The Official VR6 Engine Swap (Page 20/73)
bmwguru MAR 24, 04:46 PM
Thanks for the compliments.
I'm too pooped to even look at the VR6 swap today. The weekend killed me. I think I'm going to try and get a quick workout in and eat more bacon and eggs, drink a Killians and watch reruns tonight.
Tomorrow night I'm planning on logging a few hours, so I should have some updates then.
Dave
fierohobby MAR 24, 05:13 PM

quote
Originally posted by bmwguru:
Thanks for the compliments.
I'm too pooped to even look at the VR6 swap today. The weekend killed me. I think I'm going to try and get a quick workout in and eat more bacon and eggs, drink a Killians and watch reruns tonight.
Tomorrow night I'm planning on logging a few hours, so I should have some updates then.
Dave



Dude, you mean you get tired? You've been going at this thing like a machine. You make it look too easy.

BTW, this is one of my favorite threads. Lovin' the way it's coming together, can't wait for the video!

-fh
bmwguru MAR 24, 06:44 PM

quote
Originally posted by fierohobby:


Dude, you mean you get tired? You've been going at this thing like a machine. You make it look too easy.

BTW, this is one of my favorite threads. Lovin' the way it's coming together, can't wait for the video!

-fh



I'd have to agree with you on the machine part. I start my day working 10 hours on customer's German cars and then spend another three or four hours working on the VR6. I pulled 30 hours on Saturday and Sunday on the swap. Even tonight while taking the night off, I'm looming the wiring harness at my house and writing down the plan for to make the gauges work properly.
The worst part is I gave up an addiction this weekend and my head is pounding.....energy drinks. But I started feeling like crap when I was drinking them, so I thought it was a good time to quit.
Joey and the kids should be home on Friday....unless they get detained at FieroAngel's place and then Saxman's place, so I'm going to put the pressure on this week to get somewhat close to done.
I am up in the air if I am going to use the interior harness from the Jetta or just make my own. Either way, I'm looking at about the same amount of labor.
Dave
bmwguru MAR 24, 07:04 PM
Here are some more pics I forgot to post.
Here is the wiring diagram for the powertrain management. Now there is more wiring in the power and grounds and then the body systems. Trying to incorporate this to work in the Fiero is fun. 39 pages in all....and that doesn't include the Fiero wiring I have to go through. The VW uses track style wiring. Meaning that each page is a continuation of the previous page.


My poor interior. Hopefully, I'll have it back together soon, but it will have to come apart much further than this before that happens. Maybe time for some Mr. Mike's seats. mmmm

[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 03-24-2008).]

Saxman MAR 24, 07:20 PM
If you need me to delay Joey when (if) she makes it here, let me know. You need another day? If so, I'll get a horse in the back yard or something to make sure she takes her time

I keep thinking about the lesson in wiring I could get if you were closer. I'd be hanging at your shop constantly! Keep up the great work. Good idea to break one small addiction while the fam is away.

Cars are my best therapy - but I don't do them for a living. You must be car-man of the year or something!
bmwguru MAR 26, 07:16 PM
I'm taking a few days off the VR6 to clear my head of working on Fieros....well not really. My shop is beyond busy...which is very good for me, and I've needed to clear my head a little on the VR6 swap.
So, to clear my head, I've decided to do the finishing touches on my GOF (orange V8 Fiero). When I got it back from the body shop, the front left marker lights were not working and the cluster was illuminated when using the blinker. I got that mess (corroded ground wire) traced out and repaired. And then my one headlight motor stripped out, so that had to be repaired. I'm driving the car to a local MINI Cooper meet on Friday, so it has to be ready. (maybe they won't notice it is not a MINI).
Anyway, I hope to have a fresh start next week.
Dave

------------------

1987 GT (my toy-see above), 1987 GT (wife's toy), 1986 SE soon to be VR6, certified master technician/shop owner
www.njautobahn.com

Austrian Import MAR 26, 09:22 PM
If east coast MINI people have a similar sense of humor as west coast MINI people - I bet they do.
Just say it's a "counterfeit MINI" if they ask. http://www.counterfeitmini.org/
____________
(to the uninitiated, the above was a ingenius marketing campaign launched by MINI a few years ago. Very successful too.)
bmwguru MAR 26, 09:27 PM

quote
Originally posted by Austrian Import:

If east coast MINI people have a similar sense of humor as west coast MINI people - I bet they do.
Just say it's a "counterfeit MINI" if they ask. http://www.counterfeitmini.org/
____________
(to the uninitiated, the above was a ingenius marketing campaign launched by MINI a few years ago. Very successful too.)



LMAO.
I will definitely use that!
bmwguru APR 01, 04:23 PM
Allrighty,
I took a few days to clear my head and I had some progress on the Fiero swap today. I decided to mount the battery in the stock location, but I wasn't happy with the way GM had set it up...plus I am not a fan of side mount batteries. I went with the Optima battery, which had a greater CCA than the factory Jetta battery at a smaller size.



Added 5w40 Mobil 1 and Redline M/T fluid.


I spent hours getting the wiring harness pinned out. VW does not have a pin out chart for the VR6. So, I had to make one and figure out how to incorporate it to work with the GM fusebox and relays. I have about 90 pages of wiring diagrams from both cars and eight hand written pages on how to make the stuff work. I kept the CAN lines in the car and I may be using the VW cluster (not sure yet, but I left the wiring there in case if I do.)
Added the engine covers again and installed the spark plug wires....how's that for an easy tune up???



Tomorrow the little brown truck should be dropping off my battery cables, so I may hear it run by the end of the week.
Dave

[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 04-01-2008).]

FXRseen APR 01, 09:37 PM
I'm curious, with all your electrical know how are you going to be doing a custom interior or dash swap along with the engine? These things interest me.