MkIV Engine Conversion?

[gavs]

Hi all,

At this point in time this is a kind of theoretical deal, but has the potential to grow legs depending on the costs and if something goes wrong with my current engine or gearbox (might or might not be a deliberate failure....)

Soooo, my question is this: What kind of engine / drivetrain conversion would be best in everyone's opinion?

Mk4 GTi drivetrain (As far as I know, a direct bolt-on?)

Mk4 2lt Drivetrain with bolt-on forced induction kit (as above, maybe?)

Bora V5 Drivetrain (Have no idea on this one, but I do love the sound of 5 cylinder engines!)

Bora V6 4Motion Drivetrain (my personal favourite)


What does everyone think about the pros and cons of each option? I personally like the idea of the v6 transplant after seeing on youtube a Mk4 owner in the Uk doing this conversion, but I'm not so sure in regards to the potential costs associated.....

[h100vw]

NEVER build a car that you can buy, it will cost you a lot more than selling the current car and buying the factory model. Even if you have to fix up your first car.

If you do a transplant, you then end up with a car that has been modified from factory spec. Which has to cost more to insure than a real one, plus a whole load of other hassle if you want to sell it.

Repair, sell, buy. Is my advice.

Gavin

[Golf Loon]

In your favour is the fact that Mk4s have the same width subframes and hub setups.

Also the wiring is the same on all the cars under the dash, you can simply plug in the ecu for the new engine in the scuttle panel under the windscreen and connect the engine loom. Thats it.

You can then adapt the ecu to your car with VAG Com and thats it.

You would also be wise to upgrade the brakes and sway bars to those of the donor car.

I agree up to a point that you should never build a car you can buy, but nor should you chuck money at a flawed thing like a 1.6 gearbox.
Also if you pull the gearbox out before it explodes, you can sell it as they are hard to get.

There is no legal issue in this country, as as long as the engine was delieverd in a car with the same compliance number, all engines are allowable. Change the number with the authorities, no engineering needed.

Do a V5 Golf, or V6 FWD for something no-one else has got.

[gavs]

I agree up to a point that you should never build a car you can buy, but nor should you chuck money at a flawed thing like a 1.6 gearbox.

That's kind of the point, I prefer the shape of the golf over the bora and I've got the car almost setup, suspension wise, exactly how I like it.
Things like the interior and stereo etc, for me to sell the golf for what, $5k, maybe $6K? Then buy a bora and re-do all the suspension and stereo etc and interior would more than likely set me back more than to do a conversion....

Do a V5 Golf, or V6 FWD for something no-one else has got.

Exactly the point, why buy something that lots of people have when I could potentially build something unique that is mine and mine alone? What kind of prices do you charge for engines Golf Loon, esp a V5 or V6 engine?

[dubbed]

It'd be cool in theory to have a V6 Golf in Oz, but I think with the fuel economy and extra weight it wouldn't be worth it. I'd stick to the tried and tested 1.8t. BUT in saying that, I'd take all my parts off and then find a GTI to transfer them all to.

[Jarred]

I agree, I reckon buy a GTI and then swap all the bits that you want (suspension, stereo etc) into the GTI and the GTI stuff into your current car.

unless you were willing to part with the big bucks and do a conversion like a V5. it'd be kinda redundant to do a 1.8T into your car imo.

[Gravey]

I'd imagine the V6 in a FWD would have huge amounts of torque steer! Was the Golf VR5 released in Australia and are they FWD or AWD?

[Mrk_Mickey]

I'd imagine the V6 in a FWD would have huge amounts of torque steer! Was the Golf VR5 released in Australia and are they FWD or AWD?

Unfortunately we got nothing like that only the R32..

Think about everything to do the engine conversion. Will you need to buy another car to get around in? If something goes wrong along the way are you prepared to fork out some more money to fix it? Are you going to get bored of it quickly enough to regret spending so much on a conversion?

There's lots to think about...if you cover all the bases, then you'll be able to weigh up your options and see the results of each scenario in front of you. That makes it a much nicer choice

[tommymac]

Unfortunately we got nothing like that only the R32..

Think about everything to do the engine conversion. Will you need to buy another car to get around in? If something goes wrong along the way are you prepared to fork out some more money to fix it? Are you going to get bored of it quickly enough to regret spending so much on a conversion?

There's lots to think about...if you cover all the bases, then you'll be able to weigh up your options and see the results of each scenario in front of you. That makes it a much nicer choice

haha NON OF THE ABOVE (for me)

but for real just buy a GTI - or save for a mk4 r32 and a VF engineering turbo kit schawwwwiinng, if not you can very respectable power out of a mk4 gti with flash tunes and large bolt on turbo kits.

Oh ps building a car isnt that bad, its all about common sense and planning so you dont mess stuff up, however, having built the mk2 the biggest issue is motivation - there is a large hump where your thinking man is it worth this? all you mates are burning around and you will are in a garage for 10 hours a day for at least Friday night and Sat, if you dont have the time that will be your killer.

[Golf Loon]

You can buy a V5 Bora in Oz and its FWD

I sold the last V5 engine for $1200 bargain as just a long motor, youd want the loom etc for a conversion.


I have all the ecu, loom and clocks etc for a bora v5, just no engine or box atm.

Would be easier and probably cheaper to buy a smashed car and park the 2 next to each other and swop parts till you are done.

[goodfella]

what about an S3 1.8T into a Bora V6-4mo ?

similiar power but endless potential for tuning.

[gavs]

Well like I said in the first post, this is all theoretical at this stage which is why I was wanting people opinions on the different POTENTIAL conversions. I understand that I could just go out and buy a GTi and swap all my suspension etc over, but that's not the point. In that scenario, I would just have another tuned GTi....

I've looked through the restoration and build up thread and it seems common practice to swap engines in Mk1 and Mk2 golfs, even the odd Mk3 so why not the Mk4? That was the rational process behind my thinking.

So could people please stop telling me "just buy a GTi" and put some thought into what you personally would like to do with your Golf / Bora if given the opportunity? Like I said, I'd really love to swap the whole drivetrain out of a wrecked Bora v6 4Motion, but do I have the time? No. Do I have the money? More than likely yes. Do I have the patience and motivation? Hell No!! In the end I might just up and buy a GTi, most likely I will at some stage, but untill then, i'll dare to dream and I ask for all of you to dream with me

Soooo, my prefered option would be:

Bora V6 4motion drivetrain with stronger diffs, Haldex controller and bolt-on forced induction kit, preferably supercharger, all tucked away in my plain jane green Golf Rally

What about you others????

[Jarred]

... i'll dare to dream and I ask for all of you to dream with me

...

Oh sorry, thought this was a serious thread, wanting serious opinions & thoughts.

Since we're just dreaming, 4mo running gear with a worked 20VT! Hello GT28 & 2.2 stroker kit!

standard exterior, full sleeper spec!

[dubbed]

I can see your point... However, after doing up a base model car before, I just don't see the point. At least if you start with a sportier model you get a lot of the little features you won't have in your Rally Golf. Then comes resale.

As it's all hypothetical, I'd just build a 1.8t with a decent sized turbo, strong 6-speed manual, and fit all-wheel drive to my Golf. I'd want it to smoke all four corners smashing through 1st-2nd-3rd haha.

[Golf Loon]

Pretty sure the floor pan is different on a 4mo and your 1.6, so you would have to do major fab work to go 4WD.

Id just keep it 2WD for realistic ease of completion.