RobinJI

Yesterday I drained the fuel tank and finished off my rollover jigs, which let me get the car up in the air and on its side. It's sooo much nicer not lying on the ground or destroying my back crouching down to work on it!

Ahh, cheers, yeah I get you. I had considered something similar, but I was thinking more along the lines of building a tray of ~60xó0x6 RSA with a caster on each corner, to place what I've made in (whole but minus the casters.) the deciding factor was that I don't have ant 60x60x6 RSA lying around, and I'm being cheap/impatient, so I thought I'd see how the casters did as it is! The bearings seem pretty chunky, so I think there's some hope they'll last. If they don't I'll do something along the lines of your idea though, thanks for the suggestion. I went out earlier and made up the bracket to go on the front of the car, then tested the jig on it. It worked perfectly, with barely any torque needed on the threaded rod. Then I realised that thanks to where the tressel the back end's sat on is placed, I could pick the front of the car up quite comfortably, so it wasn't surprising I shuffled things around and tried it on the back, which is essentially complete other than the exhaust, gearbox and bumper. It picked it up no real issue, but due to the threaded bar being offset to the side from the pivot, the frame was trying to twist, which I wasn't keen on, so I ended up adding a second threaded bar to the other side to balance out the loading, and provide some added safety. With the second threaded rod on there it's rock solid, and the casters don't seem to be complaining at all, so I'm pretty happy to call it finished for now, but I will be keeping an eye on the casters. I may add a strap with some holes to lock it up, but with 2 m20 rods, either of which can lift the car on its own with a sensible amount of torque, I feel it's pretty safe as it is. The car will be stripped of at least the boot and doors before its mounted up too.

Thanks. With the casters I do know what you mean, but I can't see any way of keeping them upright without either adding another 4 casters or a lot of extra complication? It'll never be moved while down, and will spend 90% of its time at full height. The casters are rated to almost twice the load that will be on them, so I'll more than likely see how they go as they are. Replacing them would only involve sticking my jack under that side of the frame, or lifting up that end of the car with the engine crane. If you've got an easy(ish) idea for keeping them level that I haven't thought up I'm all ears though?

All looking good Dan. It's a shame no one wanted the shell. I just finished making the first end of a rollover jig for the 924. Hopefully this thing will make sorting out the rust and remaking the suspension a lot easier. I've made it height adjustable so I don't have to jack the car up to a dodgy height to get it onto it, as well as to allow me to drop it down low enough to test fit the engine, as an engine crane won't lift nearly heigh enough to get into the bay with the jig at full height. Once I'm done with it on the 924 a couple of my friends will probably use it, then I'll use it on the scirocco, so although its probably more effort than its worth for the relatively small amount of welding the Porsche needs, it should more than justify it's self in the long run. Plus, I really hate welding upside down. Sadly the car its self still looks like this, hopefully not for much longer though!

If they're sensible money I'd be tempted to put some new engine mounts on the list. It's an ideal time to replace them, and a fresh set can make a very noticeable difference to how the car feels. If it's not already been mentioned then a selection of jubilee clips is a good idea, it's horrible having to put a warn out, dying one back on in a spot you know will be a pain to reach later. Also, hopefully you won't need them, but having a set of taps and helicoils to hand can be a life-saver. (preferably including those pesky metric fine threads the Japanese love)

The only running issue I had with mine was similar, and turned out that the bolts holding down the coilpacks had come loose so it was only intermittently earthed

The whole thing looks awful in my eyes, stupid doors or not. Car companies need to realise that styling which works on a saloon car doesn't automatically work on a crossover/SUV/softroader/handbagwithwheels. All the ones where they try and make them look like a normal car but tall look terrible to me. Exhaust looks good Paul, it seems to be just about the only thing that hangs noticeably low on them, so it must be nice to have it raised up a bit. Dan, those pedal boxes typically need the seat moving back about 300mm in hatchbacks, and the steering wheel more than just spacing out a bit. You may find you're not in an ideal position in relation to the cage too. Adams idea might be worth considering if you want an easier life. I converted the scirocco to hydraulic clutch in an afternoon using a welder and some mini parts, it's an easy enough job. Or as he says, a top swing box might work nicely. Have a look at mk1 and 2 escort ones, they may go in fairly easily. The floor mounted one would be cool if you're happy to work around it though. Good for weight distribution, just a big change to all the controls, not just the pedals. I did some man maths before Christmas and sold my nice e61 525d, and replaced it with a tatty e36 318tds touring. I'm loving the thing so far. It's hilariously gutless, but nicely balanced, which I find makes an oddly satisfying combination. Mostly though its amazing not having to worry about every potential mark or ding like I would with the e61. It's worth sod all whether or not I've scratched the crap out of the interior trim carrying bikes and steel around, so I can just get on with using it. Plus having something a bit older and more connected feeling to drive has reminded me just how much I need to get the Porsche going again. I should be having a move around at my unit soon, so will try and remember to take a few photos and do a bit of an update on that thing too, but there's not a huge amount to see yet.

They'll have to apply for a logbook to tax is, as you need the v5 or v11 number, so the new keeper will sort that out. As Rich says, just write to the DVLA saying you sold it but no longer have the new keepers details. It's exactly the same situation as if you do post the logbook but the post office or DVLA loose it, so they'll be used to it.

How big is it Paul? I can't get an idea of scale from that photo. I've got 2 stripped down engines between the garrage and living room so I can probably identify it if you give me some dims. Sam, they're an early-audi derived slant 4.

Nah, I'll always end up doing more than 5k a year in my main car (be it interesting/classic or a cheap estate) I do a lot of social miles thanks to having a pretty spread out group of friends. Insurance isn't too bad for me anyway. I'm getting old enough, and touch wood my history's squeaky clean. I had a re-arrange at the unit on monday and got the scirocco out into some clear space, so I'll probably start work on that this evening. My new welder's arriving on Friday, but I don't think I'll have any gas to use it for a week or two

I think Rich's point is more that most engines are designed to be installed (and therefore removed) with most ancillaries in place. I'd agree with him that it's way easier to pull the whole engine out as one lump, complete with all the fiddly little bits still attached, then strip what you need off the it once it's out of the car. Plus you end up with a nice empty engine bay to work in when removing the brake/clutch/steering parts. Nice progress all the same. It sounds like it's going to be a bit of an animal when it's done.

I get that pretty badly too Dan. The forum really dislikes typing with an Android phone, I've even tried a couple of different keyboards and it does it on all of them. Most common issue seems to be that pressing space deletes the world you just wrote, but all sorts of random crap happens occasionally. In my news, I've got a bit better settled into the unit and finished welding up the battery tray area of the Porsche, although I still need to grind back some welds and throw some temporary paint on it. I'll grab some photos next time I'm down there. I'm selling my 5 series, and I was planning to buy a cheaper diesel estate cheaper to run around in, but I've been wondering about putting the Scirocco back on the road as a daily driver instead. It would make me rush the Porsche less, as my fun-car itch will be scratched, and it was always a nice compromise of practicality and fun when it used to be my only car. Plus I cycle to work now, so only tend to use my car a couple of times a week anyway. The only downside's that I loose the ability to take more than one friend places with me (well, unless I befriend some midgets). It needs the inner sills welding up, but patching up the Porsche has reminded me that it's not really that big of a deal with the right space and kit, and mechanically all it needs is tyres, fuel lines an exhaust and a little reassembly. The money I would have spent on a cheap estate would easily cover that, and probably with enough left over to buy some half decent suspension to replace the cheap coilovers that are on it at the moment.

If it's been done before I've not seen it. I have a habit of seeing if commonly avalible Motorsport parts are anywhere near fitting to save some cash. A quick measure showed that an escort rack has a nearly identical joint-joint width to the Porsche, it's general layout's the same and a heavy duty rally 2.4 turn quick-rack new with track-rods is cheaper than a 'quick-rack kit' (that requires a good or referbed rack to built it into) for the Porsche. A bit of welding and turning later and the escort one fits. The slight difference in length of the escort rack will actually give less bump steer. Brackets on the crossmember: Assembled with rack and track-rod extension/adaptors: And test fitted:

Laurel for sure. Way more interesting, and although you say it's the less sensible option, it'll probably be more trouble free than the Audi. Plus, you won't have to buy new wheel immediately Now I'm on a computer (not my phone) I'll add a little more detail to what's going on with the 924 in case anyone's reading. Basically, since I decided I wasn't happy with the noises the engine's been making I've stripped it down a fair bit and found loads wrong with it. God knows how it was working. Anyway, the front suspension's been cut up to move the mounting points upwards a load, as well as adapting it to take a mk2 escort steering rack for some cheep quick-rack fitting. I still need to make the replacement wishbones. Since getting it down to the unit I've been able to start tackling stuff on the shell, (I couldn't really work on it much on the drive, so had been pottering at suspension/engine stuff that I could unbolt and take into the garage to work on.) There was evidence of a load of filler in the rear quarter, which I've removed to find a very wobbly but solid panel. I'm hoping to get someone to cut that section out of a car they're breaking so I can replace it, as I'll never get it straight. The bottom of the passenger-side a-post was rotten and had been previously repaired badly, which I've cut out and put new metal in. I need to do the same on the drivers-side, but thankfully it's a smaller area and hasn't got a crap repair in the way. I've bought a pair of new sills, as the passenger-side one's clearly been replaced, and with the quality of the work I've found so-far I don't trust it to have been done well at all! So they need to go on at some point. The main bit I've been tackling's been the battery tray area of the scuttle, which had clogged it's drain and gone rotten at some point, along with all the seams around it. Thankfully that's most of the way back together now. I'll grab some photos when I'm at the unit next. The plan's essentially to get it solid, finish the front suspension, do something as-yet unknown but hopefully clever to the rear suspension, throw in a cage, dash and pair of seats and I guess put an engine of some sort in there at some point. I'm going to need to get a lot of time down at the unit as I'm hoping to do a track-day in it with my house-mate in the spring

Haha, I genuinely hadn't noticed the pager number! I really am unsure what the plan is with it in a lot of respects. It's getting made into a track orientated car though, stripped interior, cage etc. I'm definitely remaking most of the suspension and steering stuff. It's lost most of its wiring loom and I'm in the middle of repairing some poor previous rust repairs. Im really on the fence with what to do about the engine. On the one hand, I want to have some fun with a standard, underpowered engine getting to know the cars handling and improve my driving. On the otherhand, my standard engine's broken, and it'll probably be cheaper to swap in something more modern while its apart.

It's been a while since I've posted in here besides the odd comment on what you guys are doing. The Porsche hasn't really been the 'rolling project' I'd hoped it would be and has now been off the road for over a year. On the bright side, I've finally found a place in some shared workshop space, so can crack on and hopefully get it going again for spring. There's not much in the way of firm plans, but it'll be far from standard when it hits the road. Torn apart:

Paul. That BMW you've linked to is basically the same as Prawns, e39s are great and miles ahead of 46s in terms of build quality from the few I've worked on. I'm not sure if you'd be interested, but my 5 series is likely to be for sale in the autumn. Once the Porsche is back on the road I'll be looking to get a shonkier daily driver. I want something I don't have to worry about cosmetically damaging, and I could do with freeing up some cash for a trip, so I'll be downgrading to something that's more of a shed. (probably a cheep V70 d5) I need to do a bit of an update on the happenings with my Porsche sometime, but it'll have to wait until I'm home with access to photos.

Sorry to hear that Jardo. All the best to everyone involved! I'm afraid I'm going to bail on this too. I'm a bit stretched for cash this month, and without anything fun to drive (ok, the BMW could be a laugh, but it's a 1750kg barge, it's not exactly suited to sprints.) it's hard to justify the cost of driving up just for the social side of things. If anyone heading up from the southwest wanted a passenger let me know and I'll happily jump in with a camera though.

Yeah. I've got a decent trolley jack I'll throw in. I'll be in a 5 series touring, so I'll chuck in any tools I think might be handy and act as pit crew due to my lack of car Im willing to abuse. I'm happy to act as the camera car for rolling shots too if needed.

Wow, this crept up quickly! I definitely won't be in the Porsche, so I'll come along in the 525d. A little boring, and I won't want to abuse it too much, but I'll sling a load of tools in the boot and come along for the social side anyway. I'll still do a few laps, but if anyone wanted to split the day with me and go halves I'd be keen to do that, if not I'm still happy to have my full slot.

I know exactly what you're talking about, and it's bugging me that I can't find them either. I'd call them a 'saddle' and so does this american company, but I can't seem to find anything UK based selling them at all. http://www.air-techinc.com/topic_list_no_cats.php?ptid=54&pmid=14 (Edit: I know they're not push in ones, but they'd do the same job combined with a square ended threaded fitting.)

Whenever I get stuff laser cut through work for my own projects these guys often seem to be the cheapest of our suppliers for small/thin/fiddly bits. They should be able to give you a quote from .dwg or .dxf files. (maybe other file types too, but I've never needed to know.) http://www.laser.co.uk/ (I've no idea what they're like to deal with as an individual though, but they're good with small jobs for a large company. Hopefully they're decent!)

I'll skip the food too, I'm a vegetable, so I'm plenty used to having to bring my own food due to my own awkwardness. Thanks for the thought/effort though! Glad to have a date to try and get the Porsche sorted for. If not, at least the daily will be a little less out of place. Either way I'll have defected to Tarty's rwd camp for this year.

1. dann27077070770950505 - Blue 3 wheeled Clio of hopes and dreams 2. Tarty - Posh hairdresser 3. Mark W - Silver hairdresser (Tarty's slag from TFTD1) 4. Mike (+1, if needed) - Red hairdresser 5. Tobybear (Clio) 6. Alistair Hamilton - Dan2700243542735 wannabe, but with full compliment of wheels 7. Haz - Silver Clio of dreams 8. Kyle livesey - Too many wheel drive turbo hairdresser 9. Maurici (works for Bentley and owns Tarty Adam's old car) - Silver hairdresser with gash body kit 10. Alex (TNE) - Der Friseur (German hairdresser) 11. Nick_Leeds from Cliosport (silver clio of dreams mk2) 12. Richard (sfboy) - hairdresser with a roof 13. Toby bears Dad (newer gay clio) 14. Jimmeh - Supercharged Hairdresser 15. Robin - Maybe a fake Porsche, probably a 525d Cop car

I MIGHT actually have one, or 4. If they're the same as in a longitudinal Passat engine then I've got a stripped block in my mums shed. I need to go over there in the next few days so I'll have a dig around. Don't rely on it too much though, it was many years ago I stripped it and if they've already been removed and are loose then god knows where they'll be by now! I've used those Superseal connectors a few times and found them fine too. Not quite the quality of the factory VAG ones, but certainly not bad.