mk3 running gear into my mk1

hiya everyone, ive just brought a mk3 gti anniversry and im thinking of switching the hubs, discs calipers (and anything else i need to assist braking) and 16" bbs splits over to my '83 mk1 1.8 gti??? I was wondering if this will be a fairly straight forward bolt-on affair or am i asking for trouble? im hoping to use the original driveshafts to??
Im going to go for it tomorrow and thought that posting this first might bring up any issues or reasons i should leave well alone, thanks for reading and i'll post any results or mis haps, cheers, Dave, (kainesbwza)

Hub carriers are different geometry, I think.

thanks for the reply my friend, cant i carry over everything bar damper and springs, or is that a total subframe swap at the front? im no mechanic but i have haynes manuals and determination lol, thanks mate, kainesbwza

Nope, it doesn't fit. Its McPherson strut suspension, the damper/spring location at the top and bottom defines the geometry (some of the critical angles) of the front suspension. You can't just change the bottom bits (Mk3 Golf running gear), leaving the top bits (the Mk1 Golf) as before and expect everything to line up. I'm sure the hub-wishbone connection is different, and the wishbone-body (or subframe for Mk3 Golf) is different too.

There's a limited amount of parts compatibility with certain Golfs and Passats but not Mk1 Golf AFAIK.

If anyone knows different, by all means post which bits can be connected to the Mk1!

thank you again, i think you've saved me and my knucles an afternoon of pain, cheers kainesbwza