Few newbie questions ( More than a few really )

Hiya !
A long time ago while thinking about a fast, cheap to build car, after going thru a lot of weird ideas including old opel's, ladas, and FIATs I finnally thought "why not the VW golf mk1"

Since that time - about one year ago Ive been searching for a good basis, I saw a few good cars, but they were not for sale  :cry:
And I still havent got the car - Im just buying parts for it  

( There was a mk1 82' Diesel with only 80kkm on it but the owner who didnt use the car anyway didnt want do sell it  :? )

Anyway..

More or less I know how the car is goint to look, And I have a general concept.

Dont know what am I going to do with the interior, but I already thought about the paint job.

And now its time for the questions - hope you can help.
1.Golf mk2 Gti brakes - a good idea ? or maybe theres something available for more or less the same price that does its job better ?
2.Engine, I was thinking bout
 -1.8T ( 150 bhp ) and then working on it - to get about 220-250 bhp
  but, I dont know really what should be changed in the engine to get that
  kind of power. Besides that I heard that the engine does fit into an mk1
  but Im not sure if its the right way to go - a lot of things could go wrong.
 -1.8 16v KR - sound like a good choice, not too many problems with    
  getting it into the car, but breaking thw 200 bhp line is going to be   
  really  expensive and dificult.
 -G60 .. dont really know what to think about it..
 -And finally some 1.9TDi - but how hard is the engine to fit in. I know that its going to be expensive ( I was thinking bout the 110 BHP - best value for money IMHO ) but then on the other hand - 160 BHP and loads of torque - maybe a bit slowet than the petrol powered engines but, much cheaper to run..

What would you go for, considering that you dont want to spend a fortune, and its going to be an everyday car - Im thinking about the 1.8T and the TDi as the most reasonble choices.

So.. what would you do ?
have you had any experience, some hints would be nice.

Ref said

I was thinking bout -1.8T ( 150 bhp ) and then working on it - to get about 220-250 bhp but, I dont know really what should be changed in the engine to get that kind of power.

What would you go for, considering that you dont want to spend a fortune, and its going to be an everyday car - Im thinking about the 1.8T and the TDi as the most reasonble choices.

With all due respect, if you're not sure how to get 220-250hp from a 1.8T lump, it sounds like you'll be paying someone else to do the work? With that in mind, you'll struggle to do this job if "you dont want to spend a fortune".

If i was you, i'd be more inclined to buy one thats already had the work done, then you can have the fun of driving it straight away!

Finding one done is impossible here, so Ill just have to build one - bout the 1.8T - I was thinking bout changing the ECU, Turbo, Injectors, FMIC - and that should do the job =200+ BHP..

not by myself ofc. But I know where to do that done at a reasonable price.

Where are you based then?

Yeah the things you listed should make 200ish, although don't forget to upgrade the intercooler, or it wont last long. Plus a cone filter to replace the standard intake with some heat sheilding…

If you're desperate to crack the 220hp figure, you could look into a TT 225 1.8T lump. I don't know if it'd fit, but someone here will likely chime in.

Personally i'd put a 16v lump in. They are much cheaper to buy, and there's loads of freely available info online to help you. Sure its harder to modify upto 250hp, but if you loose enough weight from the car, it could still be extremely quick. And in my opinion putting 220+hp thru front wheels isnt really worth the money. rwd/4wd is where to go from 220+hp i think. I know some people do it and i'm sure its fun, but torque steer sucks and for the money you could have something with rwd handling - which is simply more fun.

Here's my two cents…

Mk2 GTi brakes are a popular upgrade and are well worth it - you can either upgrade just the front discs / calipers, or use the rear discs /calipers from a 16v GTi too (more complicated & more expense obviously, but does produce good results). Either way, also use a Mk2 master cylinder.

Changing the engine is quite labour intensive, whatever option you go for, so if you're not doing it yourself it will be expensive! I'm fairly sure that all the options you've listed have been done already by someone on this site, so there will be plenty of info available on whatever you choose.

My favourite would be the G60 conversion - this would be a standard VW engine, so there's plenty of spares still about, plus it's been set up by VW so it should give you enough horsepower and run well straight away.

Failing that I would recommend the 16v - it's quite popular, and although you'll have to tune it to get the power you're after, the basic engine will fit in without too much effort. You can also tune this as you go, so you could start with the standard engine and enjoy that, before you get hungry for more…

The 1.8T / 1.9TDi will be tricky! Lots of fiddling about with electronics, wiring looms, etc… equals spending a shed-load of cash… This would be a shame, as you may have as much fun with the G60 / 16v conversion at half the cost or maybe less!

One final thought - have you read the GTi Buyers Guide section of this website? It's located here: -

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1

Hope all this helps

Rich

Where are you based then?

Warsaw, Poland - A long way from civilisation    

Yeah the things you listed should make 200ish, although don't forget to upgrade the intercooler, or it wont last long. Plus a cone filter to replace the standard intake with some heat sheilding…

Yeah, I know that should be done, the main problem is fitting the engine in

If you're desperate to crack the 220hp figure, you could look into a TT 225 1.8T lump. I don't know if it'd fit, but someone here will likely chime in.

Well, not desperate really, but 200+ in an mk1 sounds impressive  
I want a car that always has some power left in case I need it.
Bout the 225 1.8T - theyre extremely expensive, and hard to get.

Personally i'd put a 16v lump in. They are much cheaper to buy, and there's loads of freely available info online to help you. Sure its harder to modify upto 250hp, but if you loose enough weight from the car, it could still be extremely quick.

Thats why Im also considering the KR engine and the g60 - theyre much easier to get, and maybe the ABF too.. ABF turbo that could be nice


 And in my opinion putting 220+hp thru front wheels isnt really worth the money. rwd/4wd is where to go from 220+hp i think. I know some people do it and i'm sure its fun, but torque steer sucks and for the money you could have something with rwd handling - which is simply more fun

I know that there could be problems with traction, but Ill think about that when the cars going to be fully operational     :wink:

Here's my two cents…

Mk2 GTi brakes are a popular upgrade and are well worth it - you can either upgrade just the front discs / calipers, or use the rear discs /calipers from a 16v GTi too (more complicated & more expense obviously, but does produce good results). Either way, also use a Mk2 master cylinder.

So Ill probably be going for those, I heard that 15" rims are a must - or maybe 14" ones - whats the smallest rim you can put on those brakes ?


Changing the engine is quite labour intensive, whatever option you go for, so if you're not doing it yourself it will be expensive! I'm fairly sure that all the options you've listed have been done already by someone on this site, so there will be plenty of info available on whatever you choose.

A mate of mine has some experience with VW's he built his own Mk1 KR 170+ bhp, turbocharged a scirocco mk2..  So labour isnt going to be as expensive as the normal market price for sure.
 

My favourite would be the G60 conversion - this would be a standard VW engine, so there's plenty of spares still about, plus it's been set up by VW so it should give you enough horsepower and run well straight away.

The G60's nice but Im worried bout the fuel consumption 15+ l/100 km ? maybe more I think.. Some1 suggested that making a turbo g60 is easy to do and that could be nice..

After all the fastest mk1's ouut there are G60 Turbos

Failing that I would recommend the 16v - it's quite popular, and although you'll have to tune it to get the power you're after, the basic engine will fit in without too much effort. You can also tune this as you go, so you could start with the standard engine and enjoy that, before you get hungry for more…

Im the type of personm thats always hungry for more - the KR would be the cheapest way to go, and maybe the easiest - but I couldnt find anything about the potential of the engine - without a turbo..

A high-reving KR "honda-like" with 180+ BHP and a short gear box would be nice - but then again - fuel consuption..



The 1.8T / 1.9TDi will be tricky! Lots of fiddling about with electronics, wiring looms, etc… equals spending a shed-load of cash… This would be a shame, as you may have as much fun with the G60 / 16v conversion at half the cost or maybe less!

Thats why Im still looking towards the older engines, it looks like the KR or G60 are better choces

One final thought - have you read the GTi Buyers Guide section of this website? It's located here: -

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1

Thanks for the link      

Hope all this helps

Rich

It sure will, thanks a lot  8)  

Good luck with it, and welcome to the club