Questions (solicitations of recommendations) on upgrade plans

[sad_rocc at yahoo.com (Dan Smith)]

Holy moly, I'll cover what I can, but I'm sure others will fill in what I miss. First, for simplicity, you want to try to find a 3a. It drops right in, unlike the ABA which requires some parts from TT.
 
It seems the more you pay, the lighter your flywheel will get. Lightest I've seen aftermarket is 7.5lbs. You can get a machine shop to grind and balance,but shop around to make sure you're not paying more than you would for an aftermarket one. 
 
I too have heard about using a 16v pressure plate with an 8v disk. Better for higher hp I think, I never really got it straight. Sachs is a clutch many swear by and can be found on ebay for real cheap, but I think Luk is quality too and can be found at Napa. 
 
For porting and polishing, if you can't find someone local,try www.porttuning.com Heck, just go there to see their amazing 8v engine and hear the engine clip. Yes, expect to have intake and exhaust manis matched. I've always seen it included as part of the overall P&P.
 
Ron Pieper is your man for tranny questions and Peter@thescirocco.com is your man for TT and Autotech and LSD bits.
 
Personally, I wouldn't mill down the head, but that's just me. For other stuff, I reccommend a cam, headers and a g60 valve/headgasket. Good luck!
 
Dan

stetson <tim@unrealexpectations.ath.cx> wrote:
I have some great plans for my 8v to have done so I can bring it to Cincy
this year but would like to ask some questions of the list and maybe
solicit a few opinions.

Here's what I have presently done:

Fox intake (internally polished) and Audi 5k TB
4-2 old school ex. man.
Eurosport flex/downpipe
2" Eurosport exhaust w/ hi-flow cat.
16v rear end/disks swap

Here are the plans(#) and questions(a,b,c) per catagory:

1.) Build a 3A or ABA bottom end/ JH head engine (it would be great to
just drop in the entire 3A or ABA but I don't think I'll have enough
time/knowledge to try futzing w/ the wiring necessary. My knowledge of
either 3A or ABA is very limited -- heck, my JH knowledge is not much
better!)

a.) Since it'll be a complete engine/tranny pull I'm going to be
interested in a new clutch and flywheel install.

i.) Is a lightened flywheel available in various weights
or just lightened(8.5 lbs.)/un-lightened(15 lbs.?)?
[I'd like to get something in between those weights.
11.5-12.5 lbs. Could it be done on a lathe if not
available for purchase?]
ii.) I've seen many references to a 16v pressure plate
being a good clutch upgrade. Are there any other
ancillary parts that would be necessary to fit this
upgrade on an 8v?
iii.) I've seen various types (and opinions) of clutches and
clutch manufacturers. Any that stand above the rest
from your experiences? Is the rep of Sachs clutches
deserved?

b.) Since I have a spare JH sitting around (from a Jetta w/ pass.
side fuel management) I was thinking of getting it's head
worked up for the swap since it's unused ATM and that makes
the finished engine something that could be swapped in a day.

i.) Any ball park idea what a P&P will run me? Should
I take the in/ex man. in w/ it to get port matching
done?
ii.) Would it be in my interest to get it shaved too?
(Would this get in the way of future turbo plans?
e.g. Too much compression?)
iii.) Any valve/seats/springs recommendations taking in
to account the possible future plans??

2.) I'll be mating the above engine w/ a (maybe rebuilt) 9A 3.67 final
drive tranny that was pulled from a later 80's 8v Roc in a local
boneyard. I'd like to do at least a bolt kit and 5th swap (.80 or
.75) to it.

i.) Any recommendations on vendors for tranny rebuild kit/
5th gear purchase? (I've looked @ Autotech for 5th
swaps, but think it could be done for less initial
expense w/ quality that is just as good. The challenge
will be to make the "special" tool. Anybody out there
already have one that they could shoot me the specs on?
[length, I.D., O.D., etc.])
ii.) While it's out and (maybe) torn up, are there any
other areas you think I should address besides the
bolt kit to combat SMS, 5th, and maybe a 80% LSD kit?
iii.) My present 4k has 90mm drive flanges and when the 9A
was pulled it came w/ 100mm drive flanges w/ axles
attached (they had no 3x square, BONUS!!!). Will I
have any problems w/ the size on the spline side of
the 100mm drive shaft?

I'd like to work on the engine and tranny separately, mate them,
pull my existing JH, and plop the new setup in and tune. Then I can build
the other JH into something even weirder for the beater Roc.
Does the sequence of events sound about right? There will be some
other things being done too (touch up of engine bay paint, install
new front motor mount from Eric, install the complete poly set I got from
parts4vws, etc.) but that's the extent of the plans so far.

Know of anything else I should consider while doing these things?

Thanks for your time and consideration!

Tim

P.S. This may be something that damns me to "ghetto mod" hell by you, but
I've found that Duplicolor 500 degree ceramic spray paint in "Chevy
engine block red/orange" is a dead on match for my orig. mars red paint
job.

It's great to be smart 'cause then you know stuff, I think......


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