If you feel the
urge to drift, you have many off the shelf options – but if you want to
make a statement and go sideways in style, converting an iconic
front-wheel drive hot hatch to RWD for drift duty is the only way to go.
But why go to all that trouble? Because you can of course… I
know that sounds like a classic get out clause, just like when someone
says, ‘If you have to ask why, you’ll never understand’. But you know
what? They’re cliches because they’re true. Sometimes you’re left with a
spare engine and a drunken idea takes shape, or a friend lays down a
challenge. Or maybe you just like the shape of a Mk1 Golf and the idea
of re-powering one with a Volvo engine and drive being sent to the rear
wheels. The
other problem with asking those questions, is quite often the people
who do the stuff you’re questioning simply can’t answer you. That’s what
the passion we have for automotive culture can do – it can take away
your powers of logic and sensibility, leaving you with a heavy attitude
of ‘I can do that’. Which is how Simon Jonsson ended up with the
creation I’m about to show you. So
rather than have him justify the ‘why’ when he told me he wanted to go
drifting and he needed a RWD car for that, I just thought fair play –
that’ll do for me. Sometimes that’s as good as a crazy set of
circumstances that lead to a project ending up somewhere totally random.
The view under the bonnet is what caught my eye first when I saw the
Golf, because let’s face it – there’s not a lot that really stands out
on the exterior. Or
maybe there is? Those are five-stud wheels, huh? Because the Mk1 Golf
is 4×100 of course… So to the trained eye, the clues are there if you
look closely enough. Volvo front struts explain the first image in this
chapter (you noticed it was five-stud then, right?), those 15×7-inch OZ
Racing mesh wheels being a pretty perfect Volvo RWD offset of ET23. To
compliment the front (and to keep donor cars to a minimum) at the back
there’s a Volvo 1030 solid axle, which started life under an early 240
model. Mounted in its new home on a custom four-link set-up, you can
just see the lower bars of it here. Which
also explains the extra flare on the arches, as Simon had to add 30mm
each side to cover the wheels. It was either that or having to narrow
the axle, which would have been more costly, but perhaps only a little
more difficult to achieve in the long run. The flares mimic the original
Mk1 Golf black plastic trims pretty well. The
only other external changes are the handmade alloy bumper bars, but
even these are somewhat in keeping with how the originals would look
though. Paint them black and a large percentage of people who saw them
would probably be fooled. Get
closer and it’s harder to ignore the signs. Sure, at night the yellow
headlamps might not be so great, but they are just plain cool and I’ve
always been a fan purely for aesthetic reasons. The two air intakes are
far more obvious at this distance, with the left-hand pipe feeding
straight into the mouth of the turbo. It
must have been hard to resist making the Golf stand out more. There’s
no wild body kit or even polycarbonate windows screaming ‘race car’,
just the body mods I’ve mentioned and some tinted rear lights. Oh, and
the Volvo candy red paint job.
But as restrained as it is on the surface, it’s like a lava flow of crazy underneath…
SECOND CHAPTER
Volvo For Life
The
Golf has got a relatively short wheelbase compared to the larger Volvo
monocoque that the engine, gearbox and other driveline and suspension
components would have called home originally. To be precise, the Golf is
2,400mm (94.5 inches) between wheel centres and the Volvo 240 is
2,649mm (104.3 inches), so that extra 26 and a bit centimetres means
there is some clever chopping going on here. First
up you’ve got to deal with the main obstacle of the Golf originally
being FWD. After all, VW designed this space for the transverse-mount
four cylinder engine to sit neatly across the front end. But
if you want to turn the engine through 90 degrees and have it pointing
the power to the back end, that bulkhead needs chopping out. But that’s
just the start, because when you cut a hole you’re weakening the shell
and that’s not good. The
engine hasn’t been left standard either. I guess if you’re going to the
trouble of slotting in something random then strong H-beam rods with
ARP bolts, a VX3 cam and some other neat upgrades are to be expected.
Running on E85, this ups the standard B230 power figure from the
170hp-odd that it would have had originally, to circa 260hp at the
Golf’s rear wheels. Take
a look inside the driver’s footwell and you can see the start of the
custom-built transmission tunnel and the cage, which although is bolted
in, is mounted on proper boxed feet. Whereas
the gearbox would have originally sat in the engine bay on the end of
the VW motor, now it’s in between the driver and passenger seat. Again,
instead of going for a motorsport-inspired shifter or even an
aftermarket gear knob, Simon has used an original Volvo five-speed
topper. But then when I asked what gearbox he’s using, he tells me it’s a
BMW ZF five-speed! Which gives me another head scratching moment… Here’s
a clearer view of the basic home brew tunnel. Simon is very modest
about the build and when I first spoke to him he was quite surprised
that I wanted to shoot a feature. But the fact this has all been built with basic tools at home and a MIG welder means it’s more about inspiration than fabrication skills. Because
the engine and box protrude into the passenger area much more than the
originals, the whole driving position has had to shift back to
accommodate them. You’ve already seen the new pedal box, but
furthermore, the steering wheel boss has been extended with the column
being dropped a few inches to keep the angle good. Now
if you look again you can see the Sparco bucket seats are mounted quite
a way back compared to where the standard seats would be. Although the
benefits might be small, little things like this will always help with
weight distribution in the search for that perfect 50/50 split. In
the rear the standard floor was completely cut out and replaced with a
flat panel. The battery has been offset (again for weight distribution
when there’s only a driver in place), and is now held in place between
the rear strut brace and rollcage. The
Golf is still very much a fresh build and Simon hasn’t really had much
of a chance to get it properly sideways. But with a power figure of
roughly 260hp at the wheels and an all-up weight of what – maybe 1000kg
or less – it’s like meeting your new best friend. You don’t really know
each other, but you know it’s the start of something really special.
Няма коментари:
Публикуване на коментар