Carb and engine size help

Was wondering if anyone can help me with this. I have a golf gls that i'm restoring and modifying. I want a bigger engine as the standard 1.5 engine is getting abit tired and don't feel has enough potential, plus i want a 5 speed box.

So i've been looking at 1.8 8v engines. I want to run bike carbs but understand that this is going to cause a problem with heat absorption from the manifold because the carbs are situated directly over it.

Will heat wrapping the manifold overcome this problem or should i get real and except the fact that i need to get myself a 16v engine and box?
I really like the 16v engines but as these never came from factory in a mk1 am i going to run into alot of probs? Such as getting the right manifold, will all engine mounts line up…etc…?
Any help here would be hugely appreciated as its starting to head my brain alittle.  

What performance level do you want the car to do?

How much money have you got?

What other modifications does the car have?

I want it nippy but not savage, so was thinking maybe having lightening and balancing done? Or Gas flowing? Or Cam(s)…?  :dontknow: Bought some gsx-r bike carbs the other week that i want to do something with.
I know what i can do to make it quick but what i don't know is what works best on which engines.
Price isn't to much of an issue as will be doing it in stages.
The car will be sat on coilovers and am going to uprate the brakes to mk2 golf gti fronts. Other than that it won't have any other mods really other than a full system including 4-branch manifold.
Want it to be alittle bit of a sleeper and keep it looking relatively subtle.

Forget about lightening, balancing, or bike carbs. They're all inappropriate for your particular application. Lightening and balancing is done on highly tuned engines to increase the rpm limit, while bike carbs offer no advantage over fuel injection.

If money really isn't a limit then go for a 20vT, its easy to do, plenty of info out there, and the engine is the best/most powerful conversion. But since you said you don't want it "savage" its probably a little too much.

Without a specific price or performance figure…..can't really be specific, except to say read the article I wrote on the left, and then come back with more questions!

TO use Mk2 brakes at the front, you'll need custom brackets, and in fact its only the 1988 GTI 16V calipers which are larger and offer an upgrade (to 256mm discs and larger area pads). Look closely at the Vauxhall caliper too, since its more cost effective.

Any engine conversion can be made completely stock looking from the outside, except for the exhaust tailpipe and any requirement to run larger wheels, due to larger brakes.