PMSL @ this question I've been asked on evo forum "Whats the different in weight between a 16v and VR6 lump Gary ? From listening to the purists witter on about it, I'd imagine the VR6 lump to weigh in excess of 17 tonnes ? Hmm,new sig I think.. lol!!
Did you get the car on the scales with the 16 valve in Gary? Be interesting to see the weight before and after Manifold looks like a nice piece of kit, will you be wrapping it? Found this a while back looks like an interesting alternative to wrapping the manifold, and hiding all the shines pete
Pete, good pic - I'm going to do something similar with the brake pipes across the bulkhead. Yes, had to order 50ft of wrap !! http://www.agriemach.com/ I weighed the car before putting the cage in and it was 1040 kg with 1/2 tank of fuel. Cage weighs about 30kgs at a guess, and not sure how much heavier the VR lump is tbh.
Good news on the VR front Gary. If you ever need an extra pair of hands give us a shout. I could always use an excuse to drive the VR (if Rigs lets me borrow it lol) Can't wait till you've got it finished
What's the answer to the original question (best donor car for a VR6 conversion). I am thinking of doing a VR6 conversion in the near future (into a Mk1), I realise that I'll need a lot of parts: engine gearbox change mechanism engine mounts probably, the 'other' end of the mount, cut off the bodywork of the original car radiator coolant pipes etc etc so buying the whole car, rather than just the engine/box, makes sense. Is the VR6 in a VW Sharon too different to use, I've seen a number of cheap ones of these.
I know.....but is it the best car to originally buy? For example if you purchase the Passat at 500 and end up spending 500 on other parts, then it would cost 1000. If you buy (for example) a Golf Mk3 VR6 for 800 and all the parts are there, then it would save money. But I don't know the details and the relative prices of the variations of VR6 out there.
What car you get as a donor........If you're putting it in a mk1 it's not really an issue as mounts and stuff will all have to be fabricated..... but I would try and get as later car as poss that uses OBD2 as the ECU processor is a lot faster than the 0BD 1 result is more power and better driveability/economy. On my mk2 swap the Passat donated the engine,gearbox,pedal box, loom and fuel pipes etc. Picked up a mk3 GTI subframe for 30. I've not used the Passat cable change bits as I wanted a more precise shift and used R32 bits, 40 from a mate. I've had a gearbox rebuild fitted with a Peloquin diff and lower final drive for track use $$$ kerrching $$$ total inc diff 800... it all adds up! Luckily, well sort of... I had 1500 worth of salvageable stuff to sell from my 16v engine/box to help fund the project so wasn't all bad.... [ denial ] < stops totting up > Budget on at least 250 worth of timing chains/tensioners/guides/headgasket/headbolts etc, don't risk fitting an engine without as you have to remove the gearbox and clutch/fywheel to do it. Whatever you budget it's going to cost, add a few hundred quid,all the extra little bits soon add up....as I'm finding out.
