I'm running a Gt with a ABD block. A while ago i blew a headgasket, after renewing the gasket there seems to be oil leaking from the alternator end, does this probably mean that the head needs skimming ?

The head i'm currently using is an ABD with a GT cam. I also have a GT head and a 1.3 AAV head. I'm going to replace the headgasket and get the ABD head skimmed, or use one of the other heads available.

Any recommendations on which head to use, and also which head gasket to use for best performance?

Cheers

Sion

I've got a compleate ABD engine and I'm going to be using the bottom end from it and bolt on a gt cylinder head which i have ported and putting a gt cam in if i can find one!

a few questions

1) can i use the 1.05L AAU camshaft pully?

2) shall i use the ABD or AAU flywheel?

The heads are the same, but the GT heads have double valve springs whereas not all of the ABDs or other 1.3s do.

All mk3 polo flywheels are the same. The AAU cam pulley can be used if it has the same type of teeth on it as the abd

Thanks for that. Which headgasket would you recommend that I use?

Cheers

Sion

The 1.3/1.4 use the same headgasket. Part Number 11132 from GSF.

cheers gaz u rock!!

build is getting there, purchased everything bar the camshaft.

are the big end bolts on an ABD stretch bolts?

I should think they are mate.

Yes they are,they'll need renewing.

Just reading a topic about an AFH 16v head, on an AEE bottom end, would this work? I'm guessing it woulf fit fairly well into a 86c polo?

I read something about it on the skoda forum and it seems its not a straight swap, i vaguely remember something about the oil lines not lining up and the pistons need machineing?

Ah right, just thought about it this morning, I'll keep looking for more info. Cheers.

You have to modify the pistons or else they'll not take too well to receiving the extra valves. :) There's also the issue of durability of the standard rods, the 1.6 GTI mk4/5 has uprated rods as standard. Alot of people have gotten away with it though. I don't know of a tuned 1.6 that's thrown a rod yet. Plenty of 1.4 AEXs and the odd AFH have though, which use the same rods as the 1.6.

My AEE 1.6 has had some abuse and it hasn't broken yet

Although it doesnt need revving which works in its favor if the rods are actually a bit weak...

can someone put this really simply for me:

for a 1.4 GT, all i'll need is an abd bottom end, and re-use everything else from the GT? correct?

for a 1.6 GT what do i need? a definitive parts list & where to find them please!

can someone put this really simply for me:

for a 1.4 GT, all i'll need is an abd bottom end, and re-use everything else from the GT? correct?

Correct

for a 1.6 GT what do i need? a definitive parts list & where to find them please!

As above but head from 1.6 as well.

Weld extra bolt hole for front engine mount

Cut and shut inlet manifold - 1.6 SPI with GT

Lengthen exhaust downpipe/get 4-branch

Plus if you want

Fit early oil pump pickup and sump for better ground clearance

I'm working on a list for the 1.6 conversion from my experience..

The rough guide to the 1.6 GT conversion.

Sourcing an engine. (AEE/ABU)

First things first, don’t pay much more then £100 for the engine. If they try and persuade you with the ‘It comes with everything’ tell them you don’t need anything other then the engine itself. Don’t be tempted to buy the whole lot and sell the rest separately as there isn’t much demand for the parts. The only things worth getting are the exhaust manifold and downpipe and oil breather that is bolted to the back of the engine and that’s about it. Everything else will be from a mk3 polo.

So once you have yourself an engine remove the existing parts, engine mounts, inlet ect depending what it comes with.

Engine mount

You can put the mk3 front engine mount on straight away (I used new bolts to be safe) this raises the first issue, no third bolt. You have a few options, cut and weld a piece in, make a bracket that goes to a lower casting hole or leave it. I made a bracket out of 7mm steel, literally goes from the third bolt to a lower cast hole, if I remember rightly it sits flat so a straight piece of steel should do the job. I have also heard of people using higher tension bolts which seems like a good idea if your going to just have the two. Some minor trimming needs to be done on the cam belt cover so that the mount doesn’t push it inwards.

Cam belt change

The next job is to change the cam belt, tensioner & water pump, before you put the engine in otherwise you will regret it later on. So remove the alternator pulley which usually will be a lot wider then the mk3 item this needs to be changed otherwise it wont clear the mk3 chassis leg.

Mk3 Alternator pulley

Once you have had fun changing the cam belt, tensioner & water pump offer the mk3 alternator pulley to the position, you will now find the tensioner bolt rubs on the mk3 pulley, if so you need to grind the head of the tensioner bolt slightly, literally 2-3mm will do so be careful not to go to mad. Once happy fit the pulley (use new bolts if there rusty).

Lower cam cover

Now fit the bottom cam cover, the shape of it means the mk3 pulley rubs on a certain area (the part that bevels in for the tensioner bolt ironically) You just need to trim it so it fits, 5 minute job just make sure nothing catches on the cam belt before putting it all back together.

Flywheel & Clutch

If your going to use the mk3 polo gearbox you want to scrap that huge flywheel! Remove it and replace it with one from a mk3 (there might be an adapter plate in place just remove it and the mk3 flywheel will fit no problem. You also need to use the mk3 clutch and bell housing. (make sure you use new bolts for the flywheel and torque them up properly!) Its well worth using a new clutch, I used a clutch with unknown miles and its just started slipping when booting it! So don’t be tight as the torque of the 1.6 will kill a half knackered clutch.

Gearbox

I used the 8P box from a 1.3 CL mk3 polo, I was tempted to use a GT box but decided against it as I knew the 1.6 would have enough grunt to pull well on the longer box. Make sure you use a healthy box with new oil otherwise you might lose some gears!

Inlet manifold

This is the big one, it doesn’t fit simple as. The bolt holes are so close its annoying. Two sensible options, have the head welded and drilled (exspensive) or have two inlet cut and shut. Niether are particularly good fun. I was quoted £400+ to have the head done which was a big no no seeing as the idea of this project for me was to get standard G40 power for GT conversion money! So the next problem is, all the AEE inlets are plastic, can’t weld with that. However the ABU inlet is aluminum. I found a mk3 Golf and took its inlet. I then spoke to a lot of people about how to cut and shut the inlet. The welding wasn’t much of a problem it was the cutting, it needs to be flat so using a saw and a vice isn’t really ideal.

I managed to persuade a local engineering company to have a go at it and they quoted me a very good price seeing as they didn’t know how long it was going to take. The main problem here is that most places, when you explain what you want doing run a mile! So ABU inlet, cut the flanges off, do the same with the GT inlet and weld the ABU flanges to the GT inlet, easy…

Mine turned out very well, there’s some material that can be ported later on but I haven’t got round to that yet.

You will also need to make some sort of bracket for the inlet to give it some more support, using rubber mountings is a good idea to avoid cracking the welds.

Alternator

When fitting the mk3 alternator and bracket you will find it touches the oil pump cover. Just lightly shave some metal off so it can fit as per the picture.

Starter motor

If using the mk3 flywheel you need to use a starter motor from a 1994 mk3 polo. The AEE one want even turn the engine due to the distance difference in the flywheels.

Coolant system

The GT thermostat housing won’t fit without re-drilling the head. Use the housing & the water pump pipe from the AEE. This also means you need to mount the ISV somewhere else as its bolted to the GT water pump pipe. You can just cable tie it in place where it would normally sit. You will also need the radiator hoses from the AEE as the mk3 ones are too short.

I would recommend using a new thermostat housing and thermostat as they can crack and leak as they get old.

Downpipe

If you use the mk3 exhaust manifold and downpipe you will have problems straight away, because the block is taller it doesn’t clean the ARB and various other things. You can either extend the downpipe or do what I did and use the AEE one.

I used the downpipe from the AEE that had, had the CAT cut off so some extra pipe needs to be welded on.

Oil sensors

The AEE head only has one oil sensor where as the GT runs two, the best way round this is to use a oil feed adapter from a G40.

Injectors

The Polo GT injectors wouldn’t cope too well with this setup so you need to use different ones. I’m currently using Golf Gti injectors which are slightly overkill but seem to work ok, however there are many available from different makes and models. You basically want somewhere between GT and G40 cc.

Cam

You will want to use the GT cam for a bit more power, the timing marks don’t line up so you need to be careful and make sure its setup right. I cant go into detail as I haven’t done it yet.

Parts & tuning

GT parts

Inlet manifold

ECU

Engine wiring loom

Throttle body & piping

Airbox & pipework

Camshaft

Clutch & bell housing

Flywheel

Engine mounts

Gearbox

HT leads / Dizzy + cap

G40 Parts

Backbox

Straight through centre section is worthwhile

AEE/ABU parts

Exhaust manifold & downpipe

Engine

Golf Gti

Injectors (8v)

Air flow meter

Conclusion

I don’t think I have missed anything significant out, there’s possibly a few more things but nothing I can recall of so they can’t be that serious. It’s a worth while conversion as long as your prepared to do some head scratching. In terms of performance it will eat almost all GT’s that are still running GT management, even cam’d and chipped examples. Great fun to drive loads of torque and they do rev nicely with the light flywheel.

You can see my build thread here

Just thought i would add a few notes about using the ABU engine, which is what I'm using at the minute. So heres a few things that i have noticed.

You will need to use a GT thermostat housing as the ABU one only has space for one sensor, this is good as you can use your existing mk3 coolant pipes and you need to use the metal pipe from a GT that goes into the water pump housing which is also useful as you can put the ISV in the right place which you carn't do on the AEE as the pipe angles upwards and the ISV will hit the inlet.

The cam belt tensions off the water pump which makes things alot easier

It also has two oil sensors in the head which is very useful

You can fit the mk3 sump to the ABU

It seems the only down side is the lower CR that the ABU has, i will at some point give my opinion on the power/driving differences of the ABU and AEE when mine is running again.

Enjoy.

Ash Carver

Edited 19 January, 200917 yr by carver

^ sweet!

may just go re-built high-comp 1.4 tho, as there's a whole lotta work for an extra 200cc's!

Theres work to do but its worth it, 1.3/1.4 will never keep up with the 1.6. Difference in torque is the main thing.

if you think raising the compression on an ABD is easy then a 1.6 conversion should be a breeze. i've had the block decked and pistons chopped to raise the CR and believe me its a head scratcher, especially when you introduce a higher lift cam. quite alot at stake, not even sure if the waterpump will take up the slack on the cambelt yet.

seeing it all laid out like this, if i hadnt gone this far with the ABD, i'd have gone for the AEE, there is no substitute for CC

Edited 7 October, 200817 yr by polopete

if you think raising the compression on an ABD is easy then a 1.6 conversion should be a breeze. i've had the block decked and pistons chopped to raise the CR and believe me its a head scratcher, especially when you introduce a higher lift cam. quite alot at stake, not even sure if the waterpump will take up the slack on the cambelt yet.

seeing it all laid out like this, if i hadnt gone this far with the ABD, i'd have gone for the AEE, there is no substitute for CC

Depending how much you've taken out you might find you need a shorter cambelt. I had to source an unusual length one for my 1.6 conversion, GSF had a catalogue with all the cambelts for all cars listed, I just had to find one that had the right tooth profile and the right number of teeth (1 less than standard will probably be enough)

It's not really the bolts that are the problem on the front mount, it's the mount itself.

how much does the larger 1.6 block affect the handling?

I don't think the weight difference is all that significant, a few kilos at the most compared to a 1.3

Loving this thread i am planning on doing this to my mk2 polo abd conversion, my polo is currently a 1 litre 4 speed, so from what i have been reading i need:

ABD bottom end,

GT Head and cam (or newmans cam)

GT gearbox, GT drive shalfs (not to sure if i need these, and dont know if i will need the gt hubs as well)

then

inlet manifold for twin 40

twin 40 webbers

bit and bobs for fuel.

Is there anything else i have missed, cuz as far as i can see/read this is what most people have done. For MK2 Polos.

Cheers Mat.