mlemorie
Veteran Member
After about 15 years, I’ve finally started making headway on this stupid thing! I snagged an ALH with a mechanical pump, bellhousing adapter, and a universal mount kit from a member here a while back. I’ve gotten the rest of the driveline parts I need, as well as the maintenance items for the engine; timing belt, water pump etc. I’ve got a WC T5 from an 88 Z28 that will get mated to the engine with a V8 Monza bellhousing so that I can use the existing cable clutch system. The old driveline is nearly out of the car, I just need to cut a seized engine shock off and unbolt the steering column to get clearance for the fat oil pan, then I can start cleaning everything up. Initially I was going to lay the engine over 15° and try fitting a B5 oil pan and pick up, but my bellhousing scrapped that idea. The Monza used a smaller flywheel and clutch than the normal 11” in most sbc applications, I think this one is a 10.5. But I had to switch to the other starter mounting location to be able to fit the bell on the adapter, and as far as I can see that is going to lock me in to a vertical mounting orientation due to the starter mount interfering with the engine plate. I’ll try and get the pictures I took uploaded here soon. So I’ll need to come up with a different oil pan solution too.
Next on the list of things to sort out is the cooling system, accessory bracket, and turbo. I’m trying to decide if it would be more beneficial to keep the Chevy overflow system that’s currently on the car, or should I try adapting the surge tank system that the ALH would have had already? I have a good layout for adapting the surge system in, but my concern is the difference in pressure ratings. 15psi vs 21psi. I’d prefer not to explode my heater core or radiator lol. For the accessory bracket, I’m curious if there was ever a version to fit the ALH that only held the injection pump and an alternator. This car is simple with no AC or power steering, and I’d like to recoup some space with a smaller bracket and belt drive. Now for the turbo. I had planned on using a T25 that I (thought) I had in the garage somewhere, but I must have gotten rid of it at some point because I can’t find it anywhere. What would be a good wastegate operated turbo for this thing? Ideally I’d like it to be big enough to handle some larger nozzles down the line. I’d prefer wastegate as im planning on setting up a simple manual boost control system on this thing and I’ll be running the stock injectors that came with the engine for the time being. The next obstacle to noodle out is glow control. This car has an existing glow control system made by Dieselkiki that supposedly works well when it works. It didn’t work for me years ago when I tried driving this thing as is lol. But I’ve snagged a service manual and found a few of my problems, although I don’t know if the control unit will function after fixing the broken sensors and fuse links anyway. What year did VW move to E-TDI? I want to dig up some info on the older VW glow systems and determine if adapting that would be easier to do. Lastly is the universal engine mount kit. Does anyone have any pictures of this setup on an engine? It appears that it bolts up to the same spot as the oil filter housing? All the individual parts for the kit are in a box with the pump, and I hadn’t found much info on how they were supposed to go together yet.
Next on the list of things to sort out is the cooling system, accessory bracket, and turbo. I’m trying to decide if it would be more beneficial to keep the Chevy overflow system that’s currently on the car, or should I try adapting the surge tank system that the ALH would have had already? I have a good layout for adapting the surge system in, but my concern is the difference in pressure ratings. 15psi vs 21psi. I’d prefer not to explode my heater core or radiator lol. For the accessory bracket, I’m curious if there was ever a version to fit the ALH that only held the injection pump and an alternator. This car is simple with no AC or power steering, and I’d like to recoup some space with a smaller bracket and belt drive. Now for the turbo. I had planned on using a T25 that I (thought) I had in the garage somewhere, but I must have gotten rid of it at some point because I can’t find it anywhere. What would be a good wastegate operated turbo for this thing? Ideally I’d like it to be big enough to handle some larger nozzles down the line. I’d prefer wastegate as im planning on setting up a simple manual boost control system on this thing and I’ll be running the stock injectors that came with the engine for the time being. The next obstacle to noodle out is glow control. This car has an existing glow control system made by Dieselkiki that supposedly works well when it works. It didn’t work for me years ago when I tried driving this thing as is lol. But I’ve snagged a service manual and found a few of my problems, although I don’t know if the control unit will function after fixing the broken sensors and fuse links anyway. What year did VW move to E-TDI? I want to dig up some info on the older VW glow systems and determine if adapting that would be easier to do. Lastly is the universal engine mount kit. Does anyone have any pictures of this setup on an engine? It appears that it bolts up to the same spot as the oil filter housing? All the individual parts for the kit are in a box with the pump, and I hadn’t found much info on how they were supposed to go together yet.
