Hi Guys! New to this forum and I am going to buy a mk2 1.3 in the next few weeks as my first car and was wondering what would be the best mods or upgrades etc to have? I was thinking Gti big bumpers, an air induction kit and an sporty back box. Any more suggestions for the new guy?! Thanks!
big bumpers are heavier which you really do not want on a 1.3, and an air induction kit wont do anything except make the car slower. it might make it a bit louder but thats it sporty back box might change the soundfor the better and make the back end look a bit better but dont expect any performance from there either! in my book you would be better off making the car look nicer and change the interior so its a better place to sit. leave the performance mods for now till you can afford a bigger engine. decent suspension should be high on the list of things to do, that'll help the handling. can get good power from the smaller engines, 1.4 block from a mk3 is a good start with a polo gt cam in it. you'll have to switch to an electric fuel pump if its out of a mk3 polo as it has no fuel pump drive on it, or you could go for a polo 1.4 16v lump which will give a nice boost in power without increasign the road tax. keep the car light and it'll be pretty nippy!
Leave it alone! Fitting big bumpers will make it look like exactly what it is - a base spec car with retro gti bits bodged on - not a good look. Likewise a induction kit is a waste of time, and a "sports backbox" will just make it more noisey. You want to play on the strengths of the car - the nice thing about 1.3s is they were pretty basic so are nice and clean visually (no arch spats etc). If it were mine I'd add some 14" steels or 14/15" BBS alloys, drop it an inch or so on Gti suspension (shocks, springs, rear beam and front wishbones and anti-roll bars) to improve the handling and leave it at that. Subtlety is the key
Make it look pretty, otherwise don't waste your money and just accept that you drive the slowest car on the road
Low and slow. If you drive fast the pretty ladies can't check you out. Better brakes, pick up a set of 256mm vented discs/ calipers as everyone fits 280's so should be cheap. better suspension, either a fixed rate springs and dampers kit or if you must, coilovers (but you gat what you pay for) Better tyres and or wheels, only bit of car in contact with road so no worth skimping on. It will also make the most of any improvements you make to suspension, brakes etc. Better sound system (it makes driving slowly more pleasurable). This will make you a better driver in the long run as you will plan well ahead so you don't have to brake too much and waste precious time winding the 1.3 back up. Don't add aftermarket gti bumpers or other tat from halfords. All it does is adds weight, makes you poor and makes the car look naff. Skinny bumpers are on the way back in so hold onto them. Good luck and enjoy the experience.
Small bumpers look better anyway Look after in till you can afford a Gti, save your money and drive carfully to avoid getting points. Otherwise the dreams of a Gti will be further than you would ever think!
twin choke webber carb FTW!!! i had a 1.3 myself. fitted a full system exhaust along with the carb and a set of alloys. nothing too fancy. i went down the route of colour coding and smoothing the bodywork. 1.3 mk2;s good cheap fun
Thanks! Thanks for all your help So it looks like the best things I can do is lower it and put some alloys on, and keep the weight down, thanks again
Bike carbs and Polo GT cam are your best power mods. Other than that better brakes and suspension, its not straight line speed that counts its not slowing down for the corners that does
note tho with the gt cam you'll also have to fit an electric fuel pump as polo mk3 cams dont have lobe on to drive the fuel pump
If the car is one you intend to keep for a long time e.g. in 2 years convert to 1.8T or VR6, then buy bits that will match this or avoid buying bits that won't e.g. brakes/ exhaust/ suspension that won't be able to handle a more powerful engine. If you plan to buy a MK2 Gti at a later date then buy things that can be transferred over e.g. nice wheels, lights, grille, decent head unit To improve the looks of a 1.3 all you need is: -Bigger chin spoiler from a GTI -Half smoked rear lights -Black VW badge A budget lower suspension kit is a good idea for 1.3 as they sit fairly high up (I didn't do this on my 1.3 as it was only cheap to get to work and back)
I'd get a smashed up 6n polo and rob all the engine, box and fuel system for a stealth 1.4 SPi upgrade, with a nice dose of extra power, economy and releability. Maybe rob the front seats too. 1.6 SPi is also possible. Although i feel you'd need to start upgrading other parts of the car to keep it balance. Go for a 1.4 MPi model if you're thinking of going for more serious tuning later, the high pressure fuel system on that will be harder to implent though.
i agree with what has already been said. subtlety is the key. there is nothing worse than a car trying too hard to look like a higher spec. there are plenty of things that you could do though in terms of adding gti bits, interior, wheels, suspension. post up some pics of the car.
personally i wouldnt bother converting a complete mpi system into that car unless it was something like a 1.4 16v lump, you're putting in a lot of effort with wiring etc for an engine which isnt really that amazing. though if you want to do it i'll be happy to make you a loom, 1.4 mpi is one i havent done yet if the old carby is in good condition they run very nicely though, my old 1.6 driver was amazing on fuel and never let me down. i would just concentrate on making it handle and stop well, and make it a nice place to sit. worst thing about the poverty spec mk2 is the interior! then after you have a year or 2 no claims look at some engines and costs, i think a 1.4 16v would be a great choice for a 2nd engine, it should be reasonable to insure and it'll still have good poke and economy yet still in the cheap tax bracket
Why not just take the loom, ECU, dash, etc out of the donor car complete and just arrange a healthy, switched electrically supply for the lot?
I dont like running 2 fuseboxes in a car, its a bit of a bodgeup method in my book, especially since you'll still need to splice some wires between them which pretty much defeats the point. it can be made to work but its just messey in my view, plus I dont like the mk4 type fusebox its a real step backwards from CE2 as they have gone back to bundling great lumps of loom together, unlike CE2 where everything is modular. If it was going to be done I would splice MK2 plugs on and run it all off the original fusebox. But thats just me! plus after all that you'll still end up with a engine which isnt really that much better than the one you had, mpi is nice yes but a well tuned carb is still going to be very economical and reliable. we have the 1.4 mpi lump in our SEAT Ibiza and its a bit underwhelming, yeah its in a heavy car but I dont think its worth fitting to a MK2 really. plus service parts for them are more expensive and difficult to find (compared to a mk2 1.3) the coilpacks arnt great for reliability vs the old skool mk2 coil which usually will outlive the car! if you want 1.4 you could just pop in a 1.4 ABD lump from a MK3 Golf or SEAT Ibiza instead, pretty much direct swap no messing. change cam for the old mk2 one and bolt everything on as before. As I say, if you were going to all the effort of a full on MPI engine swap with all the loom I would go for the 1.4 16v engine to make it more worth your while. plus you can convert it to use a mk2 coil, same as the MK3 engines.
I always thought the early non-PAS 1.4 mk3s were quiet impressive relative to mk2 1.3s and 1.6s. So I extrapolate that one of those 1.4 SPi's would be just the job in a lighter mk2.
I'm not saying the power in the mpi is bad or anything, it would be fine in the mk2 as you say. its just pouring in all the extra effort with all the mpi gubbins wouldn't really gain you much over running a 1.4 lump on a well running std carby or a shiny webber is what I'm trying to say. just imo if you want to convert it to mpi fuel injection make it something a bit more perky i say, 16v lump or maybe 1.4 abd engine with polo gt cam and management
