In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 It is my opinion that any, true, Volkswagen enthusiast will appreciate this lengthy thread. For anyone not wishing to see this Rocco transform, skip to bottom. ***Warning, Lots of Pictures*** This is the story of a 1981 Volkswagen Scirocco S (Soon to be Supercharged Vr6) I have spent several hours (if not days) searching through the previous owners profiles to gather as much information as I possibly can. Not really sure, exactly, where this tale begins but I will start somewhere in California during the fall of 2004. A gentleman came across a 1981 Scirocco S with a Calloway Turbo setup for sale in his local area; naturally he buys it. Oldest photos found..She is the grey one on the left. The only Rocco in the closest row. Owner (at the time) The woman on the Rocco's Bonnet is the GF of the owner (at the time), she takes ownership shortly after. Photo was edited by the owners at the time. At this time the original purchaser decided he was going to sell her. This photo was also edited by the owners at the time. It is my understanding that this is the last photo under the ownership of the boyfriend (Initial buyer from the local sale) At this point, Early August of 2006, the car has now been sold/ given to the girlfriend. It is my understanding that the Calloway kit was giving some issues and the motor was removed. The Rocco laid in pieces as a new owner came into her life. Now it is, late, August of 2006 and the new owner has decided to install a new motor; one she is familiar with and would not have issues working on. How she sat peacefully waiting to be reassembled. Finally the 2.0 9A bottom end and 1.8 16v head made their way into the Rocco. Excited to breath again, she cleaned up and got a face lift. Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Installing E-Code’s Fast forward in time a little, add a hood scoop and a New windshield/ seal. Then, as with just about every car that starts to gets some progress, a booboo occurs... (notice the newer looking doors) Photo edited by owner, at the time. No time is waisted on repairs! Fast forward some more and the Megasquirt starts to act up a little. Owner, at the time, gets a bit of a challenge but eventually prevails; then, she decides it is time for her Rocco to be one solid color. She attempted to give it a makeover with few coats from a rattle can but was instantly displeased. A roll on Rustoleum paint job will, eventually, get the job done. A little elbow grease and Bam! Bumpers return Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Right on time for another GTG! Notice how that roof rack gets passed along lol (Grey Rocco is also theres, now the boyfriends current Rocco) Everyone loves a "cruise shot" Then, winter hits.. So, as we all love to do... She goes out for a spin! She survives another winter!!Inspired, she gets a retro touch up. Then, more Megasquirt issues… She is not given up on! Fitted with new fuel rail and intake! After all of this headache.. Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 She returns! Unfortunately it does not last long. Megasquirt gives another misfit and the owner decides she no longer wants to deal with the headache. She attempts to sell her but no on wanted to deal with the Rustoleum paint; so, they decide to sand and re-prime! Hours upon hours later Displeasure be known. And finally a buyer is found. This Scirocco is now headed East , from California to Sourth Carolina. It is now February of 2011 and the new owner (at the time) named Walt came home to find this! Put it in his garage and began to look through the loads of stuff it came with. Walt came across a box of the cars history; his exact words were "you just can't buy stuff like this:" This car was originally purchased for the spare parts; he wanted to put them on his main project car. Exactly one year later in February of 2012, he found himself driving the car more than expected and decided to conduct a second build! These are the photos sent to him by the previous owner (before he received delivery) And some random shots of the car, taken by Walt, prior to going under the knife. Notice his main Rocco in the rear. Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 He immediately goes to work on the damaged Rocker panel (which aside from the Megasquirt headaches was the main reason the previous owner sold the car) Goes to work on some electrical issues Then worked on repairing the body gaps! Walt States "amazingly solid...magnet sticks everywhere. TONS of crap primer on though, she definitely wasn't nowhere near ready for paint. " And really goes to town on her! VR6Pete 1 Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Finally she is ready for primer. And Primed she shall be! Temporarily of course. Candy White!!! Bumpers even get a makeover. Debates on this are for a while. Decides to give the bay a respray. Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Though very pleased with the finish, he felt something was missing; and so... Walt ordered a fresh set of wheels to compliment the new look. He also decided it was best to do away with the headaches of Megasquirt and go with something Motronic And so, once again, she was in pieces. This time she can rest with her feet off the ground. Old beside new Fits like a glove About 90% installed… When out of nowhere he comes across this gorgeous diesel at a steal of a price! Naturally, the ABA swap gets dropped and in goes the diesel. Gasoline parts are no longer needed Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Cleaned and modified Excess wiring that is not needed! Because all it needs is this ;-) At this point it is time to call it a night! Unfortunately this is where it comes to an end. He ran through 3 different wiring diagrams, all 3 were wrong. Somewhere along the lines the car just got confused with what was staying and what was going (motor wise) and Walt decided to focus on his main project. A final shot of both Rocco’s together.. It is time for a buyer to step in and claim ownership of her once again. It is now March of 2013 and she is on her way to North Carolina. 4 months have passed by and the Rocco has done no more than sit. The newest buyer has had a change of heart and decided to go in a different direction. Early July of 2013 he puts her up for sale as a shell, Nine days go buy with no one showing any interest. He offers to part her out if no one will buy her complete, gives her a bath and post these pics in his for sale ad. Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I come across the FS Thread. I begin to ponder about my current Rocco and how much money and time needed to get my shell in this condition. I debate if I want to use this 1981 Scirocco S for my build as opposed to my current 1980 Scirocco S. On one hand, it will put me at a great advantage for I know the body is in excellent shape and is ready to handle the extra performance from the swap; on the other hand, I can use the funds for the swap itself and be done faster. Finally, after a lot of thinking, I decide I do want her. I contact the current owner, Adam, to inquire further on the vehicle. It turns out the RA's that were originally on the car when purchased back in California (when it had the Calloway Turbo kit) were available with newish tires for an additional $200.00 USD, I worked them into the purchase agreement. My only issue was that I was in another state, several hours away. My work schedule did not permit me to have much down time. I begin to weigh my options of having the car shipped vs. driving down to pick it up. The difference would be less than a $100.00 USD to have the Rocco shipped, I decide the extra money is worth my time. I send a deposit to show the seller I am a serious buyer, sell two of my firearms to fund the purchase, pay the shipping fees, arrange the pick-up/ delivery date, pay the remaining balance of the Scirocco off, and awaited delivery. Photos are as followed: She arrived 7hrs early; because of this, I only took two ,crappy, photos. Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I looked over the car a little more and decided to swap out the Teardrops with the BBS's (Sold my Mk1 Cabby with the teardrops). I noticed there is some fuel leaking out of a fuel line near the passenger rear tire, and saw a lot of moldings I need to source out. With the Teardrops B5, MkIV, & Mk1 Cabby (Cabby got traded for the Vortec V1 Supercharger kit) are all mine, my other Rocco was in the shop With BBS's Some shots of the Brakes/Suspension RR RF LF LR I finally found a donor car. The guy who owned it, had it for 3 months and was using it as a "filler" while his truck was in the shop getting repaired. He no longer has a use for it and just want's the money he paid for it. I ended up trading one of my High end Kimber 1911’s for it. She starts, drives, shifts, and stops fine. Only known issue is an oil leak. The donor car makes it to its new home and I snap few shots. Family photo! (1st Rocco is still not home from the shop yet) Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I did a compression test to her and got following: Cylinders (1) 160, (2) 180, (3) 160, (4) 185, (5) 150, (6) 180. So I decided to strip her down and just do a full rebuild. It will have a complete new gasket/ seal kit installed, new bearings across the board, Timing chain kit, gruven parts lightweight pulley kit, and the head will be refreshed with HD Springs, Titanium Retainers, and lightweight lifters. It will also be getting a Mkiv Headgasket to bring the compression up to 10.5:1. Needless to say, I began to order some parts. I will say this, if there was anything good about spending a crap load of money all at once, it would be coming home to a ton of packages waiting for you to open! 5m later... Unboxed it all! Mounts Axles O2A Manual cable conversion (and other accessories) Gruvenparts package! 2.9 Intake Manifold. Not a clone! Now, I just need to start polishing it :yes: Save up to recover from the coin dropped on parts above, and ordered a few more lol, unfortunately my gf opened a few of the boxes so no pics of them waiting at the door; here is what was inside Main bear set, rod bearing set, thrust washer set, block gasket set, HD Corrado Speedo cable Metal impeller water pump w/ gasket, Bosch Spark plug wire set, 7lb Eurospec LW Flywheel, Spark plug removal tool Russvrt and VR6Pete 2 Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Godspeed Aluminum Rad with dual slim mount fans. "The proof is in the pudding"Recover again, just to send more funds out the door!Clutch kit (minus throwout bearing; on order), SAI Delete Plug, and Ignition Coil Spacer. I came across a deal that caused me to drive 3 hours north. I left my Mk1 cabby with its new owner and returned home with…Stage II Vortech V1 Kit Began Polishing the Intake manifold And now I understand why so many people quit half way through! Lol I also received the Mk1 Vr6 Throttle cable and Heater core adapters. Photo of the Shift rod conversion There is much more for me to upload but finding the time to take all the photos has become a bit of a challenge. I will continue to update accordingly. I hope no one views this as "spamming the forum" this is my current build and one of my dream cars.. Thanks for viewing.Joe daveyboy 1 Link to post Share on other sites
The Duke 27 Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Mk1 Rocco and VR noise has got to be the best combination going. I've always thought the mk1 was a stunning car made even better rarely seeing them. Good luck with the build fella, I'll be keeping an eye on this. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk VR6Pete 1 Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Eurowise shorty oil pan kit (baffled w/ shorty oil pump) and ported lower intake manifold (to compliment the polished 2.9 upper manifold) ordered and on the way! Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Pulled the motor and trans yesterday; going to pull the fuse block and wiring harness later today. More updates to come, Enjoy. VR6Pete 1 Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Forgot to take pics of the ecu, but here are some shots from the fuse block (which was a pain in the rear to pull out!). It would be a lie if I said "I didn't brake any tabs" while removing it. I had to walk away a few times to avoid yanking it all out due to the frustration.. Also seperated the tranny from the block, pressure plate and flywheel had some hot spots. And yes, I realize that the oil pan is on the floor; I have no intention on using it and have a spare in the event I actually needed it. I will post more pics after I receive some parts that I have ordered or after I finish pulling the wiring harness from the GTI. Till next time... VR6Pete 1 Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 What an epic read! Just disappointed there wasn't more photos of the lass on the bonnet if the car!! Lol. Defiantly not afraid to tackle any job mate! Good on you ! Club Chairman Link to post Share on other sites
Lukey. 381 Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Ha I'd be like "you're gonna dent the f*&@in bonnet!!" VR6Pete 1 Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted January 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 I am going to have to agree with lukey on this one, I wouldn’t want her on the bonnet either lol. On another note, I was able to pull the wiring harness and OBD2 connector a few days ago; I figured I would add some photos for an update. Took some time, but I was able to identify what harness I was actually pulling through the firewall. I had one of my friends tug on the wires while I rested, very uncomfortably, under the dashboard. Slowly, I moved all of the unnecessary wires/connectors out of the way; only to find that there was no way I was going to be able to pull them out all at once.. So one by one they came! As I made progress, I realized some had additional components attached, such as relays, which needed to be removed in order to fit through that little hole in the firewall Then, I came across individual wires that were connected; I thought I had undone everything, clearly I was wrong. And finally, I got the whole bundle of connectors free! In the process of going through the harness I realized that the OBD2 connector was still in the car. Traced the wires to remove it and found that there were 2 wire junctions that needed to be cut and two connectors that needed to be removed. In the end, cutting the wires just made things easier as the connectors had wiring going through them. I thought I took a picture of the entire harness after being removed, but clearly I was wrong. I will snap some photos of it along side the ECU and post them up later. I am still waiting for 2 very nice packages to come my way; I am looking forward to posting pics of what's in those as well! More to come soon. Link to post Share on other sites
Lukey. 381 Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 Wiring and connectors is like witchcraft, it's all in the car, somewhere, you turn the key, witchcraft happens, and the car works. I've read this whole thread through now and really liking the car. In-Line Vee 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Daverse 175 Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 Harnesses are a pain, especially when their in the most inaccessible place on earth. Once you've done a few though you get the nack of them. Sent from my GT-P5210 using Tapatalk Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted March 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Hello everyone, I apologize for the delayed update; however, there were a few issues that kept me away from the forums. I am still awaiting the arrival of parts from Eurowise, but I finally got my Qauife ATB Limited Slip Differential and ARP Differential Bolt kit. I was also able to tear down the motor for inspection and get it read for the rebuild! Ok, on to the part everyone is waiting for... Pictures! Someone's Joke of a secondary air pump delete Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted March 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Here are some pics of the Qauife w/ ARP Bolt kit and the latest on my 2.9 Upper Intake manifold Link to post Share on other sites
In-Line Vee 19 Posted March 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 And what is helping me put all this stuff together??? I have another Haynes book around here, somewhere, just have to find it. Once the Eurowise package comes in I will post pics of what's inside. I still have some work to do but she is just about ready to take a dive in the hot tank! More to come. Joe. Link to post Share on other sites
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