The “Hindsight” Mk2

This conversion started with a simple conversation, Haaris wanted to turbo charge his Mk2 Golf VR6. It already had a supercharger fitted but wanted more. He said the wiring needed looking at and a general tidy up…….I just thought it needed a few cable ties and some loose ends tidying up!!!!!…….Now we all know that hindsight is a dangerous thing!!!!……and in hindsight i was very wrong……about a lot of things!

As can be seen in the above pictures, I definitely had my work cut out for me here. The VR6 engine bay wiring loom was so badly installed, that it was decided to remove it all and start again. Now I knew this conversion was going to be using an Emerald standalone ECU so a custom engine harness was always going to be part of the deal, so the engine bay wiring needed to be neat and fitted like it left the factory. This was achieved by sourcing and fitting replacement 8v GTi engine bay looms, this allowed me to get all the basic sensors for the cluster and lights working. The looms are over 30 years old but were surprisingly all intact, the only issue was the plastic outer sleeving had become hard and brittle, this was all removed and re-wrapped before installation.

As you can imagine, its took a lot just to get this far, but if the foundation isn’t right then it will all end in tears. Now lets get on with the mechanicals of this conversion, which is also another chapter in hindsight!!!! So the supercharger kit and cylinder head were removed from engine in preparation for the impending turbo, which was patiently in the wings. Well, upon inspection, it was clear that the turbo conversion was gonna have to wait a little while longer as the engine was very worn. After a chat with Haaris it was decided to fully rebuild his current engine and gearbox so he would get the best out of the conversion and it would last a very long time too.

 

So with the engine back, the fun could finally begin. Things really started to move forward at this point as everything was ready and waiting to be assembled, I wasted no time in bolting everything back together. A Borg Warner S257SX was selected for its quick spool and compact design, this been strapped to a Spa exhaust manifold, one which works really well on RHD cars. Once i was happy with the fit of everything, the car was sent off to Style Dynamics for pipework fabrication.

Once back from the guys at Style Dynamics it was just a matter of wiring it all up with my custom loom to Emerald ECU and fitting a Coolerworx shifter. About the shifter, it’s not for everyone, but works really well and suits this car down to the ground.

 

So, I had this car much longer than we anticipated, but we got there in the end, the car has been road mapped to 1 bar of boost at present as its a fresh  engine etc and hasn’t done many miles, but we will turn the boost up in due time.

In hindsight, this turbo conversion turned into a full on front end rebuild, this can happen if the car has been converted previously by unknown humans that don’t know or maybe don’t care about the aesthetics of a project as a whole. Well i do care…..in Hindsight!