Club 80-90 Forums

I have a 1989 1.9 petrol T25 with 65000 miles.
I am looking for more oomph.
Is it possible to convert my 1.9 to 2.1?
Can anyone please suggest the best way to get a power increase?
Also noticed a company called VW speed shop do a fuel injection kit , has anyone any experience with this?
Sorry if this subject has been raised before but would appreciate some help.
Thank you 

Which carb and distributor do you currently have?
I ask because there were a couple of 1.9 petrol versions, some more versatile than others.

If the question is what can improve drivability, I’d start there.

Throw some pics up of the engine bay, and take note of part number on the distributor perhaps


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As such - replacing a late 1.9 with a late 2.1 is very manageable.
The easiest change is to fit all the 1.9 parts to the 2.1.

That is - the exhaust, cooling system, ignition system manifolds etc will all be a straight fit.

Where things become limited, is if you have a DF caburettor. These have much smaller ports on the manifolds where they bolt onto the heads.
Therefore fuel and air flow is quite restricted.
Limitting oomph.

The DG manifolds have the same size ports as the 2.1 engines, and so no air / fuel flow restrictions.
No losses in oomph.

If you are looking at fuel injection, then you are looking at more expense and complication of swapping out looms etc and adding an electric fuel pump etc.

There is another thread discussing going from early 1.9 DG to 2.1 DJ.

viewtopic.php?p=8299352#p8299352

I am doing similar converting an early 1.9DF to a later 2.1 DJ.
The only stuff remaining original will be the cooling system and gearbox.
Everything else, including the fuel tank needs to be changed or uprated (Bought and plumbed in to suit).

Smiffo wrote: ↑18 Jul 2022, 23:07 Which carb and distributor do you currently have?
I ask because there were a couple of 1.9 petrol versions, some more versatile than others.

If the question is what can improve drivability, I’d start there.

Throw some pics up of the engine bay, and take note of part number on the distributor perhaps


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Smiffo.
 I have managed to take some photos and carb but am struggling to upload them.
Is there an easy way to do this?
 I noticed the vacuum pipe from the distributor to carb has been blanked off - but not sure why?
The carb has Pierburg stamped on it, and the distributor has the following stamped on it…. Z415. 0237 024 035. 025 905 205Q. Does this mean anything to you?
Thank you .
 

Robsey wrote: ↑20 Jul 2022, 14:27 As such - replacing a late 1.9 with a late 2.1 is very manageable.
The easiest change is to fit all the 1.9 parts to the 2.1.

That is - the exhaust, cooling system, ignition system manifolds etc will all be a straight fit.

Where things become limited, is if you have a DF caburettor. These have much smaller ports on the manifolds where they bolt onto the heads.
Therefore fuel and air flow is quite restricted.
Limitting oomph.

The DG manifolds have the same size ports as the 2.1 engines, and so no air / fuel flow restrictions.
No losses in oomph.

If you are looking at fuel injection, then you are looking at more expense and complication of swapping out looms etc and adding an electric fuel pump etc.

There is another thread discussing going from early 1.9 DG to 2.1 DJ.

viewtopic.php?p=8299352#p8299352

I am doing similar converting an early 1.9DF to a later 2.1 DJ.
The only stuff remaining original will be the cooling system and gearbox.
Everything else, including the fuel tank needs to be changed or uprated (Bought and plumbed in to suit).

Hi Robsey,
 I don’t have a 2.1 engine to transfer my parts to, I was wondering if it’s possible to convert my engine to 2.1.
Thank you for posting the link to the other thread - that has been really helpful
I have been looking for a 2.1 DJ engine but they seem rare.
Good luck with your build, will interesting to see the result.
 

Jilldub wrote: ↑18 Jul 2022, 22:10 I have a 1989 1.9 petrol T25 with 65000 miles.
I am looking for more oomph.
Is it possible to convert my 1.9 to 2.1?
Can anyone please suggest the best way to get a power increase?
Also noticed a company called VW speed shop do a fuel injection kit , has anyone any experience with this?
Sorry if this subject has been raised before but would appreciate some help.
Thank you 

I can't comment on the technical side but I have recently had my van converted from 1.9DG to 2.1DJ with a full recon engine by The VW Engine Company and still running the 1.9's Pierburg carb. There is a modest but noticeable increase in power/torque and I'm very happy with it, but if you're expecting big increases I would think you'd probably need to look at other engines (Subaru/GTI etc).
I had this conversion done because my 1.9 engine was shot, but I would say the not inconsiderable cost (over £6k in my case with most of the cooling system replaced too) would not be worth it if you have a healthy 1.9 and the sole reason you're doing it is for more power. 

triumph2.5pi wrote: ↑23 Jul 2022, 14:01

Jilldub wrote: ↑18 Jul 2022, 22:10 I have a 1989 1.9 petrol T25 with 65000 miles.
I am looking for more oomph.
Is it possible to convert my 1.9 to 2.1?
Can anyone please suggest the best way to get a power increase?
Also noticed a company called VW speed shop do a fuel injection kit , has anyone any experience with this?
Sorry if this subject has been raised before but would appreciate some help.
Thank you 

I can't comment on the technical side but I have recently had my van converted from 1.9DG to 2.1DJ with a full recon engine by The VW Engine Company and still running the 1.9's Pierburg carb. There is a modest but noticeable increase in power/torque and I'm very happy with it, but if you're expecting big increases I would think you'd probably need to look at other engines (Subaru/GTI etc).
I had this conversion done because my 1.9 engine was shot, but I would say the not inconsiderable cost (over £6k in my case with most of the cooling system replaced too) would not be worth it if you have a healthy 1.9 and the sole reason you're doing it is for more power. 

Not looking for massive power increase but my van really struggles up hills to the degree that lorries pass me.
 I am new to the T25 so not really sure how it should perform…. Perhaps I should have it rolling road tested?
At 65000 miles the engine seems healthy so I appreciate your comment.
Do you know the difference in power increase difference between your old and new engine?
Thank you.

 

R0B wrote: ↑23 Jul 2022, 13:43

Thank you, will try again
 

I am sure it is possible to convert from 1.9 to 2.1 as the cases are the same for any particular production year.
But by the time you have found all the parts ​(if available) it would probably be cheaper and easier to get a complete engine.

Many parts are very hard to find Crankshaft, Cam Shaft and then you are probably talking expensive parts like pistons, liners and so on.

Smiffo wrote: ↑18 Jul 2022, 23:07 Which carb and distributor do you currently have?
I ask because there were a couple of 1.9 petrol versions, some more versatile than others.

If the question is what can improve drivability, I’d start there.

Throw some pics up of the engine bay, and take note of part number on the distributor perhaps


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Photos. 
 

R0B wrote: ↑23 Jul 2022, 13:43

Thank you.
 

Jilldub wrote: ↑23 Jul 2022, 14:22

triumph2.5pi wrote: ↑23 Jul 2022, 14:01

Jilldub wrote: ↑18 Jul 2022, 22:10 I have a 1989 1.9 petrol T25 with 65000 miles.
I am looking for more oomph.
Is it possible to convert my 1.9 to 2.1?
Can anyone please suggest the best way to get a power increase?
Also noticed a company called VW speed shop do a fuel injection kit , has anyone any experience with this?
Sorry if this subject has been raised before but would appreciate some help.
Thank you 

I can't comment on the technical side but I have recently had my van converted from 1.9DG to 2.1DJ with a full recon engine by The VW Engine Company and still running the 1.9's Pierburg carb. There is a modest but noticeable increase in power/torque and I'm very happy with it, but if you're expecting big increases I would think you'd probably need to look at other engines (Subaru/GTI etc).
I had this conversion done because my 1.9 engine was shot, but I would say the not inconsiderable cost (over £6k in my case with most of the cooling system replaced too) would not be worth it if you have a healthy 1.9 and the sole reason you're doing it is for more power. 

Not looking for massive power increase but my van really struggles up hills to the degree that lorries pass me.
 I am new to the T25 so not really sure how it should perform…. Perhaps I should have it rolling road tested?
At 65000 miles the engine seems healthy so I appreciate your comment.
Do you know the difference in power increase difference between your old and new engine?
Thank you.

 
I'm actually really impressed with the torque the 2.1 has, particularly on hills. It has enough power for what I expect from a camper van and I never find it lacking or inadequate for what it is. I don't have empirical figures on the increase over the 1.9. On paper I suspect it wouldn't look very much. I must say though, I never really found the 1.9 as lacking as you describe it. Is yours maybe down on power for some reason?
I have wondered about fitting modern fuel injection too. I imagine that might give the 2.1 a useful boost, but it's a pretty expensive conversion.

Your 1989 Pierburg 2E3 carburettor will be fine on a 2.1

With first impressions from the evidence from your pics, I would suggest your engine is not running optimally and that is where I would advise you to start.
The vac pipe is probably disconnected because the vacuum advance unit on the side of the distributor has failed. They're under 20 quid and can be swapped in 10 minutes without even removing the dizzy. Whoever did that was either lazy, skint or uninformed. It's false economy, quite literally, as it'll use more fuel like that. The vac unit is available from Powerspark (Simonbbc) for about £17, search for Bosch SVDA (single vacuum dual advance).
Then have the ignition timing set by strobe timing light to 5° btdc. A compression test, vacuum gauge check, leakdown test and oil pressure check by an old-school garage will give lots of info on the condition of your engine before you look at replacement. If it's good, you could have the carb refurbed by Bromyard to get the best out of it, maybe pop a Speedshop exhaust on for a small increase in oomph, or you could sell it to part fund the upgrade to 2.1.
If it's not so good, well at least you know and can make informed decisions from there.

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