Intercooler fitment, etc. on possible turbo conversion

[Marc Swanson]

> Then I threw out the possibility of doing an MC conversion.  I know this has
> been done many times, but am looking for caveats, or if it is doable with
> really not much trouble.  I know I'd need to relocated the battery, and have
> recall of some tie-rod issue, but the biggest hurdle that may be a
> show-stopper is where/how to intall the intercooler?  I don't think he would
> want to nix the AC.


as Denis mentioned, the best way IMHO to allow for fitting a nice big
FMIC is to cut out the stock core support and make a new one with
provisions for holding your IC of choice.

Here are a few pics of how i did mine.  I did nix the AC on my car, but
if it was important you could probably fit it using this setup:

http://tinyurl.com/yqvp9

http://tinyurl.com/2uec2


> I appreciate any information on BTDT costs - time and labor as well as
> lessons learned.

It is hard to do one cheap if you've never BTDT before.  I spent way
more than I expected the first time around.  Now that I'm working on a
20vt swap for the same car I'm actually _under_ budget now that I know
where to save money on projects like this.

How much you spend depends on which route you want to go (stock IC or
custom?  Stock CIS or EFI?).  For a bone stock MC conversion using as
many factory components as possible, I'd say it could be done for under
$1000 quite easily.  

If you want to go with megasquirt you could probably come in around the
same number, since you could use the stock ignition system and just pick
up the bare motor rather than a whole parts car or CIS wiring harness. 
Sensors and stuff are pretty cheap.  If you are handy with fabrication
then it is all time on a swap like this, not a whole lot of $$.

Personally I'm a fan of 034 especially if you've never installed a
custom EFI system before.   You can't beat the user base or support
specific to 5 cylinder apps.

Things like custom intercoolers, exhaust headers, big turbos, etc etc
are what start to make a swap like this expensive.

Hope that helps

-- 
-Marc
87' 4ktq
88' 90q
www.mswanson.com/audi