1.8t conversion price list?

what would be the best engines to get for a conversion?
I have saved up a few grand towards getting a mk1 to renovate and was wondering prices and best buys to have?
i was looking at getting a 1.8t with a bit of power to keep me occupied, but i also need it reliable for work!
what would be the best complete engine, gearbox etc to simply fit throughout the summer as a project… but not too pricey! ha
how much would i be looking at and have to save up before i finally commit?
any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks

james

i'm easily in 2k and there is probably another 500-800 to get it finished.

Saying that engine prices have come down a lot recently, most of my cost above was the engine.

AGU would possibly be the easiest or any none dbw engine.

do you know the rough prices of all the parts you bought? and what engine did you get?

if i was to buy the car as a shell how much do you reckon a whole re-do will cost?

thanks

there is such a long list and i would cry at the money spent to get to this point.

mounts are £200
02J gearbox £100
IC £70
Clutch £100
02A flywheel £50ish
then there is pipe work for the intercooler, downpipe, hydro clutch if you go that route. Looms to be made up and ECU choices to be made. new bolts and other little parts that add up etc

For starters, have a look at ebay, classifieds on forums for engine.

I have an AUQ engine.

okay thanks

ive had a little look around ebay and stuff and added a few numbers up… just needed to see what others were spending first and how theirs got on

best of luck

cheers!

best of luck to you too… let me know how it is once its fully finished

If youre not in a rush and keep looking for deals on ebay and ask around breakers and do all the work yourself you could do all the engine bay for well under £1000
i got the engine and box including the flywheel clutch ecu loom etc for £230
intercooler new £50 off of here
made my own downpipe
im using the original ecu which im sending off to have the immob removed through a guy on ebay £75 + £8 p&p
engine mount from crazy's £67
gear box mounts im just making now
looms all wired in myself but needed alot of info from rubjohnny (vw god)

it can be done fairly cheap if your prepared to have a go

the biggest shock is probably how much the intercooler pipework costs but again you can use alot of what comes with the engine..
you can save money on the gearbox mounts if you use the original box in the golf the 020 box …use the original mounts from the mk1 gti
if you go the 02j route (the box on the 1.8t engine ) then try to get the earlier one which as 100mm drive shafts..the later ones have 108mm cups which will need changing at more expense
ive also used the original gti radiator by making 2 easy little brackets which can slot in the top cut outs of the rad and bolt to the front of the motor with 2 10" universal slim fans from ebay

remember if your not sure of something you only have to ask on here cos everyone is so helpful and there is unlimited knowledge amongst the members

good luck and keep us all updated please

thanks for all the advice…

im planning on doing the conversion through the summer as a project to keep me entertained, so will try and remember to take pictures of the process and put them on here for future conversion-ists, i will also try keep note on every penny i spend so that people have a good idea on what to save up before doing a conversion project.

ill have a look around ebay and go to local scrap yards to see what the can do for me! ha

but thanks for the tips on which bits can be re-used and adapted so that i can keep the price down! ha

thanks

I spent in the region of £1500 that doesnt include the running gear as i took that from a mk4 golf that i was breaking so got that free and the funds from breaking the car allowed me to purchase everything else, alot of it was from people i know which was handy.

Most expensive parts for me were the 3 engine mounts from just caddys, downpipe and thats probably it. I bought a universal intercooler from ebay with the right core size and modified all the pipes and you wouldnt even know it had an intercooler on it if you lifted the bonnet up as i done it so no pipes were going all over the place.

PM me if you want to know anything else as i am still in the process of doing my conversion but have got the engine and gearbox in and have it running etc

so do you reckon illl be able to do a car renovation for 5k, including buying the car… or am i miles off and need to save more before i start? because i dont have a scooby about how much i have to spend as this will be my first renovation

cheers

Depends…

Are you talking full metal respray, buying all new parts, reconditioning the engine etc?

Or do you mean buying the car and just putting the engine in and have it running, because if that's the case 5k is going to be plenty!

I was lucky I paid pennies for my mk1 cab as the person didn't know what he was selling and there is not one spot of rust on it.

Ive kept a spreadsheet of everything I have spent and where I sourced it from, just so I know for future reference if I ever wanted to do it again, but including buying the car and the conversion ive probably spent just over 2k and that includes, lenso bsx alloys, interior, suspension, g60 front brakes, cable clutch actuator etc so in fairness ive probably only spent about £800 on the conversion itself

i guess it depends on the quality of the car i buy in the first place. if its a decent cab then just engine + a few other mods. but im hoping its just a new engine conversion + braking system and suspension.

if its over 5k ill have to work a bit harder through the summer to get it all done then! ha

how long roughly will a conversion take? i dont want to rush it and as i say im a beginner in the renovation area, my dads a mechanic so will be able to help where needed but was hoping to bosh it all out myself… but im not too sure on the time scale?

depends if you have all the parts to hand and are good to go.

do it in a weekend if you cracked on through the hours and had no headaches to sort out.

yeah i was hoping to buy most (if not all) of the parts ready to crack on and do it.

if not im going to have to find other ways of getting to work! haha

If you buy a later cabriolet gti, they come with the k-jet fuel system which is one of the best for this conversion as they capable of upto 4 bar and the agu only runs at 3 bar so plenty to play with for future upgrades like k03s etc…

If you buy a car for 3k then carry out the conversion you might be abit tight on money but there are plenty of nice clean examples out there for circa 2k

From having my old engine in to having the agu in up and running plus sorting out the suspension, brakes, replacing all the wishbones, ball joints, sorting intercooler piping out, cleaning engine, putting new clutch/flywheel in, replacing all gaskets etc etc its taken me about 3-4 weekends so far and that's with a girlfriend aswel so not every Sunday ive worked on it plus ive worked on it for a few hours during the week after the gym and this is the first proper conversion ive done, but most my cars have been mk4 golfs with the agu lump so I know my way around them quite well.

I have probably spent more time researching stuff then I have with the actual conversion…

i wanted a hard top mk1 not the cabriolet version, just because i personally prefer the hard top.

which year would be best for and engine conversion? like take out the whole engine and buy a more recent agu from an a3 or mk4 etc

i would probalbly replace the gearbox and other parts just to make the engine a newer, smoother running engine.

Ill second that…more time spent researching then physically working…
I hate reading but im afraid its all part of it

Sorry, I just presumed from your last post about a cab. I went for a cab just because its abit different and its going to be my summer toy.

Well the agu were in the mk4 golfs from 1998 to early 2000 and they were in the a3s from 1996 to about 2000 again I believe. I took mine out a 1999 mk4 golf as I knew it was running perfectly well before removal as I drove the car for abit before breaking it.

I put a g60 02a gearbox on mine as it already had 100mm output flanges on the gearbox and then swapped all the shifter tower over from the 02j onto the 02a lol

I'm ashamed to say i'm on 5.5k at the moment, but i'm not just doing the standard conversion, i'm pretty much rebuilding the car.

I'd think i have another 2k ish to spend plus the price of the bare metal respray etc it'll be having done once the conversion is ready.