Well a few days ago I made the 4hr trip one way to pick her up... 1982 diesel (rip) caddy.
The truck was converted (after the diesel motor blew) to a full on GTI Caddy.
1983 1.8L GTI motor
Red GTI interior
Front Suspension ( assume... Larger coils in a box witch may have been from its heavier diesel days...)
Snowflakes!!!
Enjoy.




Sweet nice truck. Now get to work on getting a real motor in there
Im going to start the 1.6NA rebuild sometime this summer.
Pros and Cons of the close-ratio trans? Or would it even work?
Cons would probably be that you will be shifting alot in town.. and won't be able to go very fast on the highway.
Pros could be that you will be able to short shift it and take advantage of every gear in town, whilst remaining at the lowest rpm for cruising MPG.. plus with a torquey little engine you will be able to rip around like a gasser when it has a close ratio box

COuld always swap out the 5th to a .75 and then have the best of both worlds lol
I had a close ratio on an AAZ, GREAT off the line and in town...HORRIBLE on the highway...i was averaging 400km on 55liters on the highway
Im going to start the 1.6NA rebuild sometime this summer.
Pros and Cons of the close-ratio trans? Or would it even work?
close ratio trans with a TD engine is TITS! i friggen love mine. i have an AUG out of a newer jetta/GTI 8v in my rabbit with my turbo 1.5 and i wouldnt change it for the world, unless the car lived on the freeway, and it doesnt. you gonna keep the GTI trans thats in there right now?
Im going to start the 1.6NA rebuild sometime this summer.
Pros and Cons of the close-ratio trans? Or would it even work?
close ratio trans with a TD engine is TITS! i friggen love mine. i have an AUG out of a newer jetta/GTI 8v in my rabbit with my turbo 1.5 and i wouldnt change it for the world, unless the car lived on the freeway, and it doesnt. you gonna keep the GTI trans thats in there right now?
Yes, Im going to keep the trans...Its all I got. I just dont know if I can swing a turbo build...

I would love to drop a taller 5th gear into the tranny...
It would be easy to turbo it and find an ACN like mine. Way easier than rebuilding the motor! sick truck though, let me make a header for it!