ok im starting a little project on my 1.6 driver which ive had for a few years. Seeing as im only 19 and ive spent a fair bit of money on my driver already i didnt really want to buy a gti, so i thought i would go the long way round and turn it into a carb run 1.8 simply because i fancy having a bit of a project to buy parts for while im at uni! I have already sourced an 8v gti engine and after stripping it down found out it could do with a rebore. so after many hours reading threads and searching ive found that i can get it rebored to 83 mm which should give 1870cc, however ive also seen that a 1.9 diesel crank can be used to stroke it and turn it into a 2l when combined with the rebore. what i cant find tho is what crank and ideally what cars it was in or where i can find one? , so thought i would ask the experts on here. Also if anyone could share anymore information on the process that would be great! i know a 2l bottom end would be easier and more cost effective but i want to keep it looking the same, mostly for insurance reasons. If anyone can help me that would be great oh yeah before i forget, with a rebore of 83mm what size pistons would be best to use? cheers guys im sure some genius will be able to enlighten me.
Fitting the diesel crank into the short block is best avoided as gives poor rod angles and requires alot of clearancing work too. Never mind the incorrect piston deck height. Going 1800 or 1900 with a rebore is the best option really. Probably cost a lot more than buying a whole decent secondhand 2.0 though.
I have done similar modifications on three of my golfs. I am from South Africa so I dont know whether you will have exactly the same parts available. The best pistons to use come from the 2.5l Audi five cylinder engine, we have them fitted here to the kombi's. They start off at 82mm I believe for the standard piston. I would rather start off there than go straight to the 83mm as this would max out your bore without any room for future work. The crank we used was from the 2L jumbo gti, I think the 2L 16v may also work. The conrods are the standard 1800 GTi rods. This conversion gives plenty of power on a GTi , not sure how it will do on a carb motor but it will definately make a significant difference. This conversion doesnt require any modifications to the 1800 block as everything fits in with enough clearance.
