Lots of progress last night!
First, the comparison! DSG is noticeably bigger and heavier (and harder to maneuver out of the car too). I'm glad I removed the subframe. I
carefully weighed them on a bathroom scale. Not sure how accurate it is, but DSG came to 181 lbs and 02Q was 109. That doesn't include the clutch, pedal, and shifter, but it still should be a 60-70 lb swing from the front of the car. Nice fringe benefit and adds to the drivers car vs. fast car appeal of the 6spd over the DSG.
Pulled the shift box out while there was lots of room. Still waiting on the manual shift box. I had one shipped from Germany but I suspect it's on a boat--I'll be making a trip to a junkyard for one soon.
I was on the fence about pre-emptively changing the main seal. It was bone dry, so I decided not to mess with something that works. Note the new plate--DSG one wouldn't fit, and was tired anyway I doubt I'd re-use it.
Clutch all set up. Aligned and torqued to spec. Used a new flywheel as well--I had bought one from a junkyard but it had 1-1/4" of travel so it went back. New one had about a 1/4".
And the 02Q all bolted up and mounted.
I still need to bolt up the axles and subframe, put the shift box in, wire up the sensors, and recode using VCDS. I believe I have a pretty good handle on that so this is taking shape nicely.