best 1z donor vehicle?

[conor2469]

Hi guys, I am in the process of buying a car to eventually use as a donor vehicle for a 1z tdi conversion into a t25.
Are any of the following vehicles less desirable as donor vehicles than the rest, and if so then why?

MK3 golf tdi
B4 passat tdi
Audi 80 tdi

There is an audi 80 I can buy quite cheap, however it is a 94 car. Would the 1z setup in this 94 car differ from the 1z in the later mk3 golf? Is the AHU engine more suitable than the 1z?

[Aidan]

transverse engine is best I believe

[syncroandy]

If you want to stay with a 90hp TDI (wastegate turbo) for some reason, I'd suggest trying to get as late as possible a transverse AHU engine as you can. 1Z is early to mid-90's so really quite an old engine by now. AHU is a slightly later revision fitted to various cars until the late '90's. eg. late Mk3 Golf, early Shazzer, some Seats. However if you find a good 1Z (service history, OK miles) in a B4 Passat that'd be good as the harness is really nice for a conversion. (In contrast the Shazzer is a work of the devil, many many more hours work.)

[donciuz]

I used a P reg Golf mk3 for my conversion. Got it for £250 scrapped the shell and sold usable bits. Doing the loom was rather easy. Cut the unused wires and shorten/extend the used wires did it all myself.

[conor2469]

Thanks fellas, ok so transverse is in, that rules out the audi so. Seems like a b4 passat or mk3 golf is the way to go

[discipleofsketch]

Mine came from a 1995 golf - the upside is that there was no immobiliser to deal with, the downside is that my ECU isn't OBD2 compliant (those came in 1996), so I can't use it with the bluetooth adapter I bought to communicate with torque on my phone. I guess the other downside is that it is a 20 year old engine!

[jes*b]

I have owned several - and put many many miles on - AHU mk3 golfs. My current daily I bought on 38k two years ago and it's just about to turn 90k. They are agricultural but I cannot fault the engines. Having said that I am getting an AFN ready ( ) for my PV. As Andy says the shazza loom ain't a pretty sight.

[jes*b]

Whereabouts are you ?