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VintageWatercooleds.com Technotes :: greggearhead Technote - B1 Dasher 2.0L Engine Swap  

Here is the longer version of the swap and all the little troubles I ran into:

Oh man. I just got done driving it around the neighborhood (no current tags but I do have insurance). It is very quick for a Dasher (in my experience) and I really surprised some young ricer boys sitting on their Civic a couple blocks down. I can't wait to put the cam and exhaust on it.

So, on to the dilemma.

When I started the conversion, I pulled the 1.6 out and pulled plugs, etc. Looked like 2 and 3 were not firing and there was coolant in the oil, etc etc. The motor was done. I ordered an adapter plate and ring for the dizzy from Techtonics way back and now finally got to use them. Well, they sent me an ABA plate and freeze plugs instead of the 3A stuff. So, I got that straightened out, drilled and drove the pin out of the dizzy gear and swapped the gear and put a new pin in and peaned it over.

I used the Audi head and therefore the Audi intake (injectors in the manifold not the head so can't use the VW manifold). Pull the Audi injectors and the inserts come with them - one of the inserts breaks and I can't remove any more inserts from injectors without breaking them. Buy new inserts and o-rings, have o-rings for the injectors. I removed the Audi injectors from the lines with anticipation of using them on the Dasher fuel injector lines - I know they fit the injector inserts correctly, etc. (to put new o rings on the injectors involves removing the small cap and o-ring on the end, then installing the o-ring, then reinstalling the cap).

Correct block off plate installed, air injection for the air-shrouded injectors blocked off, dizzy installed, Dasher exhaust manifold ported, cleaned up and installed, go to install the Dasher motor mounts. Driver side goes right on - I do chase the threads just to make sure they are clean, as it looks like the bosses may have been unused or exposed for quite a while. Go to install the passenger side mount and one of the bolts for the Dasher mount has no where to go. On the 3A block, there is just a boss for one of them, no hole or threads to screw into.

No biggie, I thought. I will just drill and tap it. So I drill it, then tap slowly using cutting fluid as I have done many, many times. And I strip the threads. Sigh. (Actually a sigh wasn't my only reaction, but lets keep this PG). So I go to find a thread repair, and the only one I can get has 10x1.5 internal threads and 9/16-12 external threads. Heck, I Don't even have SAE taps. So I buy a tap. Then realize I need a 31/64 drill bit which I don't have either. Buy the bit - then realize it wont fit any of my hand held drills, only the bench drill press, and I am not lifting a longblock onto my bench to drill it. So, I go to buy another chuck to use the drill bit and find a Black and Decker Hammer drill is only $12 more than the chuck alone, so now I own a new hammer drill.

Carefully drill the hole. Use a depth gauge to match depth with the other 2 holes (don't want to drill *through* the block, now, do I?). Start tapping and realize that the tap doesn't start cutting threads until about 3/8" - I don't have any bottoming taps and didn't cut this one to make it into one like I guess I could have. So I drill a little more and tap a little more and so on - wanting to make sure I get the thread insert flush, but not any deeper hole than i have to.

Guess what? I drilled through the block. Sigh (again, I used some other expressions). Alright, I will drop the oil pan. finish tapping the hole and loc-tite in the thread insert. Drop the oil pan, replace it using the Dasher pan, as it is in better shape (only 60k miles on that engine) and clean out all the metal chunks and shavings. Button her up and go over some of the ancillaries.

Here is the new insert pictured - it is just under the zero on "2.0"
The alternator mount goes on just fine. The top bracket (the slider part) doesn't quite fit. The Audi head had had the mounting lug broken and re-welded on at some point in its life and some of the weld interfered with the steel bracket a bit. A washer, some grinding, problem fixed.

The aux air reg didn't mount anywhere near where it did before. Behind the runners of #1 & 2 instead of to the side of #4. So, I mounted it up and hoped it would clear the airbox (it does). The EGR from the Dasher had no port to put the Exhaust Gases into on the Audi manifold, and to be honest, I don't like EGR, but need it to be on there to pass visual inspection, so I made a sano looking mount, antiqued it a bit to match and not draw attention (also painted the aluminum TT blockoff plate flat black for the same reason) and plugged the outlet in the exhaust manifold and connected up the hose for only cosmetic reasons.

I am reusing the old clutch (against standard swap rules, I know) because I plan on a 5spd swap sometime in the future and this one has at most 60k easy miles. Bolted her up.

Basically ready to drop the motor in - so I do, and quickly realize the oil press gauge sender on the side of the head hits the battery tray. Remove said sender and use the standard plug. Get everything lined up and for the life of me, I can't get the starter side to mate up right. try and try. The I pull the starter back out to look more closely and notice both the engine and the trans have alignment dowels in the same place. Sigh. Separate them, pull a dowel, back together, start installing. Some hoses have to be custom because stuff isn't all in the same place, the intake manifold and throttle body don't have all the vacuum ports and fittings necessary, so I fab that up and use another large throttle body I have laying around that has one more vacuum fitting I can use.

Start removing the Dasher injectors to install the Audi injectors and realize they have different threads so I can't use the Audi injectors. After some inspection, realize they are the same basic dimensions and remove the o-rings and cups and install them on the Dasher injectors and install those into the Audi inserts. Start to install the air boot between the air box and the throttle body and it won't go on. This thing is hardened from age and fuel and oil fumes and has lived since 1979 on a small throttle body opening. Now I want it to go on a large t-body and it is probably 60 degrees in my garage with the heater on. So I break out the heat gun and soften her up and use some lube (ahem) and she goes right on.

Plug some unused vacuum lines. Add oil, add coolant. Get started wires connected. Go to crank it - battery is dead. This battery is 2 months old. Charge it over night - won't take a charge. Use the big Dodge truck to jump it - cranks, no fire. Has spark, has fuel. So I look at the plug wires - somehow, I got them 180 degrees off. Instead of removing the dizzy and reinstalling it I just quick pull the wires and reinstall them for the correct sequence. Crank - and she fires to life!

Lifters are protesting their 3 years w/o oil quite loudly. Set a high idle and let her go for a few min - then adjust the timing and idle down to where they should be. do a test drive and after a short bit the lifters are quiet as can be.

I am happy with the conversion - the valve cover gasket leaked a bit, little things like that, but it makes the car a joy to drive.

After e-testing I am installing the Autotech 270 cam and fabbing a 2" side exit exhaust. I threw on some H4 headlights and yellow high beams as well. I will install some Volvo 240 rear springs and some 15" alloys after the spring snow here and she should be a great little car.

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