4tq turbo in Seattle wrecker, was it yours?

[Derek Leep]

Heya everyone.

So I found myself in a north Seattle wreckers today scrounging some Scirocco
bits, when I spy a dead 4kq.  On closer inspection it seems to have been
someones turbo project.  It's a black/charcoal 1985 car, with grey leather,
a hood from a 4 cylinder, it's pretty well stripped, but there's no obvious
indications of it's demise (fire, big hits, etc).  The conversion was done
on the stock 4kq / JT engine, with the turbo stuff bolted on.  It had the
stock bottom end, pistons, head, and valves with no damage to either.  The
dual-filter oil thermostat was still there, the block had been drilled for
the oil return line, and the remains of some homemade oil lines were
present, definately not the stock 5kt setup.  Whoever did this also took the
time to replace the frost plug near the starter with one having the coolant
line, the afterrun pump had been used, and the metal return tube that snakes
behind the timing belt cover was there.  The stock airbox was used, with the
5kt intake pipes bent/welded, and the fender cut.  I think the stock fuel
distributor was also used, as the fuel lines were stock 4kq with banjo bolts
rather than the 5kt's flare fittings.  Either that or the 5kt donor was one
of the pre MY'86 cars that had the older fuel distributors.  The core
support had been cut from the body, trimmed in various places, and then
welded back on.  Brackets had been made to use the stock 5kt intercooler,
located upside-down where the AC compressor would have been.  The turbo and
downpipe had been removed, but the tie rod was original, not bent to clear
the wastegate.  Since the owner was able to weld up brackets and the core
support, perhaps they fabricated their own downpipe?  The stock 4kq brain
and harness were used, and I didn't find any evidence of additional fuel
devices.  Possibly the wierdest thing was that with all this effort, the
owner didn't invest in proper gaskets, instead using that "gasket-in-a-tube"
stuff that you can get at Shucks!

I figure to do this kind of work,.the owner must have done some research,
such research would probably lead them to the list archives, and ultimately
to the list itself. So, to my question, was this car yours?  What happend?
With no evidence of mechanical / accident damage, I can only speculate that
it might have been stolen?  I can't see the person doing the conversion
giving up on it, stripping the turbo stuff, and scrapping an otherwise ok
car.  Wierd.

Later.
-Derek L.
'85 4ksq  '86 4kcsq turbo  '87 GTi 16v