1982 Rabbit pick up project

[valkyrie32]

Greetings,

I have been lookingthrough the posting and there is a ton of great information here. It will take me weeks to read through everything!

So here is my truck-82 Rabbit rickup with the 1.6L diesel. 5 spd, 153,000 miles. The truck s now a daily driver and my company truck. For those familier, I live in MAss abd drive the pike everyday. Tough job for a 24 year old truck. So what is a good way to increae horse power for this motor?
I have not ruled out buyig another motor and building that one up for a swap. so please share your (all) insight on this. Please list any websites for equipment I can review. Also any further tips for minor adjustments would be greatly appreciated as well.

thanks,
mark

[jtanguay]

well i will say this, it all depends on how much you want to spend.  if you're looking for a work horse with loads of power, then you should build the motor from the ground up.  

base 1.6TD block, and head & good turbo.  get more airflow by adding those cone filters so it sounds loud, and open up the exhaust to make the turbo spool faster.  IMO the engine is a LOT louder than an open exhaust!!!  :lol:

even for tired old motors, these things can produce some really good power.  and the fuel mileage is a huge bonus.  you can mess around with the fuel screw a bit, but just watch the black smoke.  too much = high egt's and melted engine!  :shock:

[stewardc]

You have a great little truck there. It just needs more power. Mine has a 1.6 Turbodiesel from a 1984 Jetta swapped in (very easy direct bolt-in) and it will run 75 mph all day. Add a Giles pump, a Passenger Performance downpipe, a 2.25" Magnaflow exhaust and an intercooler and you have a truly mean machine.

[burn_your_money]

If you want to keep your current engine, a larger exhaust including the manifold (go as big as you want, there is no valve overlap on the diesel so you don't need back pressure), a rebuilt pump (Giles is the man to talk to) and new injectors (also talk to Giles) will make a huge difference. Make sure to change your timing belt ASAP and have it properly timed.

A cold air intake will also help you out, as will synthetic motor oil, fresh tranny fluid, no power steering, A/C delete, good bearings, no dragging brakes, a large duck bill (air resistance) and lowering your truck. Everything in this paragraph will have less of an impact then the first paragraph, unless for example your bearings are shot.

[valkyrie32]

Thank you for the reply.

oK, Since I am new...please pardon the stupid question-Who is 'Giles'? and how can he/she be located?

as for maintainance: since i bought the truck the following is new;
1. timing belt, injector pump, cam bearings and seals, new bat and alternator. New rear end (brakes, bearing seals, shocks bearings)

2. new custom tonou cover for bed, new headliner and brake light wiring.

3. shift linkage (from cab). vacuum pump

not bad for five months.

truck does run well. But i want the highway end to be set up so the hills do not rob the truck of momentum. I really do not care about the 0-60, just to remain at constant speeds on the highway. A couple of you have really good ideas, please forward where I can get the parts, etc.

thanks,
Mark

[burn_your_money]

Contact info for Giles:
http://vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3100

What tranny code do you have?

[scopefrfd]

If you're just looking for power to get up and down the hills on the mass Pike, highway passing performance, just turbo the engine....If you're not comfortable with doing it yourself.  You can contact me, I'm in MA.  just send me a PM.