IndigoBlueWagon
TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Here it is, arrived at Kraftwerke this morning.
Factory long block. And a few things to go with it.
Why? Here's the story.
As many of you know, IndigoBlueWagon has been around a while and done many things. I bought it new in May of '02, had it chipped (Upsolute, remember them?) at 30K, Rocketchipped at 80K, and never looked back. In the past 12 years this car has been to Florida, Montana, Colorado, Toronto, Missouri, and many places between. It survived 70+ dyno pulls, many track days, countless 6000 RPM shifts, four clutches, more suspension swaps than I can count, and lots of wheels and tires. And through all that it's also been my daily for most of those years, driving kids to school, me to work, snowboarding trips on weekends (complete with Thule box), you name it.
However, 292K overall and making about twice stock power for the last 120K has taken its toll. When Mr Chill did the last timing belt at 265K he found the valves wiggling in the guides. Pulled the head and found 4 slightly bent rods, and a venting head gasket. New rods, pistons, honed cylinders, ported head, dbilas cam, new injectors, fresh 17/22 turbo, and it was back in business. Another trip to the dyno, two track days (another suspension swap), and things seemed good. Sort of.
Oil consumption never dropped to where it should be, and then started to go back up. It smoked a lot at idle: stinky, oily smoke. And it smelled in the cabin. Chill's investigation found a leaking valve cover gasket and turbo oil return line. But it still smoked, still stunk, still used too much oil, and the turbo would get sticky much faster than in the past, despite getting a lower fueling RC4+ tune at the '13 Fest.
A few weeks ago Chill pulled the turbo and found oily deposits on the exhaust manifold, and excess oil in the CCV. Diagnosis was that the oil rings weren't doing their job and we were getting blowby. The bores are either conical or grooved enough to make that happen. The head is fine, no sign of any leaks from valve guides or elsewhere.
So I thought about what to do. 12 year old car, 292K on it. But the body looks good, just got $3,300 worth of rust repair (including a new tailgate) courtesy of VW's rust warranty. The interior is still nice. And it's my favorite car, perhaps ever. I've tried to replace it multiple times and haven't found the right car yet. I now have a 5 mile commute on back roads, don't do as many road trips as I used to. And after breaking a wheel hub last year at NHMS I've decided it's too old to trust to drive to the track, flog all day, and expect to get me home.
So near stock sounds like a good option. And although I am confident I Chill could have provided an excellent new bottom end, and although we have a bunch of machined blocks sitting in our warehouse, and although I have a new BKD twin cam PD sitting in my garage, I decided to go ALH. Found a factory new engine, and here it is. New setup will be:
A very similar setup made 155/270 at the wheels in this car. Pretty quick, certainly quick enough for the street.
I'm excited. This is a win for affection over logic. Who puts this much money and effort in a 12 year old 300K car anyway? I guess I do when I like it better than just about anything else I can buy.
Watch this space. I hope to be driving it again in a week or two.
Factory long block. And a few things to go with it.
Why? Here's the story.
As many of you know, IndigoBlueWagon has been around a while and done many things. I bought it new in May of '02, had it chipped (Upsolute, remember them?) at 30K, Rocketchipped at 80K, and never looked back. In the past 12 years this car has been to Florida, Montana, Colorado, Toronto, Missouri, and many places between. It survived 70+ dyno pulls, many track days, countless 6000 RPM shifts, four clutches, more suspension swaps than I can count, and lots of wheels and tires. And through all that it's also been my daily for most of those years, driving kids to school, me to work, snowboarding trips on weekends (complete with Thule box), you name it.
However, 292K overall and making about twice stock power for the last 120K has taken its toll. When Mr Chill did the last timing belt at 265K he found the valves wiggling in the guides. Pulled the head and found 4 slightly bent rods, and a venting head gasket. New rods, pistons, honed cylinders, ported head, dbilas cam, new injectors, fresh 17/22 turbo, and it was back in business. Another trip to the dyno, two track days (another suspension swap), and things seemed good. Sort of.
Oil consumption never dropped to where it should be, and then started to go back up. It smoked a lot at idle: stinky, oily smoke. And it smelled in the cabin. Chill's investigation found a leaking valve cover gasket and turbo oil return line. But it still smoked, still stunk, still used too much oil, and the turbo would get sticky much faster than in the past, despite getting a lower fueling RC4+ tune at the '13 Fest.
A few weeks ago Chill pulled the turbo and found oily deposits on the exhaust manifold, and excess oil in the CCV. Diagnosis was that the oil rings weren't doing their job and we were getting blowby. The bores are either conical or grooved enough to make that happen. The head is fine, no sign of any leaks from valve guides or elsewhere.
So I thought about what to do. 12 year old car, 292K on it. But the body looks good, just got $3,300 worth of rust repair (including a new tailgate) courtesy of VW's rust warranty. The interior is still nice. And it's my favorite car, perhaps ever. I've tried to replace it multiple times and haven't found the right car yet. I now have a 5 mile commute on back roads, don't do as many road trips as I used to. And after breaking a wheel hub last year at NHMS I've decided it's too old to trust to drive to the track, flog all day, and expect to get me home.
So near stock sounds like a good option. And although I am confident I Chill could have provided an excellent new bottom end, and although we have a bunch of machined blocks sitting in our warehouse, and although I have a new BKD twin cam PD sitting in my garage, I decided to go ALH. Found a factory new engine, and here it is. New setup will be:
- 11mm pump
- VNT-15
- PP357s
- Lift pump
- RC3+ ASV (19.5 PSI)
- PD150 intake manifold
- PD150 snorkel, airbox, MAF, and airbox to intake
- All stock internals
- SBC Stage 2 Daily Clutch (replacing an Endurance)
- 2.5" exhaust, no CAT
A very similar setup made 155/270 at the wheels in this car. Pretty quick, certainly quick enough for the street.I'm excited. This is a win for affection over logic. Who puts this much money and effort in a 12 year old 300K car anyway? I guess I do when I like it better than just about anything else I can buy.
Watch this space. I hope to be driving it again in a week or two.
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