Club 80-90 Forums

So....

In the pre-Christmas shopping pandemonium after about 15 years of pondering I finally did it and bought my 1st T25 / T3!
I know this thing is going to be a labour of love (I've owned a Mk1 gti before) and I have (or soon will have) no social life at all!

It's not in what you'd call "showroom condition" but I've got time and a willingness to learn so the decision i now have is the following....

The bus currently has a 1.9 diesel 1y engine out of a Caddy, this was done OK (ish) by a previous owner, however the last owner has let it run out of coolant, blown the head gasket, the belt is shot and there's no cap on the radiator expansion tank - Basically he's cooked it! the decisions now is do I stick with the 1y series engine and get another one, do all the seals etc or do I change direction and stick a MK2 golf GTI 8v in there and convert it again?

I'm looking for a balance of performance, reliability and ease of maintenance, it'll probably only have to get me through the next couple of years at which point I plan to do a subaru conversion, but for now I need to keep the costs down so I can throw the rest of my cash, time and effort at the body and doing it right

Open to any options!

Thanks

I would repair the 1y and get to spend some time getting to know what you have bought before investing too much in a costly conversion, who knows you might even like the 1.9?

Stick a Mk 3 golf 2,0l 8v in, it's not an expensive conversion.

I was about to ask what you preferred as you may as well drive what you enjoy,
but then you are hankering after a Subaru, and was your Mk1 a petrol too?
So my guess is you might like the vroom vroom petrol best.
The Golf conversion might just satisfy you well enough without going Subaru later.
Subies are lovely but the nice simple non turbo ones are hard to find in good shape,
and the whole set up is bound to cost a fair bit compared to the golf.
Add that to the time and cost of another conversion..
How about a van and a social life too!

Thanks for all the reply’s!

The golf I had was a petrol and had a conversion to a Passat 2 litre.
In reality I would really like to do a Subaru conversion right now but i know it’s going to cost a decent amount even if I do it myself! I also need to make sure I have enough cash left to finish the bus. It currently not even got an interior!

I can pick up a decent (known history) 1y engine for about £400, my mate can strip and rebuild for about £100 then we can drop it back in and (in theory) I’m on the road again!

If I convert to a GTI engine I’ll also have to change the tank and figure out the logistics, not
Much more work but sourcing a decent engine with a good history is another challenge.

Decisions, decisions...

Do you have to change the tank?
You may have to raise the engine lid..
The idea of keeping it simple and quick,
back on the road fast does sound appealing.
Drive it, dont lie under it!

And spend time looking for the suby motor,
and bits you need.
Maybe a wanted ad on here?

another 1y would be the easiest straight forward job

I've managed to source a decent 1Y and have decided to replace the existing one (blown head gasket & shot pump) with the new engine.

Thanks for all the advice, hopefully it'll be a smooth swap over!

Just out of curiosity... I read a thread about someone upgrading the fuel pump to give the 1Y a bit more Ooomph, does anyone have any experience of that as it seems a easy way to get a bit more power.