DanChave

My GTI 16v turned OBD1 VR6
 

After getting into the 5 stud conversion yesterday, I soon realised a lot was different up front! I won't go into everything, but in the end I had to swap outer cv joints, wishbones, hubs, ball joints, track rod ends, and ARB. it would have been far easier to replace the whole subframe and components in one go, but the rod change setup on my 1.9d has a bracket bolted on top of the power steering rack. This meant to remove the subframe, I would have had to remove the exhaust, heat shielding and shifter as well, so I opted to swap all the above in situ. I'll let you know how the rear goes tonight
For your conversion, it's definitely best to remove the subframe with the engine, and then fit the VR6 with its subframe, to save a ton of work. As you will have to remove your exhaust anyway, it will be easy enough for you to remove the shifter if it's a rod set up, and drop it down with the engine on the subframe! If your current engine is a cable setup, then you can leave that in place, as it will bolt to the VR6's O2A shifter tower

I remember seeing this for sale, glad it's gone to a good home. Love the interior

Thanks again
It's a gorgeous car and hoping in a couple of weeks it will be even better!

Love this car, glad its on the forum! Welcome long buddy

I'll be making a start on the 5 stud conversion early next week, so I'll update on that front soon
The ideal thing about going 5 stud is, if you buy a complete donor, you have everything right there

I'm going 5 stud on the estate, just purely so all my cars are 5x100 and I can swap my wheels about when I get bored lol yeah, it's on Ta Technix
As for the GTI, I converted to OBD1 AAA, which went bang, so I stuck an ABV in there. I'm now running a 2.9 on obd1 2.8 throttle body, maf and ecu because I couldn't be arsed to change the loom again, as it ment taking out the servo and re bleeding the breaks and clutch lol!
I will get mapped soon though, hopefully April, so I can use the larger inner diameter ABV throttle body

I'm going 5 stud on the estate, just purely so all my cars are 5x100 and I can swap my wheels about when I get bored lol yeah, it's on Ta Technix
As for the GTI, I converted to OBD1 AAA, which went bang, so I stuck an ABV in there. I'm now running a 2.9 on obd1 2.8 throttle body, maf and ecu because I couldn't be arsed to change the loom again, as it ment taking out the servo and re bleeding the breaks and clutch lol!
I will get mapped soon though, hopefully April, so I can use the larger inner diameter ABV throttle body

Hello bud! The subframes are indeed the same on mk3's and Corrado's If I could give one bit of advise, it would be to buy a complete donor though, as then you have everything in front of you, and it will save a lot of time hunting for parts you didn't realise you needed before you get into it! It's also worth noting that Estate rear suspension and beam are different to the hatch's, so you will need Variant specific coilovers Like daveyboy said, the easiest way would be to leave everything attacted to the subframe and put it all in, in one lump
 
disc conversion wise, you can bolt up the VR6 rear hubs to the estate beam and you are good to go for 5x100 I'll be doing a 5x100 disc conversion on my estate over the next few days, so I'll let you know if I encounter any issues

Hello bud! The subframes are indeed the same on mk3's and Corrado's If I could give one bit of advise, it would be to buy a complete donor though, as then you have everything in front of you, and it will save a lot of time hunting for parts you didn't realise you needed before you get into it! It's also worth noting that Estate rear suspension and beam are different to the hatch's, so you will need Variant specific coilovers Like daveyboy said, the easiest way would be to leave everything attacted to the subframe and put it all in, in one lump
 
disc conversion wise, you can bolt up the VR6 rear hubs to the estate beam and you are good to go for 5x100 I'll be doing a 5x100 disc conversion on my estate over the next few days, so I'll let you know if I encounter any issues

Hello bud! The subframes are indeed the same on mk3's and Corrado's If I could give one bit of advise, it would be to buy a complete donor though, as then you have everything in front of you, and it will save a lot of time hunting for parts you didn't realise you needed before you get into it! It's also worth noting that Estate rear suspension and beam are different to the hatch's, so you will need Variant specific coilovers Like daveyboy said, the easiest way would be to leave everything attacted to the subframe and put it all in, in one lump
 
disc conversion wise, you can bolt up the VR6 rear hubs to the estate beam and you are good to go for 5x100 I'll be doing a 5x100 disc conversion on my estate over the next few days, so I'll let you know if I encounter any issues

OH YES!!

SO, still no new bumpers, its been months now! BUT, I may well have something else pretty special in the pipeline!

Glad to see you still have this! I remember reading your full build thread, years ago on E38 one of my first mk3 inspirations to take my car further!

all done and purchased, paid the paypal fees to cover my ass!!

So, picked up a few more bits for this, including replica ABT side skirts, stainless steel Dubpower exhaust manifold (to go with my already fitted Miltek decat and 2.5 inch Jetex exhaust system) and a pair of Hella Black rear lights STILL waiting on my new bumpers etc though also, I'm picking up a Mulberry Highline to break tomorrow, which should sort me out with the last few bits I need for the project!

So, picked up a few more bits for this, including replica ABT side skirts, stainless steel Dubpower exhaust manifold (to go with my already fitted Miltek decat and 2.5 inch Jetex exhaust system) and a pair of Hella Black rear lights STILL waiting on my new bumpers etc though also, I'm picking up a Mulberry Highline to break tomorrow, which should sort me out with the last few bits I need for the project!

So, I picked these up at the SWDubs Mega Meet

 
Also I fitted my MK3.5 clocks, and got the fuel light working. Handy for a VR lol

 
I also found enough time to split down the BBS RX2's I picked up with the rest of my Anniversary bits. They are ready to get acid dipped and polish the lips now!

 

 
And whilst I was having a day messing with the VR, I mocked up my Image splits face mounted to see how they fitted and weather I liked them like that.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Really happy with the fitment, they are flush all round and face mounted they are 16x7.5 and 8.5 now just the choice of what colour to paint the centres!
 
I really need Air now lol, anyone want to swap a kit for a full ABF on twin weber 45 engine conversion??

So, picked up a few more bits for this, including replica ABT side skirts, stainless steel Dubpower exhaust manifold (to go with my already fitted Miltek decat and 2.5 inch Jetex exhaust system) and a pair of Hella Black rear lights STILL waiting on my new bumpers etc though also, I'm picking up a Mulberry Highline to break tomorrow, which should sort me out with the last few bits I need for the project!

The higher the offset number the bigger the spacer you use. I think you can go up to et15 and the wheel would still sit right but you would need stretched tyres.
You will have to bear in mind both rim width and offset when choosing your tyres and spacers.

The splits ate definitely happening

The correct wheel specs for the MK3 Anniversary are 16x7 et43 with 215/40 tyres

So, I picked these up at the SWDubs Mega Meet

 
Also I fitted my MK3.5 clocks, and got the fuel light working. Handy for a VR lol

 
I also found enough time to split down the BBS RX2's I picked up with the rest of my Anniversary bits. They are ready to get acid dipped and polish the lips now!

 

 
And whilst I was having a day messing with the VR, I mocked up my Image splits face mounted to see how they fitted and weather I liked them like that.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Really happy with the fitment, they are flush all round and face mounted they are 16x7.5 and 8.5 now just the choice of what colour to paint the centres!
 
I really need Air now lol, anyone want to swap a kit for a full ABF on twin weber 45 engine conversion??

So, I picked these up at the SWDubs Mega Meet

 
Also I fitted my MK3.5 clocks, and got the fuel light working. Handy for a VR lol

 
I also found enough time to split down the BBS RX2's I picked up with the rest of my Anniversary bits. They are ready to get acid dipped and polish the lips now!

 

 
And whilst I was having a day messing with the VR, I mocked up my Image splits face mounted to see how they fitted and weather I liked them like that.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Really happy with the fitment, they are flush all round and face mounted they are 16x7.5 and 8.5 now just the choice of what colour to paint the centres!
 
I really need Air now lol, anyone want to swap a kit for a full ABF on twin weber 45 engine conversion??