Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

[All_Euro]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

DAY EIGHTEEN

I was having trouble getting the TT pan to slide into position and after having a closer look I noticed the way the GLI and TT pans connect under the back seat are a little different. Thankfully I still had the appropriate Audi piece in good condition - here's the difference...




I've been avoiding cutting into the frame rails but I really don't see a better way to accommodate the new pan so after measuring, and remeasuring, each frame rail I marked a line at 4.5cm from the foot pan joint on the top of the frame rail and cut all four...




4.0-4.5cm keeps the new joint as far away as possible from the existing joint in the rail without hitting this internal brace in the TT rail...




No internal brace in the GLI rail but I didn't know that until it was open. So I got the top and sides free tonight and will endeavour to drill the bottom welds out and tack in the TT rail tomorrow...

[All_Euro]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

DAY NINETEEN

Finished removing the incompatible sections of frame rail on both sides... cleaned up the areas and trimmed the new pieces to fit. Will do touch ups tomorrow and hopefully weld the TT rails in - here are the test fit shots...

[Fizzo20]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

Thanks, I've just been trying to accomplish something every day while the weather is reasonable... hopefully I be done before winter gets serious. Cool Jetta project on your end too - my first VW was a small bumper MK2 Jetta Carat. Loved it but always wanted a big bumper version.

Yeah this next week doesn't look too bad either, you still got time!
Thanks! Yeah my first car was a small bump jet coupe, but then the red one came up for sale and was is much better shape (and big bumper) so I scooped it. Definitely still my favourite car that I've owned

[All_Euro]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

DAY TWENTY

Finished trimming and fitting both pieces of TT frame rail and tacked them into place. Then I moved the pan into position, as if I was going to install it, just to make sure things look ok - and they do but fitment will be nothing short of SNUG so next step will be fully welding the rail seams and then cleaning and priming any bare metal...

[All_Euro]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

...Definitely still my favourite car that I've owned

Nice, I was seriously considering buying one and adding a quattro drivetrain instead of haldexing this car!

[Fizzo20]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

Nice, I was seriously considering buying one and adding a quattro drivetrain instead of haldexing this car!

That's exactly my dream build... with a VRT

[GINCH]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

Looks like you made it inside!!!! Or maybe not?

[Stonewall]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

Interesting build so far and not to be picky but are you using a mastercraft flux core welder on something you hope won't fall apart and kill you? Please tell me you are a welder by profession so that you at least know what you are doing.

[onceover]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

At the very least get some argon to weld with!

[All_Euro]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

That's exactly my dream build... with a VRT

Sweet - you're part way there too.

Looks like you made it inside!!!! Or maybe not?

Well... with no floor in the car I'm kind of in a shelter - not sure if that counts though. Hopefully I can replace the TT shell with a garage next summer.

[All_Euro]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

DAY TWENTY ONE

Today was the same as yesterday really - stitched some of the new frame rails seams together. Might have to break down and buy a proper helmet though...

[All_Euro]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

Interesting build so far and not to be picky but are you using a mastercraft flux core welder on something you hope won't fall apart and kill you? Please tell me you are a welder by profession so that you at least know what you are doing.

Thanks. Sure am - no issues with the quality so far. I design houses for a living but did consider becoming a welder years ago

At the very least get some argon to weld with!

I have gas wire as well but there's no need, as of yet, to go that route.

[All_Euro]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

DAY TWENTY TWO

Welded up the frame rails today and then gave them, and other bare bits, a coating of weldable primer. It's copper based , hence the colour. To get the TT floor pan in place, the frame rails need to slip into the joint at the foot well - simple enough but it's a pretty fussy process.

It's a tight fit and every other thing wants to catch on the way in so there was a ton of making room and readjusting but I was able to use ratchet-straps to hang the front of the pan off the roof which worked well as you can set the height and then push from the back...



Here's a shot of the frame rail joint - there's a horizontal section on the other side of this joint (under the door) that needs to line up as well...



The pan needed to be pushed forward while the back was jacked up so, after adjusting the ratchet-straps, I slowly jacked up the back while pushing the pan forward with my feet - and then made room for things, readjusted and repeated...

[All_Euro]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

After a while, the steel channels behind the upper portion of the back seat were getting in the way so I cut them near the top of the bracket that joins the channel to the inner fender - I think that was a little high though. The back portion of the fenders needed trimming too...



Solidly resting in place, finally...



No need for the straps at the front now - more trimming around the fenders to come...

[All_Euro]

Re: Floor Pan Swap - haldex to come...

DAY TWENTY THREE

Today I cut and trimmed the backs of the fenders enough to allow the pan to move up into place. The fenders are out of the way but not shaped yet as I haven't decided on what I want to do with them. It looks like snow and cold weather is coming this week so I spent some time cleaning and organizing the worksite - but the floor pan has been levelled and squared, down to the millimetre, and tacked it into place...