Turboing a 1987 Mk1 Golf 1.8 Gti 8v DX Engine

Seen this turbo manifold on ebay and was wondering if it was worth getting as i want to turbo my standard DX engine as i cant be bothered swapping engines. If its worth getting what else will i need to make this conversion work properly, any info or help much appreciated  


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-GOLF-MK1-GTI-8V-74-84-T3-TURBO-CAST-EXHAUST-MANIFOLD-/160411862498?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item25594ac5e2

thats a big question?
hope someone has the answers for you mate!

to turbo a dx engone you need turbo manifold ect boost pipes ect which is easy the hard park is getting the fueling right

your best best would be to run efi and a stand alone ecu . then you would need to lower the engine compression which can be done by stacking head gaskets

the chances of the engine lasting to long are pretty slim your best bet would be to either fit a 20v lump or a abf lump both good engines and alot more power than the 8v

Looks very similar to the PSI manifold my 8valvers got.

First off, youll need to get the digifant1 injection system fitted as its more than adequate to control the engine to the power levels youre likely to see.

As ben stated i have seen gaskets stacked to reduce the cr, but thats a bit of a risky proposition as every gasket has two faces to fail on and if youre doubling them well youre also increasing the chances of a failure.
Not to mention killing squish which will impact on performance off boost as well as on, and emissions etc.

I used the PB code engine with quattro turbo pistons to lower the CR and a steel g60 head gasket, obviously more expensive but will last longer.

You could run a couple of psi boost with the cr as it is, but youd need to be very careful not to incur detonation issues.

Gr8 Thread, I saw this also.

you may find an engine conversion cheaper and easier than turbo charging your dx. g60 engine is probably the best option. digi 1 from the g60 would probably be cheapest but you can run it on k-jet. fuel reg from audi 5cylinder turbo and dizzy vac would do it. crude mind you.

wooders said

you may find an engine conversion cheaper and easier than turbo charging your dx. g60 engine is probably the best option. digi 1 from the g60 would probably be cheapest but you can run it on k-jet. fuel reg from audi 5cylinder turbo and dizzy vac would do it. crude mind you.

do you know what parts i would need to a g60 conversion, can i get the parts off the shelf or would i have to get them fabricated. if i have to get parts fabricated do you have prices and know where to get them. is there any really detailed threads on this conversion aswel, thanks for all the replys  

check out paul_h g60 conversion faq at the top of the modified page

buying the manifold is only the start. even if you use the k jet and source the audi bits, you will probably need to rebuild the engine for reliability (i'd probably use it and it would probably go pop, but i'm lazy) and lower the compression ratio. you will also need the turbo, oil feed, intercooler (not absolutely neede, but i wouldn't leave it out on the mk1) piping, downpipe and definately a rr set up.

get a 1z tdi manifold for it from a scrappy`s same block probs cheaper

Sorry to dig up an old thread.

It is possible to turbo a DX but due to the higher compression ratio, I'd be first looking at reducing that to something alittle more safe of around 8.5-9.0:1

The K-Jet will be able to handle power upto a shade over 200hp with a few small tuning mods & also using some parts out of a turbo'd Audi or Volvo.

I turbo'd a stock unopened 1.8L GX (apart from a 270 cam & springs) with nearly 300K & original headgasket. Still retained the K-Jet with a few mods & robbed a Volvo 240 NA of its fuel head & airflap & used a warm up reg from a Audi 5000T, an old Saab T3 turbo, Galant VR4 intercooler & some alot of home fabbed components & tuning with a wideband meter.

On 10-12psi the stock ignition was fine & I reversed the vac advance to retard under throttle application. This was still quick enough to run with high 13sec street cars.

Once over 15psi, I need a form of ignition retard, so I fitted a MSD boost timing master.

On its first outing it ran 13.7@101mph with a stock slipping clutch & stock diesel 4spd on 16-18psi.
Best 60ft was 2.2 & was slow as a wet week.

There is plenty left in it & I'm just waiting to get a couple more parts & the weather to clear up before heading back out & trying to push how fast I can get a stock 8V on K-Jet to go.


Oh this is also my daily driver car which I do 400-500km a week in & normally gets approx 35L to 400-430km out of a tank.

Super smooth power delivery, good fuel ecomony & the quietness of a turbo'd engine. So far I've done 25K on the setup with out any major drama's so far.

So if people say "if can't be done on K-Jet" like I was told over & over again, have a think about this.

If Ruf & Porsche can make 500+hp out of K-Jet why can't I?

If there is some interest, I can start a complete build thread which has all the parts, fabbing, modding, tuning info along with a ton of pics.