murcielagoGTR
Ready to race!
- Location
- New Bern NC
- Car(s)
- 91 GTI
Volkswagen
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, light-weight shell is a bolt-on job.
It's important to realize that VW uses a chassis numbering system to differentiate between the various generations of their cars: the A1 chassis includes the original Rabbit, Scirocco and Jetta; the A2 chassis was used for the Golf, second-generation Scirocco and second-gen Jetta; the A3 cars include the third-generation Golf and Jetta; while the A4 chassis just started production with the new Golf, Jetta and New Beetle.
For the most part, if something major like a rear axle assembly fits an A1 Rabbit, it will probably also fit an A1 Scirocco. In many cases, major assemblies like engines and axles from a later series can be adapted to an earlier ones. A lot of times, it's even a bolt-in swap
When looking for an engine for an A1 or A2 car, several good candidates are out there. The fact that nearly all water-cooled VWs use the same engine mounting locations only makes swapping easier.
First, the 1.8-liter engine from 1983 and 1984 A1 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.
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 -up GTIs came with the Digifant injection system, but the blocks and heads are compatible with CIS.
Swapping the 16-valve A2 engines (in either 1.8- or 2.0-liter guise) into an A1 car can be done if you don't mind playing with injection systems. A pedestrian A2 car can be easily beefed up with a 16-valve engine as well.
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 you'll need to figure out the wiring on your own. A VR6 engine will even fit in a Rabbit or A2 Golf if you're the creative type. (The engine physically bolts in, but the wiring is another story.)
When playing with VW swaps, note that all 1990-up cars came with Central Electrics, making the installation of most any 1990-up engine (VR6, 2.0-liter, and probably 1.8-liter turbo) into a 1990-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).
Clutch sizes for these cars ranged from 190mm to 210mm. The GTI's clutch is the lightest and the strongest.
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). On 1980 and later A1 cars, large Kelsey-Hayes front calipers were included that increased pad surface area by nearly 75 percent; plus, these calipers will readily accept the vented GTI rotors. The 1979-up A1 cars have self-adjusting rear brake shoes. A better choice for racing are the pre-1979 manually adjusting rear brakes from earlier cars.
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, though.
If you're looking to install disc brakes on the rear of your drum-brake-equipped car, 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.
Wheels are interchangeable throughout the series, as long as you put four-lug wheels on four-lug cars and keep the five-lug wheels on five-lug cars. Over the last 20 years, VWs have come with a wide variety of wheels, ranging from factory 13-inch steelies to real, live BBS rims.
There was quite a variety of transmissions offered, and the only way to properly identify a transmission is to check the code on the bellhousing. The hot setup for an earlier car is a 1983-'84 GTI tranny (code 4K or 2H), as this unit featured 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 as they feature low final drives and people are often willing to get rid of them.
Sport model Sciroccos from 1978-up have Recaro seats which 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. (The slider adjuster is on the wrong side of the seat.) Obviously, seats are fully interchangeable within the A2 and A3 series.
The aluminum bumpers that came on the 1981 Rabbits are much lighter than the earlier units. While 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. While a bit of a rare find, the sport steering wheel from the special edition Scirocco (1976 and up) bolts onto any A1 chassis car.
If you're looking for cooling system upgrades, in general the newer the car-or the more options it carries-the larger the radiator.
Another trick for yielding more power on a 1985-'87 eight-valve car is to grab the larger, dual downpipe off a Digifant-equipped car. (The 1991-'92 California cars and some Jetta GLI models didn't come with the dual pipe, however.)
GRM
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, light-weight shell is a bolt-on job.
It's important to realize that VW uses a chassis numbering system to differentiate between the various generations of their cars: the A1 chassis includes the original Rabbit, Scirocco and Jetta; the A2 chassis was used for the Golf, second-generation Scirocco and second-gen Jetta; the A3 cars include the third-generation Golf and Jetta; while the A4 chassis just started production with the new Golf, Jetta and New Beetle.
For the most part, if something major like a rear axle assembly fits an A1 Rabbit, it will probably also fit an A1 Scirocco. In many cases, major assemblies like engines and axles from a later series can be adapted to an earlier ones. A lot of times, it's even a bolt-in swap
When looking for an engine for an A1 or A2 car, several good candidates are out there. The fact that nearly all water-cooled VWs use the same engine mounting locations only makes swapping easier.
First, the 1.8-liter engine from 1983 and 1984 A1 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.
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 -up GTIs came with the Digifant injection system, but the blocks and heads are compatible with CIS.
Swapping the 16-valve A2 engines (in either 1.8- or 2.0-liter guise) into an A1 car can be done if you don't mind playing with injection systems. A pedestrian A2 car can be easily beefed up with a 16-valve engine as well.
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 you'll need to figure out the wiring on your own. A VR6 engine will even fit in a Rabbit or A2 Golf if you're the creative type. (The engine physically bolts in, but the wiring is another story.)
When playing with VW swaps, note that all 1990-up cars came with Central Electrics, making the installation of most any 1990-up engine (VR6, 2.0-liter, and probably 1.8-liter turbo) into a 1990-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).
Clutch sizes for these cars ranged from 190mm to 210mm. The GTI's clutch is the lightest and the strongest.
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). On 1980 and later A1 cars, large Kelsey-Hayes front calipers were included that increased pad surface area by nearly 75 percent; plus, these calipers will readily accept the vented GTI rotors. The 1979-up A1 cars have self-adjusting rear brake shoes. A better choice for racing are the pre-1979 manually adjusting rear brakes from earlier cars.
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, though.
If you're looking to install disc brakes on the rear of your drum-brake-equipped car, 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.
Wheels are interchangeable throughout the series, as long as you put four-lug wheels on four-lug cars and keep the five-lug wheels on five-lug cars. Over the last 20 years, VWs have come with a wide variety of wheels, ranging from factory 13-inch steelies to real, live BBS rims.
There was quite a variety of transmissions offered, and the only way to properly identify a transmission is to check the code on the bellhousing. The hot setup for an earlier car is a 1983-'84 GTI tranny (code 4K or 2H), as this unit featured 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 as they feature low final drives and people are often willing to get rid of them.
Sport model Sciroccos from 1978-up have Recaro seats which 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. (The slider adjuster is on the wrong side of the seat.) Obviously, seats are fully interchangeable within the A2 and A3 series.
The aluminum bumpers that came on the 1981 Rabbits are much lighter than the earlier units. While 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. While a bit of a rare find, the sport steering wheel from the special edition Scirocco (1976 and up) bolts onto any A1 chassis car.
If you're looking for cooling system upgrades, in general the newer the car-or the more options it carries-the larger the radiator.
Another trick for yielding more power on a 1985-'87 eight-valve car is to grab the larger, dual downpipe off a Digifant-equipped car. (The 1991-'92 California cars and some Jetta GLI models didn't come with the dual pipe, however.)
GRM
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