message me or text me and Im willing to give my end of the experience...but in the end what u do is on u. I love working on my own car..and I admire u for wanting to handle it yourself...but I understand the idea of getting your head wrapped around what your contemplating. Illl message u my number.
Thanks again for not taking it negative:beer:


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## Halfwalker (Aug 16, 2014)

Thanks there - appreciated. Anything you're willing to share about pulling that engine will go a long way. I know these things are a stone bitch to work on ...

Some years ago hit a deer in this Beetle. Crunched the left fender, headlight, bumper etc. Not terrible ... Insurance cost was $11k, and 3/4 of that was labor. Body shop bitched and said they never wanted to work on a Beetle again. To take off part A you had to remove parts B, C, D, and E. And to get part B off you needed to pull parts F, G and H.

That alone makes me want to get a bit of a run-through.

That VR6 is going to be sick


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## TightDub (Dec 24, 2003)

The way I look at it. If u love the car and want to keep it...why not take it apart yourself. If u take ur time..even pics b4 u remove stuff as u go so u have a reference. You will learn a lot and it actually gets easier to do the second time around. I searched a lot b4 I touched my car..but everything worked out. I took my time and wasnt scared to ask. 
The body shop looks at it as a time labor cost thing. This was my second time removing my fenders and it was actually not as bad as I remembered. I do have the hardware all neatly organized and a list of screws that I need to replace thanx to the 'BodyShop'...
And Im an anxious person..it takes me a while to get at it cause I really dont want to screw up my car...but theres a lot of resources out there and for me you tube can give u a quick idea what ur in for...reading still has me on hold...but when u see the procedure and the time it takes a professional...U know whether u have the skills or balls to do it...at least for me...Im almost a geezer by standards...lol:laugh:


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## TightDub (Dec 24, 2003)

I lucked up and found a good top at the local pull a part this summer. $138 bux. My rear window was going awol.









Trimming the core support to fit..

















Bigger brakes from my buddies 337. Waiting on some R brakes for the rear.









I got tired of waiting on the other motor side harness so I used the one I had already. 









This is after the harness arrived. It was for an automatic so I just spliced the o2 connectors back on the 6spd harness.









The harness is in and at this point I was waiting on o2 sensors to install the TT cat.









I got the cat installed today..picked up the o2 sensors last nite..very excited about the progress..









As it sits now..I need cv joint bolts, fuel lines a battery and my buddy @vwcollector to come by w his trusty computer. Hopefully we will fire it up this weekend.


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## rbryan (Nov 14, 2008)

Great job it's good to see someone else who will take these great little cars apart and spend way too much on them. lol Love it.


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## rbryan (Nov 14, 2008)

Check it out  http://www.myturbodiesel.com/forum/f5/nb-build-out-atl-ga-panama-central-america-trip-22687/


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