caddy engine

hi everyone,

My mk1 driver is currently running an 1800 pb lump with twin 40's bolted on the back, 4 branch manifold, cam etc, its costing a fortune to run and is giving me some hassle ie suspected top end rattle.

So my plan……. I have brought everything engine wise inc loom from a 2001 caddy van, its a 1900 AEY code,  the chap is decoding the ecu so apparently wont be immobalised tho i have got the key, transponder and clocks should i need them.
Obviously its going to be slow but i need reliability and economy!!

Any one offer advise on the conversion? i have the gearbox from the caddy but its hydraulic clutch and the mount is different so was just gonna bolt my 1600 gti box to it,

Thanks in advance

Bugfez

Is the 1900AEY also a fly by wire (no accelaerator cable), if so, you'll also need to adapt the Mk1's accelerator pedal to work as an electronic accelerator  - not a hard thing to do, just a bit of drilling/adapting and aligning everything to make it work    
Dont even bother trying to use the GTi's gearbox on a diesel, the ratios are too low and close together to work effectively and also you'll probably run out of revs at 70mph   , if Bert reads this thread he might confirm that an AAZ gearbox from a MK3 will bolt onto the AEY engine, also will need the flywheel off your GTI and clutch, that way you can keep original clutch & gear linkage arrangement.
If you want to keep the AEY's gearbox (which has the best ratios for that engine) then you can buy an adaptor to allow the clutch cable to operate the hydraulic clutch (from memory the adaptor was used on either Audi or Seat, I think). You'd also need to remove the original mk1 gearstick and its bits and bobs and mount the gearshift tower from the caddy.

The easiest conversion and cheapest would be to just get an early mk3 1.9 TD and drop the complete lump in and only really need to have the exhaust front pipe made and wire up your glow plugs. But you'll be struggling to find many lowmileage lumps from that era    

thanks for your reply, it is a fly by wire, i had been advised to get an AAZ but as you said finding one is the issue, iv only gone down this route as the whole lot was offered to me for one hundred pounds, i have everything inc throttle pedal and associated bits for making that work.
i shall hunt a gear box from a mk3 diesel now then.