picked up an 87 Jetta 2 door

looking for some engine info that I remember being discussed outside in the parking lot at the Best Western, '10 Challenge. I forgot who was doing the talking but they seemed to know their stuff. I recall it started with a 95 ABA block because it used a forged crank and stronger internals and then you added a 16v head and after that I forget.

Right now it has the original(?) 16V 8A block and heads in the trunk along with all the accessory drives and what not.

It also has a running 16V in it now and I was told its a 2.0L but I haven't dug into the motor just yet. The motor was stuck when I bought it but after a week of tranny fluid sitting in the cylinders and a lot of dragging around the parking lot I got it freed up, so I really want to do up the spare motor and put that in it. It's running Corrado 1st and 2nd gears with a diesel 3rd and a quaife so it pulls like a freight train.

Any info on what I need to do to build up a turbo'd motor with the parts in the trunk would be greatly appreciated.

VWVortex monster 16v hybrid thread: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1535079-lets-get-a-ABA-16v-Parts-List-FAQ-Thread-going

The 2.0 16v's all use the engine code 9A. I would love to eventually swap my 1.8 16v PL for a sorted hybrid one day, but I've heard for NA setup you end up spend just as much to build a hybrid as it is to get an ABF (production version of this hybrid) donor from Europe.

For turbo not so much since you reuse the ABA pistons.

16v isnt original in a jetta coupe. It either came with a 1.6 diesel or 1.8 gas 8v originally. Why not put a TDI in it? More expensive to begin with, but 60 mpg, and can make 175hp with $2k in parts, and more torque than you could ever use.

ok, then maybe it is a 2.0L 16V in it like the PO said. Guess I'll have to crawl around under it and find out. Sucks when you have to store the car away from home, but my driveway is full.

Supercoupe wrote: ok, then maybe it is a 2.0L 16V in it like the PO said. Guess I'll have to crawl around under it and find out. Sucks when you have to store the car away from home, but my driveway is full.

I have one stored in a barn 45 minutes away.

Old Jetta sounds pretty fun. I'll add it to my list.

N Sperlo wrote: I have one stored in a barn 45 minutes away. Old Jetta sounds pretty fun. I'll add it to my list.

Clearly you haven't owned one. When flaky relays leave you stranded more than a dozen times, and the tape player plays your New Order tapes backwards at varying speed, you'll find yourself taking it off the list pretty quickly - at least I did

Pics! 2-door Jettas are like rainbows. They exist but conditions have to be perfect to see one.

So its a prime subject for a swap. Fantastic. 302 Jetta it is.

There is more work than just putting a 16v(1.8L or 2.0L) head on an ABA block. It will bolt up and the jackets mate up but the 16v cylinder heads have big combustion chambers compared to the ABA cylinder head which will make for a wicked low CR. I think the wrist pin diameters are different between the ABA rods and 16v(9A) pistons so you cannot just swap the pistons from a 16v(9A) into the ABA block. Also the deck height of the ABA is 15mm taller than the 9A. This distance is made up by the rod length so you also cannot just use the rods/pistons from the 9A into the ABA. You would have to buy custom pistons from integral engineering or some place like that. The best/cheapest thing to do would be to just have a 9A in there or if you are dead set on a hybrid motor, you could throw an old counterflow head on the ABA block and just get the dizzy bushing and adapter. Cheap and easy and close to the 9A hp but with more torque.

Oh and the other good thing about the OBD1 ABAs is that they had oil squirters for under the pistons.

Then I guess I'll leave the motor in the trunk alone and concentrate on the running one under the hood for now. Pics will follow.....

Most guys use the ABA/16v hybrid as is with low comp for BOOOOOST!

SlickDizzy wrote:

N Sperlo wrote: I have one stored in a barn 45 minutes away. Old Jetta sounds pretty fun. I'll add it to my list.

Clearly you haven't owned one. When flaky relays leave you stranded more than a dozen times, and the tape player plays your New Order tapes backwards at varying speed, you'll find yourself taking it off the list pretty quickly - at least I did

I have a 1991 Jetta and I LOVE it. It took some time to find a rust free one, and when I did, it was an automatic. I converted it to a manual transmission (did away with the power steering, too) and I drive it every day. There's a lot to love: it's light, nimble, good on gas and very simple to repair. All that being said, the '85 Jetta I had when I was a teenager was a much better built car.

The best solution is to get a 1.8 turbo motor for cheap out of a junked Audi/VW and megasquirt it.

M030 wrote: I have a 1991 Jetta and I LOVE it. It took some time to find a rust free one, and when I did, it was an automatic. I converted it to a manual transmission (did away with the power steering, too) and I drive it every day. There's a lot to love: it's light, nimble, good on gas and very simple to repair. All that being said, the '85 Jetta I had when I was a teenager was a much better built car.

Fair enough. I've had a handful of VW's, and my experience with them seems to indicate that some cars leave the factory in much better shape than others, to say the least. It was an American Jetta that played tapes backwards, and a Mexican one that left me stranded more than ten times.

I've owned two RX-7's, a Triumph TR6, and a Fiat X1/9. All three of those combined were less trouble than the A2's I've had. I really want to like VW, too, as a Montana Green A2 GTI 16v was on my "list."

Brett_Murphy wrote: The best solution is to get a 1.8 turbo motor for cheap out of a junked Audi/VW and megasquirt it.

Not a damn thing cheap about this, AFAIK!

Really unless you need monster power use what you have. The 2.0's were Monotronic and much better managed and less finicky than their CIS-E 1.8 cousins.

Really a good sorting gets enough of power to get yourself into trouble. I deleted the AC and PS off my Scirocco, and ran the auto tensioning belt from an ABA. If there's interest I can post up a how to as this takes some finagling on a 16v.

87 Jetta 2dr Wolfsburg edition is the un-obtainium of 2dr Jettas. The perfect one would have the Digifant injection and NO Sunroof.

The Difgifant 1.8L had a monster flat torque curve compared to the CIS version.

2dr Jetta Wolfsburg in 87 meant that you got all of the GTI running gear plus a larger rear sway bar and the bracing behind the rear fixed seat stiffened the chassis to the point that you got a much more neutral handling "Stock" setup. The interior was fairly basic with flat seats, gray with some red specs & trim. It was only 50lbs heavier than the 86 & 87 8v GTI's and all the weight was on the rear wheels.

A 25mm Neuspeed front swaybar and some Koni Sport shocks made this a killer E-stock autoXer in the late 80s - early 90s. I won a ton of divisionals and a couple of nationals in one.

I would love to find a clean un-molested one...

Just swap a 2.0 ABA in.

In reply to Supercoupe:

The 9A uses a forged crank and has oil squirters. The main problem with it is the short rods they uses to keep the block short (same as the 1.8) put the wrist pins low on the pistons to match the longer stroke crank so high RPM tends to result in excessive piston rocking and skirt slap. The ones I have torn down show a good amount of iron transferred to the piston skirts and in most cases the skirts are distorted.

If you search the web for wisdom on boosting you will find a mixed bag of opinions regarding the "proper" compression ratio to start with. So long as you dont exceed the final compression and cylinder temperature permitted by the fuels octane, the engines basic compression ratio it doesnt matter. It is perfectly fine to boost a high compression engine but the margin for boost error is narrower. I think the problem with high compression engines and turbos in particular is that it is not particularly easy to control the boost (especially the spikes as compared to say a supercharger) and the boost is probably limited to around 5PSI on premium pump gas so you can quickly get beyond the gas and do damage. Water injection would help as would running 100 octane.

Swapping in one of the 2.0 8V crossflow head bottom ends will lower the static compression ratio from around 10.5 to between 8 and 9:1 if running the stock 8V pistons. This permits you to run a higher boost with the turbo on pump gas, but more importantly the margin for error without fatal fuel detonation consequences is improved. The ABA is a good choice because unlike a number of other VW 2.0 engines this one has a forged crank. It shares the longer rod geometry of the other 2.0 tall blocks as well so the engine revs with less stress.

wclark wrote: In reply to Supercoupe: The 9A uses a forged crank and has oil squirters. The main problem with it is the short rods they uses to keep the block short (same as the 1.8) put the wrist pins low on the pistons to match the longer stroke crank so high RPM tends to result in excessive piston rocking and skirt slap. The ones I have torn down show a good amount of iron transferred to the piston skirts and in most cases the skirts are distorted. If you search the web for wisdom on boosting you will find a mixed bag of opinions regarding the "proper" compression ratio to start with. So long as you dont exceed the final compression and cylinder temperature permitted by the fuels octane, the engines basic compression ratio it doesnt matter. It is perfectly fine to boost a high compression engine but the margin for boost error is narrower. I think the problem with high compression engines and turbos in particular is that it is not particularly easy to control the boost (especially the spikes as compared to say a supercharger) and the boost is probably limited to around 5PSI on premium pump gas so you can quickly get beyond the gas and do damage. Water injection would help as would running 100 octane. Swapping in one of the 2.0 8V crossflow head bottom ends will lower the static compression ratio from around 10.5 to between 8 and 9:1 if running the stock 8V pistons. This permits you to run a higher boost with the turbo on pump gas, but more importantly the margin for error without fatal fuel detonation consequences is improved. The ABA is a good choice because unlike a number of other VW 2.0 engines this one has a forged crank. It shares the longer rod geometry of the other 2.0 tall blocks as well so the engine revs with less stress.

I know that the OBD1 blocks have the forged goodies and oil squirters and that the OBD2 blocks had cast pistons and no squirters but did the OBD2 blocks have forged cranks?

Other than that, I concur.

vw_jason79 wrote: I know that the OBD1 blocks have the forged goodies and oil squirters and that the OBD2 blocks had cast pistons and no squirters but did the OBD2 blocks have forged cranks? Other than that, I concur.

Not sure abut the later years (ODB2 or '96+). Info on the web suggests some did some didnt. I have not had any first hand experience with the ABA to know more.

From what I have been told by someone who has taken a bunch of them apart, the OBDI has the good rods and pistons but a cast crank, and the OBDII has the forged crank but the other less desireable parts. I dont know if this is always the case, just observations from looking at 10 or so of them.

Not sure how much the crank even matters. I have never heard of anyone breaking a crank even at silly levels of boost.

Local VW guys boost them up to 300+hp and stock rods go but the cranks are fine.

Travis_K wrote: From what I have been told by someone who has taken a bunch of them apart, the OBDI has the good rods and pistons but a cast crank, and the OBDII has the forged crank but the other less desireable parts. I dont know if this is always the case, just observations from looking at 10 or so of them.

I have one of each in my storage unit. I sold all of the guts out of the OBD1 and now has a TDi crank in it but the OBD2 is complete. I will have to look. The whole reason VW went back to cast/no squirters in '96 was for cost cutting. But now you guys have me questioning myself. lol

Thanks, looks like the spare in the trunk is the original 9A andb under the hood is still a mystery. It does have the CIS so I guess its and earlier car, one last note it has A kilometer dash, maybe it originally came from Canada, not sure on that though.