Engine Swaps

Hi all,

I'm curious what everyone thinks about the various engine swap possibilities with a Mk1 Cabriolet, and which options are the best?

I have been looking at the 2.5 O7K and it piques my interest, but I know there are cool TDI swaps and easy bolt-in options like the 16V. I currently have a stock 1.8 4-cylinder, so this engine swap would be down the line, but out of curiosity, which would be worth it? Is there a consensus on if there is a best option?

Is more power worth it, or should I err on the side of ease?

Hi. I have been through the same thought process.

A mk4 golf GTI 1.8 20V is a relatively common swap, tuneable for high horsepower.

I bought the donar mk4 golf and did not transplant the engine in the end. I feel like it would have ruined the character of the MK1.

Given unlimited resource I'd probably go down the crossflow (beetle) head route with twin carbs paired with a fast road cam.

If you want a fast golf, I'd probably not start with a cabriolet, just my opinion of course.

hudson_king345 said

Hi all,

I'm curious what everyone thinks about the various engine swap possibilities with a Mk1 Cabriolet, and which options are the best?

I have been looking at the 2.5 O7K and it piques my interest, but I know there are cool TDI swaps and easy bolt-in options like the 16V. I currently have a stock 1.8 4-cylinder, so this engine swap would be down the line, but out of curiosity, which would be worth it? Is there a consensus on if there is a best option?

Is more power worth it, or should I err on the side of ease?

I have a cabriolet 1.8 98hp, and I made a "T60" conversion, I used a g60 engine, ecu and wiring with a turbocharger instead of the G lader, my experience was not great, its simply too much power for the car, I have no idea about the power figures but for sure it was too much, the car became dangerous and unpredictable, caused by the turbo, it was no power or all power at once(if it was a g60 it would be more easy to tame).
I got back to the original engine with some modifications( ecu chip mapped, and some sensor piggybacked, sport camshaft with a vernier pulley, intake extensive modified and ported the afm, exhaust, lightweight pulleys, tuned the ignition distributor about 8 or 9 degrees btdc

 I started with this stock, o only with group A exhaust, KN panel filter and chip:


Then added 280mm brakes and made the car even slower,  yes! the brakes make the car slower because they are way heavier!


And this is the final tune that I made a time run, and I  now its even faster because I improved the intake and Lmm with a noticeable difference, added a new clutch and semi slicks on all 4 corners, but I didnt test it to see the actual gain numbers, so I cannot say how fast is now, but it is great fun.


this engine exhaust manifold is still the original only with porting and with catalityc converter, there is more room to improvement here.
This values are from a very good gps device(mil spec), the speedometer shows Higher values, on the speedometer the car Will make 0-100 in not much more than 7 seconds.
The car is similar to uk rivage factory fitted with 15" le Castellet, has powersteering, power Windows, power everything só its not the lightest mk1 or mk1 cabriolet.
I have a 2.0 2E to go in, this one has a ported head, modified valves and seats, and based on the flow numbers only, could be capeable of +160Hp, I will never reach that because I intend to use the original ECU and it it very hard to make power with it, I have nobody to help me tuning the fuel map chip, cannot find anyone, so I tricked sensors, the mod only acts on some conditons( vaccuum switches and other switches on pedal to trick resistors to fool the coolant sensor, lmm and air tempo sensor)
Being honest, the car now is way more fun than with the T60, yes its is way slower on a straight line, but the driver pleasure is the best,  I am so happy that I have no rush on installing the 2E, it's sitting in the garage for years(protected of course).

I prefer to drive a slow car fast, than drive a "fast" car slow.