In this video I want to clarify something. The title of this video is: BEFORE YOU SWAP. Actually, that's what I lack in the network. I am aware that a 1.8T conversion on the Golf 2 is nothing special and yet there is so much different information on the Internet that it is extremely difficult to work out a plan which parts you need exactly. Now I've already used the word. A plan! As a trained mathematician, I cannot just approach something without planning it in advance. Before I started the project, I looked at tutorials on the internet or read through forums and was able to collect a large part of the information.
I can only recommend the site from Bar-tek, which specializes in 1.8T conversions, among other things. This company has put together a table with all engine codes that existed for the 1.8T. For me, this is the most informative table out there. The table lists all engine codes in combination with the car that goes with it. Here you can already see the wide range of 1.8T variants that have existed over the years. So you have to be clear in advance what you want. Do you want a 5-speed gearbox or a 6-speed gearbox? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different variants? Perhaps weight and durability are always an issue here. Then. Do you want to drive wide or narrow axles? This is a very important point because a lot of factors depend on it. Among other things, the rims, brakes, axles and drive shafts. So "everything" depends on it. So you should decide very early on which direction you want to go. For me personally it was very clear that I wanted to keep my narrow axles.
So I found out which motor mounts I need in my case so that I can keep my existing unit carrier. After I found out that it wasn't a problem, I was of course very happy and only had to get the right holder. Once that was the rear engine mount from the Passat 35i, the front gearbox mount from the Passat 35i and the front cross member from the Passat 35i worked. Respectively, people wrote in the forum that it would work. So I got the parts and tested them in one of my first videos. In my opinion, this is the process that everyone has to go through for themselves during such a renovation. I can only advise you: plan everything from start to finish! Under no circumstances should you just rush off and hope that it works, because it goes 100% wrong. Unfortunately, despite my detailed planning, I also ran into problems. My boost pressure piping, for example, was a catastrophe, but for me the subject is one of those things that you can't necessarily plan in detail because a lot of things also depend on it.
Which intercooler do I drive, which water cooler do I drive, which air filter do I drive? Where does my washer fluid tank go, where does the coolant expansion tank go? Do I drive power steering, or air conditioning, or maybe no air conditioning, or …? You should think about all of the points in advance. Then a very important point: the electrics! At the very beginning I thought I could do it "alone". I thought to myself "put the few cables together" that can't be that difficult if you really familiarize yourself with the matter, I just thought it was possible. But honestly, for someone who has never done this before and is absolutely not at home with electrics , I can only advise against doing it. That is the reason why I finally decided to let a professional do the wiring harness. Next. What else is connected to the electrics? The speedometer. The speedometer is a very important factor in my case because of the 6-speed gearbox. The gearbox here no longer has a manual speedometer cable which can display the speed signal analogously, but requires a digital speed signal .
I actually found out about this in advance and found 2 companies in Germany that do such conversions. Now, after everything I've done on the Golf 2, I've come to the point of turning on the speedometer, I reported to both companies, and they unfortunately made it clear to me pretty quickly that the way I imagine it won't work. For this conversion you need a speedometer from a Golf 2 GTI with new ZE and multifunction display (MFA) No wrong. You don't necessarily need it, one of the two companies just converts GTI speedometers with MFA for the 1.8T, which shows consumption, speed, outside temperature, time, etc. I want these displays but respectfully I was convinced that my speedometer could be modified with the digital display below. Wrong thought! There is, however, an alternative. So the first company to convert the GTI speedometer with MFA is called Turbowatch and the other is called Maustech. You can find both links in the description, then you can see what I mean.
Both convert the speedometer for the 1.8T conversion. One exclusive Golf GTI speedometer with MFA and the other would also convert my speedometer to digital signal, but for this I would also have to get a speedometer from a 4-cylinder A4, for example. Ok, cool thing, but then I would have had my wiring harness rebuilt for free, because this is where all sensors such as: outside temperature, oil temperature, and water temperature are on, and so I feel compelled to have the speedometer rebuilt at Turbowatch. Since I had planned this in the budget from the start, that's not that bad, but now I have to find an MFA speedometer … But if you look at what they cost in the network … you can only say that it is The salesman will ring the bell again nicely in the cash register! In the end, I found a Golf 2 16V GTI speedometer with MFA on the Internet for a price of € 260 including shipping. Then there is the conversion of the speedometer for now 500 €. That means the speedometer alone will cost me about 800 € in the end. For example, if you want to build a low budget right from the start, this would be exactly the wrong approach.
Although I did NOT want to build a low budget right from the start , in the course of such a renovation, expenses arise that were not intended and hurt! Because of this, I would be out there for you. Plan ahead! What do you want to spend ? Set your budget roughly. You will almost certainly exceed this budget, the only question is, by how many percent will you exceed your budget? I was aware from the beginning that I didn't want to do a low budget conversion because I know what such a decent conversion would cost, since my starter kit was already so expensive. That means it was clear that you cannot do the conversion for 5000 €. Another important point is to get all parts in advance if possible. I have all the cross members, rubber mounts, wishbones, drive shafts, etc. I got all these things in advance so I wouldn't have to take a forced break later and you could no longer work on the car because either it was no longer possible for financial reasons, or you just can't get the parts.
It should just be clear to everyone that you cannot find the parts in the hardware store ^^ That is not the case. You have to look for the parts together, prepare them accordingly and, above all, test whether they all fit. Unfortunately, you can't plan everything, and yet you should plan a maximum in advance in order to prevent problems as much as possible.Another critical point if you want to drive the car on the road, at least here in Luxembourg, in Germany it's similar, but there every country has its own specifications.
For me it was essential that I clarify in advance which conditions I have to meet in order to get the conversion registered. Which is actually the alpha and omega of the renovation. It would be pointless to spend 10,000 € on a conversion and would ruin the Golf 2 by never being allowed to legally drive it on the road again. So clarify these points in advance with your TÜV inspector. Ask as many questions as possible. What about the exhaust system? How about the suction? How much power can you actually register? What about the circuit? Rims? Landing gear? Downpipe? Which points have to be fulfilled so that the conversion can be registered. This is very important! I asked these questions very early on and had everything given to me in writing. Of course, I still don't have a 100% guarantee that it will be entered that way, but at least I have something in writing that I can rub under the nose of the examiner if he should cause problems. In my case it wasn't that long ago that the rebuild started that I can't imagine him saying, "No no boy, you have to change this now, you have to change that …
I hope not. I think not ! But well, more about this probably in a later video! My next important tip: Don't save at the wrong end! That is the reason why I bought this kit, because it was a kind of all-round carefree package with gearbox, engine block, etc. The kit was actually intended for a Golf 1 conversion with speedometer, control unit, wiring harness, gearbox and engine block. Actually, this type of conversion would be perfect. In addition, I am of the opinion that if you do such a conversion, you can do it properly from the beginning to do. It does not make sense the whole thing simply reckless to throw in, knowing that the engine compartment dirty, rusty, stained and overall looks like hell. that would be stupid. Just now you will soon where hl no longer get to it.
So, engine out and I don't want to say: everything is new. But at least seal, paint, and just make sure that the fun lasts for a long time. For this reason I have ice-blasted, sand-blasted and powder-coated all parts so that all parts that come in now are flawless! I am aware that this car is not perfect and that no one out there might have their car perfect, but that's not the point. That's just my approach. Everything I touch, I make new, or at least so that I can live with the result. I know that in some places I may be a little too small-minded, but I just want it to be nice and tidy and not muddled together. Another important point with such a conversion is time! One should be aware that such a conversion takes time. The thought that such a conversion will be ready in 3 months is impossible to implement. Firstly, if you don't get all of the parts in time, secondly, everything is tied to deadlines and thirdly, the work is not so easy for you. OK, if you only do the conversion, you could actually do it.
But for someone like me who has an 8 hour job and also has a private life with family, dog and household, then the conversion cannot be implemented in the time frame! You should just know that such a conversion will take a lot of time, nerves and patience and is not an insignificant point for me. Thank goodness I have a very tolerant woman who supports everything here and is just as crazy about cars as I am. I'm really grateful for that! If the car is a point of contention in a relationship, then I would not necessarily tackle the conversion and under no circumstances would I talk about money! In any case: money plays a very important role in such a renovation.
You shouldn't have it urgently and under no circumstances should you stress, because then mistakes will happen! So. I hope you enjoyed the video. I hope you could draw a conclusion from this video, or maybe I pissed you off with my statements or in the best case I motivated you to do this conversion. At the end of the renovation , I wanted to make a video of the conclusion in which I wanted to go into the budget and list all parts. How long the conversion took, what problems arose during the conversion and I can simply draw an overall conclusion about the conversion and draw your attention to the individual points and problems out there. For me this is also a learning process and I learn something new here every day. There are some points that I made at the beginning of this video series that I have since changed. Once, twice, even three times. And when the conversion is complete and everything is entered, it would be interesting for me as well as for you out there and to draw a conclusion about how something should or should not be done, or even can do better.
I also want to make it clear that my project will be far from perfect afterwards. When the conversion is finished, or now during the conversion, if you see something that you would do differently or better, please let me know. You have already pointed out something to me 3 times, which I also changed in the end. Last but not least, I just want to point out something that I don't think quite came across yet. I've been adding subtitles to every video for a while. You can click "CC" below and thus display the desired Sprahce. I translate my chatter in advance into German, and Youtube translates this subtitle into the following selected languages: French, Dutch and now also in English, since it is simply the most international language.
Although I decided at the beginning to shoot these videos in my mother tongue and that way I can express myself better than in one of the foreign languages mentioned before. In the course of the videos, however, I heard that more and more people, also from the other side of the pond, are watching the videos, think the videos are cool, but don't understand anything … That just gave me the incentive to add subtitles to write my videos. Please tell me if that helps you? It's a lot of work to write these subtitles, but I think it will go down well with you. I also greet Jake at this point. Check out his videos which are very good and detailed. You can find a link to his channel in my description. He's already helped me a lot with his video and I helped him last time too! Do it yourself.
Thanks for watching! See you in the next video. See you. Ciao!.