Hello everybody! I’m preparing for an engine swap which will take place this spring or summer on my 1985 Golf Mk2 1.3l. This has been in my family since new, my grandpa bought it, my dad had it as his first car, it stood in a barn for about 14 years, and now I’ve resurrected it and I’m trying to improve it a little bit! So, I need a little bit of advice on how I should proceed, I’ll list what I have currently: 1.8 KR from 1986 Scirrocco, which has the intake manifold, k-jettronic assembly with fuel lines, the ecu boxes, but NO loom in between them (the seller had no idea where the loom is) A fuel tank from Mk3 Vento And of course, my 1.3l Mk2 Golf with a 4 speed gearbox From my understanding, the engine should just drop in without problems. The gearbox should match the engine also. I’m just trying to make this work, so I’m not looking to make huge hp’s. I’m a bit torn if I should try to source a loom from eBay to make this entire thing work, or if I should convert it to carburetors. Then the fuel supply is also confusing, if I choose to go the k-jettronic route I would have to figure out how that system works, and then figure out if I can use the Mk2 Vento fuel tank and pump to make it work with the k-jettronic fuel system. It feels like the cost for either direction I go is pretty equal, so I would like to ask you guys for any input, tips and trip, and opinion on how I could make this all go togheter.
base engine is essentially the same yes, but you'll need a lot of parts to convert the 1.3 unfortunately, and the mk3 fuel tank is useless if you want kjet. all 3 engine mount brackets from 1.6-1.8 mk2, your mounts can be kept but may as well renew those while there full set of gear linkages front to back including gearstick assembly from 1.6-1.8 mk2 100mm driveshafts from gti 8v or 16v mk2, 4 cylinder corrado also work plus seat ibiza/toledo/cordoba up to 01, polo saloon & estate & caddy van. to name a few complete exhaust system front to back including manifold + downpipe (the rocco manifold+downpipe is worth a bit though if you have it) complete fuel system from the engine bay of a 16v, including inlet manifold. one or 2 bits like injectors, wur and metering head can be used from rocco but most of it is wrong (but worth good money, especially the inlet) under car fuel pump and lines from kjet 8v or 16v mk2, plus corrado 16v 1.8 and 2.0 will work lift pump from any gti mk2, early corrado also work. drops right in the carb tank clutch and speedo cable from any 1.6-1.8 mk2, accelerator cable any gti or 16v mk2 engine loom, ideally matched to fusebox but you can use your 1.3 loom to convert. chances are it'll need attention anyway... 16v badges front and rear, so everyone knows what you've done late corrado 16v lift pump would actually fit in the mk3 fuel tank, so thats a potential idea if you wanted to swap the tank for future upgrade. on the fuel pump as its a KR you need the 60mm one, not the lame 42mm version brakes would be an idea to upgrade, at the very least get VWII calipers and mounting bolts then 239mm vented discs can be used. but I would go at least 256mm. at the back drums can stay they dont do much, discs do look more 'luxury' though the brake servo is larger on the 1.8 models, but you dont HAVE to change it. can be done later but much easier while engine is out
going carbs would save you a bit of effort, you would still need most of the mechanical bits but the only bit of loom you would need is the 16v ecu section which drops on top of the original wiring in place of the old ignition harness to dizzy (assuming its electronic ignition) or you could go for aftermarket ignition. your 1.3 loom would need a few mods to suit big block, starter and dash sensors the main thing. if you go aftermarket efi you can use the mk3 tank, but its a bit of a faff to get the KR fitted with injectors unless you switch it up using SEAT ADL or MK3 ABF parts
From the work involved above you would be far better off buying a scrappy mk3 GTi and using everything from this to drop into yours. We did exactly this and once everything was checked and prepared it took two of us a week to convert in a single garage. Not only this but we then sold everything else off the mk3 and made a profit. We paid £900 for the mk3 running with MOT. Used the engine, gearbox, front subframe, fuel tank and sold the rest but by bit. You will also be able to sell your kr engine. We ended up scrapping the 1.3, no one was interested in but did sell the carb and some ancillaries and the gearbox.
Thank you for this very thorough response! I actually have a few of these parts you mention: driveshafts, Mk2 GTI gearbox, big front brakes, the complete fuel system and inlet manifold which came with the engine But you say that the inlet is worth good money ey? If I decide to go the carb route, what would be a good asking price for the entire fuel, inlet, k-jet set? And I didn't even think about the 16v badges, but now I need to get myself some badges The loom seems quite tricky to get ahold of, I've seen 2 for sale on eBay but I'll keep watching and maybe, just maybe some more will be posted. The brake servo seems like a good idea to change, just to be safe And the exhaust, I've always wanted to try and weld my own exhaust system from front to back, so I'll have a go myself and see if I can actually weld it myself, it might not be pretty but it's just for fun and learning
That's a good idea, but I've recently checked the Finnish market and the cheapest mk3 gti that I can find is 2700€ in decent condition, which seems a bit too much to spend as I've already got the engine and a few other bits and pieces.
If I choose the carbs route, this is a kit I've been eyeballing: https://danstengineering.co.uk/Carb...sion-Packages-Volkswagen/VWKR-deluxe-carb-kit You get the manifold, carbs, mc fuel pump, ignition ecu, throttle linkage kit, I mean in theory I should just be able to slap this on the engine and it should work... right? Then I wouldn't have to worry about getting an Ecu for the engine as this kit has it's own ecu to control the ignition, and the fuel pump just, well... exists and pushes fuel, and I think I can use the Mk2 fuel tank in this case as my engine has the fuel pump on top, so i should just be able to drop this mc fuel pump somewhere near the tank and it should do its thing The more I look at this, the carbs route seem like such a simple way to go in terms of engine management and installation overall (and it would sound pretty awesome), but then again that would remove the entire aspect of making it start easily in the winter so yeah... decisions decisions...
A well set up carb conversion should have no problem starting in winter. Most recent carbs will have choke plungers (normally on a slide rail), well worth running a cable into to car so you can operate the chokes. I've got a mint set if R1 carbs that I was going to fit to my MK2 16v but decided to stay with Megasquirt and Supercharger in the end. It won't be OEM cold performance but good enough imho.
I went triumph throttle bodies on my 911 with mega squirt and used DanST inlet manifolds and trumpets. Dan is a pleasant and helpful guy and I would definitely use him again.
I would recommend a kjet fuel relay if your ignition ecu hasnt got a relay trigger,. that way it'll trigger off the rev counter signal and cut out if you crash as for prices, you'll have to look around on fb groups, ebay etc see what the current money is. I've not seen any for a very long time and even back then the prices were pretty eye watering the main thing is the inlet as the G60 16v guys want them, and the exhaust manifold/dp as the MK1 guys want them. the rocco injection system & inlet is also obv good for mk1 guys as well, but generally they just use the mk2 stuff and mod the airbox to sit on the right side as its way cheaper
