1.8 8v carb engine on twin carbs

I have a '91 Clipper which I am sourcing a donor engine to rebuild as the original is leaking oil everywhere.

The plan ios to use the same engine type but still be able to use as a daily driver and do the swap in a weekend once the new engine rebuild is done.

Does anyone know if twin carbs have ever been put on a 1.8 8v carb engine?

It currently runs the pierburg effort but its rubbish.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Go for single Weber, properly jetted for your 1.8, as the replacement. Twin carbs, no real advantage on that engine.

If you going to the bother of twin carbs, surely it'd just be better to go for fuel injection?

going to fuel injection from an original setup is a bigger hassle than going for carbs  :?

don't rule out the option of carbs as i love them and if your after something with a bit of poke and fun for lanes along with a nice induction sound then deffo go for carbs, don't get me wrong injection is nice but it is easier to start with a car that originally was injection

as for weather the 1.8 8v engine is the best is a different matter, i personally would go for the 16v engine mainly for safety if anything, i don't like the fact that the inlet goes over the exhaust so if you get fuel overflow you can end up with your car on fire where as the 1.8 16v engine has the inlet on the front and exhaust on the back.

think i'm going to do the 16v with bike carbs eventually once i've sorted the rest of the car out like.

Twin carbs - lots of hassle balancing them

8V non GTI 1.8 - smaller valves and milder cam, ie won't gain the benefit of the better flow from twin carbs than 1 carb.

ok swap the head for a GTi 8v head so you have the valves and the cam and job done,

use bike carbs rather than twin carbs for less hassle…..a lot less hassle, more reliable don't go out of balence anywhere near as much as twin carbs do.

Phoenix said

ok swap the head for a GTi 8v head so you have the valves and the cam and job done,

use bike carbs rather than twin carbs for less hassle…..a lot less hassle, more reliable don't go out of balence anywhere near as much as twin carbs do.

So, head swap + new twin carbs (or bike carbs) = how much ????????




……. How much is a 1991 GTI Cabby, compared to a 1991 Clipper cabby?

Phoenix said

use bike carbs rather than twin carbs for less hassle…..a lot less hassle, more reliable don't go out of balence anywhere near as much as twin carbs do.

sorry to say this mate but that is the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard to do with carburettors.

why i did it with the polo and for less than ?300  :? that was including a bogg bros manifold and new fact fuel pump and filter king pressure reg???

head gasket set and head bolts cost ?30 new and i'm sure a GTi head off some one here wouldn't cost that much

don't see why its so hard?

Phoenix said

why i did it with the polo and for less than ?300  :? that was including a bogg bros manifold and new fact fuel pump and filter king pressure reg???

head gasket set and head bolts cost ?30 new and i'm sure a GTi head off some one here wouldn't cost that much

don't see why its so hard?

How come the "your cars and projects" section isn't full of twin carb bike carb cars then?


The reason is, if you want performance, everyone buys the GTI model, not the Clipper. And if you want even more, then you start from a GTI (better brakes, wheels, tyres, suspension, etc to start with) and the K-Jet fuel injection is in fact very good, to about 190bhp. I'm running more/less stock K-Jet (with some tweaks) and my car can do the 1/4 mile in 14.15 secs, beating many G60s and 20vTs in the process (as an example). A similar car (same engine) but on twin carbs, did it in something like 15.7.

here you go……

GSXR-600 (i know you need bigger but their the same price) - ?40
Bogg Bros manifold - ?200
Facet solid state fuel pump (full kit new) - ?50
Top spec Filter King pressure reg - ?50
2nd hand GTi Head - Tops ?50

ok so say ?400, not that much when you think twin 40's cost more than that to start with…..

injection setup means you need fuel tank (or modify your carb one….hassle) fuel pump (2 of….lift pump and inline), full injection setup inc metering head, lines, new fuel lines, injectors, ecu, loom…..i can go on

just making a point that its not as hard as you think to run bike carbs from PAST experience.

I appreciate everyones input, I was only toying with the idea as I was doing a rebuild.

The reason I never got the GTI was due to me falling in love with the car I bought, I admit using a GTI engine maybe the best route, however I would like to use the engine intended but with upgrades if possible as I would have a donor engine to take my time rebuilding.

I certainly have some things to think about, maybe the single weber is the way for or the 16v, I just don't want the extra hassle of moving the fuel lines.

Thanks again for everyones advice.

not interested in the cost mate. more the fact that bike carbs don't go out of sync as much as twins.

Phoenix said

here you go……

GSXR-600 (i know you need bigger but their the same price) - ?40
Bogg Bros manifold - ?200
Facet solid state fuel pump (full kit new) - ?50
Top spec Filter King pressure reg - ?50
2nd hand GTi Head - Tops ?50

ok so say ?400, not that much when you think twin 40's cost more than that to start with…..

injection setup means you need fuel tank (or modify your carb one….hassle) fuel pump (2 of….lift pump and inline), full injection setup inc metering head, lines, new fuel lines, injectors, ecu, loom…..i can go on

just making a point that its not as hard as you think to run bike carbs from PAST experience.

+ head gasket and new head bolts
+ forgot to mention, you'll also need GTI exhaust manifold and exhaust system
+ there's the different suspension, to swap over, too

I think the later Clippers had vented discs at the front, so at least you don't need to upgrade these too.


The point being, if you're going to modify a car for a bit more power, and there's 2 models to choose from (Clipper and GTI), I'd be starting with the one with higher power to start with…….

Agreed, using carbs in this scenario is less hassle than converting the Clipper to fuel injection.

paul_c said

Phoenix said

here you go……

GSXR-600 (i know you need bigger but their the same price) - ?40
Bogg Bros manifold - ?200
Facet solid state fuel pump (full kit new) - ?50
Top spec Filter King pressure reg - ?50
2nd hand GTi Head - Tops ?50

ok so say ?400, not that much when you think twin 40's cost more than that to start with…..

injection setup means you need fuel tank (or modify your carb one….hassle) fuel pump (2 of….lift pump and inline), full injection setup inc metering head, lines, new fuel lines, injectors, ecu, loom…..i can go on

just making a point that its not as hard as you think to run bike carbs from PAST experience.

+ head gasket and new head bolts
+ forgot to mention, you'll also need GTI exhaust manifold and exhaust system
+ there's the different suspension, to swap over, too

I think the later Clippers had vented discs at the front, so at least you don't need to upgrade these too.


The point being, if you're going to modify a car for a bit more power, and there's 2 models to choose from (Clipper and GTI), I'd be starting with the one with higher power to start with…….

Agreed, using carbs in this scenario is less hassle than converting the Clipper to fuel injection.

I agree with you on that, however this is a '91 Clipper so the brakes are fine, however due to the condition of the car from new it has a full new stainless, new brakes(vented and drilled & grooved), coilovers (not ebay cheap things) and a host of other upgrades to replace worn or damaged parts. Thats why I thought maybe a bit of an engine upgrade whilst rebuilding the engine.

novocaine said

not interested in the cost mate. more the fact that bike carbs don't go out of sync as much as twins.

lol they dont, like i said dude, from PAST experience with them

you never worked on bikes then.

no but worked on cars with bike carbs and twin 40's fitted and always found that bike carbs on cars don't go out of balence anywhere near as far as twin 40's do

nothing to with being twin carbs that mate. a twin carb arrangement will drift as much as 4 carbs. only difference is bike carbs are easier to set and being vacuum carbs will correct for any small difference's.

i have twin 45s on my 2.0 16v audi 80 engine,and it sounds great tuned at bogg brothers for ?70 152bhp @ wheels im more than happy its all personal choice and have had this from experience with minis as i was going to put 2 r1s on my clubby and as usual everyones why bother do a weber do su, no i like bike carbs so im having bike carbs, you should do what you like and just get peoples help. Nothing wrong with injection,webers or bike carbs if we all had the same it would be BORING.

I get the fuel problem a bit round bends but hey it sounds awesome my nieghbours may say different, i wanted bike carbs on this golf but the webers have had the nitrous setup just need to plumb thebottle feed and switch sorted but dont think im going to bother as not fussed about blowing up my car and not fully sure what the previuos owner has done fully to the internals