mk1 caddy sport 16v

i had a rotten diesel caddy as my first car and loved it and when i found out they did a gti version i had to have one. it took a few years of looking but managed to find one on ebay for a decent price that i could afford


it looked good but the engine that the previous owner had fitted didnt run that well so after a year of limping about i decided to take it off the road and do a few bits like swap the engine.

i did think of putting the original engine back in as i got this with the truck but thought it had been swapped for a reason and would need a rebuild and the wiring sorted and as its a tuned down engine and only makes 95bhp i thought it would be pointless if i wanted a bit more power. i did have a 2.0 8v in a mk1 golf i had before and loved the torque but didnt have the time to remove it before i had to scrap it . shame as it was the 3a bubble block and had the dizzy ring needed to convert it. just wish i had better brakes and could see round corners and it would still be running

 i had found a mk2 16v breaking nearby and thought i would take a look it seemed quite a looked after car and had 90k on it so i took the engine out and got it in the caddy to take home. did this without a crane so borrowed one to take my engine out and got busy swapping the new engine mounts and did a few gaskets and the cambelt and swapped the driveshaft flanges. i bought the ashley conversion manifold and heat wrapped it and my steering gaitor



got the engine in and running but didnt have an exhaust and you cant buy anything off the shelf for it. i did try and get ashley exhausts to make one and post it down but it would have been pricy but they do have the pattern apparently.

typical i found a mk1 cab 16v breaking that had everything needed for the conversion about 2 miles away so had a look and bought it with plans of doing another car in the future but in the end sold it on and kept the exhaust for myself to use some how. the center section bolted on to my manifold fine but the rear section had to be custom. in the end i bought another custom stainless exhaust off a vauxhall for £30 and cut it up and used the bends to make this


it may fall off in time but at least i can get it through an mot

with it running ok i thought mot soon i better check the lights. turns out i had connected the foglight connector to something i shouldnt have and fried lots of wiring in the bay and dash and melted my stalks and ignition switch


luckily i had 2 spare looms so had the wires and connectors to replace it all after tracing it all back and got an ignition switch but still needed stalks. i had heard the early mk2 ones fit so went to the scrappy and found a set and got them fitted.i think they look good with the chunky vw sport steering wheel


when i was there i managed to pick these up

black leathers from a honda S2000 £50 for the pair

had to make some mounts but had an old set of seats from a citi golf so chopped them up and welded some up plus the citi golf had the height adjustable drivers seat so kept this.




with these fitted i thought i would sell my old seats that i took out


after an ad on my local forum i got an offer for a trade on some brakes and as my first gti met the back of a 4x4 due to shit brakes i thought id better.

brand new 256 mm wilwood 4 pot dynalites and hawk hps pads i had to buy new discs, bolts, braided hoses and had a lucky find with some brackets as the ones that came with them were for radial mounted ones

in between all this i went over the underside and done a couple of bits of welding and done some touching up on the rear end. i would love a respray but cant afford it. i fitted new wishbones, strut mounts, tie rods, ball joints, rear braided hoses, hand brake cables, gear linkages, windage tray in the sump and the mk1 oil cooler

in the last few days i have had to refit the timing belt as i alligned it with the wrong mark and it wasnt driving right. and had to adjust it to get it to idle ok.

got to get some new tyres to fit to my wheels that i polished


so nearly ready for mot again after 18 months off the road. in the future i want new shocks all round and may look at lowering the rear along with some poly rear spring bushes.

i dont think i will ever be finished but i think its time to get some enjoyment out of it

Looks like you've put a lot of good work into this mate, I've never seen a Caddy with those arches, sills or bumpers before but I think it looks pretty awesome! Lucky find with those seats, I also really like the colour, pristine white cars look great but keeping them clean is so much hassle!
Good luck for the MOT!

There is one of these that drives around my home town. Apparently the old that drives it guy designed the bodykit for it. Were these cars done by gti engineering?
I think they are awesome. Nice find mate

The caddy sport body kit is pretty rare as they are made of fiberglass so very flimsy and prone to cracking. some people like them some dont especially with the seal on. i am trying to keep it kind of factory looking but couldnt resist the black leathers

 i have heard only 200 or so caddy sports were brought into the country and they only came in white with silver and red decals on the sides and a sport sticker on the bonnet. it also has the sport towbar, nicer doorcards with pockets, the chunky sport steering wheel and a black carpet instead of rubber mats. the suspension is lower than a standard caddy and came with a load liner plus it would have had mk2 gti seats fom standard. oh and the JH code 1.8 fuel injected engine but was cat equipped so only made 95 bhp

MOT on thursday

Yeah if I were you mate I'd make a few tweaks here and there like you have done but keep it factory for the most part, considering how rare it is anyway. A fresh respray in white and see if you can get hold of / replicate the original decals to put back on the sides then that would look proper retro!
Plus is that only 130,000 miles on the clock!? Wish my MK1 only had 130,000 miles on the clock!

really nice mate !

thanks for your comments.

ive got some decals but not yet put them on

would love a respray but cant find £3000 to pay for it

thats 130,000 on the clocks but that doesnt mean its done that little plus its a 1991 so a bit newer than most mk1s

its a zender kit and i think it might be gti engineering that made them

have you sold your old seats or are they for sale?

i swapped them for the brake calipers

Great project and thread fella 8)

thanks

got it mot'd but i need to sort the overheating out.

getting a new waterpump and rad and need a new clutch cable

the engine runs well and feels rapid but there is a whining from either the alt or water pump.

i even had time to wash it.

had it looked at at the garage due to getting hot and had timing and co set. on the way there were a few knocks and rattles so asked if we could check over on the ramp turns out i need a track rod and somethings wrong with the top mount as there is play in the shock

Your Caddy looks good

not had much luck with this thing turns out the head gasket was gone after i had replaced the rad and water pump

got a head set and bolts so replaced it but had issues with the tourque wrench i had borrowed. so had to strip down and do again with a new wrench i got from screwfix for £22 and bought bolts and gasket off ebay for £30 so not too costly

thankfully that has done the trick

got a bigger mc with 25mm pistons so hopefullty less pedal travel on the brakes. its got 4 ports so blanked off the one closest to the dizzy cap for more room

also sorted my noisy alternator with just a brush pack and a new belt so i can hear my engine for the first time.

still need to have the timing done again and co set as it is a bit hard starting and smells a bit rich

thought it is about time for an update

got fed up with the idle hunting and crap running in general so decided to change a few bits.

first got a new dizzy off ebay as mine was knackerd

old



new



next got the isv control box and wired that in just got to check i have the 5th injector wired in properly and it should be fine.

it was also cutting out round rh bends and on roundabouts so got the fuel pump from a 16v corrado and got that mounted




hopefully this will sort it as the fuel returning from the metering head goes into the pump and not back to the tank.  fingers crossed

also moved the tailpipe so it exits in the same place as the original and have polished the tailpipe


sorted my reverse lights turns out it was a broken wire in the bay


fitted a black old school sony headunit as the old one was grey


needs a clean inside though and might go over the bed with hammerite when i get some time