order of execution... rennwagen, please help me out here....

[kompressorgolf]

i want to do a 16v swap into an 80 rabbit, i have the jetta GLI 16v parts car....
i know i need the scirroco exhaust mani and downpipe, but from there im kinda clueless....

i know the mounts will align if i put the rabbit ones on the 16v, are they strong enough??

can i just add the GLI fuse box and run the engine harness?? if so will the speedo wire work??

i tried this on the vortex and it seems nobody cared to help, they just said search so i did, and got more questions than answers, i kinda thinkin i would like to swap the dash but nothing was clear on a how to basis,

even tho its not the best way to do it, will the stock cvs bolt to the 16v tranny? or will the 16v cvs slide into the rabbit hubs...

can i use the larger 16v front brakes??

im on a very limited budget until tax returns hit and i want to have this going before summer hits next year.

i want to do a good job thats why i seek good help, i also would like to find a place where i can work on it, in the bozeman area

rennwagen i see you have done an 80 rabbit 16v swap any advice will be greatly appreciated....

[benny_mech]

Hey man, just thought I'd throw in my two pennies.

There are lots of ways to do the swap, it kinda depends on what you want to end up with.

Rabbit engine mounts will be plenty strong for the 16V, so no worries there.

What year is your parts car? If it's a '90-'92 (2.0 liter 9A motor) then it's most likely a CE2 wiring harness car. That would be ideal, and my advice would be to rip all of the wiring out of the rabbit, and use all of the wiring from the donor car. You'll want to make sure that the speedometer, cable, and tranny are all from the same car. If you mix and match the speedo will be off. If you want to try and put the Mk2 cluster in the Mk1 dash, I'd send an IM to MEISTER on vortex. He is the king of gauge tech.

The rabbit uses 90mm cv's, and the 16V uses 100mm cv's. The easiest way around that problem (if you want to use the 16V tranny) is to press the inner 100mm flanges off of the tranny, and press the 90mm ones on. You can do that with long fully threaded bolts that thread through the flanges and push on the tranny case. Flat spots are provided for this on the case. If you go this route, you can use the existing rabbit hubs. I don't know about the compatibility of the 16V brakes and the rabbit hubs. IIRC if you use the Mk2 hubs, axles, and brakes, the wheel track will be wider than stock and you may have fender to tire clearance issues. Rennwagen1 should be able to tell you for sure on that one.

Your next job is to figure out what tranny's you have and which one you want to use. Look for the tranny code on the bottom side (example: 020 2H), and look up the gear ratios. Good luck.

[t53a]

ill also toss in my .02

from what i understand is that you will need is both the exaust, and the intake off a 16v rocco, as the TB is on the drives side.

the original 8v engine mounts will do just fine , but the original 90mm axles wont. if you use the 16v trans then also use the 16v 100mm axles. and yes they will slide right into your existing hub.

if you dont already have rear disks in the rabbit now would be the time to swap em in off that parts jetta. be sure to swap out the MC and put in some proportioning valves for the rear.

other then that you can eather run the basic CIS in the rabbit. or you can swap in the brain and engine harness out of the jetta.

other then that its just a matter of gettin down and dirty and gettin on with the swap!

good luck!

[Rennwagen1]

Wow, see what happens when I actually have work to do?! j/k Actually Benny and LWB have answered most of them for you. As fas as the front track goes, if you use the 16V trans, driveshafts, and front hub, you will get about a 1.25-1.5" wider track in the front. I have that going on in my 84 GTI. Solution! H&R Track+ wheel spacers for the rear! I have 10MM(IIRC) spacers on the rear of my car, and it pushes them out almost exactly as wide at the fronts. And what handles better than a rabbit? A rabbit with a wider track!
There is one caveat, though, unless you plan on front fender mods(i.e. rolling them) you will have some rubbing in the front. BUT this all depend on how low you want to drop the car, and what your wheel and tire package is going to be. I run stock snowflakes and stock sized tires on my GTI and have HOR tech lowering springs, and I have no rubbing issues. I used to have Weitec lowering springs and they rubbed really badly, especaially on the auto-x course. So I changed them, and it works fine, even with my race tires on them. Now there is one other thing to condisider. If you use the MK1 trans, but want the wider track and bigger brakes of the Mk2, you will have to do some drive shaft shopping. I had this problem when I bought the GTI. I had to measure my distances from output flange to wheel hub, and go to NAPA(ugh.) and had them just start pulling drive shafts until I found one that would fit. Not rocket science, but you may have some trial and error there. I went through 3 of them( I have no idea why they keep breaking sir, could you please use my warranty and swap it out for another.........again?) Anyway, I hope that our answers have helped in some way.

[benny_mech]

from what i understand is that you will need is both the exaust, and the intake off a 16v rocco, as the TB is on the drives side.

The Scirocco intake manifold will put the air box on the same side as it is now, but that isn't required. I've seen it done both ways.

Like LWB said, the 100mm axles are certainly the better choice, and do follow his advice on the proportioning valve! You don't want to swap ends at the speeds that 16V will get you up to!

[kompressorgolf]

now thats what im talking about, full out helpful advice, no bs unlike the vortex, you guys are great thanks a billion

[kompressorgolf]

will my existing cis system in the rabbit run the 16v, the 16v is cis-e if so what do i need like knock sensor and what not, anyone ever fit a mk2 dash into a rabbit before, the tex descriptions are a little iffy.... thanks again for all the help

[Rennwagen1]

Yeah, I believe you will need the knock sensor, but I could be wrong. Lucky for you, I have a brand new one on the block of my blue GTI! It has maybe 30 miles on it, before I go it. I have done the MK2 dash swap, and it will be a bit tedious, but it can be done in a day. If you are going to use the Mk2 harness, then it will be a ton easier. I used the rabbit wiring, and had to chase all the wires in a schematic to figure out what Mk2 wires connected to the rabbit to make everything work. Everything worked awesome, albeit it took about 2 days to do it that way. I might even be able to talk to a buddy of mine that has a MK2 dash that was already in a MK1, and has the necessary modifications done to it. (i.e, it is trimmed and cut where it needs to be)

[kompressorgolf]

that sounds awesome looking forward to see if hes got it...

[Custom VW]

Most excellent, I don't have to add much in this one. The Best combo is using everything from the scirocco 16v...except the wiring. Motronic wiring from the later gli jetta's was the best way to go. Knock sensor's are not required to make it run, but are required to make it run at full potential. The wiring from the jetta can be put into your rabbit with only a couple of wires...which means you can keep the origional system if you want. running the cis onto the other side is a big task. you have to make a shelf for the box to sit on, reroute the fuel lines, and you'll still need the 16v braided lines.

mkae sure to use the hoses from the scirocco even if you have to order them, they make life much simpler.
guess that's all.....any q's don't hesitate to ask.
and props to everyone on this site for giving the right advice......