The Cherry Chariot

[thebigmacd]

1991 Volkswagen Jetta GL
2.0L 8V ABA N/A
MK3 subframe, brakes, and suspension
Pre-MS power:
133 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
136 hp @ 6000 rpm
Post-MS power:
more lb-ft
more hp

Exterior done in Black Cherry Metallic


Interior redone in cream and tan leather


Engine bay done in same colours


Pre-megasquirt Dyno!


Then, of course, megasquirt! Not gonna lie: someone else (T3bunny) built this for me.





To do:
Finish interior
Custom gauge cluster
Go to the dyno again

[Fred]

To do:
Finish interior
Custom gauge cluster
Go to the dyno again
Swap in the 16v unit
Go to the dyno again
Swap in ITBs and cams
Go to the dyno again

Fixed it for ya :-)

Nigel has the 16v unit in his (don't ask me what it is), and has just installed his ITB's I linked him to this thread and told him to put up a thread of his own. Your Jetta looks different from both his and the others i've seen around, whats the story with that? Uncommon early shell or something? Looks clean anyway :-)

[thebigmacd]

To do:
Finish interior
Custom gauge cluster
Go to the dyno again
Swap in the 16v unit
Go to the dyno again
Swap in ITBs and cams
Go to the dyno again

Fixed it for ya

Nigel has the 16v unit in his (don't ask me what it is), and has just installed his ITB's I linked him to this thread and told him to put up a thread of his own. Your Jetta looks different from both his and the others i've seen around, whats the story with that? Uncommon early shell or something? Looks clean anyway

Psshhh I like my 8-valve
OBD1 internals (oil squirters, forged crank and rods)
11:1 compression
TT 268 cam
8lb flywheel
ported head and intake
7500 rpm redline

No my Jetta is actually a normal 1991 GL shell...with the following mods:
Chinese mk2 all-red tail lights and plate tub
Chinese mk3-style mk2 pull-out door handles
Front side markers shaved
Single round badgeless grille and FK single round crystal headlights
Mouldings shaved

As far as itbs...not in the plan but I do have a mostly-finished DIY fibreglass log-style intake manifold that will go on sometime. I don't have any pics of it yet.

[Fred]

I look forward to seeing that :-) That's not a bad idea actually. The geometry has to be right or the vacuum will crush it in fairly quickly (seen this on an fsae car). Did you see what I did with mine? It's mild steel, so a bit heavy, but making one up from glass to replace it wouldnt be too hard and would save some kilos above the front axle for sure. Good idea :-) I was thinking ally, but GRP is a very good idea. ITB's are all about the noise really, a good single throttle setup is just the same for making power at the end of the day. Of course throttle response is better too, but that's not a real world issue IMO.

[GartnerProspect]

Fiberglass intake. Count me in

I love the little jetta. Somewhere in the world there is a picture of me holding a Jetta 5-speed over my head. The clutch completely came apart in a buddies Jetta, while we were fixing it I was so impressed with how small and light it was I couldn't resist!

[thebigmacd]

How thick was the layup on the FSAE car? My setup is about 8 mm thick, and using West System epoxy resin as opposed to polyester resin. I can easily stand on it (100 kg) with no flexing.

You know what? I'm going down stairs to take some pictures

[Fred]

We ended up using a lot of west on our boat. Started on epiglass though. 6 of one....

Good stuff either way. Polyester is just total rubbish. I think about 2 44 gallon drums of epoxy went into our boat :-)

The fsae one wasnt all that thick, and it would have been ok, BUT, it also wasnt geometrically correct. IE, it wasnt round etc. you can do it either way, ie, with sheer brute strength 8mm thick ;-) or smart, light, and round.

Those stairs must be pretty long ;-)

[thebigmacd]

I live in a high-rise, and the intake was in my van, gimme a break

Pictures uploading right now.

[Fred]

That's mine :

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f323/ ... 0_4432.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f323/ ... 0_4360.jpg

With 70mm lexus v8 throttle body on the end and about 3 litres + inside. A wee bit heavy though. I wonder if you could do one with a nomex core and two thin skins and have it strong enough. That would be nice and light.

[thebigmacd]

Okay I lied. It's not 8mm thick, but it will be!

I have some fitment issues to work out so it is far from done. Pretty much the last thing I will do on the car.

Here's one picture, I'm having some issues with putfile right now. As you can see, the angles don't all line up right now either. I have to pull the aluminum part off and readjust its position, then cut the bottom off, remove some of the sides, and glue the bottom back on so it will clear the alternator. It started off as a "what-if?" project over the winter when my car was in storage. I built it all without even having the car around, so no surprise it doesn't quite fit haha


Here's the rest. I will move them over to a higher-res host when I get a chance. Click the pics for bigger version.

Top


Bottom


Mating side


Throttle end


Still finish work to be done inside it as well. Since I have to cut the bottom off it will give me a chance to fillet the ends of the velocity stacks. I goofed as well: I made the interior volume 4L instead of less than 2L Making it shallower should help with that.