I'm going to have 034 flash the ECU and build to the tune.

I'm also running a new crankcase evacuation system to intercept the PCV system and draw constant vacuum on the crankcase. Since I'm using the Meth, the tune may be aggressive for pump gas.

The PCV system tends to crack and disintegrate, especially by the block. O34 has solutions to that.. Make sure you replace all the plastic bits there..

I have the 034 PCV aluminum bung to remove all the plastic bits. I need to decide if I want to build a catch can or buy one to go inlive with the evac.

I would just go catch can... I run mine open because I hate the environment

I've seen the stuff that comes out of the catch can... gross!

Fenolic intake spacer. 034 says it can lower the manifold temp by 20F. can't hurt...

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430cc injectors...

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Oil sandwich to connect my external oil cooler. Now I need to flush out all the dino oil from the system...

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Very very slick and trick..Good luck with your conversion!
I wish I was as talented

Thanks for the praise.

I've heard mixed reviews on the intake spacer.

430 CC's is a good match for that turbo. But you will be able to max out those injectors if you run enough boost.

Oil cooler is a good idea for this engine, the stock oil cooler tends to push the temps higher than desired on hot days.

Whats going to be the fate of the rotary? Seems like it could be downsized to be a more reliable power plant for a street car.

The rotary is for sale as a whole or part. The "whole" is everything minus the intercooler and wide band O2. The adapter, clutch and tranny (with H gear) is sold. I have a rotary buddy that may take it all. I'll know next week. He will tear it apart, port it and dump it in an RX-7. $2k for the engine package with ECU, turbo, etc... If I part it out, I'll double my money but it is more of a hassle. The ECU and harness are worth almost $1k.

We shall see...

Pulled the drive train today. Kind of depressing since it still runs... Some of these parts have new owners

The Audi/Boxster tranny is almost the same length as the 901. Only about an inch or so longer. From the bell housing to axle center looks exactly the same. At least you can't "eye ball" any difference. I may have to move it forward for engine clearance. No more than an inch. Looks like fitting it in will be no problem compared to what I have done already. The biggest bonus will be the modern transaxle. get in line now if you want to test drive it later. This thing shifts... well, it shifts just like a Boxster. Night and day compared to a 901.

My ECU goes to 034 Motorsport next week. $850 to turn it into a 350hp ECU with no smog or un-needed junk. OUCH! But I get to keep the drive by wire. I may have to have them put it on the dyno to fine tune the flash once it's driveable.

Here's some side by side pics for those that want to see...

Mike,

What have you decided for the axle solution?

BTW I see some emission stuff still on your new engine

Boxster transmission stubs, sway away custom axles. Simple

sway away custom axles? So 914 outer cv and boxster inner cv?

Why did you switch to boxster stub axles then instead of just going with the audi units? (I assume since they are custom axles they can make it for any cv...)

What intercooler are you running Mike?

My guess is the air to water that he ran on the rotary.

I running the same air to water intercooler I had with the rotary. The heat exchanger and fan are located in the drivers quarter panel behind the NACA duct. I may end up moving it to work better with the mathanol injection. Most "experts" (used loosely), say to inject after the inter cooler and before the throttle body. Right now the plumbing from cooler to TB is super short. If I rework the plumbing a little, I can increase the distance and get better evaporation/cooling from the meth. This may take a complete relocation of the intercooler. First things first. Get the motor mocked up and see what fits.

Haha! Yea, I have not stripped everything off yet. I'm going to work on the cradle first, then pull apart the Audi stuff. I ordered a cast iron SPA turbo manifold today after lining up the two engines. I'm guessing 034 will dial it in around 350hp once were all done. The SPA puts the turbo up high in the engine bay, so the exhaust will make an "S" turn down to the 4" exhaust.

350 with that turbo will take ~ 22psi. I had 330hp (255awhp) at 19psi and I ran ~ 96 octane, so with meth that should be about right. That turbo will take 25psi.. If it was ME, I would run 15psi on the street without meth, then have a scramble boost option on the boost controller hooked up to the meth and run like 22-23psi.. 275hp on the street with another 100hp at the push of a button/switch... Mmmmm Tasty

That would keep the turbo and rods nice and healthy

Hey Mike,

So the clearance looks pretty good? Not much hacking expected in the engine bay/trunk? Really cool build BTW.

I may need to encroach into the rear trunk a little. Won't really know until I stuff it in there. If I do, it's important to keep room for the targa top. I think it will work out just fine.

I can hardly wait to drive this one. It will be as well mannered as a stock Audi engine until I put my foot into it.

Thanks for the kind words. It helps keep me motivated...

I need a new boost controller. My HKS crapped out on me. I've been running old school with a manual boost controller.

My Meth controller is progressive. at 10psi (or where ever I set it) it will start a low flow ramping up to the max setting. So either I get a new electronic boost controller or modulate the throttle/manual boost control to keep the pressure at bay. I will have 034 tune it to the max hp that is still reliable. No more speed boat action like the rotary. Although, fishtailing the car up the on ramp with McMark was fun! We'll see if this engine can do the same...

After putting a 16v on a 901 in this chassis, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't have to chop up the trunk. There's a few water fittings that are gonna want to go where the body currently is. It's easy enough to fab up new flanges and re-route. Much better solution than cutting up chassis steel.

I'd say you should get an EBC. You could always just have O34 tune the ECU to control the boost through the N75 valve and run a MBC to turn it down when you want. But you have enough money in it, I really think you should run an EBC... Better spool that way..

I have read about a couple guys blowing through the MAF without any problems. I am considering doing this and using a traditional BOV. wooosh! That way it doesn't go rich when it blows. They make a nice aluminum housing for the sensor instead of the stock plastic one. This engine will be set up more like a race engine than a commuter. Really all depends of what fits in the engine bay and how to plumb it.

Just for fun... Picture of my 3 turbos... Big differences

from left to right:
1) GT35R from the rotary (~600hp max)
2) GT28RS for the Audi (~350hp max)
3) McMarks future K03 from the Audi (~225hp max)

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I've had issues with MAF... Gone through PLENTY. (I have a box of 6 blown MAF's... Quite a chunk of change...)

See if 034 will tune your setup for a VR6 MAF housing(3" vs 2.75" or something like that). Or even better see if you can use a ford 4" MAF, You wont break that, and its much cheaper.. The issue is the stock MAF is maxed out shortly after 300hp, and running it at that point fries the internals for some reason.. A bigger housing lets you run more air through the same mass air flow, but the ECU needs to be tuned properly.


BTW when you get tired of 350hp you can always put some rods in, put 1k in the head and put a GT35R in for a nice solid 600hp and rev it to 9k

Got the cradle fabbed up. still needs some bracing and finishing. Need to cut the straight bar in front of the axle stub and weld in a drop loop for clearance. Most is 0.75" DOM, 0.120 wall and some 5/8" DOM, 0.120 wall tubing For the lattice sections. It weighs a little over 20lbs so far. Super rigid, no flex. I squeezed the engine into the bay. I have a copper shim (3/8')between the oil pan and the cradle bar. This will be the clearance for the engine. Some ratchet straps in place to hep level and center until the mounts are added to the cradle. The front has a triangulated arch and the rear is dual arches. I decided to go solid mount, no bushings. I know it will be a little louder and transmit the vibrations more, but this is the way both my V8's were and my old drag race Bug so I'm used to it.

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My new fuel pump showed up today. The Audi need 4 bar of pressure (65psi). This is the standard pressure for the motor. If anyone needs a good 45psi pump PM me, I'll let it go pretty cheap.

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I also got a Howe Pedal and Wilwood master for the clutch. 034 Motorsport sells an adapter for the stock slave to accept a -3AN fitting. No need for a custom slave and the adapter was cheap. Now I have to decide if I want to replace the brake pedal and master. The brakes work great as is so I may just leave it for now and ad it to the honey do list after I get it on the road.

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I got the ECU back from 034. Re-flashed to race car spec. No smog junk or un-needed stuff.

More updates tomorrow! 8am to 7pm toady. I'm beat!

One more just for fun...

Engine in the bay. I will have to make room in the rear trunk for the valve cover, exhaust and intake. I picked up a new aluminum intake manifold since the stocker won't work (angle problem) this one allows the TB to be installed in front of in back. I am mounting it in the back and it will also crowd the trunk a little...

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Dude, we need to start a new club, the lightweight birdcage cradle club! It's looking nasty! I've got one more day of distraction with the 944 and I'm back to fab on mine.

Good on ya man!

What manifold did you use? The VW one for the transverse engines?

Engines are pretty low in vibrations so you should be OK, If you used the A/C it might be a bit shaky.

Where in the trunk do you have to make room?

Enjoying the progress!!

I picked up an OBX (don't laugh), It's the only one I could find that would work for under $500. It actually fits nice and the quality is good. Believe me I was worried! Its for a transverse engine setup. The funky angle on the stock manifold just would not work right.

I have to make a hump just like some of the Subie guys do. I will used my roll cage as the corner and just box in around it.. I need to make the targa top fit. That is a priority!

Basically. Should have it sorted with the Chinese K03 by New Years. I won't clutter up Mike's thread anymore with details, plus I'll have a whole build thread on it once it's done. If I post about it, it's on my Twitter feed. So if you're curious you can look through that.

Mike, the crade looks amazing! Do you have a mandrel pipe bender? I can't believe the engine fits as well as it does. If you want to make the intake work without cutting the truck, you're welcome to play with my TIG welder anytime.

As an Electrician, I have access to various pipe benders. I used my hand/shoe bender for these since it is such small diameter tubing. It would have been easier and lighter if I used thinner wall tubing.

You saw how my old cradle was sagging (rotary) due to the lack of a rear support. This time I wanted no sagging or flex. I think I achieved it considering the weight of the engine is sitting on a copper shim, sitting on the single 3/4" horizontal runner.

Time to get back to work!

I added some more triangulation since these first pics. I will add more pics when I get it finished...

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Today was spent, all day, fabricating mounts. I did something smart, I made mounting tabd on the cradle to pick up the tranny and motor mounts. That way If I swap engines, again, I can re-use the cradle and only fab new mounts. I also burned up almost all my DOM. Surprised I didn't run out of welding wire or gas... I'm sure glad I can fab myself, although it would be nicer if I had a shop and slowed down a little. I could not afford to pay someone to do this. This is one of those days where you would have to explain to the customer that it actually did take 10 hours to create mounts. Then try to get them to pay...

I used the axle stubs to measure for level. There are no level parts on the engine. Everything line up great...

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here is the final system welded. Need some more grinding and finishing but it looks pretty good. For those that are counting, the cradle weighs exactly 24.6 lbs. The engine and tranny mounts a few pounds more...

That's it for now. We'll see what I get done this week after work... BTW, the new oil stains on the driveway anr from the nounts. I gave them a dirty oil bath after welding. Apparently I missed a weld and the filled up with oil, then they drained out...

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Work of art, Mike

Thanks Doc! That means a lot from a man of your stature.

Man, that is slick.

This is a cool build. I really like the Audi engine. Its very smooth and fat low end torque. Are you going to use a cable shifter?

That's awesome! And your insight to make replaceable mounts is genius. An engine sub-frame is the only way to go. Keep up the great work.

Looks fantastic!!!!

I am using a Boxster shifter. I had to fab the tranny side linkage and it works great. Shifts just like a Boxster.

Here she is in all her glory. Engine mounted to the cradle. Intake and exhaust mocked up. The cradle sure makes it east to maneuver around. The nuts on the under side of the exhaust manifold will be a challenge. So far I cannot get a wrench on the center one...

Enough work for today. I'm tired...

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The cool thing about the OBX (don't laugh) intake manifold is the ability to swap the throttle body to the front or rear. Right now it's setup on the rear. My AEM methanol injector is on the front. The shitty thing about the OBX manifold was the fuel rail. The one that came with the manifold is polished and the -6AN fittings arn't right. They do not fit a -6AN fitting. Shitty Chinese manufacturing. I just happened to have another OBX rail and it worked with a little modification. Aeromotive 75psi regulator is hanging on the end. Not sure I will leave it there but we'll see...

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Here is the oil cooler attachment and Crankcase evacuation fitting visible. I removed the factory water cooled oil cooler and will run my -12AN oil cooler lines to it. I had to add a 45 elbow and -10 to -12 adapters. The elbow it for clearance between the -12 fittings only.

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That's really comming together. I love that you stuck with the stock 15 degree slant, it'll make things so much easier shortly down the road.

Mike, have you checked your height and clearance with the OBX manifold yet ?

Are you going to use any rubber or material between the cradle and body?
The cradle will hold and transfer alot of vibration to the body. I used stock 911 mounts at my four points of engine/ body mounting and it is very effective with the vibration. My engine lid will get excited for about 2 minutes when cold, but everthing is quiet beyond that.

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I may have some engine lid clearance problems with the intake. Have to get it in and see. I can lower it down if I need to. Just have to fab new mounts. Lucky for me this is doable without messing with the cradle.

I have broken too many rubber mounts over the years. Including 911 mounts. These are solid just like my V8 was. I'm used to the added noise and vibration. I even have a set of aviation headsets for long drives when the V8 would drone on and on...