Golf Mk 2 Engines

I Just Got A Second Hand '88 Golf Mk2 And It Has A 1300 Carb Engine. What Options Do I Have If I Want To Get A Bigger Engine Like 1600 Or Even 1800 (if There Is) ? Do They Have Fuel Injection In This Model ? What Turbo Can I Fit To The New Engine ? What Do I Need To Know About Fitting The New Engine Like Engine Mountings Etc ?

I live in the U.S., so I am mostly only familiar with the A2 Golf engines used over here. The base gasoline engine here (for base models as well as GTI and GLI) was an 8 valve 1800cc fuel injected engine. Earlier versions used the CIS-E (Bosch ke jetronic, I believe) fuel injection, and later versions used Digifant II fuel injection. Digifant has a bad reputation but is actually a great performance engine management system if it is in proper working order. It is difficult to find mechanics who can work on Digifant VWs.

I am fairly certain that both of those engines were also available in Europe, as higher end options (perhaps only in Golf GTI and Jetta GLI models).

For GTI and GLI models here, a 16 valve engine was also available. Early 16 valve A2s were 1800cc, and later (91 and 92 - possibly 90 as well) a 2000cc version! The 2000cc 16 valve is a monster and produces in the region of 130 horsepower without any modifications. The 1800 (which uses the CIS-E system) was available in Europe. The 2000 16 valve over here used the Motronic engine management system (later modified and adapted to our 2000 8 valve used in A3s); however, the 2000 16 valve engine used in Europe was completely different (and produces even more power).

Also keep in mind the Corrados share the same A2 chassis as the Mk2 Golf, so you can easily use those engines/drivetrains. In the U.S., Corrados came with either the supercharged 1800cc Digifant I G60 engine, or the 2800cc 12 valve VR6 engine. In europe, I believe it was available with the normally aspirated 2000cc 16 valve as the base engine.

And then there is the Rallye Golf. It never made it to the U.S. (although some examples have been imported). It has an all-wheel-drive powertrain, and also used the G60 supercharger. I am fairly certain that it was the 2000cc 16 valve engine-wise. Back in the day, that was viewed as the ultimate A2 swap.

If you're very adventurous, the 20v 1.8 turbo swap (a-la Audi TT or 1.8t GTI) is also possible with lots of knowledge, money, work, and fabrication. Only recommend for the most hard-core of mad VW engineers. :)

So, the sky is the limit. :) Since you currently have a carbed motor, you will need to either pull the engine management system and everything from the donor car, or convert your new motor to run on carbs. Neither option is a trivial task.

Good luck!

Oh, I forgot to mention specifically about engine mountings. If you use a motor from another 4 cylinder A2 (Corrado, Mk2 Jetta (Jetta may have been called something else over there - like Vento perhaps), or Mk2 Golf) then the mounts are all the same for engine and transmission.

It gets a little more complicated with the 6 cylinder engines, but if you want to go 6 cylinder then the easiest is to get one from a Corrado because you will be able to use the front engine mount, transmission, shift linkage (they use cables instead of rods), clutch hydraulics, wheel hubs (5 lug for the VR6, remember), brakes, and driveshafts (or axles, or halfshafts - whatever you want to call them).