My 72 turbo rat rod project - Updated 6-28-07

[PSloan]

Okay, so i finally decided to make one of these things. 2 years ago my girlfriend bought my a 1972 2002. It had been sitting begind a bike shop in uptown houston for many years - and i would occasionally stop by to check up on it. My girlfriend bargained with the guy who races 02s and got a pretty decent price. I got home from visiting family for christmas and got a little jewelry box with a tattered 02 key in it. I knew exactly what it was - and was very excited about it. When i got it it was almost completely covered in moss and had sunk roughly 4 inches into the mud. Otherwise, it was in OK shape. It has alof of surface rust but i didnt think anything was too major - and i was sort of right. It had 45 dcoes, recaros, a momo wheel, bilsteins and enkei basketweaves. It was orig. golf but has been repainted polaris. So, i got to work on it immediately. I got it running and driving in a matter of days and drove it around my neighborhood. In any case, after that i stripped the interior, de-trimmed it, removed the glass, and sanded off as much sufrace rust as i could. Much to my displeasure, i found lots of rust in the rear windows - including the rear windshield. Also, under the passengers side tail light there is a large rust hole. Both doors, fenders, and the hood and trunk will need to be replaced. Under the front fenders i found that the a panels need to be patched, too. there are a few tiny holes on the drivers side rocker but nothing to write home about. All in all - its too rusty to be made into a garage queen and too nice to be left off the road or crushed - so, im going to flare it, roll cage it, and turbo it and make it a flat back rat rod with a turbo body kit and 13x7 wheels. I'll post some pice of the slow progress. It's coming down to bare metal soon.

[H_Krix]

Here's some inspiration:

I've always loved the rat-rod idea. Cant wait to see the progress!

[PSloan]

Thats freakin awesome! Add some round lights and all chome grills and im there.

[Grant]

You need to put up some "before" pics. That was the one '02 you had that I didn't see.

[PSloan]

It's the only one i have now!

[PSloan]

wewt.

[PSloan]

So - i got back to work on that tail panel last night - and when i finally got through all of the bondo - i found that there was a relatively clean, straight tail panel underneath. All of the rust is confined to underneath each tail light. It seems that i should be able to patch up the small holes and still use the panel. I do, however have a LARGE hole where the panel meets the trunk floor under the passengers side tail light - so if anyone has that piece - please let me know!!

[Guest Anonymous]

I have a tail I will be cutting off of a parts car if you are still looking....

-Kyle

kyle.stanley@mchsi.com

[PSloan]

Email me at patrick.sloan2@memorialhermann.org with pics and a price please!!

[PSloan]

Here's some of the parts I've gathered - there's alot more hidden in various bedrooms and nooks............

[PSloan]

And i almost forgot the best one...lol

[Dejammey]

What turbo is that?

[sebandwhit]

Im curious also!

[PSloan]

it's a t04e internally wastegated at 8.4 psi - which is going to go WAY up!

It's an unknown brand - i traded for some parts with a fellow faq member. i'll use it if i can get it to fit my bae manifold

[PSloan]

So, I added a poll at the top. The lower part of my tail panel is like swiss cheese. The rest of the car is OK - i dont understand - but whatever. I'm leaning towards fiberglass.

But - a bit of an update. Got a few parts for her.

nice 6er rear seats

40lb fuel injectors

cutting ring head gasket

electric coolong fan

I'm going to begin experimenting on the block that is in the car. I'm going to run the turbo at current spec - 8.4psi - and tune it and drive it until my new block is built. I'm assuming it will be around 9:1 comp if not a little less. If i blo it up so what - it was a junky motor anyways:)

Now what I need -

turbo flares and air dam------Check!

IE aluminum radiator

MS stuff-------------------------Check!!!

318i fuel rail--------------------Check x 2

325is tb and adapter plate----Half Check

variable tps---------------------Check

o2 sensor

exhaust

Jesus I'm far away!!!!!