Backyard mechanic

[armando_m]

Helping a friend install a new toy

Something to counterbalance the one day shooting fairies in a studio

1. new turbo
2. making way to remove the turbo
3. turbo is out
4. almost ready to be started up (7 hrs later, with 3 people working on the car)

The engine is a 2.0L Vw GTI, once the ECU is reflashed the car will have close to 400 hp (80% over stock), it will be a handful for a front wheel drive

[Olivier]

Armando, I find the second photo scary... It is overwhealming...

[armando_m]

looks scary, but the wiring harness makes it nearly impossible to connect something in the wrong place, I managed to drop a bolt which was found until the very end and we had already replaced the missing bolt

[Bill Mellen]

#2 is why I gave up working on my own car a long time ago 

[pluton]

The compressed contrast gives these an odd feeling.  The second one is the most disorienting because of the extreme amount of unrecognizable/unfamiliar detail. 

[MFloyd]

While it’s relatively easy to increase the power of a turbo-charged engine (ECU remapping with increase of blower pressure), be aware of its direct impact on life expectancy and reliability. There is no free ride in motor (re)engineering...

I’m surprised about the messy engine layout shown in picture 9307.

[Seapy]

Perhaps you have more relaxed regulations where you live, I asked my insurance company if I could change the colour of my fresh car from dark grey, which blends with the road perfectly, to something brighter, because I am concerned about visibility (being seen) in the dark, dank, spray ridden roads in the UK.  They refused cover if I changed the colour???  Madness.

Will be changing insurance company at renewal.

I shudder to think what it would cost to insure here with the modifications you mention.

[Thomas Stellwag]

looking at your engine portraits I get dizzy - most probably because this is a perspective and detail concentration you never realize, when you´re really working on such an engine.
Nevertheless I like very much the low contrast and the "arrangement", no 2 is Gursky like

[Akira]

Gosh, I cannot even find the replaced turbo unit!   ;

[MFloyd]

Gosh, I cannot even find the replaced turbo unit!   ;

#9307: top of frame middle left. 

[Matthew Currie]

I suspect or at least hope that if I opened that hood and saw the thing in person the gears in my head would begin to mesh again, but the photographic view (especially #2) looks unfathomably confusing and abstract, studded with objects of obscure imaginary function, reminding me of one of Ron Cobb's iconic movie space ships.

[Akira]

#9307: top of frame middle left. 

Now I can see it.  Thank you!

[armando_m]

  Thanks for all the comments

#2 looks messy because the wiring harness for the coils and variable exhaust valves actuators is out of place and looks disheveled, I did a image/adjustment/shadows and highlights in PS, it exaggerates the dirt and makes it very visible

the new turbo is in #4 top of the image in the center, to the right the intake side can be seen in a shiny silver tone with a red tab sticking out, the intake pipe is still uninstalled

Insurance will cover the new upgraded parts if reported, if not reported they will pay for the original parts

My friend consider his cars as toys but drives them very little, the car is a year old and has only 5000kms , with the modifications his warranty is no longer valid but he does not care, also he does not race the cars and drives responsibly, he simply enjoys having a very powerful car.

I helped them because I enjoy car mechanics, and good company, no wifes, girlfriends, or kids, just 3 guys tinkering with a car, a perfect Saturday 

[Hugh_3170]

 

...

I helped them because I enjoy car mechanics, and good company, no wifes, girlfriends, or kids, just 3 guys tinkering with a car, a perfect Saturday 

[Peter Connan]

Armando, that sounds like a good day's work!

I too enjoy fiddling with cars, but nowadays I tend to leave the engines alone, spending my time underneath instead.

My 1996 Nissan Patrol now has done roughly 375 000 km now. I have spent a fair amount of time modifying the front suspension to improve it's ability to stretch down onto holes. The rear suspension is modified slightly (different shock absorbers and a dis-connectable anti-sway bar). I have also replaced the low-range gearing in the transfer case with a set with a 43% lower ratio.

Other modifiactions are primarily aimed at camping in the wild. Things like a swing-out awning mounted on the roof-rack, a chest of drawers in the back, a built-in fridge-freezer and a second battery to run it and so forth, and at protecting the underside. Oh, and some extra fuel tanks, for a total of 200l... This thing is quite thirsty.

I would love to install a locking differential in the front axle, but somehow photographic equipment always seems more important...