VW Caddy mk2 (Felicia) Pick-Up

[Bete Noir]

Having reluctantly decided that my Felicia pick-up was too tired to be a good base for my plans, I spent months looking for another. Although I have owned VAG cars for many years, I had not previously owned a VW, but the pick-up that I found was a Caddy, so I hope you will tolerate a thread about a VW on a Skoda site.

 

When I bought it, it looked like this (bear with me, it gets better!).

 

 

 

 

 

It is a 1.9D, which has previously had a substantial amount of effort put into sorting the bodywork, which is what was most important. Coincidentally, I bought it from the same place (Peterborough) as I bought my Felicia pick-up.

[Bete Noir]

The rear spoiler did not last 24 hours in my ownership, and the white alloy wheels were sold to be replaced by Renault 15" steels, to which I fitted Felicia hubcaps with VW badges.

 

 

 

Over the course of the subsequent months, my son and I removed the vinyl wrap, spotlights, bull bar, side window tints, rear window paint (seriously!), rear step, front splitter, sun strip, and a lot of bright red painted parts from the interior. The registration was put on retention, and I assigned the personal plate I had taken off my Felicia.

 

Apart from a bit of attention to the electrics, no effort was required to keep it running for the next few months. The cooling was a bit marginal, possibly as a function of the non-standard front bumper, but everything else seemed to work as it should.

 

I do not know what make the lowering springs are, or whether the dampers have also been uprated, but the handling is quite solid and predictable, enough to give confidence that it can handle more power, which is fortunate....

[Bete Noir]

The checker-plate load cover was vandalised, apparently by someone who did not realise that the way to get into the back was to open the tailgate! I may replace that at some point, but in the meantime I have fitted a tonneau cover. Not having the rigid load cover meant that I was not constrained to only carry level loads, which proved useful more than once.

 

This picture was taken before the tonneau was fitted.

 

Making my own Fun 

[Bete Noir]

Fitting the tonneau actually required a trip to the body shop, as when the rigid load cover had been fitted a strip of steel had been welded over the tonneau channel on the cab back. This had to be removed and the channel painted, and I also got the bonnet painted as I had had some louvres put into it, plus a cut-out in the slam panel.

 

This shot is from before the trip to the body shop, obviously.

Edited 12 November, 2017 by Bete Noir

[Bete Noir]

Prep work complete, the Caddy, and my Felicia 1.8T, went to JKM, where Jim and his men set about modding the Caddy chassis legs to take the mk4 Golf mounts, and replicating all of the clever fabrication that TeflonTom had done on the Felicia, and written about on the associated (and very helpful) Felicia 1.8T transplant thread. Before photobucket decided to be unhelpful, I had made copies of all of Tom's posts (including the pictures) which I sorted into a how to manual for JKM.

 

 

 

 

[Bete Noir]

All the transplant bits which Tom had fitted to the Felicia with a combination of inspiration and perspiration were swapped onto the Caddy without requiring much of either (especially from me). The result is that I now have a Caddy with 1.8T power, which I am most chuffed with.

 

 

 

 

I have to admit to feeling a bit of a cheat, as ordinarily I am a 'built not bought' disciple, but I had to accept that this transplant was beyond my level of expertise. I hope that TeflonTom and Jim felicia16v who owned and developed the Felicia before me are not too disappointed that I have used it as a donor. It was always my plan to do so, and the Felicia's sills had got to the state where some surgery was required to keep it going, which made me feel fractionally less guilty about taking it to pieces.

 

Outwardly, the Caddy gives few clues to its potency, with only the side exit exhaust really giving it away.

 

[Titanium_Man]

Lovin this, been considering getting rid of my two modded Fabia’s to fund such a project myself. 

 

 

[@Lee]

Isn't the Caddy 9U a VW badged Skoda? Or is it the other way round?

[Bete Noir]

6 minutes ago, Lee01 said:

Isn't the Caddy 9U a VW badged Skoda? Or is it the other way round?

 

It is. Made in the same factory as the Felicia versions.

[Bete Noir]

I have a very long to do list for this pick-up, but I am not too proud to go for the odd quick win. I am aiming for it to look OEM (maybe OEM+) so I bought an engine cover to tidy-up the engine bay. A very minor detail but I also sourced a new grommet for the bonnet stay as the old one had stopped serving any useful purpose some time ago, judging by the state of it.

After I took this picture I realised that trapping the throttle cable under the cover was not the brightest move, as it was struggling to return to its correct idle position due to the cable being constricted. That is now sorted, although it looked tidier with the cable under the cover 

 

I took another shot of the whole pick-up, this time in more favourable light. From this angle you can see that the louvres look quite subtle now that the bonnet has been painted. The front bumper, which could be off a Polo, is not giving the airflow required for effective cooling, so I will be replacing it with the Felicia one that was previously modified to accommodate the intercooler and pipework. I am not a fan of the current bumper so I am happy to swap it. There is an original grille which will also be fitted, once I have sourced a replacement VW badge for the centre.

[nu99et18]

For a more OEM bay you could try fitting a mk4 Golf airbox, which is also the OEM place that the ignition amp bolts to. Petty, but could change the blue hose off the throttle body to a black one and give that washer bottle a good clean!

Oh and that front bumper I'm sure is off a mk3 Golf, missing the splitter.

[Bete Noir]

I like the idea of the mk4 Golf airbox, I may well try that. I am not happy with the cone filter sitting in the middle of the nice warm engine bay so I was planning on doing something to address that anyway (long to do list, as I mentioned). Not sure what I am going to do about hoses, including the blue one on the throttle body. I have a few blue silicone hoses on my 1.8T Ibiza donor car, which I am not intending to use on the Ibiza track project, so the Caddy may end-up with more blue hoses rather than less, contrary to my OEM-look aspiration. The washer bottle has been (badly) painted black, and will shortly be replaced with one which has not been painted.

 

You are probably right about the bumper. Whatever it is, the only airflow it is currently allowing is over the intercooler pipe that runs across the bottom of the FMIC, so it will be replaced by the Felicia bumper that was modified to clear the intercooler and fittings, and allow greater airflow, on my Felicia 1.8T. I never intended that the rogue bumper on the Caddy should be re-fitted after the transplant, but I failed to mention that to JKM so they assumed (quite fairly) that was what I wanted

[Bete Noir]

When I took the Golf(?) front bumper off, the Caddy resembled something out of Mad Max.

 

The crash bar had been mutilated, presumably to enable the non-standard bumper to fit. Fortunately I had the crash bar off the Felicia to replace it.

 

The top bumper brackets had been removed, but I robbed those from the Felicia too. After those and the crash bar had been painted black and fitted, the bumper from the Felicia went on without problems.

 

With the Felicia bumper and a standard grille fitted, the front end is looking much more like it should.

 

Both the front and rear bumpers will be getting a respray in black at some point, but that is some way off the top of my priorities at the moment. As it is, I am really pleased with the way the front end now looks much more standard.

Edited 2 March, 2018 by Bete Noir

[pinjon]

Did the felicia 1.8t loom fit or you had to modify that too? Getting the rpm signal to the original clocks from the 1.8t ecu? This was a problem in the felicia conversion too if I remember right.

Great lookin sleeper you've made! Must be superfun to take on some BMWs. I would pay for a photo of their faces when you smoke them. Priceless.

[Bete Noir]

The engine loom from the Felicia 1.8T was spliced-in to the Caddy's original loom. As the Caddy was a diesel, we thought that might be problematic, but it was more straightforward than swapping more of the loom form the Felicia, which I had thought might be the way to go. The diesel clocks were swapped for a set from a petrol car, and the diesel dash loom had the connection from the fuse box to drive the rev counter, which works fine. I only wish the mechanically-driven speedometer was as easy, that is proving unreliable currently.

 

I have had a few angry reactions from people who have fallen victim to this Caddy's performance. One or two have smiled and given the thumbs-up, but a higher proportion have suffered a sense of humour failure. I am not sure which I enjoy more, if I am honest 

[pinjon]

I'm tempted to take out the afh and do a 1.8t. It would be illegal here. I could hide it with a nice 1.6 engine cover but I don't know what to do with the turbo. They didn't notice the afh but the 1.8t it's a whole different beast.

I could do all the mecchanics but I'm scared off by the electric stuf. I know a thing or two about electrics but not at home with ecu/clocs connections. I would like to keep standard felicia clocks if it's possible.

I don't know where the clocks get the signals for low oil, rpm and temp. Is that directly from engine sensors or from engine ecu?

Than there is the obd for diagnostics and the different  AGU ecu.

Does that all work on your car (was working on the felicia)?

 

Just be carefull that someone angry doesn't push you offroad instead of loosig a drag race with a caddy truck. I had some fun with the afh but it's not as nearly as brutal as what you have built.

 

 

[Bete Noir]

The signals for low oil pressure, engine rpm and coolant temp. all go direct from engine sensors to the instrument cluster. The diagnostics connector works fine in the Caddy, I never had reason to find out if it worked in the Felicia. This connector only needs three pins connected: 12v, earth, and the K-line from the ECU, so it is pretty straightforward.

 

I have been driving modified cars (Q-cars mostly) for many years. The most common hazard has always been other drivers assuming I am going slower than I am and consequently pulling-out in front of me, rather than people getting aggressive in response to their (perceived) humiliation.

[nu99et18]

20 hours ago, pinjon said:

I'm tempted to take out the afh and do a 1.8t. It would be illegal here. I could hide it with a nice 1.6 engine cover but I don't know what to do with the turbo. They didn't notice the afh but the 1.8t it's a whole different beast.

I could do all the mecchanics but I'm scared off by the electric stuf. I know a thing or two about electrics but not at home with ecu/clocs connections. I would like to keep standard felicia clocks if it's possible.

I don't know where the clocks get the signals for low oil, rpm and temp. Is that directly from engine sensors or from engine ecu?

Than there is the obd for diagnostics and the different  AGU ecu.

Does that all work on your car (was working on the felicia)?

 

Just be carefull that someone angry doesn't push you offroad instead of loosig a drag race with a caddy truck. I had some fun with the afh but it's not as nearly as brutal as what you have built.

 

 

The wiring is fairly straight forward, you shouldn't even have to touch the fuse box or the clocks. If you splice the Felicia engine loom with the 1.8t AGU engine loom then it will be plug and play and everything on the Felicia will work as it should.

This link is very handy although it's for a mk2 Golf conversion all the information is there, all the pinouts etc so you can workout what you need. I've just used this to get a 1.8t AGU engine running in my mates Mk4 Escort of all things! 

http://clubgti.com/showthread.php?267196-OEM-MK4-management-wiring-gt-Mk1-2-3-harness-install-FAQ-(Now-with-added-dieselness!)

However if it's illegal i highly doubt you would be able to hide a 1.8t in there, might be better making your 1.4 AFH into a 1.6 AFH and tuning that!

[pinjon]

Thanks for the link.

I made a few phonecalls and there is no way you can make it legal in a felicia.

I'm very dissapointed about that. Some people have exported a modified car to germany. Made the car legal there an export it back here. Don't ask me why It's possible that way. To make it short It's 'I bought it that way.' Yea right.

Anyway you can't build it here and meke it legal.

 

Already running a 1.6 AFH. Maybe I'll try to run an AFH on an AGU ecu with a K03. I know It's insanity and ALOT of troubles but it would be interesting. That way everything remains the same exept the engine.

Better choice is change the car, I know, but you loose all the fun that way. That's why you built the caddy. You probably can understand this kind of insane projects.

[pinjon]

If I remember right  1.8t Ibizas have the TB on the right handside? (and the TT also) You could use that inlet mani and make the turbo tubbing way shorter with less turns. Would add a few HP maybe.

I likevery much the OEM looking caddy. You could put an ampty toolbox behind to look like you are going from/to work. 

[Bete Noir]

5 hours ago, pinjon said:

Already running a 1.6 AFH. Maybe I'll try to run an AFH on an AGU ecu with a K03. I know It's insanity and ALOT of troubles but it would be interesting. That way everything remains the same exept the engine.

Better choice is change the car, I know, but you loose all the fun that way. That's why you built the caddy. You probably can understand this kind of insane projects.

 

Absolutely I understand. I posted elsewhere on the forum about the special satisfaction that comes from taking victims when you are driving a modified car, most especially one that you have modified yourself.

 

4 hours ago, pinjon said:

If I remember right  1.8t Ibizas have the TB on the right handside? (and the TT also) You could use that inlet mani and make the turbo tubbing way shorter with less turns. Would add a few HP maybe.

I likevery much the OEM looking caddy. You could put an ampty toolbox behind to look like you are going from/to work. 

 

1.8T Ibizas, now you are talking!  Mine both have the throttle body on the offside, although neither of them came out of the factory with the 1.8T engine installed.

 

 

 

My mk1 Leon Cupra R did have the throttle body on the nearside, and there is probably some advantage to be had from that. With the Caddy, I am not trying to squeeze more power out of it (at least not at the moment ). It probably makes around 200bhp as it is, and that is enough for plenty of fun.

 

I generally have the tonneau cover on, so no-one can see what I have in the back. When I collected the diesel engine from JKM, and it was clearly visible in the back, I did cause some amusement to a driver of a more modern Caddy when I went flying past him 

[nu99et18]

I doubt AFH could be ran on a AGU ECU though I've never looked into it! 

I'm sure it could be done on a standalone ECU like Emerald or Megasquirt. But then I doubt the AFH could take much boost as standard and even with lowered compression I'm not sure the rods/pistons/valves would be happy! But I'm sure it has been done and the information is out there! 

Regarding the throttle body the nearside sided inlet manifolds are small port where as the AGU is offside and large port so you would possibly loose some HP but might gain in torque but not sure the gains/losses would be much on a K03 turbo.

Also the intercooler piping can be routed shorter which ever way you have the manifold makes no real difference, personally I think there's more room with AGU manifold.

Easiest upgrade for you @Bete Noir would be a k03s or k03 hybrid, straight swap and could see 250bhp+ with a remap, injectors etc

 

[Bete Noir]

10 hours ago, nu99et18 said:

Easiest upgrade for you @Bete Noir would be a k03s or k03 hybrid, straight swap and could see 250bhp+ with a remap, injectors etc

 

 

That would be true (and obvious ) if I were trying to squeeze more power out of it, but as I said above I am not in that situation, so it is academic. What you have described there is actually what I have in one of my Ibizas.

Edited 27 March, 2018 by Bete Noir

[Bete Noir]

When the engine and gearbox were swapped, the Caddy’s original speedo cable was re-fitted, rather than the Golf item that had been in the Felicia with the same running gear. Initially, it worked OK, but that did not last long. When I disconnected the cable at the speedo end, I found that the inner cable was broken near to the gearbox. Detaching the cable from the gearbox sender was very awkward, even after the air filter was removed and the gearshift cables were moved out of the way. The only way I could get the speedo cable fitting to turn was with mole grips, and the space was so restricted I could only turn it a tiny amount each time before I had to remove the grips and re-position them. When this had been going-on for what seemed like ages, I realised that the cable was still tightly screwed-on to the sender, and it was the sender which was unscrewing from the gearbox. Further faffing about then ensued to finally get the cable off the sender, and the sender back in the gearbox.

 

Fitting the Golf speedo cable was a breeze in comparison, especially at the speedo end, where the extra length of the Golf cable over the Caddy one was a game-changer. When I took it out for a drive, however, the speedo worked for just a few seconds, then stopped 

 

I had the instrument cluster out three or four times trying to get the speedo working again. Having struggled to get the steering column back in position after lowering it to get the instrument cluster out, I decided I needed to make it a bit easier.

 

I bought four M8x80mm bolts, and nuts, and after removing the steering column mounting bolts one at a time I replaced them with the 80mm bolts, with the nuts wound-up to keep the column in position.

 

Once all four long bolts are in place, the nuts can be wound-down by hand to lower the column so the instrument binnacle and surround can come out.

 

To find out if the problem was with the speedo cable, the sender, or the speedo itself, I disconnected the cable at the speedo end (again) and poked it round the side of the instruments so I could see it from the driving seat. I found a piece of heatshrink to push onto the end of the inner cable, so I could easily see whether or not it was spinning.

 

When I took the Caddy out for a drive the inner cable spun, but only momentarily. After pulling-over two or three times to fiddle with the inner cable, I succeeded in getting it to go further into the sender than it had previously. Problem solved 

[Bete Noir]

It is probably stating the obvious, but when the steering column needs to be returned to position, the nuts can be wound back up by hand until the column is where it needs to be, then each of the long bolts can be replaced one at a time with the ‘proper’ bolts. It is so much easier than trying to hold the column in place while lining-up the bolts along with the associated spacers, washers etc.