Saw in an article so thought id share Boneyard shopping for water-cooled VWs is made easy by the fact that so many components can be swapped from model to model. In some cases, putting VW’s latest engine technology into an early, lightweight shell is a bolt-on job—somewhat, at least. Like most other manufacturers, VW uses a chassis numbering system to differentiate between the various generations of their cars, all of which tend to contain common parts: the A1 chassis includes the Rabbit, Scirocco (all of them) and original Jetta; the A2 chassis was used for the Golf and second-gen Jetta; the A3 cars include the third-generation Golf and Jetta; and the A4 chassis just started production with the new Golf, Jetta and New Beetle. Nearly all A1 VW front rotors are 9.4 inches in diameter, but A1 and A2 GTIs and some late-model Sciroccos have vented front rotors (other cars came with solid rotors). The 1.8-liter engine from 1983 and 1984 Rabbit GTI models is a direct bolt-in to any other A1 car and will easily replace the earlier 1.5-, 1.6- and 1.7-liter engines. The eight-valve, 1.8-liter block from the A2 Golf GTI is an even better bet because it features a higher compression ratio (8.5:1 vs. 10:1); the fact it’s newer doesn’t hurt, either. There was quite a variety of transmissions offered on the A1, and the only way to properly identify a transmission is to check the code on the bell housing. The hot setup for an earlier car is a 1983-’84 GTI tranny (code 4K or 2H); this unit features VW Motorsport close-ratio gears and a 3.94:1 final drive. The ultimate for low-end acceleration is the 1981 Rabbit pickup truck tranny with a 4.17:1 final drive (GY code). A transmission from a diesel Rabbit is a good, low-buck alternative because it features low final drives and people are often willing to get rid of these trannies for pennies. The 1986-’87 GTI features the same Bosch CIS injection system that came on the Rabbits, so it’s an easy swap. The 19871/2-and-up GTIs came with the Digifant injection system, but the blocks and heads are compatible with CIS. Some miscellaneous A1 tips: Swapping the 16-valve engines (in either 1.8- or 2.0-liter guise) into an A1 car can be done, although a Scirocco 16v makes the best donor; the aluminum bumpers that came on the 1981 Rabbits are much lighter than the earlier, chromed steel units; and if you’re looking for cooling system upgrades, in general the newer the car—or the more options it carries—the larger the radiator. Sport model Sciroccos from 1978-and-up have Recaro seats that will fit any Rabbit. These have become a bit rare and pricey, but are still cheaper than a full race seat. The 1990-’92 16-valve A2 cars also came with real Recaro seats, but A2 and A3 seats won’t fit into an A1 car without some mods, as the slider adjuster is on the wrong side. Another cheap, torquey engine is the 2.0-liter cross-flow from the 1993-’98 A3 Golfs. It will physically bolt into any early chassis, but the wiring is not a plug-and-play setup. A VR6 engine will even fit in a Rabbit or A2 Golf if you’re the creative type. (The engine bolts in, but the wiring is another story.) The 16-valve A2 Jetta and all A3 cars came with 10-inch front rotors, and the entire front brake assembly can be swapped into any early A1 car if you grab the calipers, rotors, caliper mounting brackets and hub/bearing assembly. This swap does require at least 14-inch rims, though. For even bigger front brakes, the VR6 Corrado came with 11-inch front brakes; 15-inch wheels or larger are required to accommodate them. If you’re looking to install disc brakes at the rear of your drum-brake-equipped A2, the entire A2 or A3 rear axle beam will fit. If you do swap to rear discs, you’ll have to either adjust the factory-installed weight-sensitive brake proportioning valve or buy an aftermarket unit and tune it yourself. Another trick for yielding more power on a 1985-’87 eight-valve car is to grab the larger, dual downpipe off a 49-state Digifant-equipped car. While it is more of a cosmetic upgrade, the fuller, more integrated-looking bumpers from the 1991-’92 Golfs can be retrofitted to an earlier A2 car with only a slight weight gain. On the inside, seats are fully interchangeable within the A2 and A3 series. On A4 cars, the Golf’s ovoid headlamps are a bolt-on conversion for Jettas, although the Golf grille and hood are required to complete the look. When playing with VW swaps, note that all 1990-and-up cars came with something called Central Electrics, which makes the installation of most any 1990-and-up engine (VR6, 2.0-liter, and probably 1.8-liter turbo) into a 1990-and-up car pretty easy. After 1993, engine swapping became even easier because all VW cars came with one large electrical connector for the entire engine (vs. a bunch of little two-pin connectors). Wheels are pretty interchangeable among water-cooled VW products, as long as you put four-lug wheels on four-lug cars and keep the five-lug wheels on five-lug cars. (Pretty obvious, huh?) Over the last 30 years, VWs have come with a wide variety of wheels, ranging from factory 13-inch steels to 18-inch alloys on the latest GTIs. For late-model Volkswagens, the GTI 337 is the pinnacle of the line, with Recaro seats, a six-speed transmission, sport suspension and 18-inch wheels. Assuming you can find one that’s being parted out, nearly all of its go-fast goodies will bolt onto a more pedestrian A4-chassis car. VW has put their 1.8T turbo engine into a lot of their cars lately, with the later ones conservatively rated at 180 horsepower from the factory. The only difference between the 180-horsepower models and earlier 150-horsepower cars is ECU mapping, although it’s probably cheaper to buy an aftermarket chip than a complete ECU from a salvage yard.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 18:34:04 +0000
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