FestiVWa 2.0 Aba Project

[Fecomatter]

Yea, bet cheapest way would be to make the vw knuckle work then you would only have to more than likely shorten your axles.

[wwwdotgov]

I pulled ball joints from a few different generation VW's hoping that they would be a match, but they all run larger in size. VW's do have bolt-in ball joints, but then a custom LCA would be required if I tried going that route. And that wouldn't be easy to build with the festy integrated sway bar mounting.

[TominMO]

I pulled ball joints from a few different generation VW's hoping that they would be a match, but they all run larger in size. VW's do have bolt-in ball joints, but then a custom LCA would be required if I tried going that route. And that wouldn't be easy to build with the festy integrated sway bar mounting.

Rats, didn't think about the LCAs. Back to Plan A.

[dliverance]

Oh man. When you said you were going a different route I didn't expect this. Hopefully I can see it in person when its done.

[wwwdotgov]

Oh man. When you said you were going a different route I didn't expect this. Hopefully I can see it in person when its done.

Going completely rogue with a alternative engine choice was always a goal (even though some Ford purest might hate it).

I'm working on it every weekend this summer & fall and hopefully I will have it on the road around December, but that is a rough guesstimate. IDK..lol.

We definitely need to meet up when we finish up our swaps. You are finding some really cool rare parts for your build, which will look awesome once in place.

[wwwdotgov]

Here's a short video clip showing the clearance.

http://vid1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj530/wwwdotgov/Mobile%20Uploads/trim.576DA135-0BC2-46D7-B6EC-AC65CCFDE496_zps4zbkzzxr.mp4

I've been hitting the wrecking yards pretty hard gathering parts. From a Aspire I harvested the rear beam with bigger brakes and it's brake booster/master cylinder combo.





At the wrecking yard, I tried unbolting the rear shocks from Aspire rear #1 and broke off the capture nut because the bolt had seized. Frustrated, I left it at the yard without buying it. Wasted a hour pulling it.

Found Aspire rear beam #2, and this time I bought it "with the shocks still attached". At home I kept hitting the bolts daily with PB Blaster for a week. Luckily, these bolts both easily came out with no problems. I stripped down the aspire rear beam so it can be cleaned up and painted before it gets swapped in.


Also, have a Mk4 header that with be swapping out the cast iron MK3 manifold. This MK4 intake manifold was also acquired which is suppose to yield a few more HP over the MK3 intake. It gives me another option if I want to route the throttle body entrance from the opposite direction. But not sure yet.




For the next few weeks I will be working on the fender truss braces that will be added, along with beefing up the lower core support. Also, the engine/tranny mounts need to start taking shape too. I really want to get this engine set in place.

[dliverance]

Thanks. I've been hoarding parts for a little while. Pretty soon though the build will kick into another gear. I too would like to have my car on the road by December.

[Advancedynamix]

I've done several ABA swaps in MK1 cars. The last was a 4 door 78 rabbit. It has a TT tuning chip and regularly gets over 50 mpg. These are great engines. If you decide to go turbo, get an OBD1 long block to build. The OBD1 engine is better suited to forced induction.

[wwwdotgov]

I've done several ABA swaps in MK1 cars. The last was a 4 door 78 rabbit. It has a TT tuning chip and regularly gets over 50 mpg. These are great engines. If you decide to go turbo, get an OBD1 long block to build. The OBD1 engine is better suited to forced induction.

Boost is definitely in this car's future. I think I read that OBD1 blocks have oil squirters and maybe have factory forged parts that the later blocks lack.
This is kinda of 2 stage project. First I want to get the N/A swap completed and any bugs worked out of it. Then come next spring at about tax refund time, I hope to add the boost!
But....while I'm all apart now, I've been pondering the possibility of welding in a firewall "cut-out box", similar to what others have used to provide clearance for intake manifolds (BP swap?), but in my case it would be for creating the needed space for a turbocharger. So, when the time comes later to add the turbo, the space will be there. But I sorta need to buy a T3 flanged turbo -or- junk turbo for mockup sakes. I've been researching different junkyard turbos now. Also considered a rear turbo setup after seeing Greg's Eurotiva.
Shooting for around 220hp and creating a sleeper is the end goal.

[Advancedynamix]

Yeah, OBD1 ABA has a forged crank, and oil squirters and the block itself is stronger. The OBD1 head is a better casting too and it has dual valve springs as opposed to the single spring setup in the OBD2 head.
Try to move your engine as far forward as you can. You want a rearward angle on your axles, so don't worry about them being straight. The VW CV joints are 100mm and have plenty of articulation.

[wwwdotgov]

Update 9/22/16:
I've been sick for what seems like forever. I haven't been able to put in too many productive days on the project in the last couple weeks which ticks me off. But I can still post a few pics from my death bed. So here's a small update of things that were done before I got sick.

Made some patterns and cut out brackets for a fender truss brace. This remains unfinished. Most of all the welding on the car will be done at the same time. I can't do much more with these until that time (maybe 3 weeks). Anyway, the car should probably on the ground with weight on it before it gets welded up.






I cut out the lower core support. Mostly mocked up the replacement using 3/16" angle and steel plate. I cut out some brackets that will be welded, bolted, and sandwiched underneath the two tow hook brackets. Then began building out from that. I'm still not sure that I have enough room to put a puller fan between radiator and starter as the bottom angle sits now. So nothing is final on the lower core support yet.







I bought a Honda Aluminum 2 core radiator. I will have to modify the upper support to make room for it.



Installed some new Moog lower control arms and sway bar bushings.


Cut out the back seat supports and cut the floor to fit in the vw shifter. I also cleaned the carpet while it was out. Hosed it down and scrubbed the hell out of it. Came out pretty good.



So hopefully the next few weeks I can finalize the core support, radiator mounting, engine and tranny mounts, fender braces and get these pieces welded up.

Still gathering more parts via ebay and wrecking yards. Sometimes I find myself just sitting there staring at the car trying to come up with a game plan because at times, I'm all over the board.

When I get over this sickness (hopefully soon) I will be back at it.

[Festiver]

Update 9/22/16:
I've been sick for what seems like forever. I haven't been able to put in too many productive days on the project in the last couple weeks which ticks me off. But I can still post a few pics from my death bed. So here's a small update of things that were done before I got sick.

Made some patterns and cut out brackets for a fender truss brace. This remains unfinished. Most of all the welding on the car will be done at the same time. I can't do much more with these until that time (maybe 3 weeks). Anyway, the car should probably on the ground with weight on it before it gets welded up.






I cut out the lower core support. Mostly mocked up the replacement using 3/16" angle and steel plate. I cut out some brackets that will be welded, bolted, and sandwiched underneath the two tow hook brackets. Then began building out from that. I'm still not sure that I have enough room to put a puller fan between radiator and starter as the bottom angle sits now. So nothing is final on the lower core support yet.







I bought a Honda Aluminum 2 core radiator. I will have to modify the upper support to make room for it.



Installed some new Moog lower control arms and sway bar bushings.


Cut out the back seat supports and cut the floor to fit in the vw shifter. I also cleaned the carpet while it was out. Hosed it down and scrubbed the hell out of it. Came out pretty good.



So hopefully the next few weeks I can finalize the core support, radiator mounting, engine and tranny mounts, fender braces and get these pieces welded up.

Still gathering more parts via ebay and wrecking yards. Sometimes I find myself just sitting there staring at the car trying to come up with a game plan because at times, I'm all over the board.

When I get over this sickness (hopefully soon) I will be back at it.

I have that same radiator be warned the cap comes with a strong spring 30lbs I believe the festiva 13lbs cap fits directly I swapped back to festiva cap to make for less pressure on the system runs better too

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[wwwdotgov]

I have that same radiator be warned the cap comes with a strong spring 30lbs I believe the festiva 13lbs cap fits directly I swapped back to festiva cap to make for less pressure on the system runs better too

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the tip! Also, I noticed the new cap that came with it definitely doesn't like to come on and off very easy. Takes alot of more muscle than it really should. It will be going in the trash.

[Festiver]

Thanks for the tip! Also, I noticed the new cap that came with it definitely doesn't like to come on and off very easy. Takes alot of more muscle than it really should. It will be going in the trash.

Noticed that with mine too but besides that it's a very good rad keeps my bp at the bottom of the guage just above c when driving the fan is a bit weak not gonna lie il probably gonna get a pusher fan as an additional

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[wwwdotgov]

Wassup Date 12/01/16:

I'm still chugging along on the VW Aba swap project. Unfortunately, illness and life problems took away almost 2 months of build time in September & October. Also, it doesn't help that my garage is 15 miles away from where I live, which limits me to working on the Festiva to only weekends.
There was also wasted time trying to work with a oem mk1 engine mount. That was ditched and really got me off on the wrong track for awhile. I bought a new turbo manifold (only to sell it 2 weeks later) because it had my mind running off in a different direction. It literally became a big distraction. I decided that I will worry about boost "after" it's running and driving.
Despite all the setbacks, this project will is all I think about and I'm sure it will be worth it in the end.

Here's some of the progress.

Wiring Harness:
In September, I sent my VW Aba engine wiring harness to Palm Coast, Florida to be converted. Well, not long after sending it, Hurricane Mathew decides to pound the East coast of Florida. Palm Coast is right on the coastline. For awhile there I thought my Harness might end up floating away to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. But after a lengthy delay, it finally arrived.


Transmission Mount:
I was kinda dreading using the big, clunky oem MK4 tranny mount. Then I stumbled upon a picture of a Audi TT tranny mount that is finned and looked to have the same mounting dimensions. I took a chance and bought one on ebay. It's a direct fit and cooler looking IMO.


I cut out a section of the drivers frame rail to make room for the transmission mount and pocket that will be welded in. The entire frame rail/pocket will be braced and reinforced with steel (not shown).







Engine and Frame Mount:
The engine mount plate, square tubing, and gusset are cut out of 1/4" plate. The 2" od bushing is inserted in 2 1/2" .25 wall dom tubing.







The frame mount is also cut of 1/4 plate. The 45' degree angled plate was quite hellish to make. It was hard to get the bend, holes, and pie cut to all to line up like I wanted. I remade that piece no less than 5 times.
















Radiator Mod:
The radiator outlet for my Honda aluminum radiator was pointing out straight towards the tranny and too going to be too close. I sawed it off and bought a 90' bend from Jegs which will have to get welded on. But now it actually points in the right direction towards to lower thermostat housing on the engine.







Summary:
On Saturday I have a welder buddy coming over to weld up "all" the metal that I've been cutting and grinding on the last few months. I still have to build a lower transmission crossmember, but I'm going to wait until the engine is mounted and hanging before I start that.

Both my car and garage is covered in grinding dust. I will be happy when all the metal work is behind me. I'm really looking forward to actually bolting in parts. That's where the fun begins.