Elusive 20v Donors

[Monty]

Hi everyone,

I'm Peter - I've been looking around the forums for a little while - I'm trying to plan (and budget) to start a 5EXi build over the summer, but 20v donors are proving hard to find.

I've tried about 10 breakers so far (Greater London, South) with very little success - there was one non-turbo Passat, but I don't see the point in adding cost by buying a longitudinal box (for no gain). Went over to Aldershot this morning to see a 2001 Leon 1.8T, 130,000 miles, with a quote of £800 for them to remove the parts for me. Given the age, I figured it would be an AUQ, 180PS - interestly, however, it's an APG (APG being non-turbo, 125PS) - I can only assume its an APG block with a turbo head assembly.

I'm wary of it, as I have no way of knowing how thoroughly that job was done (if that is actually what was done). Plus, the only thing I could find wrong with the car was the cracked windscreen - the guy said the owner wants a certificate of destruction for it, which I can't help but be a bit suspicious of (and he couldn't understand it either).

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Of the 20v builders amongst you, what donors/engine codes did you use? Are there some to be avoided? And what's a reasonable price to pay (if you're on a budget)?

[limpabit]

Hi.

You will find that most breakers won't give the registration doc.

And as you have found there are some non turbo models out there. There is one 5exi that is Vag non turbo.

Have a look on eBay for salvage ones. Don't really matter which ones. Later ones are supposed to have stronger blocks.

What power are you looking at running? Anything over 330 bhp, start looking at the 2.0tfsi as an option for great project.

What about eBay item 110693237727

[Monty]

Indeed, I asked about the V5 and the guy was pretty adamant I wouldn't be having it. I wasn't too sure if I need the V5 for registration or just the original car details (chassis/engine numbers etc) - I think the former though? (Otherwise it's a Q-plate?)

I'm a 21-year-old auto-eng student and I drive a Grande Punto with 77PS under the bonnet - so frankly, anything over 200PS is already going to be quite quick enough for me, at least to begin with. There seems to be a balance to be found - I need to watch how much I spend now, but also don't want to have massive expenditure a few years down the line when I want more power out of the thing.

I had a look at engines on eBay, but I was hoping to find the donor parts together to try and keep costs down (budget is tight at the moment - manageable, but tight). That one looks interesting - I'll give the guy a call and see what he wants for the other bits...

[limpabit]

Not getting the V5 from breakers is the norm I'm afraid. You really need a salvage car or a car on the road for the registration. No need to worry about engine codes. There will all reach the 200BHP barrier. Going higher means a different turbo and maybe a remap.

Drop nutter a PM and find out how much it costs to build and see if it's within your budget. Your looking at £11-15k budget.

Complete, on the road cars at the minute are about £500-700 when they come up.

[eaa53]

If a Certificate of Destruction has been issued the V5 cannot legally exist.

I also point out that the VIN details of the car and the engine number do not qualify as proof of age. A copy of the V5 before the CoD was issued would be helpful though.

Without proof of age a Q plate is issued.

[nutter]

Greetings.

I got my APP engine from a 2000 seat leon (X-reg) 180PS turbo, 63Kmiles.
I paid a premium (£2000) but I knew what i was getting, it gave me piece of mind that if the engine didnt work it was an install problem and not a kanackered engine.
The engine ran, I drove the donor.
Engine was low mileage 63k.
Running gear was good.
It sounds alot, but i was able to get some money back from selling parts of the car, seats, airbag, and chassis (Scrap metal has a value these days) I have yet to sell my 17" wheels. But these should get me a £100 or so.

I have heard of a cat C insurance writeoff Audi TT write off with BAM engine (225ps) available for £800.


You can also do a search for Audi TT, Audi A3 (But these are rare), skoda octivia. They all use the same engine.

My engine is an APP, the year after came an AUQ, the only difference is secondary air pump was removed on the AUQ.

This VAG Engine codes may help you see the difference on engine codes.

Cheers
Steve

[nutter]

Originally Posted by limpabit

Your looking at £11-15k budget.

Thats what I thought, when starting the build,
But costs add up, for all the little "extras".
Lets just say you can build a 5EXi for £15K, but that will not include the cost of a donor, windscreen, seats wheels or tyres.

Cheers
Steve

[alackofspeed]

Originally Posted by nutter

My engine is an APP, the year after came an AUQ, the only difference is secondary air pump was removed on the AUQ.

This VAG Engine codes may help you see the difference on engine codes.

For further 1.8t information, and to credit the source of the information (my friend's website), have a look here:

http://www.qpeng.com/faqs/engine_faq...they_mean.html

A 2003 Leon Cupra AUQ I removed from a car in 2005, came with a secondary air pump, so I'm not sure it's a given that a later engine won't have one.

As an aside, if you did happen upon a cheap 2.0 tfsi, there are ECU options available now. You can't necessarily use the standard Marlin mounts (you might be able to, but I don't know where the Marlin mounts attach to the block), as the tfsi (BWA and similar blocks) locates ancillaries and the turbo in different locations to the 1.8t.

With regards build costs, I wouldn't be surprised if in many instances the true end figure is double the initial calculated figure!

Not wanting to be a doom-monger, but if you want a capable, light, and fast car, you'd be better off buying a Lotus Elise, renovating it, and fitting a 1.8t (or even a tfsi). If you want to be able to say "I built that", then the Marlin 5EXI will certainly make for an interesting project.

Searching AUQ on ebay seems to bring a healthy number of engines:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_from=...All-Categories

As for VIN / V5 and age related plates. I bought a whole Civic Type-R but had no documentation for it, just the VIN plate. When I applied for a registration plate, my DVLA office checked the VIN and engine number against their records, found the numberplate of my donor, and with this evidence and plenty of pictures, granted me an age related plate. It is not impossible (the DVLA records and search functions are good enough), it just requires persistance.