Hi all! So yesterday after several months of searching (years of yearning) i final purchased a 92' Mk2 8v GTI! And can i just say WOW!! What an absolute pleasure she is to drive! After my parents owning a 16v'er when i was around 6-8 the image was engraved in my head! 17 years later and due to the unfortunate demise of my 1.4 Mk4 I've laid my hands on a gem of an 8v'er in a lovely Oak Green! I', thrilled to bit with her pics to follow! Adam
Sounds perfect for a 16v conversion and as a bonus you can weight the 8v in for scrap as it's value is quite high at the moment
A sound start to GTI ownership. Being the 8-valve model means it's all onwards and upwards from there
Actually, have a look. You will be surprised. Engine technology has come on leaps and bounds and some manufacturers are returning to 8v designs. I was looking at a car the other day that varies the cam lift depending on requirements. Only just opens the valves on tickover as there is no need for full lift at this rpm. Friction losses reduced, emissions improved etc. The one huge failing of the VW 16 engine is the shockingly bad design of the head, in so many ways too. I am a VW fan, do not get me wrong, but it was marketing that pushed the design into production to compete with the Astra and the like, rather than pure engineering design which is a real pity. Can you imagine if our cars had the potential of a properly thought out and designed 16v head? This was the 1980s when the VW 16v came out. Rolls Royce had 4 valve heads with proper valve to port angles and combustion chamber shape in the 1940s. In all my years in engines I really struggle to think of a worse head. I mean even old iron Ford Pintos 8v engines can make over 200bhp. Mazda 16v Diesel with one cam, rockers with manual tappet adjustment that then splits into a t shape with a second manual adjustment comes close though.
For a pinto to make over 200 bhp without any forced induction it'll have to be so cam'd up and running high compression that they barely start, need to idle really high and are almost undriveable on the street, a 200 bhp 16v would have none of these problems and remain totally usable, I'm only winding up the 8v lovers though, I've had three and loved all of them! Sorry gtiballs, I forgot go say welcome! I was only yanking his chain
I can. The 1968, Ricardo designed, 8v and 16v heads used in the Dolomite, Spint, Stag and, most disgusting of all, it was sold to Saab for the early 1709 & 1854 99s. This engine was so well designed, it leaked water in the head gasket area, from new. And, because of angled head bolts, you could not pull the head off the block. Dealers usually resorted to the hot spanner treatment and a new head. I once got one off by making long thin wedges from SKF Strymek Steel, and hammering them between head and gasket. I even gave a set of wedges to the local Saab dealer. They should have just put 5 mains, a forged crank, and an overhead cam in this motor! The pushrod 4 cylinder engine based on the early design of the Ferguson tractor engine, was continued from the earlier TR2/3 models, however the displacement was increased from 1991cc to 2138cc in the TR4 by using a larger diameter piston. Gradual improvements in the manifolds and cylinder head allowed for some improvements culminating in the TR4A model. Although, the 1991cc engine became a no-cost option for those cars destined to race in the under-two-liter classes of the day. Some cars were fitted with vane-type superchargers, as the three main bearing engine was liable to crankshaft failure if revved beyond 6,500 rpm. Superchargers allowed a TR4 to produce much more horse-power and torque at relatively modest revolutions. The standard engine produced 105 bhp (78 kW) SAE but supercharged and otherwise performance-tuned a 2.2 litre I4 version could produce in excess of 200 bhp (150 kW) at the flywheel
I said in all my years! I was not around in 1968 FFS I am however aware of that shi te engine though, Obviously your Swedish lovers had spent too much time drinking ale in the sauna when they chose to buy the design then.
Bit more banter here. The point of running high compression is to regain what you lost by installing a long duration cam. A Pinto of around 200bhp will start and tickover. My point was that it is an ancient engine with a crap cam / follower / port angle design yet still makes good power. In fact a good one in a rally car is something to behold through the woods. Some folk build them as torquey engines and others as revers. You can hear the difference in them as they come through the stages. Oh and the latter uses old crap carbs too! [YOUTUBE]1jy4tlTigwM[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]ATPEXl7TSNE[/YOUTUBE]
