Mk2 Golf 2.0 8v Conversion

Hi there,

Nice build thread, I'll be watching this with some interest, gong to pick up a mk2 with this engine installed at the weekend :-) I live in Sutton in Ash too so not too far away either

 

Thanks, can't wait to get it running!

Thanks. Hope you enjoy your new car! You should put a thread up for it if you don't have one yet...

 

Not a particularly exciting update but I gave the brake fluid reservoir a scrub and a soak in bleach...

Before:



After:



Saves buying a new one!

 

Do you have any anticipated bhp target for this project?

 

I haven't set any targets for peak figures as results vary so much depending on which rolling road you use.

I also find peak figures can be quite misleading anyway so I'd much rather have decent curves with a good 'spread' of power and torque!

 

Had someone painted that reservoir, or was it just old filthy brake fluid? Came up nicely either way. I find that Aldi Kitchen cleaner (about 80p a bottle) is handy for cleaning stuff. Never tried bleach though.

 

The fluid was fairly clean as I'd replaced it only a few months before the car came off the road. No paint, just dirt, mostly on the outside which is why I think it cleaned up so well! Not sure if the bleach really made a difference, I think warm soapy water and a scouring pad did most of the work

 

Never seen one that bad before. Nice work anyway!

 

It starts! And runs!

I got a bit worried when I first tried to start it as it was really struggling to turn over and wasn't getting any oil pressure. I did a bit of research on here and it turned out I needed to prime the oil pump which I did by taking the dizzy out and using an electric drill on the oil pump drive. Pressure shot up over 5 bar

I tried a few things on the starter motor like cleaning up the connections and earths, I ran a jump lead from the starter to the negative battery terminal which helped a little but it was still very slow at turning over - too slow to fire up. The standard 1.8 starter just wasn't up to the job of turning over a 2.0 with raised compression. In the end I decided to buy a beefier starter motor for a 1.6td and now it whizzes over very nicely.

There was also an issue with the exhaust down pipe fouling the bulkhead which I couldn't understand as I thought it was a standard down pipe. Turns out it's an aftermarket (Magnex I think) part so I had to source an original which has solved the problem. The magnex part will be in the classifieds shortly...

It's running pretty rough at the moment but I haven't set the ignition timing properly yet so that should smooth it out a bit. There's also a small leak from the thermostat housing and the gear linkage needs setting but then it should be ready for the MOT

 

Well it's been for the MOT but unfortunately failed on a couple of little things. Booked in for the retest today but the mechanic ran out of time so I'll have to wait for tomorrow to get it back. Never mind, it will be worth the wait!

On the way to the MOT station it was brilliant, so good to be back in a proper car and I'm very pleased with the engine as it pulls a lot better than I ever thought it would! Well worth the hours I've put into it

Anyway, here's a photo of it before it went for the MOT...

 

Looks nice love BBM! Those wheels suit it really well actually and somehow look bigger that 15" hehe.

 

Bit of a thread revival but I was wondering if you have a figure for the amount you've spent on it, from buying the engine at the start. Been thinking on doing this but the car is a daily so would need to buy block and pb head to have car off the road as little as possible

 

I know this is restarting an old thread but what have you done about the breathers etc on the front of the block I’m basically doing the same thing my self now I’ve got a good low miles agg bottom end a new pb head well almost new it’s a Mexican engine bought a 2e dizzy I’m at the point where I’m gathering bits to build it up as the head in my car has cracked. Also what 4 branch have you ran are you using a mk2 or a mk3 4 branch?

 

I did the same, there's a "flying saucer" breather valve available, for a van or Audi iirc, possibly mk3 either, that has 2 inlets one on the side like the usual outlet. , I piped the block breather into it with some hose. Rocker cover vents as normal into it, and the outlet is the same as mk2.