Click on thumbnails below for larger pics....
This car was purchased from the third owner who only put a few thousand miles on it in the course of 3 years. My friend, the second owner, turned me on to
this car when he knew I was looking for something for my daughter to learn to drive in. Prior to selling the car to the third owner he had used the car as
a daily driver and occasional track rat so the car had aftermarket suspension
(Neuspeed Sport Springs and
Tokico Illumina dampers with poly strut bushings), front
Neuspeed Front Upper Strut Tie-Bar/OE lower brace,
and Cibie H4 outer lights and driving lights.
He had also replaced all of the hoses, brakes (rotors/pads), clutch/clutch cable, and belts to make sure it would be reliable for the friend he was selling it to.
The car ran on two cylinders on the way home but was in good cosmetic/mechanical shape considering. Visually, we knew that there were several vacuum lines
that needed to be replaced, a small tear in the intake boot, torn EGR hose, loose and disconnected wires, and a rusty muffler. The prior owner had spent significant $$$ with
mechanics prior to meeting us but they had failed to resolve the poor run condition. The poor running condition was diagnosed by us as incorrect order of the
spark plug wires on the cap. Here are some pics the day I got it home, it came with a lot of spare parts
as well (including the OE teardrop Wheels), in the pics below the rain tray and upper timing belt cover had been removed and one new vacuum line to the knock sensor
control installed:
The first thing addressed was the order of the wires on the cap (should be 1>3>4>2, diagram HERE
Euro lights sourced from VW Vortex classifieds along with new clear euro turn signals. I found a new old stock/no longer available APC H4 relay wiring harness on eBay for $3 ($13 shipped
The OE headlights are removed by first removing the two screws holding the lower trim strip in place, then the 5 screws holding the headlight assembly in place are removed.
Removing the center grill makes running the wiring harness a little easier, wire harness is zip-tied to the front of the body. Wiring harness relay trigger wires are plugged
into the OE headlight harness on the driver's side (after pins are swapped to be correct), 12v+ wires to relays are fused and connected, and ground holes are drilled on either
side of the car and screws secure them to the chassis (bare paint visible should be painted over to prevent rust). The aforementioned wiring harness modifications are made and
connected to headlights to test. The relays have been zip tied out of the way until a permanent mounting solution is in place.
The upper screw holes all line up but the bottom two screw inserts need to be moved down to the other hole (arrows in PIC) to line up. I found that it was easier to modify the lights
than to modify the bumper trim, I had to grind 1/8" to 1/4" down on the top/bottom (mostly bottom) of the headlight plate to clear the bumper. I also ground down the high beam
frame at the bottom to allow it to clear. By removing the plastic lip on the bumper trim with a Dremel I could access the mounting bolts and adjusters easily, it will get painted when I paint the car.
The euro lights are aesthetically better than US DOT spec and provide a lot of light where needed.
Some helpful links for me were the Scirocco.org Eurolight DIY Guide and
Timbo's Write-Up on Headlight Relays/Wiring.
Passport 8500 X50 (manual HERE)
hard wired, functions as voltage guage between alerts, not easily noticed looking
in from outside. Wire was tucked under the rubber window seal and run down to the fusebox. Ignition 12v+ was tapped on the number 16 (Horn) Fuse which only sees power when the car is on,
VW has a ground terminal next to the fuse box which was used for 12v- after a spade terminal was crimped to the ground wire:
Pre-owned Euro Sport Accessories header found in Vortex classifieds and new hardware
purchased. It only made sense as the OE exhaust manifold was cracked in several places and the cat was most likely bad/going bad......
and I was planning to replace the exhaust as well. I started by liberally soaking all of the old exhaust manifold studs and bolts with PB Blaster, 20 years
of heat cycles/moisture tends to rust things a bit and make bolts hard to remove. Some were so bad that the wrench wrung the heads off and these were removed with
ViceGrips. The heater pipe for the intake was removed and then the air tube and heater pipe box were removed. I sourced new Saturn exhaust manifold studs to replace mine from
the local Saturn of Gwinnett parts department but they can also be sourced online a little cheaper
at GM Parts Direct, GM P/N 11589054- these studs are reputed to be a little
stronger and have E6 external Torx heads to install/remove, threadlock on head side, and are M8 x 1.25 (Bentley torque spec for the nuts is 25 Nm or 18 ft/lbs).
The car was raised by jacking at the front pinch rail jack point and placing a jack stand (with hockey
puck as jack pad) under the front lift jack point and another jackstand at the rear pinch rail jack point (hockey puck with routed area for pinch rail
as a jack pad). The rear muffler was removed and then the center pipe with resonator was removed. The next item for removal was the front lower heat shield/guard.
***WRITE-UP COMING SOON***
Techtonics Tuning Stainless Steel
Borla Exhaust was sourced from
German Auto Parts.com (aka Adirondack Auto Brokers, Inc.). Installation instructions
HERE.
***WRITE-UP COMING SOON***
Techtonics Tuning Fuel Enrichment Module installed, installation instructions
HERE.
***WRITE-UP COMING SOON***
Shine Racing rear sway bar installed. GREAT customer service and support, the guys at Shine Racing were
quick to answer questions and resolve some initial issues.
***WRITE-UP COMING SOON***
After some email exchanges with BFI (Black Forest Industries) that made it appear customer service/focus was NOT their goal at all, I went straight to the source to order
the USRT (Usually Sideways Rally Team)
SmartShift 1 shift linkage kit that incorporates Heim joints and Delrin bushings in place of OE shift linkage connecting points, and includes a weighted
shift rod. Installation instructions HERE.
***WRITE-UP COMING SOON***
Euro Sport Accessories
short shifter purchased to complement USRT shift linkage.
***WRITE-UP COMING SOON***
Oil Analysis performed by
Blackstone Laboratories
Scirocco Articles/Reviews:
Scirocco Buyers Guide
- from European Car 2005
1987 Scirocco 16v Road Test
- from Road & Track 1987
1988 Scirocco 16v Road Test
- from Road & Track 1988
VW Scirocco Video:
*High Speed Connection Recommended*
Scirocco DIY Guides/Information:
Drivers Found:Scirocco- Information and Tech Tips/DIYs
Bad Habit Rabbit- Some DIYs for the Rabbit applicable to the Scirocco
BrokeVW.com- VW 020 Transmission Information and DIYs
A2 Resource-The Brochure Rack: Scirocco 16V Brochures and Ads
Removing SciroccoII Mirrors AND Assembly/Cleaning of Power Window Switch by VW Vortex's ginster86roc
Wheel Paint and Light Scratch Repair by AudiWorld.com's NASAracer
Scirocco Documents/Files/Links:
Online VW Parts Catalog (ETKA)
1986 Scirocco 16v Ad - "Powerful Argument"
1987 Scirocco 16v Ad - "Owner or Follower"
Car and Driver March 1983: Callaway Turbo Scirocco (courtesy of VW Vortex's 83Caddy16v)
Scirocco Forums:
).
Next the EGR hose was replaced, the intake hose was repaired with E6000 adhesive, vacuum
lines were all replaced, and the battery was mounted with new wires/terminals. The OE muffler also gave up the ghost so the SuperTrapp in the parts pile was
installed as a temporary solution. An Odyssey mount and PC925 battery were installed with new power/ground wires and terminals, the + terminal voltage display
was wired to a switch (visible at lower right in pics). The fusible links had been removed from the fusebox power wires so they were fused (no fires needed). I found wiper arms and a jack from my old GTi,
and Momo steering wheel/pedals/shift knob from past projects. I had an Alpine CDA-9820XM head unit from a past project that I installed along with
the Alpine KCA-420I for iPod control- iPod located in glovebox. New european-sized
Boston Acoustics CX7e 4"x6" speakers were
installed at all four corners, the rear grille speaker cloth had disintegrated and was replaced. Domelight above mirror was replaced with OE Hella part:
).
I went with Sylvania Silverstar H3 and H4 bulbs. The adjuster tabs were missing
and sourced from Parts4VWs. Some slight changes were made to the
wiring harness- the "city" light bulb in the main reflector was tapped into the existing parking light circuit, the high beam H4 connector was cut off and
replaced with spade connectors to work with the H3 bulbs, and the input plug pins were reorganized to work with the factory VW plug. The headlight backing plates and headlights
were masked and painted black to cover the previous overspray, the adjusters were installed using needle nose pliers to twist them into locked position (be CAREFUL, these adjusters are EASY to break)
- note the circled mounting pins are the ones that offer no adjustment. I also applied some Lamin-X 20 mil protective film to all four glass lenses prior to installation.
Installation instructions HERE.
Timbo's Tech Notes: A1 Engine Mounts
Timbo's Tech Notes: Cleaning the CIS Airflow Sensor by ATS
Timbo's Tech Notes: Setting the Air/Fuel Ratio
Timbo's Tech Notes: Relay DIN Standard Terminal Definitions
Timbo's Tech Notes: OXS/Oxygen Sensor Light Reset Procedure
Timbo's Tech Notes: Exhaust Studs
Timbo's Tech Notes: Foglight Relays
Timbo's Tech Notes: Installing Headlight Relays
Timbo's Tech Notes: Fuse Panel Quick Reference
Timbo's Tech Notes: Tail Lights- Removing Ridges and Polishing by VW Vortex's ginster86roc
Timbo's Tech Notes: Re-Keying Door Handle Locks by VW Vortex's scirocco*joe
Timbo's Tech Notes: Replacing the Ignition Switch by VW Vortex's ginster86roc
Timbo's Tech Notes: Replacing the Steering Column Bearings by VW Vortex's ginster86roc
Timbo's Tech Notes: Sunroof Maintenance and Repair by ATS
Timbo's Tech Notes: Replacing the Fuel Filter by ATS
Timbo's Tech Notes: Odometer Repair by ATS
Timbo's Tech Notes: V-Belt Configurations
Timbo's Tech Notes: Water and Oil Coolant Systems Maintenance
Timbo's Tech Notes: Passing Emissions FAQ
Timbo's Tech Notes: Replacing the Clutch
Timbo's Tech Notes: O2O Transmission Gear Oil Change
Timbo's Tech Notes: Clutch Cable Replacement by ATS
Timbo's Tech Notes: Alternator Information and Replacement/Upgrade
Timbo's Tech Notes: Instrument Cluster Lighting
Timbo's Tech Notes: Troubleshooting Engine No-Start Condition
Timbo's Tech Notes: Troubleshooting Ignition Problems
