Phoenix from the flames - Porsche Boxster with an Audi 2.7T

Phoenix from the flames - Porsche Boxster with an Audi 2.7T

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Escy

Original Poster:

3,907 posts

148 months

Monday 26th March 2018
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Fastdruid said:
shalmaneser said:
Escy said:
ndg said:
Will you have space to ziptie a 'spare aux belt around the mount? If you have a failure, cut the old one off, un-ziptie the new one and thread it onto the pulleys.
That's a good idea although I think it's a bit of a non issue to be fair. I've not had a drive belt fail for years.
I'm sure a handful of Ferrari's and Lamborghini's require the motor to be dropped to swap the belts - I'd say you were in fine company!
I'm sure I remember at least one supercar where the engine was *such* a tight fit that to get it out and back in again needed metalwork and then a re-spray...
I was watching an episode of Hoovies Garage on YouTube and he's just bought a Ferrari F355 and it was up on a ramp. Routine maintenance didn't look much fun on that, there looked like an inch or so between the pulleys on the front of the engine and the bulkhead.

The Boxster has quite a generous engine compartment once you get the flat 6 out. It's a big old lump.

Escy

Original Poster:

3,907 posts

148 months

Wednesday 4th April 2018
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I didn't get much chance to work on the car over Easter but I did manage to get the front engine mount done so now the engine and gearbox are now mounted. I have been collecting a few parts. I've bought an engine wiring loom from a LHD Audi A6 on German eBay. The RHD one has a long straight section that is coated in rubber and is very time consuming to strip away (think it took about 8 hours last time). I also picked up a cheap Kaaz LSD.



rustymetal

2 posts

72 months

Thursday 5th April 2018
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Hello Escy,

My first post on PistonHeads, so fingers crossed that I get on okay. I’m an old chap who has restored a number of classic cars in the past. My username reflects the majority of my work on cars. I have a high regard for both old and new Porsches. Finance has prevented me owning one.

Been following your progress on previous and current build. Very impressive.
Great that you have dusted yourself down after the painful events of build 1 and are well on the way with Mk2.

I noted that you decided not to make a cradle for mounting the engine as you did previously. I’d be interested in a picture of your mounting brackets.

What are your plans regarding the Audi & Porsche wiring looms and ECUs ?

All the best for the rest of the build.

Escy

Original Poster:

3,907 posts

148 months

Thursday 5th April 2018
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Welcome and thanks. What cars have you restored in the past?

I'm keeping things simple with this swap and cost wise it's looking good. It seems a popular idea and the Audi 2.7t is an engine with a big following. If there is a market for it, it could be a way out of my dead end day job so I'm designing everything to be easy to replicate, taking notes and making templates this time around. So, with that being said, i'm keeping some stuff to myself, the engine mount being one of them. (sorry!)

I'm going to use the Audi engine harness and ECU and wire it into the Boxster. I've got all sussed out from the last car, I had that originally running on the standard ECU but a coding issue and the fact i'd changed so much around on the engine pushed me towards a standalone.

rustymetal

2 posts

72 months

Friday 6th April 2018
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No worries, appreciate where you’re coming from.

All the best for the rest of the build.

Escy

Original Poster:

3,907 posts

148 months

Sunday 8th April 2018
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I fitted the LSD today. I needed to remove the ring gear that came on it, the bolts were really tight and my impact gun struggled with them but eventually got them all out bar one which I slipped on and rounded it off. I decided the easiest thing to do was just cut through the ring gear so the bolt would come out.



To get the diff out you need to pull out the stub axles.


Fitting my ring gear to the LSD.


The side plate makes taking the diff out easy.


I also welded some V-band flanges to my downpipes. I've increased the bore from 2" to 2.5".

InitialDave

11,856 posts

118 months

Sunday 8th April 2018
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Escy said:
I fitted the LSD today. I needed to remove the ring gear that came on it, the bolts were really tight and my impact gun struggled with them but eventually got them all out bar one which I slipped on and rounded it off. I decided the easiest thing to do was just cut through the ring gear so the bolt would come out.
For future reference, Irwin Bolt Grip sockets have saved me in similar scenarios.

Escy

Original Poster:

3,907 posts

148 months

Sunday 8th April 2018
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I've got a set, it's not often that I find they are actually useful. I didn't even try them on this occasion. I hammered a socket one size smaller over it (which is why it looks so mangled), it had plenty of purchase but it would just slowly move up off the bolt while I was using the impact gun. I decided the angle ginder was easier than trying to hold the diff and use a breaker bar.

InitialDave

11,856 posts

118 months

Sunday 8th April 2018
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That's unfortunate, maybe I've just been lucky with mine. I've found I'll usually shear something before they slip.

Fastdruid

8,623 posts

151 months

Monday 9th April 2018
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I've considered an LSD at some point down the line for my project (which uses a very similar 01E), do you not need to re-shim to get the backlash correct on the bevel gears?

Escy

Original Poster:

3,907 posts

148 months

Monday 9th April 2018
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Yeah, you should do but I decided I'll take my chances on it how it was, worse case scenario, it whines and I'll take it back out but I'm confident it'll be fine.

Escy

Original Poster:

3,907 posts

148 months

Monday 9th April 2018
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I bought a pair of Akaprovic knock off tail pipes, i'm not sure if these are deemed cool or chav but I like them.

It was supposed to be 2 in glossy carbon fibre but i've been sent 1 that's got a matt carbon finish which I'm thinking may look better. Looking for opinions on which finish to go with.


Peanut Gallery

2,418 posts

109 months

Monday 9th April 2018
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Matt gets my vote!

(Also I think matt would be easier to keep looking clean / not show scratches etc)

KillerHERTZ

937 posts

197 months

Monday 9th April 2018
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Matt looks alot better - Originals are in Matt also arent they?

Craikeybaby

10,369 posts

224 months

Tuesday 10th April 2018
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I agree, matte looks better.

I'd say they are chavvy, with the logo if they are knockoffs, but would be cool without.

MX6

5,983 posts

212 months

Tuesday 10th April 2018
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I can't say I'm a big fan of the tail pipes to be honest. I like the big slash cut exit but I'm not sure the black plastic/carbon piece adds anything functionally or stylistically for me, though maybe I am just old fashioned as they do have a more modern look to them. For what it's worth though I think I prefer the matt finish.

Some more good work on the mechanicals I see, keep it up.

Nunga

332 posts

107 months

Wednesday 11th April 2018
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Closer to being finished than to not being finished... looking forward to seeing it driving. Your mechanical expertise is excellent; Id be happy with 1/10th of your skill, it is awesome to see how you execute each part.

Escy

Original Poster:

3,907 posts

148 months

Thursday 12th April 2018
quotequote all
Thanks guys, it still feels quite a way off to me but as I'm using lots of standard parts this time it's going to come together pretty quickly I hope.

I've asked for another matt tail pipe and the reply was no problem, we'll send you a glossy one so I guess it'll be lucky dip as to what arrives, I don't mind either way.

Escy

Original Poster:

3,907 posts

148 months

Monday 16th April 2018
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I've had a busy weekend on the car, made lots of progress. Decided to run the gear cables under the inlet manifold. That electric water pump in the middle is for when you turn the engine off and it's hot. It circulates the coolant to stop it boiling up inside the turbos.



I found a nice bodge from a previous owner, the O-ring on the air temperature sensor was leaking so he'd wrapped it in insulation tape. That had got hot and rock hard so it was still leaking. I replaced the O-ring and fitted the inlet manifold.



Feeding the wiring loom into the engine bay, there isn't much space at the back of the engine.



Then I started on making the cross member / suspension brace. The gearbox sits lower than it did before so I had to modify it. The breast plate (silver) just needed some rubber trimming slightly.



I had to take quite a bit out of it to stop it fouling. It was also hitting the turbo oil return on one side.



Since I had hacked it so much I needed the put the strength back into it. I decided to use some box section I had, I cut square holes into it and also drilled through the rear of the brace so I could spot weld it



Some cardboard aided design.



Welded up.



Test fitted it. I'm happy with it. The space under the sump is where I'm planning on running the induction pipes, it only uses one airflow meter and so the turbos need to be linked together. There is no space to go above the engine.




The engine bay is starting to come together nicely. I'm working everything out at the moment. Got the majority of the coolant lines plumbed in, charcoal canister hooked up. The fuel lines and power steering is all worked out (need to get some parts). I'm in two minds about keeping the A/C or ditching it. I could do with the space the compressor is taking up, plus i'd need to get some lines made up to connect it, there was no gas in the system so I think i'll probably need to replace the A/C rads (common Boxster issue). If I ditch it, i'll get better airflow through the coolant radiators. I did want to keep but all things considered, it's not worth the hassle I think.



Escy

Original Poster:

3,907 posts

148 months

Monday 23rd April 2018
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I made a start on the exhaust this weekend. Silencers with the that have the inlet and outlet on the same side aren't easy to find. Ideally i'd have wanted the silencers laying flat but have had to put them at a bit of an angle for clearance, there isn't as much space in the corners of the bumper as you'd think. Just waiting on a couple more 90 degree bends and I can finish it. I expect it to be a lot quieter than the last car as it's got 2 turbos, 2 cats and 2 silencers - I hope it is as I plan to daily drive it.





I went to the scrapyard to find a suitable power steering reservoir, ended up with one from a Mini. I also connected up the high pressure line so that's the power steering done. I also fitted the vacuum reservoir (that blue thing) for the N249 valve. This is something that's often removed but i'm trying to retain all the factory systems.