Non IT VW A1 Engine

I'm looking at building an alternate (not for IT use) budget/reliable/maximum bang for the buck "road racing only" engine for an A1 VW. No particular rules constraints. The idea is to give me an alternate engine to give my(currently ITC 1.6)Scirocco some more oomph for running some non-SCCA non-IT events while preserving my BSI ITC engine for IT racing.

Approx specs would be:

1.8 w/ mech head (a la Rabbit GTI), mild porting
extrude honed intake
CIS prepped to IT standards
IT (ie blueprinted, ARP bolts) bottom end
~10:1 CR
cam appropriate for CIS & rpm limits of "IT" bottom end

Questions are:

About how much horsepower could I get "easily"? (I'm guessing ~150???)

Who might have advice re the correct cam?

Anyone have an opinion or experience on this?

Thanks!

Al, 150 hp from an IT 1.8? I don't think that you'll get anywhere close to that. I'd guess that you could get may 120 hp from that motor.

What size valves are you looking at? That is needed to determine what cam to use.

If I were to build a VW motor, I'd go with a 2.0 liter bottom end with the biggest valves that will fit. Or go with a 16v head with the tb on the drivers side, and use the stock 8v injection, or just dump all of the FI and go with dual carbs.

Just my $0.02 worth



------------------
Tim Linerud
San Francisco Region SCCA
#95 ITB GTI, GP for 2002
http://linerud.myvnc.com/racing/index.html

Tim:

Thanks for input!

Maybe my "wished for" ~150 bhp is optimistic - but for your sake I hope it's not as I think you're going to need about that much in GP. I used to race a Datsun 1600 Roadster and those cars were making ~150 bhp (talking flywheel hp) in ~1980.

As far as the valves, I was thinking stock GTI (JH) size - can they be much bigger without shifting centerlines?

My guess is that the two biggest barriers to power are the size (too small) and length (too long??) of the A1 intake manifold runners and (maybe) the way CIS will react to a "hot" cam.

Thanks Again!

Al,

I agree, 150 is high. Maybe 130 or so, depedning on how much porting work you do, what cam you run, and how much time you spend on the flow bench.

I also agree w/ Tim, go 2.0 liter. Find a 3A block out of an Audi 80 or 90 form the lated 80's. This is pretty much a direct bolt-up, and you can use the JH solid lifter head. Another alternative is the ABA block out of the 2.0 liter x-flow VW's. It's what's referred to as a 'tall block' as the deck height is 15mm higher than a JH motor. Requires a different downpipe, but the rest of the stuff bolts right up.



------------------
MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI
SCCA 279608

As mentioned, 150 is a little optomistic without going beyond IT type mods and a cam.

Of course a 2.0 16v is fairly easy to bring up to 160ish with IT type mods and cams. If 16v were an option I would recommend: stock 2.0 bottom end, 1.8 head (do some light porting on the exhaust side - the restriction is obvious when you look at it), 268 intake/276 exhaust cams, racer exhaust, fuel enrichment via temp sensor - that should get you there. Heck this would make a good street motor too.

Chris

As also evidenced by the other thread on Bertils engines, the power is there if you can rev the spit out of the engine, and still make some power, ie. carbs or redesigned intake. Your torque may not go up, but your hp will.

BTW, I got your 3A block right here. I've been trying to sell the block for over a year now, asking $100. I have a bunch of pictures I can send you if you're interested. I live near Philadelphia, but would consider short distance delivery, or meeting you halfway.

Thanks,
PJ
[email protected]

------------------
83 Rabbit GTI - future ITB