3/28 Updates: The De-bugging and last of the parts have all but come in (got a momo steering wheel coming should be here this weekend)  I should have kept a log of all my activities the last couple of weeks but I remember the highlights pretty well so here goes:

When I last updated I said there would be about a two week gap for de-bugging the car.  Automatically the car had known issues but there where also a couple which caught me off guard that also needed to be tended to one of the biggest was the alternator not putting out voltage.  I knew from the start it had taken a good whack in the accident but  from what I could see it looked ok, well it wasn't so it needed to be replaced.  I hunted around a bit trying to find one but kept striking out,  One of my calls was up to Momentum to see if they had a spare laying around which they didn't but Shawn suggested and pointed out that the A3 2.0L alternator will bolt on with the VR6 pulley, sure it puts out less amps but it's also smaller/lighter and would supply more than enough power for this no power options car.  So I sourced one out and got that re-installed.  There are some notes with the photo about shimming the VR pulley on the 2.0L alternator so it's not grinding up on the housing please take note of this if you plan on utilizing a 2.0L alternator at some point in your A2 VR6. Chris' power steering fitting turned out to work fine so it didn't need to be replaced which was a bonus.  

The gauge cluster I bought online showed up with two unexpected issues: 1. Was an upshift light, (cluster was from an 89, 89's don't have upshift lights) 2. Was the tach didn't work. Item one was something I could live with and for that matter isn't something that's a problem or even something I'll have to look at it.  Number Two was a huge issue since the tachs require careful calibration to read correctly with the VR6 and it was a 8K tach which the car should certainly have.  So the cluster was shipped up to Seattle where Stacy Mohr (A2 VR6 webmaster) recalibrated a 7K board to run correctly with the 8K face.  

My wife's sister who is in school in the bay area came home for spring break and brought the Rally seats up with her which were in excellent condition as the owner had stated (always a plus when buying parts online without photo documentation).  The radiator appeared to have an odd leak that seemed to be coming from the center of the unit, but turned out to be nothing more than the fan switch seal, the coolant was then dripping down and running to the middle of the front subframe then hitting the garage floor.  The oil pan was smacked back up against the rear subframe/control arm in the accident, I noticed the pan was a little... flat on the back but thought it would be ok. Well it leaked from the gasket as a result, so I bought a new pan gasket and used spare pan I had lying around instead.  

The wipers weren't working as well which was exceptionally frustrating and ultimately turned out to be something that was right under my nose the whole time.  The linkage was swung down on the ECU! Note in the photos I had centered the ECU almost under the linkage, I thought I had taken into account the path of the swing but was wrong, so it came right down and stayed down.  Luckily the ECU case and the wiper motor itself where not damaged.  The ECU was moved over and a custom bracket was fabbed up to mount it in the correct VR6 location like on a Corrado.  The funny thing about this was the whole time I was troubleshooting the wiring connections which were in the cowl, every time I would try the wipers it would go clunk and that was it, at one point I did this and happened to look up (to let out an expletive) and caught it out of the corner of my eye!  

I didn't drive the car a lot the last couple weeks because I didn't have the gauge cluster in but did take it out for a couple hours Sunday before last (to weigh the car) unfortunately the weigh station was closed and the scales where off, so will try again again and post that information in the for sale page.  Obviously the car is fast and I know I didn't talk much about this, sorry that comes from driving one everyday.  I will say this I had a Corrado VR6 and I sold it when my car was done.  That statement in itself is a pretty good testament of what it's like to drive one. 

   vralt1.jpg (60550 bytes)
The VR alternator has a raised lip for the pulley to seat up against (shown) the 2L does not. A couple washers on the shaft will do the trick. 		altreplace1.jpg (62134 bytes)
If you ever get to replace a alternator on a A2 VR6 plan for a couple hours since you need to remove the front of the car 		2laltinstalled.jpg (62832 bytes)
2L alternator installed, lighter, smaller, but less amperage, shouldn't be a concern as long as you don't have a big boomin system in your A2 VR6.
radbracket.jpg (61527 bytes)
The G60 radiator has two provisions for a bracket one on the front one on the back, the front lines up but leaves the rad really close to the engine. The back has a slot in it so you can't use the bracket unless you cut a notch in it like so... 		maxclearance.jpg (59944 bytes)
...this allows max clearance between the motor and radiator 		finishedmotor.jpg (61085 bytes)
Completed motor shot
finishedmotor2.jpg (61680 bytes)
From the side 		finishedwiring.jpg (62119 bytes)
Completed wiring 		finishedinterior.jpg (59980 bytes)
Completed interior, minus the Momo wheel which didn't arrive on time for the photos for the ad page
finishedinterior2.jpg (59269 bytes)
Better shot of the front seats, two year only pattern, these are not Recaros they are factory VW seats with a unique two year theme, 89 16V (some) and 90 GTI 8V (some) 		driver1.jpg (60842 bytes)
Preferred interior for driving around ~ two front seats. 		show1.jpg (57481 bytes)
The car is really hard to photo with the black wheels this one turned out pretty good.
show2.jpg (59644 bytes)
Same for this one.

 





I do want to close this article out with a couple things, first the Passat donor.  Even though the fact that this Passat was a one owner and had decent miles the majority of the Passat parts were not usable (axles, control arms, radiator, radiator hoses, tie rods, rear subframe)  By the time I figured it all out dollar wise even with some of the great deals I got along the way this was still an expensive car to build.  It's been said more than once but I'm saying it again, Corrado VR6's make the best donor, if not a Corrado VR6 then just shoot for an A3 VR6, at least then you can use the axles, tie rods, rear subframe, and control arms)  Likewise even though I was able to start the Passat prior to purchasing it there was a lot of hidden damage from the accident, frontal damaged cars should be your last choice unless it's just too good of a deal to pass up and even then investigate replacement cost of the parts you know you will need to replace then figure that amount times two for what you will actually end up replacing getting it up to par.  

Another thing is the idea of a winter project: When you hear of winter projects you think "Wow what a great idea to utilize those cold winter days then have the car ready for next spring and that's probably how it works out too...in So. Cal. For me working on this car through the coldest months of the year was at times miserable.  I mentioned early on that I bought that Cabriolet while searching for a clean A2 well it's top was shot so it occupied my spare garage stall.  The Passat was disassembled outside, a lot of the CL work was done outside and in general that really sucked.  First off I parted the Passat out to make some extra cash back, well more than one part broke while trying to remove them in 30 degree weather (brittle plastic).  Lighting sucked all the time, I couldn't work on the car after work unless I left early which wasn't possible most of the time.  The days were shorter so assuming I started at 9:00 AM (when it was still freezing outside) I could get about eight hours of light in working non-stop. At a minimum the ground was wet 90% of the time, and so was I.  Parts runs would pretty much bring progress to a halt as they took up at least 1/2 of the days lighted hours.  So if your going to set out for a winter project have a warm well lit shop space to do your work in.  This will make the experience much more enjoyable and allow you to work in a productive manner.

That's just some friendly advice thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed following along!

Dean Futrell

Thanks: Techtonics Tuning,  Mike Christ at Discount Import Parts,  Dennis at Aloha Les Schwab, Nick at M&M Automotive,  Craig at Armstrong Volkswagen,  Martin, Harlan,  Stacy, and Chris W.

Special Thanks: My wife Megan, very tolerant even when I hogged the entire garage.  Chris Payne: Chris I couldn't have done it without your help man, thanks a lot your help and creativity it is truly appreciated, not to mention you can work the welder pretty damn good.  Jon Archibald:  Jono thanks for your help and driving to U-Pull-It the forty some odd times we've went in the last three months buddy.