Engine Searching

Hi folks.

Hopefully I've posted this in the right place - I didn't think it was a technical enough question to put it in the Engine threads.

I'm soon to start work on my '82 GTI, and I'm seriously considering a brand new engine and gearbox for her. I'd like to stick with the 1.8 8V but I'm really struggling to find any retailers.

I've been looking at the obvious TSR Performance as a source, but wondered if anyone knew of anywhere else who will sell complete,turnkey engines, either new or reconditioned?

Multiple internet searches haven't returned much, and when searching the numerous VW forums, all seem to point to TSR… Are they my only option? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Chris

http://www.ivorsearle.co.uk

these guys will help you!

whatalotafun said

http://www.ivorsearle.co.uk

these guys will help you!

Nice one, thanks m8, I'll have a read :y:

just take it too an engine builders and get them to rebuild yours! you will get the same gaurantee with them too (normally 12 months or 12,000 miles whichever comes first).

rustys_mk1 said

just take it too an engine builders and get them to rebuild yours! you will get the same gaurantee with them too (normally 12 months or 12,000 miles whichever comes first).

Yeah, it's an option I'm considering with TSR - I'm just trying to weigh-up all my options first. I've sent off some enquiry emails so I'll wait and see what's on offer. Thanks m8.

i'd find somewhere local as if anything goes wrong after you've put it back in tsr will want you to remove the engine and send it back to them. i find you tend to get better service from local businesses and i also prefer to put my money into a local company too  :dontknow:

rustys_mk1 said

i'd find somewhere local as if anything goes wrong after you've put it back in tsr will want you to remove the engine and send it back to them. i find you tend to get better service from local businesses and i also prefer to put my money into a local company too  :dontknow:

Yep, me too, have always preferred to stay local where possible, but I think I'm quite limited on my location. I'm still new to the area though and someone closer may still turn up!

As far as I can determine, if something did go wrong, providing TSR actually fitted the engine for me, all I'd have to do is take the whole car back to them. A big part of my problem is that although I have the mechanical know-how to swap out the engine and box myself, I don't have a garage or the tools to do so  

so your wanting them to do the swap over too? that could be pricey and the money you save doing it yourself could buy you a decent set of tools to do the job? just a thought. check the yellow pages i'm sure there will be an engine builders local to you…..

rustys_mk1 said

so your wanting them to do the swap over too? that could be pricey and the money you save doing it yourself could buy you a decent set of tools to do the job? just a thought. check the yellow pages i'm sure there will be an engine builders local to you…..

Yeah, that was the plan, depending on how much they're asking. But that's one other way of looking at it - I've also been looking at renting a garage or lockup here in which to do the work - and you're right, a hoist or crane etc would definitely be affordable if I chose to do it myself.

Ahh, decisions decisions! I love it, hehe

you can rent an engine hoist for about ?20 a day i believe. i'd seriously consider doing it yourself. it seems daunting at first but if you take your time and do plenty of diagrams/labelling/photos it really isn't that difficult. plus you get the satisfaction of saying i did that   . a toolkit with majority of the tools you would need could be had for about ?100 from halfrauds so you could defo save some money!   :wink:

rustys_mk1 said

you can rent an engine hoist for about ?20 a day i believe. i'd seriously consider doing it yourself. it seems daunting at first but if you take your time and do plenty of diagrams/labelling/photos it really isn't that difficult. plus you get the satisfaction of saying i did that   . a toolkit with majority of the tools you would need could be had for about ?100 from halfrauds so you could defo save some money!   :wink:

It's something I'll certainly be considering m8, thanks. I'm originally a mechanic to trade (many moons ago!), so it's not that it's daunting as such, maybe I'm just being lazy! I'd also like to take the time to clean up/paint the engine bay, so doing it myself may indeed end up being the best option, especially if I can rent a hoist. Thanks very much for the input m8, it's much appreciated.

Well…Ivor Searle replied nice and quick…

Full bare reconditioned 1.8 8V engine - ?1165.50 + vat.
Surcharge - ?300.00 + vat. This deposit is refundable on the return of the exchange unit. Carriage - ?45.00 + vat. This price includes the collection of the exchange unit.

Gearbox - ?427.50 + vat. Carriage free of charge, but they're only able to offer to recon my own gearbox rather than provide a replacement. Looking at a 4-5 day turnaround on the box once it's collected.

I suppose this option won't give me the performance enhancements the TSR option will, as it's a bog-standard engine, but I'm not sure they're actually necessary.