The Project Pad

Figured i'd start a thread on this project. The plan is to swap an AHU tdi into a 1990 90q 20v.

The basic plan is this
-stock 01a and driveline
-clutchnet stage 3 full face clutch (in case i get the bug for a bigger turbo and mega torque
-stock ahu engine and turbo, bigger injectors and tune (running full tdi harness and ecu)
-front mount radiator and intercooler
-2.0 80 fwd flywheel
-rebuild both subframes
-use all tdi accessories, adapt power steering lines to use 90 rack and tdi PS pump
-vacuum brake conversion

Going to be a bit of a slow-progress project, hoping to have it running in the car by next summer. The engine ran veggie oil, so i will be pulling the head and one piston and see if its fubared inside. Then I may need to rebuild depending on what I find.

here is the doner running, runs well, starts easy, that tiny little turbo sounds cool.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov-Wt5XNfX8[/youtube]

got the doner engine out last night, cleaned it up a bit.




pretty cool quattro script cloth

Exactly the type of 90 I was lookin for .. it's a 2.0 160hp ? or a 7A

Also very nice colour !

the car currently has the 2.3 7a engine, i will be parting that out.

Awesome swap! I'd love to do something similar...maybe in a 5ktq I might be picking up..

if you want any help I know a few things about TDI's

This will be good, subscribed for progress

Same here, looking forward to updates!!

Isn't that 01a going to have mega short gearing for a tdi?


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kieron_32v wrote:Isn't that 01a going to have mega short gearing for a tdi?


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Its not going to be great, i think the only reason it might work is because of the unique type of driving we do here. Over a mountain and back every day, and 55mph is about the highest speed i see on a daily basis. Interstate is about once a month for me. I am going to get it running and then if it is a problem, look into my other options for gearing. There are a few options out there to get higher top gear.
-01a from b5 v6 with 3.89 rear diff from an urq ($500-700?)
-01e 6 speed ($500-1000)
-tdi 5th gear swapped into original 01a ($495 for just the gear set)
-full tdi quattro trans swap ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$)

B4 V6 is 3.89 too if that would be any easier to find. I'm pretty sure I've seen people mod the B4/B5 rear diffs to work in early chassis too so you don't need a UrQ diff necessarily.

i think the easiest is a 6 speed 01e, and i just sold one last fall

One of the coolest projects around! I love it

Looking forward to updates, Dana.

thanks man! i hope it works out well. Really hoping to combine my love for old quattros with the practicality of a newer diesel. I commute and insane amount of miles over bad roads, and i am thinking this will be just the ticket if it all works out.

nice dana - good to see you back in project mode

EDIGREG wrote:nice dana - good to see you back in project mode

thanks man! actually i've been in mega project mode, but just no audi projects. Build a shop, renovated house, turbo charged my tractor, refurbished my old mk2 vw for daily driving purposes, picked 1000 lbs of wild apples from my orchard and pressed them to make hard cider, etc.
Pretty damn happy to have an audi in the shop again! not going to be anything like my last 90, but it will be a cool DD i think. Just a bit of resto work, and the tdi swap.

nice. Let's see that finished garage by the way!

not done inside yet, but its completely insulated and walls are up, wiring is done, compressed air is run in the walls with outlets all over the place. 60 gallon IR compressor mounted under leanto outside and permanently wires with switch inside, regulator inside. Painting the walls and trimming out windows soon. Then comes benches and storage.

looks great, gonna be a lift in there?

thanks! i built with the idea of having a lift. I dont have any immediate plans for a lift, but i think i will end with one some time. It is nice to be able to have that one HUGE bay in there for big projects, a lift would cramp the space a bit. But it would be soooo nice.

i sold the intake manifold and all the EGR and cooler stuff. pulled it off and it was nearly plugged shut with soot. EGR + hippy chicks running veggie oil = fail


was pretty hilarious to de-soot it. I did this for about 15 straight minutes. So much molten crap came out of this thing, and it ended up pretty much clean.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdAw-xNvfN8[/youtube]

berkltard hard at work, with her favorite pillow

The most creative and entertaining way I've ever seen an intake mani cleained well done!

So jealous! This is going to be an awesome car when done. Dont forget to turn the injection pump up and advance it for MOAR POWAH!!!

AngryTaco wrote:So jealous! This is going to be an awesome car when done. Dont forget to turn the injection pump up and advance it for MOAR POWAH!!!

i hope its as awesome as i am imagining. wont be winning any races for sure. The pump will still be a fully electrically controlled TDI pump, so all tuning will be done though ecu. I am planning on bigger nozzles and as much i can get from the minuscule stock k03.

Man with a k04 that thing would scream. Or go f21!!

We had a mega ice storm last weekend so i spent most of the time trying to cut trees out of the way. Ran on diesel wheel horse generator power for 48 hours flawlessly. Only used about 4 gallons of #2 for the whole time!



check out this ice, what a pain in the ass








of course this weather always means iced up horses, so into the shop for a defrost they go.




pulled the harness and pedal cluster out of the doner mk3 tdi. What a pain, I hate removing factory harnesses!


so i guess there hasn't been a ton of progress, but there has been a little. Soon I'll get the pyle of mk3 out of the shop and bring the 90 in and pull the 7a.