Thanks! I am getting close... still need to do some air intake and exhaust tubing and duct work (I've sort of been saving that for last), but just about everything else is ready to fire up now. The fuel system is all ready to go, even primed it including the new relocated fuel filter. All coolant lines are installed, coolant is filled, and I even pressure tested the system to 15 psi - with no leaks. Fresh oil is filled in the sump and the system has been pressurized / primed with a techtonics hand-drill oil pump adapter. All the manifolds are torqued up, with the 1.6lTD intake manifold being installed. The electrical stuff is all hooked up (except wiring for the new gauges which I need to route past the firewall.)
You guys won't believe how much room is behind the engine! The TDI turbo really "hides out" down low underneath the intake manifold. Another cool feature of this setup is ALL the TDI turbo's exhaust manifold fasteners were directly accessible... can easily check the torque, no unbolting the turbo from the exhast manifold first. Nothing is in the way!
I have not tried totally priming the fuel system like this before, but I think it may have worked really well. It will be interesting to see how long it takes cranking the motor before it starts. I fitted a squeeze bulb to the fuel return and pumped away until fuel filled the new fuel filter, entered the pump, came through the return line (could really feel the resistance increase when the fuel starts passing through the tiny hole in the fuel return banjo) until it leaked out the outlet end of the squeeze bulb. Then I hooked the return line back up to the tank fitting.
I also replaced the alternator pulley. I lucked out in that an old 40mm wrench I had kept in the bicycle toolbox fit the outer alternator pulley nut perfectly! Combined with a standard big socket (can't remember what size it was... but probably around 3/4") fit the inner nut pretty well. I was able to change the pulley with the alternator still installed in the car:
Here is a comparison of the old versus new pulleys. The old one is definitely worn compard to the new one. I believe that it no longer had the proper conical profile that matches the v-belt. I believe as a result of the worn pulley, the belt couldn't get good traction and belt life was short. (Close-up of the pulley profiles - old pulley on right, new pulley on left:)
Still trying to source a proper TD harmonic balancer.