Thought i would share some photo's of my project mk2 - so far nine months in the making, it should be a lovely shade of black when finished... removed the rear badges and welded over the holes - rear wash/wipe has had the same treatment. it was looking quite multi-coloured until the weekend as alot of the original bolt-on panels were quite battered. i was hoping someone on here might be able to give me some good solid advice about engine mods as the shop aren't a million miles away from having it finished. i am going to be putting a recon engine back in as one of the first things i do when it comes back. i am keen to get some more power under my foot but don't want to move away from a 1.8l 8v engine can anyone recommend a reasonably cheap and reliable way to eek some more power out of these engines - for someone with limited mechanical knowledge but more than willing to have a go at doing it myself...
Thats some project youve got going on there! As for the power question, you may as well get hold of a 2.0 8v block, there isnt actually that much more work involved in fitting one If you really want to keep it 1.8 then your best off going for a ported and polished head and an uprated cam although it really makes sence to just go 2.0 as when you get the need for more power you will probly end up going this way anyway so it just saves time and money in the longrun! Its also a better basis to build on
Yeah agreed as above. Nealey is probably saying the smartest way to go apart from giving it a new set of lungs with a K/n or popping a chip in there. Apart from that and a exhaust with a straight through in there to not much else.
i think i saw someone put a thread up about this a while ago - does anyone have any good advice on these things? have any of you guy's done this conversion before? it sounds like the best way to get some more power out of the golf. do i just need to bottom end or will i need a list of parts from a donor car? sorry for all the new boy questions
I think you're best options are probably the ABF (mk3 gti) or 9a (corrado and passats and things) engines. Both 16 valves of fun. Check out toyotecs guide to installing an ABF in a ridiculously short amount of time: http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133418 Hope this helps
Agghhh more questions already - this was done on a 16v car to begin with and as far as i know the 8 & 16v were very different in the engine bay - can i apply this same guide to my 8v or do i have to go down a different route?
thanks aphex to be fair most of this happened because of the 'handywork' of the previous owner including; arches cut back to allow those ridiclous 16 inch wheels to fit (and left the bare metal exposed) mahoosive exhaust that had melted the back bumper, two passenger seats (where the driver and passenger seat should be) cut wiring with exposed bits all over the engne bay - i could go on but you get the idea i can't wait 'till i get it done.
saved from the clutches of a complete ruude boy as well (gave myself a sly pat on the back for that one)
Lol, at least it's in the hands of someone that knows what they're doing! Another one saved, good work! 2 passenger seats..
i would love to say i would finish first but given that the paint job was only supposed to take a month (went in March) and it is still there - i think you may be triumphant in the end to be fair though the garage have been brilliant even lent me a car (mk3 gti) until he has finished the work and everytime i have been down to see it the work is top notch so i musn't complain to much. How far along is yours?
quick update - SHE'S BACK!! you would not believe how excited i was when she arrived freshly painted and looking oh so good!! pictures are from her final painting in the bodyshop but i am going to take some more tomorrow providing this good weather holds up. If you look at the picture of the back you should see where the badge holes have been covered i will do some more pictures tomorrow with the boot on as well so you can see just how good it looks with a semi-smooth rear end IMG]http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb146/letooms/paintedrear.jpg[/IMG] Progress in the past week is as follows: dashboard out - wires are a complete mess so most of that will need sorting out...somehow... New interior - primed and ready to go, nothing special but it is pristine and looks pretty damm good and it is of course in keeping with the no chave approach to this little project Plastic arches - beleive it or not i have managed to get hold of a genuine post 90 kit for this - brand new (still in the original packaging) and that has now gone on as well! it looks really good right now. Also bought a new set of locks for her as well - all brand new and genuine from VW so one key now fits all. Things to do still: Engine still wont crank over - i think this is the flywheel as the starter motor is still trying to engage but nothing happens from there so i guess that will be a fun job for next week Engine and subframe - still to come out so i can paint the engine bay myself - this doesn't need to be anything special more of an effort to prevent any more rust although even under the battery tray is in really good condition which i am rather happy about. i also need to pick some wheels? and buy some new brakes? any recommendations? i was thinking about some of those ATS cups - i think they do a version that a quite deeply dished which would look awesome on this car!
Great thread mate.. Really got me itching to start mine but funds are an issue[:^(] Yours looks like it will be the nuts.. Good luck and keep us informed
before you start messing with the flywheel. make sure the starter is ok, it seems pretty unlikely that the flywheel is seized, unless the engine is seized. im no mechanic but. take your spark plugs out and try turning the engine by hand. by getting a big spanner on the crank. should turn easy enough if its not seized. also connect your starter to a fully charged battery. if it spins it works, if it clicks it doesnt. doing this will at least tell yo if you need a new starter or if you need to throw the engine away. looks really good so far.
