Replacement engine

One of the most important parts of a MK1 is the engine, yet this forum lacks information on replacement engines. I can't be the only one needing a good engine, please share your engine replacement history on this thread.

Volkspares, has engines at a very affordable price, anyone had an engine from the company?

I think if you ask around a bit and are patient you will come accross older engine suitable for rebuilds, but having said that I think its getting harder to find suitable complete DX engines.

I now have a complete DX and gearbox, plus a complete DX head, all of which need rebuilding. I think I will hang onto them even if I don't use them straight away.

The Volkspares engines seem to attract both good and bad reviews if you read the forums. They are guaranteed though so I guess anthing major will come up in the first year or so?

Cheers,

Chris

I too share the opinion that DX engines are becoming rare these days.

 Have you thought of buying a gti whether it be a mk1 or mk2 golf /scirocco with said engine with say no T n T.  That way you can broaden your scope. You can go for an EV/EX aswell.

I personnaly would prefer that option because buying a recon engine is such a lottery. Companies claiming this and that. Unless as you say it is on a recommendation.

HTH

Nick.

I would say if you want the job done properly do it yourself, its been said before that the only recon engines worth having are from vege or vw, pretty sure that vege supplied vw in any case, its not a hard task to rebuilt an engine although for certain things you will need to get done by someone, i know of two mk1 gti's in local breakers with the earky dx engine's in, only trouble is the storage space, be nice when i have the new garage with atic

I guess in many ways its a bit like getting a respray done - might look fine at first glance, but you are only going to know if a quality job was done if you checked out the guy doing it in the first place, or if it still looks good in 5 years time.

Engines are similar. Unless you did the work yourself, or know the place that did the rebuild, then there are no guarantees how well an engine was rebuilt.

Vege engines are still available with DX heads, but can be very pricey (over a grand I suspect). There are a lot of companies out there offering exchange engines, but there is no guarantee you will get the correct spec DX engine as an exchange. Many of the early Mk2 Golf / Scirrocco hydraulic headed engines are straight swaps and there are a lot more of these around to recondition.

I am not saying you will end up with one, but most of the ones advertised at 500 quid exchange will probably be these. If you start specifying a DX head and other "period" features, then my guess is the price will go up.

My advice, (and this is what I am doing), is to try and find a basically sound DX engine (high mileage not a problem), and use this as the basis for a rebuild. You should be able to get a complete DX in OK condition for about ?100 or less. This then gives you about ?400 which should be enough to get a decent rebuild done - obviously the more you do yourself, the more you can save or the more you can replace - its up to you.

From what I have seen and read, (and I confess I haven't really started the rebuild yet), the DX engine is fairly straightforward being only an 8 valve unit, so rebuilding should defintily be within the realms of the average DIY mechanic. Just take your time and use decent quality parts and there is no reason why it shouldn't last as long again as the original engine.

Once I finally get underway I hope to take lots of pics and try and put together a "tip sheet" maybe listing a few prices for any machine work I have to have done, and the cost of parts etc.

Invest in a good manual like the Mk1 Haynes and maybe something like Lindsay Porters VW Golf and Jetta restoration manual - this will give you a good idea of whats involved and the tools required. You can then decide how much you can do yourself and the things you will need to have done professionally.

Also if you car is currently a runner, you can sell the current engine once you have rebuilt the spare and get some cash back that way? Or another approach may be to put an early Mk2 Hydraulic engine in the car whilst you rebuild the original and then swap them back once the rebuild is complete. This would probably be cheaper as there are loads of runner Mk2 engines in scrappys and they will be cheap.

If the car can be off the road for a while then even better - just rebuild the existing engine to keep the originality.

Cheers,

Chris

I havn't got the time or energy to do a DIY job, I need to pay up the money to get what I want. TSR is out of the picture, far to expensive imo. Volkspare looks dodgy going off what other posters have to say about the company. VEGE( like storm81 has recommended)  looks to be the one I'm ringing up on Tuesday I hope they will fit the engine for me

We must not forget that fitting a quality engine will add to the value of the car!

Not sure where you are but if you have any problems getting it fitted give me a shout, can have the old one out and a new one in in a day  

Fair enough on the time and energy front - been there and I know how it feels  :?

Be aware though that even though having a Vege engine fitted will undoubtably increase the value of your car, my bet is it will be nowhere near what you will pay to have it put in. If the car is a keeper then no problem, but if you plan to sell soon then you could be out of pocket bigtime.

A vege installer will charge you a few hours labour at least for an engine swap, plus the grand for the engine plus VAT. Even a minter of a Campaign is going to struggle to get much beyond ?3-4K unless its concours imho.

A prospective buyer isn't going to spend much more than 500 quid (if that) more for a recon engine in the car, especially as you will lose some of the originality.

Not meaning to sound negative here, and the Vege is probably worth it if the car is a keeper for the peace of mind…. BUT make sure you know what the full cost will be before you go ahead is all I would say.

If you know someone nearby who could fit it it might be worth going down that route. With the Vege though check carefully the conditions of their guarantee. If its anything like my central heating boiler any claim under the guarantee might be conditional on the engine having been fitted professionally  8O

Good luck with whatever you decide to go with. The Vege will be the peace of mind option I think, especially if you plan on keeping the car.

Cheers,

Chris

NW, Storm81 may get back to you on that one.

Cheers

You're probably right Chris, I intend to keep the car anyway for the foreseeable future. I will feel happy having a good as new engine fitted in my MK1 by a quality company, piece of mind and all that and should last.

Should purrrr like a pussy cat once fitted.

Good luck with it mate and be sure to tell us how it works out.

Always useful for others to know how things pan out. I expect over the coming months / years a fair few Mk1 owners will face the same dilemma.

Cheers,

Chris

Cheers Chris,

I'm a little more cautious with engineering company's after the recent complete restoration rebuild of my DX head by Princess Engineering, as you know the engine is running (just) on two cylinders after a recent rebuild.

Hmm sounds like they might be somewhere to avoid then……..

Chris

They are based in Manchester, stay well clear of that smooth talking bodger.

Here is another engine I've kept my eye on, gone well above my target, probably rebuilt using TSR bits:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=72205&item=7944504581&rd=1

I just wondered if it is the dx head that is giving the problems with mk1s, maybe hydo is best? I remember in the mid 80's (yes a 40 something ageing vw dubber) I blew up a MK1 S. Storm on the M27 heading towards Poole in Dorset in the outside lane doing 112mph !(I still have the 1979  leathered steering wheel, yes leather!) the engine just went bang and came to a halt quickly. The motorway came to a halt but remember that members of the public pushed me off to the hard shoulder.

A bit of useless information but there yu go.

It was the Storm that was the rage back then not the Golf.

 i have an 81 storm, only just reached 59k! lovely cars

Very sadly missed.

Mine was a MK1 is yours a MK2?

 no mk1, mk2 storm was 84