New engine mounting points

The ideal VR6 engine mounting points happen to be located exactly where the stock tow hooks are so they were lopped off:


Stock tow hooks removed

... and new ones were welded on:

Then the entire engine bay was painted with oil based Rustoleum paint:


New engine anchoring points in place and engine bay looking good!

I've had very good results with grey POR-15 but, as Ed pointed out, while that may be ideal on rough and corroded surfaces, it may not be intended for overcoating an existing layer of smooth paint. This happens to be Rustoleum's strong point, so why risk it? Rustoleum it is. Good call, Ed!

The donor engine

Ed has found the VR6 engine we are going to use as the base for this project: It came out of a 2002 Jetta that he found in Canada(!). He says it is in pristine condition and I certainly agree just looking at these pictures:

Here is a bunch of of pictures showing the varying stages of assembly. Basically, Ed tore down the engine, did a thorough inspection and cleaning. Then he installed a new oil pan [early model "AAA" style pan that provides more clearance with the frame), timing chains, timing chain rails and tensioner. New front and rear seals were also installed and the block was cleaned and painted black.

The cylinder head was completely disassembled, cleaned and reassembled with the new high strenght bolts from ARP. A thicker stainless steel head gasket spacer was purchased from urotuning and installed to get the compression down to a 9:1 ratio in preparation for the forced induction. Ed explained that you actually have to slice an OEM head gasket open and then sandwich the spacer in between. 



Back together again

The new adapter plate fits like a glove:

Adapterplate fitted onto the new engine