Metro; the engine build; updated May 2016
Turbo Mini Forums

Rob, many production cars have radiator, air con condensor and intercooler sandwiches together these days, its no problem. Obviously the intercooler goes at the front!
Big gains to be had by ducting the air from the front so it has to go through the rad pack and cannot go around it.

Here's one I did recently. The radiator was a specially made short but double width thing. The intercooler sits on top, the ally cowl directs all the air that comes through the grille straight to the intercooler.


Car looks like this when everything is back together.

I had to chop of the rad brackets and make new ones a bit further back on the van.

Rad sat on mounts like the standard metro mounds. It was strapped to the i.c. using tbe fan mount things a bit like cable ties. The rubber bobbins and alu 90 degree bobbins from the top of the headlight panels.

The slam panel and bonnet catch all fitted nicely. Loads of room for a standard alternator too.

Only got a standard bonnet on it for now. I could go for the mk1 style but would need mk1 lights. I think i prefer the mk2 look but will wait and see

Cheers guys. The rad in the car was a special and a bit thicker than standard. I'm going to have a look and see what i can create space wise but i recon the TD5 cooler could be a good option.

Well its been a while since the last update. Work has been a bit busy which has stopped most progress in the last few months, however i have made some progress.

I've gone for the TD5 intercooler which has fitted nicely in front of the radiator, however i've had to remove the oil cooler to fit it in. I was going to re-locate this but wondering if i actually need it if the car is only going to be used for sprints and hill climbs (for now anyway).

Turning to the other bits, i've rebuilt to carb and have been working on the intercooler pipework today.





Taking it forward, i need to finish the pipework, sort some of the carb bits, sort some breathers and wire up the megajolt kit. A few weekends should get me there hopefully

Wow that ic, fits just nice in there!

I have started posting on Instagram also my name on there is turbomk1golf

Nothing is impossible it just costs more and takes longer.

Certainly does.

I like it!

Rob I still reckon it is worth sealing all round that IC to ensure the air goes through it rather than round it - Tom said something similar back in June.

We ducted the vans in and noticed a drop in water temp more than anything.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

I think I must suffer from intercooler envy but that's a neat installation.

Ducting is on the cards but goung to concentrate on getting it running first

I'd also recommend the oil cooler, we always struggled with oil temps on the van, we were planning on installing an oil cooler but never got around to it.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Was that on the road john or on the strip?

On the road Rob mostly but we did a sprint in it too where we were going round & round and the oil was getting pretty warm then.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Cheers John. Will maybe spend a bi try of time on that now. I could go low down but worried about damage

Looking at that rad and intercooler could you get at least "some" of the oil cooler core behind the intercooler can't imagine you would need more than a few rows of it exposed to the airflow to keep temps in check for sprinting/hillclimbing.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

well its been a while and, I'm happy to say, progress has been made if not a little slowly.

After some guidance above, I managed to pick up a Saab oil cooler which I've managed to sit in below the rad; I've had to lift the rad up a bit which has meant cutting the slam panel however I'm not overly concerned the cooling is going to be affected too much. The rad was originally developed for Jon when he was on the circuit and I can't imagine I'm going to run the car in the same conditions.

The cooler originally has pushfit pipes so I tapped the housing and fitted adapters and had some new hoses made up by a local hydraulic place.









In the photos, you'll note I fitted an inertia starter previously to solve a clearance issue. This came off my old turbo engine and I wrongly assumed it was the correct pinion for a verto type ring gear; as it turns out, the early verto flywheels had the different ring gear so, after a bit of guidance, I've managed to clock and re-fit the pre-engaged motor.

I've also got the megajolt and AFR fitted and fired up. There was enough space for the AFR on the dash pod but I simply couldn't see it so ended up making a new gauge mount to fit it above the boost gauge. Not pretty but its functional.



So, currently i'm fighting with knackered batteries, however last night I did managed to get a jump off the daily to let me get oil pressure. Took a bit of time to fill the system but I've now got a healthy 55psi off the button.

A few things to sort yet;

1) set tappets
2) resolve battery issue and make new battery hold down strap
3) check fuel hoses and replace hose clamps
4) fit air filter
5) sort breather system (need to vent the rocker cover)
6) system check megajolt
7) re-position seat
8) fit bonnet pin latches to new bonnet
9) fluids
10) nut and bolt check
11) fuel in tank
12) Start

so all realistically an afternoons work and I could be running and driving

well a bit of progress made on Saturday. I got items, 1,3,4,9 & 11 ticked off the list on Saturday PM.

While filling fluids, I discovered the dry deck outlet from the head was leaking. This had come to me the way it was now and was proven to seal with some silicon however not in this occasion. So off it came so I could make a gasket and make sure it was sealed correctly.

Then decided to push the car out to the door of the workshop so I could use the Audi to jump start it.



Oil pressure took a little time to come up again then a healthy 55-60psi off the key. Went to start it and got a cough after a few seconds of cranking and thought to myself, this is going to go. I then looked down to see a puddle of fuel in the drivers footwell and switched off the fuel pumps. The wiring and switching allows me to power up the pumps without the ignition so I switched them on again to see if I could see where it was coming from.

http://vid596.photobucket.com/albums/tt44/...zpsvprlabfo.mp4

The lines all run through the car and it looks like they are knackered. Looking at the options, I'm now looking at running most of the lines through the inside of the car in Hardline as it is adding up to approx. 8M of braided if I replace on a like for like.

so looks like I've got a few more weeks before I can go for first start up now

Edited by Rob Gavin on 25th Apr, 2016.

I do like the look of this car lots!

Makes me want a TRO!

I have started posting on Instagram also my name on there is turbomk1golf

Nothing is impossible it just costs more and takes longer.

Well after making some temporary lines and correcting a significant schoolboy error in the fueling system, i had some success last night

video of first start!



After that, i found the gear selector needed a repair which was resolved before a first drive around the farm. Need to do something about the seat position though. Flans legs must have been 9" longer than mine!

Edited by Rob Gavin on 9th May, 2016.

Looking good

I run a supercharger and I don't care the TB is on the wrong side.
VEMS + 12 PSI + Liquid Intercooler = Small Bore FUN!

Well, its been a while since my last update. Fuel lines needed replacing after finding the failed hoses so needed to save up for some goodridge stuff before I could move on.

So, I've now replaced all the fuel lines from the FPR back to the tank, all 8m of it. Finished this off last night but I've not started it yet as I want to get the battery box and battery mounted correctly and the seat re-positioned so I don't need blocks under my feet to reach the pedals.

What I do need to work out is if I need to move the harness mount for the crotch strap forward to match the new seat position.

So, the to-do lists as I recall;

mount battery box and battery
refit dash panel
refit tank cover
re-position seat
tidy some wiring (cable ties)
connect up breathers
re-position and re-mount seat

Realistically, a good afternoon will have all this done