my first conversion

First and foremost, hi to everyone. Im only a newbie to the site, but ive been in to mk1's since i first layed eyes on one. Im now on to my fourth one and im itching to do an engine conversion. The car i have is only a 1.1 c and im looking to put a 2.0 16v from a mk3 gti. I've read thoroughly through Paul c's (who i think is brilliant, without sounding gay!!!) thread about the whole procedure and reckon im up to it. All i need to know is, the conversion Paul c did was in a gti model. Because mine is only a 1.1, obviously the smaller engines were tilted the other way to the bigger ones, will i need to make/fabricate any engine mounts for the new lump, (not sure whether its a 9a or tall block, also, how do you tell the difference?), and the other issue i have is the drive train. will the drive shafts on the 2.0 16v box be ok or will i need to source some different ones? Thanks people.

Im pretty sure you need to move the engine mounts. Your engine will be a tall block if it is from a mk3 gti.
Im doing the same conversion at the moment however the head has been ported and polished and the engine should have about 175bhp. I am keeping the standard drive shafts, im sure they will be fine.

so i wont need to worry about the drive shafts then. to be honest i kinda guessed id have to mess around with engine mounts, and that doesnt really worry me, it was just the drive shafts. Obviously i couldnt use the 1.1 pencil drive shafts, but i didnt know whether the shafts on a mk3 would be wider apart, thus incurring more work at the hubs. :dontknow:

Sounds like you intend using 16v mk3 box, this will mean mounting the cable change linkeage, special g/box mount and the mk3 driveshafts will not fit, too long.

thats what i was thinking. so whats the best way around it??? Can you use a different box on that engine? Im still only in the planning stage and to be honest it will take me ages to get it finished. im hopfully going to look at an engine next week, so if the box is not much good in the long run then ill just take the engine.

Any of the larger capacity rod change box,s from mk1,2 or 3 golf will physically bolt on, will just need to change the clutch and flywheel to the corresponding one, which isnt a bad thing as the abf assy weighs a ton.

so which is best in terms of accel, top speed and ease of fitting?? Sorry about all the questions, like i said this is my first conversion and i want to make it as stress free as is humanly possible!!

Well iy you use a box from the mk1 gti you can use standard gti driveshafts which are easy to get hold of, the 1600 has the lowest gearing so would give best acceleration but would be a bit strained on motorways. one from the mk3 8v would give a nice top gear but blunt acceleration slightly and you would need the larger 100mm driveshafts from the later cabbys i think. mk1 1800 box might be a good compromise or the mk2 16v which would still need the 100mm shafts but has the advantage of a slightly larger clutch as standard over the mk1.

Welcome! Look forward to seeing your progress :wink:

Andy

what about a non 16v gti mk2 box? would i still need the 100mm shafts for that? As far as i can see, apart from wiring in the brain and other such things, this is the biggest headache ive got.

I suspect that all the big block mk2,s use the 100,, shafts, it is possible to just swap the g/box cups over to the 90mm ones but they are tight. Actually a mk2 4 plus E might be a good choice if you could get one as i believe they have 4 normal gears plus a high fifth so best of both worlds.

which model was that on? that one sounds good to me.

Success!!! I now know how to upload my pics. I will have a rummage and see what i can find!!! :mrgreen:

this is pretty much the push i needed to do the conversion. A crack in the head which as you can see ive tried to fill with chemical metal. However ive decided not to run it like this so it has not been used properly since.

and this is one of four that will be going on eventually once its all done with some meaty 185/55r14 boots. I simply couldnt resist the wolfsburg centers!!!

Not completely finished yet as you can see. It was hard work polishing up the alloy but worth it i think. just another coat of enamel and its ready for the tyre.

Use a 1600 box on the 2.0 16v engine. They are crazy acceleration. It will be rapid upto top speed. But then again I guess its about what ya gonna be using it for

Im after pretty good acceleration and a qutie high top end. im not sure what the top end speed is on a standard mk3 gti but somewhere around 100 to 130 would be great. ideally id like something that doesnt need much mucking about, just something that i can bolt on and use the drive shafts from the box. :dontknow:

you can get 115mph out of a standard mk1 gti. So you should be more than happy with the speed from a 16v. I cant realy comment on gearbox cos mines not running yet. I think one from a kr or a dx engine would be the best choice.
wheels look good

Thanks mate. took a lot of time, effort and a whole lot of autosol but im happy with the results. just got two more to do then i can get them on the car. fancy some lowering springs first though. nice 40mm drop. GSF do a set for about 75 moolar. Im on a tight arse budget, otherwise id have the coilovers from hottuning for another 100.

hello again! been away for a while. right, im pretty sure the engine is an abf lump. the gearbox ive hopefully sorted from a mk2 gti. ive heard, and looked through on previous threads about the issues involved in fitting this engine. the threads i looked through were from 2006, and at that time there wasnt a lot of help available. now that it has become more popular, im hoping that if anyone has done this conversion, or knows a lot about it, (bearing in mind im going from a 1.1c, not a gti so im aware about the engine mount being in the wrong place), if you could point me in the right direction, or any help you could give would be very appreciated.