Next step:  pulling the old engine, swapping in the new one...

The 1.5 and the four speed transmission had to come out to make way for the TD, so one night last week, a few friends came over with a cooler and we got things started...



Yanking off the old dinky exhaust.  We had to chop off the tailpipe to get the whole exhaust to pop out from under the truck...



The whole motor / trans dropped out in no time.  I love the fact that there were a total of about 7-8 wires that make the whole engine run.    

Here's a pic of my buddies after the engine came out.  As a friend says "It aint yours until you stand in the engine bay with a beer".  I've got similar pictures of other cars I've swapped as well, including my buddy's 911 (trans swap).   I think I'm going to make a mural in my garage.



After that, I took a little time to clean up the bay a bit.  The caddy's not perfect (some rust / bent sheet metal), but it cleaned up pretty well.



Time for the new engine...  I did that a few days later.  Here's the TD, waiting to go in to its new home.



After putting the caddy way up in the air, I pushed the TD under the front of the car and used the hoist to pull it up from the bottom.  Everything went in without a hitch.  I began working on connecting all the accessories and planning the relocation of the fuel filter stand.

Dude - SWEET!!!    Great looking work...  Thanks for sharing pics, and good luck finishing it off!  

Just found this place, maybe some use?
http://vwcaddyforum.com/

I just thought I'd add a little update to this thread.  The project continues.

Here's another shot of the finished downpipe.  The flex section seemed WAY too stiff when I put it on, but once we hooked up the exhaust, it proved to flex quite a lot where needed.



After the downpipe, we started on the exhaust.  I decided to do a full 2.5" system for the caddy with one resonator.  Here's the pile of parts.  Stock exhaust is on the left.



A quick shot to show the stock exhaust diameter compared to the 2.5" pipe...



Overall, the exhaust really didn't take that long to make although we did end up using the chop-saw quite a bit to make sections that would all weld together properly.  Big thanks to my buddy Greg who's an ace at eyeballing those U-bends to make them slink around the tunnel in the caddy.

Greg contemplating the task...



On the truck.  Not the best picture, but hopefully you can make out where the exhaust kicks out slightly to clear the shifter box...



Another shot of the near-finished exhaust (still missing a tailpipe).  Since that pic was taken, I've come up with a more permanent exhaust hanger using some scraps of the stock hangers.



I was somewhat surprised at how much heavier the 2.5" exhaust is compared to the stock system even though it has one less muffler.  The 2.5" pipe is pretty thick...

There's only one resonator / muffler on the system so far and it sounds great!  Not really loud or obnoxious. You can definitely hear that turbo whine.  I'll know more once I drive it.

I've also spent some time installing the GTI console and gauges in the caddy.  I've got EGT, a voltmeter and oil pressure down below by the shifter...



I wired in all the gauges, but I'm still waiting on the adapter to mount the oil pressure sender along with the stock sender in the head.  With all taht done, that still left the boost gauge to mount.  I considered a dash mounted "cup" made by VDO, but I also thought it would be neat to mount it in a pillar-mounted gauge pod.  

Simple, right?  Well, not really... no one really makes one for the A1.  I did some research and found that some people had been successful in using a Autometer pillar pod meant for Mk3 cars in an A1.  I ordered one up and as it turns out it's pretty far from fitting right out of the box.

I ended up experimenting with some cardboard templates, a grinder and a heat gun and got it to fit pretty well.  Essentially, I had to cut some material from the rear of the pod, then heat / form the top of the pod to conform around the A1 A-pillar.






Right now I've got it secured with one screw.  Not sure how I like that idea.  I might go for some velcro / adhesive tape for the bottom of the pod for reinforcement.

The only part that didn't really work out about the pod was the portion of the piece that goes against the door frame.  The way the pod is made, there's simply not enough material to wrap all the way around.  I tried heating and pulling on the plastic, but it only worked to a degree.

This is a pic of that side of the pod with the door open.  when the door is closed, you can't even see that section since it is blocked by the door frame.



All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with how it works out. It'll be nice to keep an eye on the boost while I'm driving without looking down.

One important thing to remember about the modification of that pod is that my caddy is a base model truck.  That means it doesn't have the A-pillar trim that a rabbit GTI or deluxe might have.  In my case, since I don't have that trim, it was easier for the pod to be fitted inbetween the dash and the pillar.  I still think you can use the Mk3 pod on A1's with trim, but it might look slightly different, especially on the back side.

Next, I've got to run the boost line and wiring to the pod.  I found an "updated" boost tee (sold by ECS_tuning) that supposedly solves the VDO gauge's tendancy to "buzz" or flutter.  I'll try it out and see what happens.

I should be driving this thing soon after I finish mounting the fuel filter in the passenger wheel well, figure out a solution for my clear fuel line and I attach the cabriolet fender liners.

Sure....  I got mine from ECS tuning (www.ecstuning.com), but I think NewSouth Performance actually makes them.  Should be about $6 or so.

http://www.newsouthperformance.com/fitting.htm

The restrictor dampens the shockwaves produced by the turbo...

>>a-piller plastic coverings are found in all '84 (or 83) and up Rabbits, which had the glue-in windshields. The earlier cars with the rubber windshield gaskets got the vinyl trim. I would think that the Rabbit pickups would be equipped the same.
 
 
You're right... My rabbit truck has the rubber windshield seal and the vinyl trim, but my 83 GTI has the plastic trim.  After I got done modifying the gauge pod to fit the caddy, I tried to fit it in the GTI and saw that the trim was different.  It didn't want to fit.  I'd probably have to cut more off the bottom of the pod and change the shape around the top to make that work.