TDi VW Caddy Project

[Henk]

As I'm still very new here I'd like to say hello first of all. This is a great forum and you're all very knowledgeable on diesels. Am active on the UK Caddy website but seems to be a bit unresponsive when it comes to the engine and well, anything out of the norm really. If it's not 13" BBS' and 1.8T's it just doesn't seem to be approved of...
As for me, my name is Henk, I'm 20 and live in Wales in the UK. Bought my Caddy (Rabbit?) just over a year ago for £1000 ($1300?) started stripping it down this winter as i'm putting an AHU in from my £400 Golf. Plans for the engine are hopefully some bigger injectors, GT1749VA and some sort of way to control it. Am I right to believe that the guy who made http://dmn.kuulalaakeri.org/vnt-lda/ is on here? As I've been unsure what to do about the rest of the engine, is it essentially an M-TDi? as I wouldn't be using the ECU and stuff and the pump's running off the controller right? Use my 1.6D loom?
Slowly working my way through the rest of the car anyway, doing the arches, bed etc, hoping to get air ride on the back at least, so expensive doing the front's too  especially as I'd have to get it from over your way at great shipping cost.
Anyway, photos!
at the moment

Still need to get the head and pulleys off the engine so i can clean and paint it all up. not looking forward to doing the gearbox either, fiddly thing

The arch work so far



How she used to look

[CRSMP5]

welcome...

your so lucky... what you wanna find is a different fuel pump for a tdi-m.. tdi is drive by wire vs a cable to the go pedal.. since your in the uk.. you wanna look for a pump off a rover defender/disco and with little mods will make a tdi-m... why you lucky.. uk has them.. usa does not... had to get my pump from ebayuk... then shipped...

you can go see it then buy... lucky...

[Henk]

thank you, yeah it seems to be all a bit different here to what you have over there. i hear of you guys paying crazy prices for diesels compared to over here, got my donor car for ~$750, then sold the wheels for $250. I have read about using land rover fuel pumps on them, but wasn't sure what with the VNT controller running off the Throttle Position and controlling the LDA of the pump, surely a M-TDi pump wouldn't have electronic LDA control or it wouldn't be an m- right? It's all very confusing for me I'm afraid, am very new to this.
If it makes you feel any better I'm hoping to go air ride, with i have to get from your side of the pond and that certainly isn't cheap either

[CRSMP5]

air ride... you wanna talk to wchlvr here.. http://www.the152.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=4116  looking at his last 6 or so pages you can see what he is up too... really good guy to talk too also...

yep the rver pump has the pot on it.. this can be made up to run a electrical vnt actuater... but honestly.. id do a manual set up..

as far as diesel prices... sadly the us of a dislikes diesels.. and due to that the numbers are LOW for us who like them to buy.. its a supply issue..

[Henk]

yeah i've read WCHLVR's thread on the vwcaddy forum, some wild stuff, or it is for us limeys, maybe not so for you US guys with all the slammed minitrucks and whatnot! Will be doing a similar rear suspension setup, 4 link with twin air bags, front's are expensive though. Also going to get myself some berg cup arches too  found 2 pumps on ebay around $80 too so should get that under way soon i hope. Just been re-looking at manual setups too for the VNT, still pretty confusing... but I plan to ask on here about stuff regarding the engine as you seem to do m-tdi a fair bit more than over here. Also what kind of fuel economy do you get out of them?

[CRSMP5]

well sadly... milage is funny for me...



ive gotten great milage.. ive gotten crappy milage.. pushing around big aluminum brick pic above.. is not very aero dynamic.. worst ive seen is 34mpg.. best ive seen is 51mpg.. around town tends to be better then highway.. but to bury the foot makes it drop too.. and well i tend to enjoy seeing peoples faces as i run light to light..

lots over pond did tdi-m vs here.. how i know of rover pump deal.. here most have to build custom pumps.. no rover unless ebayuk to get from..

[Henk]

little update, new bed chassis


golf loom and dash out to try and stick in the caddy somehow


previous owner bodge to the rear bulhead, ripped the whole low out


sneaky

[Henk]

little bit to update. Triangulated 4 link suspension mocked up, have to re-weld one of the trailing arms as the welder was set up wrong and the weld actually chiselled off


Pained gearbox and a few other bits. still need to somehow strip the rest of the engine and possibly get it blasted


Fuel pump came, looks pretty decent. no idea what most of this is for  also any advice on cleaning/repainting it? i guess i'll have to strip it mostly and respray the parts individually


Drew up some stainless steel rear T-bumpers in work to produce as i managed to get a load of box section which i'm cuffed about


Oh yes and my new wheels came, they're pretty... dishy.


so they seem to poke quite a lot 


Will be making myself some adaptors and getting some berg arches to bodify so i can fit these 4x4 pieces of goodness

Sure most people wont like what i'm doing, but meh 

[8v-of-fury]

SCrew 'em. Its your truck! lol Do what you want and enjoy doing it, that is all the counts.

LOOKIN GOOD SO FAR!

[Henk]

thank you, getting some less 4x4 tyres put on tomorrow, and some berg arches, when i can stomach the cost
Just been doing some more welding, smoothing the bay and patching of the firewall

[Syncroincity]

Holy offset, Batman! 

+1 for thinking outside the box, looking forward to seeing your progress...

[Henk]

yeah, ET -27, plus i've yet to make adaptors for them 
Discovered my daily's due it's MOT this week, horrified as it's a french piece of crap with a leaky head gasket, low on oil, N/S strut clunks and i think only one handbrake works. so no berg kit until that thing's through it's MOT
on a more positive note, got the wheels to a better 'stance'


Oh wait wrong picture
'ere we go, with 195's on. would rather 205/45's, but they tyres were free...


done a bit more fabrication lately repaired and extended the panels behind the rear wheels, some more smoothing in the bay, until the CO2 bottle ran out today, boo

[snakemaster]

looking good 

[Henk]

Thanks
Only progress so far is photoshop, been having to put in some spanner time on the daily, garage refused to even MOT the car as the head gasket was shot (only between oil and coolant oddly, the cylinder bits were fine)

[Henk]

BERG KIT! 








Only mocked up so far, splitter to arch is a terrible fit, and the rears will need modifying a bit, but generally pretty happy with it all