1.6TD or 1.9NA for MK1 Rabbit

[ventureforth]

Here's my situation:

I have an MK1 Rabbit ('82) that I'm restoring.  It currently has the 1.6NA, obviously.  I'm actually not too unhappy with the power it puts out for such a light car...it's a ton of fun to drive even at 52HP.  But I guess I'm preaching to the choir.  Well, as great an engine as it is, it will need some help soon, and instead of just rebuilding it, I figured I would upgrade.  I thought I would ask for some advice.

Now, I've done a bunch of research on various forums, but in most cases the decision for people comes down to extreme power options, racing, and pushing things to the limit.  That's not what I'm looking for.  This is a daily driver that I intend to run on veg-oil.  However, I still want it to be as fun to drive as is reasonably possible on a reasonable budget with reliability in mind.  I will upgrade suspension and handling along with engine, as well, or at least get it back to new stock.  Since it is pretty much a blast to drive in stock form, I figure it can only get better from here.

So, I have access to both a 1.9NA and a 1.6TD for about the same price.  As far as power, tuneability, reliability, economy, and ease of install, is there a clear winner?  I'm leaning towards the TD, as a turbo always helps a diesel in my book, but there's something great about the simplicity of an NA.  This will be my first project car and I plan on doing most of the work myself, so it will be a learning experience, too.  The other option would be to rebuild the NA and add a turbo, but from what I understand the 1.6TD is a better engine than the earlier 1.6NA.  Correct?

So, any thoughts?

Thanks.  I'm really excited about getting into this project.

[theman53]

Steal the turbo off of the 1.6 and put it on the 1.9 is my vote.

[Vincent Waldon]

They are both about the same HP and torque iirc... the NA is of course has fewer moving parts.

Is the 1.6 TD from an MK1 or an MK2??  If it's from an MK1 it will be an easier drop-in than the 1.9 (passenger side motor mount) otherwise they're the same amount of work to swap.

Does one have fewer miles?

[burn_your_money]

Depending on what the 1.9 is from you may have to modify the pump which could either be tricky or expensive.

I have a 1.9NA in my mk2 Golf and it's by far my favorite engine. It's simple yet powerful. (relatively )

[ventureforth]

I'm getting my prices from this place: http://www.qualitygermanautoparts.com/Mainframe.htm

The engines are all low mile and direct from Germany.  The guy goes over there every month or so and pulls them and brings them back.  It doesn't state specifically which year/model they came out of for the 1.6TD and 1.9NA, though for sure they were our of newer cars than my own.

I guess the other question is if I'm going through all the trouble, should I just be putting an AAZ in there?  I've seen a few successful builds with that engine in an MK1.  I almost think it's too much power (for my needs), but it is the most modern of the IDIs, so would it be the best choice?  I certainly would never be wishing I had just a little more power.  I could put Bosio nozzles in there, swap on the 1.6 turbo, intercool it, etc., etc., etc....

Very glad to be posting here.  Much more friendly and open to noob questions than some other sites who shall remain unnamed.

[arsenicpants]

1.9 AAZ isn't an insane amount of power, IMO
they make about the same amount of power as a mk1 GTI, but with a little extra torque, and the GTI is completely streetable (obviously)

if you can find an AAZ for cheapish i'd snap it right up

btw, i didn't even know you could get a factory 1.9 NA
what did they come in? or was it an industrial engine?

[MJF]

btw, i didn't even know you could get a factory 1.9 NA
what did they come in? or was it an industrial engine?

Audi 80, Passat, Golf III, Vento, Polo, Caddy etc...

[ventureforth]

The thing is, I actually have an AAZ, but I was saving it for a future project (I wanted to put it into a Caddy one day).  It's very clean, only about 96K on it, rebuilt pump, and Bosio GTD nozzles.  I should probably just suck it up and put it into the Rabbit, but for some reason I have this idea about keeping the integrity of the lower displacement, simpler, lower power of the Rabbit intact... don't know why.  It just seems to fit the character of the Rabbit and even the tiny 1.6NA feels well matched to the characteristics and dynamics of the MK1 (though I admit there are times when I wish for just a tad more acceleration).

I guess the most straightforward thing to do would be to just bring the 1.6 back to stock plus a bit more (do everything in the FAQ on this site for "adding more power to your NA").  Get it to peak efficiency and power within safe EGT limits.  My only thought was that if I'm going to spend some money on it, I might consider spending a little bit more to do the 1.6TD swap... a little more power and a little more room to grow.  Still, I could probably get the 1.6NA to peak performance (rebuild on engine, pump, upgrade injectors, etc.) for about half the cost of the 1.6TD.

Thoughts?