I have an idea to throw at Ian (Merlinman). He will be doing all the mounting and fabrication. Not sure if it's feasible to use the existing mounts on the chassis for retrofitting.:icon_wink:

I'm pretty sure you can, thats what they did with the phase 2 Shelsley i believe

Definitely - the mk4 golf / leon mounting (two lateral, one longitudinal for torque stability) should be ideal for the marlin. There's also scope to go with a Mk2 golf / seat ibiza / passat / corrado approach (2 at the rear, one at the front), if the mk4 proves hard to fit.

Hi John.

I was thinking maybe the other way round. Use the Marlin mounts on the chassis and "create" the mounts to the engine/box. But even this might be no good as the gearbox for example, look like they are different across the range of gearboxes.

This is the approach a certian Exeter based car company is using now for different engines on the same chassis. Mind they have obviously put a few extra mount points on my chassis as I have some that arn't used.

I wonder how different the mounting points are between different chassis supplied by Marlin. I know I have some from the rear crossmember which the earlier chassis didnt have. Don't know how similar the rest are.

John,

Personally, I'd use OEM mounts if possible, that way provided the mounting plates are located on strong sections of the chassis you know the engine will stay firmly in place, and that replacement/upgraded mounts can be fitted with ease.

Putting the MK4 mounts on the marlin really would be easy.

John.

Marlin going the 1.8T way??
 

Hi John,

From the latest thread from Ken Robson it looks like Marlin are going for the audi 1.8T engine option too......

Interesting to see how this works out?

Rich

P.S> Circuit Days are running a track day at oulton park 19th Dec...really tempted on this one if weather dry!!

Audi tt 225 engine's at the minute are quite rare (and expensive). Plus they will come standard with a 4 wheel gearbox, so that would need replacing.

So I went the other way. 180 BHP and beef it up! Bigger turbo (I already had re-conned for the Rover) , injectors, aftermarket ecu. These three things should make it see around 300BHP hopefully. Also exhaust manifold to fit turbo.

There's always the Leon Cupra R engine / 'box, though equally rare!

I’m curious to understand why Marlin are going 1.8t, when as far as their sponsor is concerned (a local Seat dealership I understand) the 1.8t is a bit old hat. The current performance engine is the 2litre turbo direct injection engine. Okay, the direct injection makes the choice of aftermarket ECU somewhat limited, but I’m told there is at least one standalone ECU (an MBE one) that can run the injectors.

That's 2 rocking horses in the space of 2 posts!

225 Audi TT and Cupra R engine.

Not quite rocking horse poop, but disproportionately expensive:

http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=179063

We have not been idle since the last post. Far from it. Been scratching heads (me and merlinman).

We have tried the engine/box in engine bay. 6 speeder is a no go. Just too big. But a plus point has come out of the exercise. A PG1 box (1.8 K, 2.0l T series) may fit with the VW engine. This is after trying the VW 5 speed route, but at a cost.

Watch this space...

My good friend Dave Bence found a website for a company called Reyland Engineering who did exactly, that mated a PG1 to the VAG Turbo engine. Try them in google it should take you straight to their site.

Ken

Thanks for your help Ken. Will keep you all posted.

Thought I would give a little update.

Mounts are finished now. And are getting painted.

Doing a few mods to the engine and gearbox.:icon_mrgreen:

Engine sitting in engine bay.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...n/IMG_0838.jpg

Dry fitting of bits.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...n/DSCF0521.jpg

Baffled sump after painting.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...n/DSCF0526.jpg

And a few pictures of the gearbox.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...n/DSCF0527.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...n/DSCF0528.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...n/DSCF0530.jpg

I'm happy with the results and progress.

Next on the list.
Fit these engine bits.
Rebuild gearbox with steel cage bearings with type B diff.
Fit engine to box with Helix race clutch.
Finish ecu electrics.

John

Once the installation is complete you may well find that you need to weld in the rear frame and provide additional chassis bracing. I have just had this done with mine even though I am only running a VVC as even with extra bolts in the rear frame the rear end was still flexing.

With your considerable extra power it will probably be worse than mine. Hope this helps.

Ken

Hi Ken.

That is one of the things on the "to do" list once the cars on the road. Get the cross member welded in.

It's frightening how much flex there is without the rear cross member in place.

Initially I put an extra 4 x 10mm bolts through the rear frame Bl**dy tight and it still flexed. I have since had the rear frame welded in with additional round tube bracing welded in diagonally using the stiffness of the roll cage to the back end.

John Dry has also welded his rear frame in and put an additional cross member in. With the power you will have going through the back end once the new engine is up an running you will almost certainly need to upgrade and do something similar.

Looks like it's coming on well John,

how clean is that gearbox!!! did you aly-paint it?

I cheated Chris.

I had it shot blasted and power coated/laquered by a local place. While it's in bits, it was worth while doing.