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Hi all. Welcome to my Syncro build thread.
Some of you will be familiar with my previous conversion on a mk2 GTI. This will be similar except with an S3 engine and 4×4 running gear.
Here’s how it all happened and how it developed….
I bought the car from a member on the vwsyncro.co.uk forum as a non runner.
After a bit of tweaking with the timing, I managed to get the engine working. It ran well but the big end bearings were rattling when it was revved.
I changed the big end bearings on it and it ran smooth……
…for about 20 minutes…and then died a death!
Time for a quick swap…
Custom made hoses by SFS in Luton
Took the time to clean the engine bay – heat gun worked on the yellowy black gunk that seeps from the wings
Gearbox professionally reconditioned as I dropped the speedo cog into it – they took it apart, cleaned it, changed the seals etc and put it back together.
Snapped a tab getting the transfer box back on…ChrisS saved the day with a spare
Cleaned up the subframe too…
Engine in the car…
This engine served well for about 9 months of occasional use and it got me through a pretty rough winter. The 4×4 capabilities were amazing!
But….it started going through oil at an alarming rate….luckily I had a litre of oil in the boot which was enough to get me home.
Time for another swap
Enter the donor car
A rear ended S3 – just superficial damage but good enough for the conversion
Stripped out the mk2
My mate Russ giving a helping hand
I started off with installing the recaro leather seats from the S3. First job was to drill out the runners from the S3
And cut out the front mount for the seat
Then to weld them in
Passenger side too
I later found out that the S3 seats would have bolted directly onto a MK2 recaro frame. Ah well it’s done now lol.
Where I took the paint off to weld, I first primed the area with magnesium primer – this allows me to protect the metal underneath whilst being able to weld over the top
Rear seats….removing the brackets from the S3
Then into the mk2
Side pivot brackets for the upper seat rests – to be fitted at a later date…
How it will look when complete
The bonnet release catch was a direct swap from the S3 and is much stronger than the skinny mk2 one
The S3 handles are also an easy swap – just need to remove the plastic lugs
Let the fun commence…
Good time to do the cambelt
Also noticed when I drove the S3 home it wasn’t running quite right. After a bit of trawling I found there’s a common fault…the crank
case breather pipe tends to split over time
Prop Shafts Out
Old clutch plate was pretty worn
Painted the gearbox just to tidy it up a bit
Turbo Oil return pipe gets in the way of the mk2 mount – to be fixed at a later date
Time to fit the cable shifter
I got hold of a Dutch Build gearbox mount just to save me time and bolted the engine to the mounts as they are
But found it didn’t sit quite square with the subframe which would mean it will sit wonky in the car
I used bits of the S3 for materials to fabricate the front mount using the existing mk2 mount.
Once the front mount was in place, I was able to work out where the gearbox mount needs to sit…the cup needs to be cut and moved quite a bit further back…
sweet …thats quality mate swapping all the s3 bits and bobs i like it good work mate….are u using dutchdubs haldex kit??? or u gonna make the s3 rear beam fit on the car??
Thanks dude. I’m using Dutchdub’s gearbox mount, however I’ll make my own Haldex mount using the Syncro beam.
I’m just trying to decide whether to buy a compressor/sandblasting kit or to just have all the bits sandblasted before I make the mounts…decisions decisions [}
]With the engine now in situ and the weather getting cold, I decided to focus on getting the haldex bracket built.
Syncro rear diff out
S3 Haldex out
Created a jig to ensure that the haldex fits in the correct place
I used the metal cylinder from inside the S3 drop link to use as a bolt spacer for the rear bracket…
Shortened the rear bolts
I created this extra piece on the jig to ensure that I get the rear hanger bracket in exactly the right place
WD40 can was pretty much the same size and shape as the rear beam
Hanger bracket…
Drilled holes into haldex and tapped a thread for the support bolts
I sent the parts off to the powder coaters
Finished items…
With the engine now in situ and the weather getting cold, I decided to focus on getting the haldex bracket built.Syncro rear diff out
S3 Haldex out
Created a jig to ensure that the haldex fits in the correct place
I used the metal cylinder from inside the S3 drop link to use as a bolt spacer for the rear bracket…
Shortened the rear bolts
I created this extra piece on the jig to ensure that I get the rear hanger bracket in exactly the right place
WD40 can was pretty much the same size and shape as the rear beam
Hanger bracket…
Drilled holes into haldex and tapped a thread for the support bolts
I sent the parts off to the powder coaters
Finished items…
I have been looking at different options for the front suspension. I’d quite like to run the S3 17″ alloys as they fill the wheel arch nicely and also it would save me having to recaliberate the speedo. I have the mk3 VR6 setup at my disposal too, however the widetrack on the mk2 gives the front wheels an inwards camber at the top.
Here’s what I’m trying to do at the moment…
Audi S3 shock, hub and wishbone
Unfortunately, with the mk2 top mount, the cup at the top of the strut doesn’t sit in the right place so the suspension can’t pivot round on the mount’s bearings. Some modification is going to be required…
The S3 strut cup is on the left, the syncro one on the right. The syncro one sits higher in order to fit inside the top mount.
So I trimmed the syncro cup
Then the S3 cup
Then the syncro top with the S3 bottom
The result
Strangely the S3 wishbones fitted ok in the syncro subframe. They allowed the wheel to sit a little further forward than the syncro wishbones which meant that the wheels didn’t rub against the wheel arch when turned. The whole lot came together but the car sits quite high at the front now. The springs will need to be cut to size.
And I will need to raise the suspension at the rear as it is sagging a tad
With the mechanical stuff mostly out of the way, it’s time to start work on mounting the dash. This is my least favourite part of the process but a necessary one.
As I will be fitting everything from the S3, the air con unit will need to bolt to the bulkhead. A hole needs to be cut for the air con pipes to fit through into the engine bay.
These are the holes required for the air con unit to fit. Luckily the coolant pipes fit in the same hole as the golf’s heater matrix.
Next up it’s fitting the dash support bar. Having done this in a previous project, I found that the only way it was going to fit right was by cutting the bulkhead at the top.
Dash bar taken from S3
SAM_6932.jpg[/img]Placed in Mk2
Trimming required so it will fit into the bulkhead
Now the scary part – trimming the bulkhead…
And it fits…
Middle section cut out for screen vent
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