Saving a Santorin Avant

[eurogz]

Buddy that runs a local yard is hooking me up with a spare BEL block and a complete set of 2.8 heads on the cheap… let the parts hoarding begin!


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[eurogz]

Have an appointment next week to get the car on the dyno and retune, finally got a laptop set up for logging. Took some baseline data on the drive to work this morning, ~60 degrees and 85% humidity:

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Somehow wasn’t logging ignition retard on cyl 3, and pretty sure my wideband factor/offset are wrong… have another log at cruising speed where gauge was hovering around stoich and logs show afr bouncing around 16. Will have to do the math on that one again. Hoping to see some improvements with a more aggressive tune. Still working on actually interpreting the data but fun to play around with.

In other news scored a mk2 RNS-E at a killer price from a salvage yard that didn’t know what they had, starting to collect parts to do the retrofit.

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[Ducati899]

Looking good man! Don't mess with the bikes anymore?

[eurogz]

Looking good man! Don't mess with the bikes anymore?

Thanks! Only had time for one track day this year, have done next to nothing on the street. Still have 4 bikes at this point - dedicated 600 track bike, 1000 for the street, supermoto and a grom as play bikes. Supermoto is probably the most fun you can have with your pants on.


Played with the wideband a bit more, still not 100% accurate. Gauge is showing mid to high 11’s at WOT full boost, logs are showing it a bit leaner with high 12’s. Did tick off a 3.82 FATS which is a bit more respectable. Picture of the laptop screen is shitty but am not home to actually upload a screenshot.

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Math for the X series is weird, it’s supposed to be a linear 0-5V but is really 0.5- 4.5V correlating to 8.5-18 AFR’s. I’m sure I’m just fucking up the equation, any input is appreciated lol. My fuzzy math put me at a factor of .0092777 with an offset of -9.5, that read lean so shifted offset to -9 which is close but still not right


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[eurogz]

Results are in, 366hp/394tq. Was hoping for a bit more honestly, tuner said not to expect much more out of PJK04’s on pump gas.

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Will be running this setup for a while, don’t really feel like spraying meth and e85 isn’t really an option either. Next best options are rods and hybrids or just light piles of money on fire and go for g25-550’s Neither can realistically happen until I make some room in the garage and get the lift installed which is a ways out yet. Next big project is the RNS-E while I stockpile motor parts.


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[eurogz]

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Got my block. Yellow valve covers are hideous. Got it mounted on the stand where it will live for the next few months before I tear it down. Plans are probably 81.5mm Mahle pistons, IE rods, 2.8 heads. Strongly considering the vast girdle but not sure.


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[eurogz]

Replaced power steering rack yesterday. Was preparing for it to absolutely suck ass but really wasn’t that bad of a job. Old rack was out and new rack was installed in about 4 and a half beers. Thought these racks had dampers but rack I pulled out was stamped with an Audi part number and did not have one

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Took it for a spin afterwards and was blown away with how much better it felt, almost zero steering effort. Didn’t realize my old rack was so beat. Still have a tiny amount of play in the wheel coming off center, not sure if it’s play in the column or what. Need an alignment done still, was able to set it toe pretty close to where it was before but car is darting a bit on me.

Next to complete:

Alignment

Time Sert one wheel bolt hole in passenger hub, don’t feel like replacing the hub yet

Fuel sender repair, still not able to find a replacement

Fab a faceplate for the RNSE


In other news Rack Doctor absolutely sucks, has been over a month since I ordered a rack from them and have gotten zero communication (not for lack of trying)

Was able to get the rack I installed at wholesale pricing from a buddy, actually cost me less than the one from Rack Doctor

[BENI_BOY]

Replaced power steering rack yesterday. Was preparing for it to absolutely suck ass but really wasn’t that bad of a job. Old rack was out and new rack was installed in about 4 and a half beers. Thought these racks had dampers but rack I pulled out was stamped with an Audi part number and did not have one

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Took it for a spin afterwards and was blown away with how much better it felt, almost zero steering effort. Didn’t realize my old rack was so beat. Still have a tiny amount of play in the wheel coming off center, not sure if it’s play in the column or what. Need an alignment done still, was able to set it toe pretty close to where it was before but car is darting a bit on me.

Next to complete:

Alignment

Time Sert one wheel bolt hole in passenger hub, don’t feel like replacing the hub yet

Fuel sender repair, still not able to find a replacement

Fab a faceplate for the RNSE


In other news Rack Doctor absolutely sucks, has been over a month since I ordered a rack from them and have gotten zero communication (not for lack of trying)

Was able to get the rack I installed at wholesale pricing from a buddy, actually cost me less than the one from Rack Doctor

Where did you get the rack from?

[eurogz]

It was a Precision branded rack, however the distributor I got it from doesn’t sell to the general public I had to use a buddy’s wholesale account. List price on the rack was $850 I got it for less than half that

[eurogz]

Went to repair the stripped wheel bolt hole today, when I started the car I had a super rough idle and wideband was pegged lean which was concerning. Pulled out of the driveway to head to the garage and had absolutely no power brakes which was extremely concerning lol.

Found the the T fitting / check valve that connects the brake booster line to the accordion hose fitting had blown apart. Good thing it didn’t happen while driving. Glued that back together as a temporary fix, ordered some vacuum line and a new silicone maf hose so I can just bypass it completely and not have to worry about it.

Time Sert idea didn’t work out, would’ve had to pull the hub to drill it anyway so just ended up biting the bullet and replacing passenger side hub and wheel bearing. Will do the drivers side wheel bearing and hub soon, main concern is just having the car ready for the alignment I have scheduled for Tuesday.

[eurogz]

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Got the car back from the alignment, feels so much better. Rear upper eccentric is seized on the passenger side, luckily already ordered a set from RMode. Contemplating a full suspension refresh and getting some decent coil overs but just happy to be driving the car again

[Silverex]

Had the same deal with bolt seizing in the control arm.

At least for me I had to destroy the bushing on removal. Figured it was a good time to replace all bushings in the rear which really made the car drive better.

[LJS]

Good to see another new build thread---Looking forward to following your progress...

[RMode]

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Got the car back from the alignment, feels so much better. Rear upper eccentric is seized on the passenger side, luckily already ordered a set from RMode. Contemplating a full suspension refresh and getting some decent coil overs but just happy to be driving the car again

awesome!

[eurogz]

Not much accomplished but parts horde is growing. Picked up my 2.8 heads today, already talking to a local head wizard about a full supertech build. Just need to get them cleaned up and pull the old manifolds before I drop them off. I’m case anyone was wondering the 2.8 exhaust bolts are size sawzall!

Also picked up a set of SRP pedals, new maf hose and piping to clean up the pcv setup, a VAST girdle from Marshall, and a hardwired coil pack harness from Silverex. Would like to finish the motor in my supermoto before I start tearing down the BF block, have too many builds happening at once. Still need to order rods and pistons along with some bits and pieces before sending this block to the machine shop. Emailed Mahle about a set of 82.5 M142 pistons, have not heard back. If that’s not an option I’ll do 81.5mm Mahle pistons from Blake who will be tuning the G25 setup.

[diabolical1]

i dig it. you're making nice progress.

[eurogz]

RNS-E installed, faceplate isn’t as nice as some others I’ve seen done but it’ll do. Not a body guy by any standards. Getting some minor feedback with the headlights on and the music off but pretty low on my priority list to be honest.

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Started tearing down my block, shipping out the upper pan and main bearings to Marshall to prep for the girdle. He has a TDI pump waiting for me already.

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Still need to order internals, can’t make up my mind about which way to go for rods/pistons. Pauter, FCP, Mahle all bouncing around in my head. At some point I’ll just say fuck it and order something but my ADHD gets the best of me sometimes.

Bartering some labor with a buddy, helping him do a clutch job and some maintenance things while his motor is out in exchange for a spare 01E he has. That’ll get the standard issue JHM rebuild and center diff upgrade as time allows.

Machine shop has everything for the 2.8 heads finally, should get some progress in that department shortly. Got some other secret sauce in the works, this should start looking like a real build thread pretty soon.


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[eurogz]

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[zatch_303]

*Whistles LOUDLY!!!!!!!*

Beautiful manifolds and snails. Love the purple too.

[eurogz]

Slowly making progress. Saved these 2.8 heads from getting crushed back in April, they were in pretty rough shape. Corrosion, carbon, cracked cam cap bolts, broken exhaust studs, an exploded spark plug and more.


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[eurogz]

Sent them off for a full refresh with the following:

Supertech nitrided intake valves
Supertech inconel exhaust valves
Supertech valve spring kit
Supertech Ti retainers
Supertech billet keepers
Supertech stems seals
Manganese bronze guides
INA lifters
Bapmic cam chain tensioners
IWIS cam chains
Elring seals

Originally ordered Supertech guides but the OD on those was .001” too small and we were concerned they could potentially drop at temp. Ended up using a set of Canyon guides that measured right where they should.

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If you went to the Lo’e Show you might have seen these heads on display!

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[eurogz]

Block was dropped off at the machine shop today. Will be about two months to get girdle fitted and rotating assembly installed. In the meantime I picked up a two post lift to install in the shop, then will be parking a pearl sedan on it. Trans will be coming out of that car as a donor to rebuild and use in the Avant, then I’ll sell off the rest of that car. At that point the Avant goes on the lift and I’ll be in build mode.


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[Silverex]

Nice man!!

Where did you source the guides from?

[eurogz]

Machinist sourced all the head parts for me, he’s on AZ as ‘88Jetta16V

https://www.missionmotorwerks.com


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[travis_w]

If you don't mind me asking, what was cost on those heads?

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[eurogz]

The heads themselves I scored for like $150 lol. The rebuild was not cheap… could absolutely have done it cheaper but I wanted it done right and paid for it to be done right.

Full supertech valves / springs / retainers / keepers, 30 new lifters, new guides and seals, cam seals / plugs, new cam chains, new tensioners and gaskets, and oil galley plugs were over 2k. Think labor was another 2k. Don’t tell my wife.

I usually don’t add this stuff up otherwise I start thinking about all the cool shit I could be driving instead. Spreading it out over time helps a bunch, part of the reason my builds always end up taking years to finish is I could never afford to do it how I want to all at once


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[Silverex]

Hope your wife ain’t on here but Im thinking all of that was more like 5-6k. Lol.

[travis_w]

Nice. They do look nice.

I've learned to add an extra $1000 on top of whatever people say.

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[eurogz]

Hahaha - she could be lurking anywhere….


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[AudiWhatee]

Fantastic read-through. Very stoked to see the outcome of the 2 month wait here. We're gonna need some more pics!

[eurogz]

Spoke with the machine shop today, he doesn’t feel comfortable running 4032 pistons at the boost/power levels I’m targeting. Phone call to Mahle and they said not to use them either. Gonna look into Diamond or JE, anybody want a set of 81.5mm PowerPak pistons before I list them up somewhere?

In other news lift is in and wired up!

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[eurogz]

2 months was a bit of an understatement, but block is back on the stand and pearl sedan is no longer living on the lift.

Time to strap some hair driers to this thing and send it to the moon






Bonus pic of the pearl on its way to the crusher




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[eurogz]

Officially have an assembled long block. Had to do quite a bit of clearancing to get the TDI pump mounted with the girdle










You’d be surprised but this damn DLC washer was probably the most expensive part by weight out of the whole build


Even with the big port ATQ heads I had to open up the intake ports quite a bit to match TheTuner’s intake manifold, 2.7 heads would’ve needed a ton of work






The ATQ heads had some plastic pins in one of the intake manifold bolt holes on each head, I had to drill those out and chase the threads. Will be plugging the SAI ports with some aluminum 1/8 NPT plugs.


Next is timing components and then I’ll start hanging turbos


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[Tec_Nine]

Always enjoy these build threads, engine is looking amazing.

[BaseDrifter]

Very nice! Pretty much what I would love to do with my Santorin Avant at some point. What are your power goals?

[eurogz]

My main goal right now is just to finish the thing lol. G25-660’s with the setup I’m doing should push me well past 800 to the wheels on the “full beans” map


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[travis_w]

Post pics of the plugged sai ports. Bout ready to do that on mine.

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[LJS]

Enjoying your build---doing well!!!!
Question-
What might a DLC washer be--doesn't ring a bell....
NO laughing now

[travis_w]

I'm pretty sure it's a diamond coated washer to help hold the crank gear from slipping on the crank. Some focus rs & st use that instead of a keyway on the crank and cam.

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[eurogz]

Post pics of the plugged sai ports. Bout ready to do that on mine.

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I’m dumb and ordered the wrong plugs and taps then said fuck it and just ordered the block off plates from JAE, barely cost any more and I don’t have to bother with it

Enjoying your build---doing well!!!!
Question-
What might a DLC washer be--doesn't ring a bell....
NO laughing now

“Diamond Like Coating” supposed to increase friction with the crank gear and reduce stress on the keyway. Have heard stories of sheared keyways and any measures to keep the timing belt where it’s supposed to be are good insurance.

Jumped ahead a bit as I was tired of this stuff being hidden in the parts pile








Dropping off valve covers and intake manifold for powder tomorrow. Need to vapor blast the thermostat housing and finish up timing, then I’ll probably start clocking and plumbing turbos. Still not 100% sure whether I’ll be making entirely new braided lines or modifying the stock lines yet.


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