Hi all,

 

First post here, looking for some help. I have recently swapped a 1300 mech engine from a B reg Polo into my mk2 golf that was also a 1300 but the later hydro type. The dizzy on the mech head isn't electronic ignition and the later hydro dizzy doesn't fit. Apparently you can't swap the hydro head onto the mech block as it won't have enough oil pressure. I've heard a saab 900 dizzy is basically plug and play but I'm having trouble sourcing one (or even knowing which one to look for to be honest). Does anyone have a dizzy for sale or an alternative solution?

It's my first swap and I'm picking things up but by no means a mechanic so sorry if I've worded this poorly 😅

 

Cheers!

Search for 051905205B part.

This is camshaft slot drive Hall sender distributor for KR and PL engines used in many VW models

 

I fitted a brand new JP Group compatible one on mk2 mechy head and it's been great.

Hydro head distributor is different drive. It has a round pin to match a hole in the camshaft.

Edited 23 February, 20224 yr by dvderlm

@ggermain92 - I had a similar issue putting electric ignition on my 1272 HH mech head engine recently which in on Page 3 of my build thread including the Saab dizzy part number, link here: 

 

Copy/paste quote:

"I spent too much time reading borrowed knowledge on other ignition options over the weekend as I couldn’t stop this niggle in my head that the ignition amp module was too simple to be doing much advance-control-wise. So whilst it would certainly start/run it wouldn’t influence any advance, just a flat-line at whatever static timing the KR dizzy was bolted on at.

This thought started because although there are a lot of OEM part numbers the same Bosch (or other aftermarket) replacement part unit could be used on pretty much any of them. Whilst that could just be that irrespective of engine configuration what they need is basically the same it got me thinking that the ignition amp module in Polo system has the vac/mech advance to control the signal it gives and on the KR the ECU does this (or Diginition ECU for GK). So even if the ignition amp had the ability to vary timing it would only be doing it partially as the unit would be expecting vac/mech or ECU advance to also be happening.

I started looking into layouts and what is inside the ignition amplifier. Finding was that the ignition amp doesn’t have a map, it’s a switch to transfer a strong hall effect sensor signal to the coil. It also has a beneficial function of electrically altering the dwell angle to reduce coil saturation occurring which allows the coil to maintain high energy output in high RPM conditions where it would otherwise have dropped off due to the reducing time available between magnetic field collapses.

 

I don’t fancy having to fit a trigger wheel so I think the 123ignition system is probably the cleanest option out there but at over 500 euros it’s expensive. [https://www.123ignition.de/123-ignition-en/ignition-distributor-vw-golf-2-seat-passat-scirocco-16v-usb.aspx]

 

@dvderlm's suggested combination of the readily available KR static advance dizzy (£25) and an Aldon Amethyst (£200) I think would be second best. It appears that a few years ago they did three input options for engine load; normal inlet manifold vacuum, boost vacuum and throttle position sensor (TPS) output. As I am running a non-charged twin carb setup the first two don’t work for me so I wanted to use a Webcon DCOE TPS sensor (circa £100) but Aldon seem to have stopped selling the TPS version now, I messaged them but no response. So even cost aside that was off the table. [https://www.aldonauto.co.uk/ignition/aldon-amethyst-211/aldon-amethyst]

 

There are a number of companies doing modules that fit inside the distributor to convert from points/condenser to a ring with 4 magnets in it which slips over the 4 lobe shaft and a hall effect sensor for about £40. These are an effective means of removing the timing error that can creep in as the points gap closes from fibre block wear or contactor deposits but they don’t add anything over a correctly gapped points setup. These retain the vac/mech advance of the distributor they are put into.

 

So that brought me back to a distributor designed for electric ignition (so I could get the efficient spark generation given by an ignition amp) like the KR but with a mechanically actuated advance at mid-revs onward (and a vacuum advance at low revs disappearing at wide-open-throttle I wouldn’t have a signal for with the Webers). Borrowed knowledge again identified two donors with the same cam fitting as a mechanical head Mk1-Mk2 Polo engine which that could be used with the common ignition amp module and connecting cable from may period VW’s including Mk2 polo. The more common seems to be the Saab 900 or 99 non-turbo 2.0 litre and then there is also the Mk1 Seat Ibiza, Malaga and Ronda 1.2 or 1.5 litre.

The Saab dizzy has mounting holes for 3 bolts like the original Polo dizzy but they are offset differently so I have heard cases where they need to be elongated to allow them to be bolted in at the correct static timing.The Saab dizzy also uses a slightly oval hall sensor plug so the Mk2 Polo connector needs replacing with the one from the donor vehicle. Used Saab dizzys that I could find were pretty expensive (>£100) with more for sale located in America.

The Seat dizzy may have some differences in mech advance between 1.2 & 1.5 but I doubt there is much in it and they have the same rectangular hall sensor plug as the Mk2 Polo. The Seat dizzy only uses two bolts like the KR but they are in the right places to match with two out of the three on the cylinder head mount. Used Seat dizzys only seemed to be for sale on Spanish auto-breaker websites or Spanish eBay but cheap at €30. Bosch part numbers I have searched that have yielded results are:

 

Saab 2.0 Distributor:

0237021014

 

Seat 1.2 Distributor:

0237021050

0237021027

 

Seat 1.5 Distributor

0237021040

0237021026

 

Whilst looking I managed to find a UK company selling a NOS 0237021040 Seat 1.5 Distributor so the plan is to use this with the scrapyard Mk2 Polo ignition module (in my case 211 905 351E)/loom section cable/coil. I might rotate the dizzy 180 to hide the vacuum can and/or remove the can and put a small plate over the hole and/or not bother!

 

Some useful links:

@polofin build using the Seat dizzy https://www.clubpolo.co.uk/topic/328087-polo-n-mk1-1976/?page=2

@Gaz FAQ on Electric Ignition https://www.clubpolo.co.uk/topic/6042-electronic-ignition-on-polos-without-it-faq/ "