I have finally sourced an abd out of a '95 seat ibiza ! Had to buy the whole car though, but i got it for under a ton :-D

Going to pick it up after work tomorow,So i may be asking for alittle advise in the near future

One quick question, will my head( off engine code gl, 8 bolts in rocker cover) go on the abd bottom end?

the bolt holes line up yes but you are best off using the ABD engine and hydraulic head with a 3F camshaft, sourcing an MH ignition system and looms (any post 85 1.3), electric fuelpump, run on a weber DMTL+GK mani combo. this should see 80-85bhp.

i'm doing pretty much as state above but with headwork, and harsher cam, and a full balance down the bottom end.

I have been reading up plenty about all the various conversion combos, what I'm really aiming for is a balance of power and fuel economy. I dont want to go for any extreme bits so to speak, i do however like the idea of bike carbs, especially after reading MikeyMk's claims or twin coke webbers.

Is it not worth even considering using my head or the ignition system in anyway shape or form, even just to try something different?

only OE cam worth having in the solid lifter heads is the GK cam, these crop up here once maybe twice a year, ebay.de will have a better selection but with that comes a bit of hassle, then i'm not sure about the dizzy drive. the economy on my DMTL isnt amazing (low 30s), i cant imagine bike carbs being any better. a chipped GT Mpi setup will see you 40mpg and 85bhp if its healthy, ABD/GT combo has been done quite alot.

i'm making the manifold for bikecarbs at the mo, they'll go on once i've put few hundred mile on the ABD.

up to you i guess, swapping looms and getting electric fuelpumps may sound alot of hassle but the bits are readily available.

Good stuff, that rules out using my head then, I'm toying with the idea of putting the abd as it is(spi) for the time bieng , then decide where to go from there. That way i can take my time sorting the bits out and make my mind up plus it gives me time to save up more money. I need to do something because of the oil leak situation, it getting abit doggy spraying up all against the brake discs, and the clutch cable looks as though its about to go due to a very heavy clutch!

Lets say i was to go spi, wouldn't that be half way to mpi somehow? Also i noticed the gearbox mount needs altering somewhat, i also have read this somewhere and that it will hit the arb?

Thanks

what spec is your car at the moment? if its got a 4speed box you'll need to change the ARB for a 5speed version, no biggy. the SPI system off of the ABD unit is terrible, save yourself some work and use the MH loom on a 1.3 twin choke carb instead.

1ltr(gl) 4-speed, il get the ARB no prob, i take it one off a mk3 will fit. This may be a dumb question but why does it have to be a MH loom? What carb would you recommend? I noticed i have GK3 stamped on the inside of my camshaft pulley , this doesn't mean it is a Gk cam does it?

Edited 6 November, 200817 yr by DmO

Made my mind up , I'm going with the 1.3 twin choke , mh loom , gk manifold way!

MH looms have the electronic ignition dizzy with the centrifugal advance, best one for carbed engines (excluding any stand alone system), i doubt the cam is a GK one, you'd notice the difference if it was. mk3 ARB will fit, if you can lay your hands on a weber DMTL/DMTR thats your best bet for a twinchoke carb, lots of info about jetting and general setup on here.

Running electronic ignition means i need an ecu doesn't it? Anyway got the engine out today, everything looked ok, no oil leaks or owt.

Dumbass question but the gk inlet manifold is of a gk coded engine only , an thats found in a coupe s?

electronic ignition doesnt use the old points and condenser system like your GL. still doesnt have an ECU either, thats electronic fuel injection (like the ibiza), bit of a pain in the ass by comparison.

you may find the 3rd engine mount bolt hole on the front of the block needs tapping out before you can get a bolt in there, mine was rusty as hell because the mk3 golf doesnt use that hole. GK inlet manifolds are a bugger to track down, they only came on the continental mk2 GTs. ebay.de usually has them or a guy called GuddiG40 on here has them pretty occasionally, expect to pay 50quid+ the MH one is ok but not ideal.

get some pictures going are they mattigs or wellers on your car at the mo? looks a treat.

Il search for a gk one, but if not il just go for the mh, it will do for now

I'm going to make a check list to make life abit easier!

So far I've got :

1x polo

1x abd+g/box

Need:

1x mh engine loom + dizzy

1x gk/mh inlet manifold

1x weber twin choke carb ( weber 32/34 dmtl twin choke ? ) watching one on ebay at the mo

1x5-speed ARB

Anything else i need of the mh ignition system like the coil?

currently running mattigs although they are stamped with both weller/mattig 13x7, got them off philj, thanks for the compliment btw! What you got on yours?

before refurb

after

Edited 9 November, 200817 yr by DmO

electronic fuel pump if you want to use the ABD head, or find an MH head and use the mechanical pump with the MH cam or expensive newman cam with the fuelpump lobe. ABD's dont have a fuel pump lobe on the cam or an outlet on the head. your current head wont have big enough ports to make the abd worthwhile. gets a bit complicated.

if it were me looking for a budget 85bhp

ABD bottom end+head, Facet electronic fuelpump, 3F camshaft, GK manifold, DMTL carb and a 4branch exhaust as the last thing on the list.

if you are lucky, search around and patient i'd say the above could be sourced for £400, without the 4branch and GK manifold £250.

with an MH head+inlet+cam+fuel pump even less, but it'll make less power, a Newman cam with the fuel pump lobe is about £150 i believe.

its not cheap, but its worth it.

my little shed is in the mk2 members gallery, but the pictures have buggered off so i'll have to rehost them at some stage.

I may be on the trail of a gk manifold and a dmtl carb , that leaves the electronic fuel pump and the ignition system as far as bits to make it go. The 3f camshaft and 4branch can be put on hold for the time being ,gives me chance to save up funds

Got the gk manifold mate! And have been given a weber 26/28 tldm 16a carb, don't know if this will do though, it came off a 1300 escort i think.

i haven't heard of anyone using a 26/28, mines a 32/34 DMTL. i'd hold out for one of those, especially as you are going for a larger CC.

it'll work but wont get you much over a Pierburg 2e3 which are pretty flat. i dont know where to start in jetting one of those either, 32/34 DMTL are a known quantity on the polo engines.

cool, I'm looking at afew on ebay at the mo, dmtl that is. All i need after i get a carb is the ignition system, and the pump. The pump is easy to get hold of but i don't think il get hold of the rest in a flash! whats the alternative to running mh ignition, can't i use the ignition of the abd or mine even?

Is there anything else you can think of that il need? What pump will i need, as in what rating/size ?

If you want to go that way, You can use a GL head (early 1043cc engine right?) Because the combustion chamber design is the same, others aren't but this one will work. You'll need to change the crank pulley on the ABD to a late 80's one and get a square tooth profile water pump. For the Ignition you'll want to get either a mid 80s Normally aspirated saab 900/9000 or mk1 ibiza 1.2/1.5 carb distributor and couple this to late mk2 polo ignition loom, coil and amplifier. You'll definately need a better cam as mentioned above.

Weber 28/32 DMTR or 32/34 DMTL is the easyest to do as they have been done before many times. I get over 40mpg from my setup

And i have a Weber 32/34 DMTL for sale aswell if you want send me a PM.

I'm going to go with polopete's budget solution, its less complicated , i can always replace afew bits once its in, ideally if it will run on my current ignition system ( my polo dizzy on the abd head ) till i gather all the bits i need to convert to electronic ignition, if i do source them any time soon then great, but it really needs to be sooner than later.

Cheers

Multipoint spray fuelling is in another league from a clumsy downward flush into a 4-1 manifold where the mixture then gets snatched from one part of the manifold to another.. Not the route to efficiency.

The GK manifold should make it even less efficient at low revs because the larger galleys make for slower flow,but it stands to reason that it'll be less restrictive at higher revs and thus improve top end.

And people have reported a vast improvement in the Weber over the standard carb - so if you're gonna use the single carb system,the Weber'n'GK does seem the best option.

You dont need the whole bay loom for the ignition either,the electronic ignition is a simple stand-alone circuit,linking three items (dizzy,coil,control unit),plus connection to power supply via ignition and battery feed.

The MK2 Haynes manual explains it well,though I've covered it in detail here myself somewhere in the archives.

I know its fairly simple and covered but i can't seem to find any of the parts needed for electronic ignition so as a temporairy solution I'm going to run it of the current ignition system or the seat ignition.

I also need to know what drive shafts i should be using?

standard driveshafts, standard gearbox, flywheel and clutch off of the GL.

Standard g/box? can't i use the 5-speed one of the abd?

if its an 085 box yes, not sure what the ibiza came with, pretty sure you can. wasnt aware you got the box aswell.

arb may need swapping aswell.