nikolai-7

Hey, hot people. Here is my 1992 VW golf GTI 8v;



I got my car 2 years ago, and have been working on her ever since. First was the set of Fittipaldi Indy's, in 15x7j et20, and an H&R cup kit.


Then my 8v started burning lots of oil, and it seemed like a good excuse for an engine swap. Total balance is the most important aspect of a car for me, so i was set on keeping it 4 cyl.

After nearly buying a g60, as well as a 1.8t, I found a built 8v longblock with 120whp. It had a massively ported and polished head, was fully blueprinted and built with a mild cam and 10-1 compression. The engine was bought, and in one weekend the cars swapped drivetrains. Massive thanks to Alex, Sean, and Greg for the help.


The car ran beautifully for a time, and I fell in love with N/A power, but digi2 was leaning out up top and losing power. Since I wouldn't be driving the car to Uvic, it was time for a build.



So the plan is to improve all areas of the car, with the goal being a street/touge/mild track car. Suzuki ITB's, Megasquirt, 10.1 front brakes, rear disk swap, full suspension refresh, new bushings everywhere, USRT smartshift kit, engine pull and full bay respray, mild tuck and shave, space out the wheels for more aggressive stance, as well as bodywork.


She makes around 120whp now, comparted to about 85 whp stock. With the MS and ITB's, I'm estimating 140whp, with the mild 268 cam.


The semester has just finished, so i am properly getting to work now. Here's what she looks like today:


Right, i'm off to pull the rear drums.

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Interviewer: "Mika, Jean Alesi said that going through Eau Rouge flat out is like having an orgasm, what do you think?" Häkkinen: "I think Jean is sh***ing his pants and mixing up the feelings"

Ben/brg

I like this, subtle performance oriented builds are always the best. It looked like you had a lot of clearance to put that engine back in.

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1991 BRG

Stockish.

PatBroChill

8v are ridiculously small...my buddys 8v jetta i could stand in his stock bay and have my feet on the ground with the motor and all accessories. I love mk2s. I was going to buy one before i decided i wanted a miata. im keeping an eye on this build

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My Build Thread
Foamectomy How-to

nikolai-7

Thanks fellas, its good to hear kind words.


Engine, subframe, and old control arms are out:



Those antique rear stopping devices are gone:



Sittin pretty



with some wire brushes on an angle grinder, the seam sealer is starting to go:



And some pretty flowers




Tomorrow ill attack the seam sealer some more. The wire brush works like a charm, it shouldn't take too long to strip the lady down

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Interviewer: "Mika, Jean Alesi said that going through Eau Rouge flat out is like having an orgasm, what do you think?" Häkkinen: "I think Jean is sh***ing his pants and mixing up the feelings"

blindsk8er1013

Ive alwasy wanted one of these as a project car. Good luck with your build

320icar

hey, more bc boys!

mbrown

forgive my VW noobness, but are the intake and exhaust on the same side of the block?

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2

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nikolai-7

Cheers, everybody!

Yessir, this is an early counterflow 8v, so the intake is on the back. Later ones switched to crossflow.

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Interviewer: "Mika, Jean Alesi said that going through Eau Rouge flat out is like having an orgasm, what do you think?" Häkkinen: "I think Jean is sh***ing his pants and mixing up the feelings"

nikolai-7

Massive update, the past weeks have been spent shaving and sanding the bay for paint. Now the race for Volksfest begins.

Here is the result of the endless toiling in the engine bay:



Shaved rain tray, battery area, and strut towers.

The colour is mk5 GTI black, a nicely metallic colour. I was thrilled with the outcome, as its my first major bodywork. Mad, mad thanks to Alex for coming down to spray it.




Picked up a set of very light fibreglass buckets as well, they feel fantastic.



Drilled rear disks are also in, with small lower spacers. Should end up with 1.5-2' camber.



Now theres less than two weeks to Volksfest, and the engine has to be painted and installed, along with the entire front end. An ITB manifold has to be fabb'd, the MS installed and tuned, as well as the USRT smartshift kit. With this much assembly, theres bound to be many things going wrong, so its time to get to work.

Ciao

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Interviewer: "Mika, Jean Alesi said that going through Eau Rouge flat out is like having an orgasm, what do you think?" Häkkinen: "I think Jean is sh***ing his pants and mixing up the feelings"

adam777

Makes me miss my old VWs: A an 89 GLI 16v, and 84 GTI w/ a 2.0 16v swap, an 82 Rabbit and even my dear old 88 Fox (first car). Nice looking car and props for no roof rack or stupid camber.

uni

came in here cause i read v8 mk2, dangit

nikolai-7

It's been a mad rush to get her to Volksfest, but we made it. This was taken at six in the morning, day of volkfest, first time sitting on the ground in months.



Cant thank the guys that made it happen enough. It would have taken months more without you. Rick, Alex, Colby, Robin, you're the best.



Rick went mad with the wiring, and the engine fired and started at 4:30 am, but wouldn't hold an idle. The butterfly's weren't open enough, and there was no main adjustment screw. A makeshift bracket was made to hold them open a tiny amount, but its almost impossible to set right. This caused the 2-3 thousand rpm idle as she pulled into Volkfest.

Alex got the guys to hold open registration a bit longer, and at 10:20, we finally made it! It had been almost 2 days and nights of solid work, but she ran, barely. Made quite an entrance, with no hood, and the cacophony of sound that the open ITB's made.







The genius at work



Trying to get her running at the end of the day, just to make it back home!





There's a lot more to do. Brakes need work, a variable rate throttle wheel needs to be made, the management might have to switch to hybrid alpha-N, as its being devilishly difficult to tune. The few moments when she ran well though, it felt beautiful. Sounds great, and the lighter weight, new control arms and bushings really improved the feel. Can't wait to drive once its finished and dialed in.

Again, thanks everybody. It's been a long time in the garage, and feels fantastic to have the finish in sight.

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Interviewer: "Mika, Jean Alesi said that going through Eau Rouge flat out is like having an orgasm, what do you think?" Häkkinen: "I think Jean is sh***ing his pants and mixing up the feelings"

TrackStar42

nice mk2. my first car was a mk3 8v crossflow and I have always wanted a mk2 16v. But why didnt you not swap crossflow or 16v? I see you had the g60 but with ms you could have a better motor and more reliability with the crossflow.

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i <3 my MSM

redfred18t

what are you going to do in case it rains?