Best platform for idi build?

[the4ork]

I'm in Cali and diesel motors are few and far between, and I'm looking to scoop up a motor to start an idi build in a mki. My only requirement is a mechanical pump so I don't have to rewire the entire vehicle.

But what is the best option as far as availability, parts availability, hp/mpg?

I'd like to have the power of a gasser 8v and 50mpg... And to put a few hundred thousand miles on it.

1.5,1.6,1.9,tdi-m?

I'd also love to have a serpentine, ac but no ps.

its an 82 jetta diesel, originally diesel

Do you have a diesel chassis to put it in?  I'm not up on what the deal is swapping in diesels in CA.



As for motor, it's budget and luck.  I'd buy the best one that is at least a 1.6TD that you can afford. 
If it's a TDI great.  Last I looked around one could still find a 1.9L AAZ in good shape cheaper than
a TDI, and a 1.6TD is no slouch if it's carefully built but most of them are old now and needing a rebuild.
If one can suddenly buy a TDI long-block with reasonable mileage for $700 or so that is probably the way to go
as long as your budget isn't going to stall you out with the pump and turbo and such.

[the4ork]

There's plenty of diesels in Ca, if you're willing to spend the money. How you intend on using the vehicle will dictate how you do the build. Or what you may need for your vehicle, which in your case will need to have AC because of the summertime heat. Being as I moved away from the valley to avoid the heat, and hardly ever return, I just don't want it & all the hassles. If you're like me, I need a vehicle which will not leave me stranded , gets good mileage, and will hopefully run good for the next, say, 20 years. So I'm building it with longevity in mind. I don't think it's possible to do it on the cheap. My brother did, but he spent a lot of time working on it. I'd rather not. Just my opinion.

i have a large budget to work with for the entire car build. but id like to cut costs without cutting corners. if that makes sense.

are there any engine dealers in CA somewhere, where i can get a long block?

[the4ork]

also what is the difference between (just the long block) from a 1.9 mk3 engine, to a tdi. excluding electronics/pump/turbo are the blocks/heads similar or completely different?

[libbydiesel]

The mk3 came with both the 1.9TD (AAZ) and the 1.9TDI (1Z/AHU).  The block casting is the same but the AAZ does not have the crank position sensor hole drilled.  The crank and rods are functionally the same, but the AHU crank has the trigger wheel for the crank position sensor and the AHU rods are stronger and do not have the extra weights on them.  The pistons and head are completely different. 

Boraparts sells complete long blocks.  If you went that route you'd have to get all the other bits (injectors, lines, pump bracket, accessory bracket, accessories, timing covers, manifolds, turbo, etc...).

[shorttimer]

I got my AAZ motor from Quality German Auto in SoCal. My experience with them was excellent. They have videos of their low mileage motors running on Youtube.

[the4ork]

My mistake. I meant best platform using mech pump! I just realized that....



Anywho, so have we come to an agreement that a tdi-m / aaz / alh is the way to go?

[bajacalal]

That Quality German Auto place was what I was referring to. I thought they were in Chino but apparently Ontario (the city that's about 30 miles east of Los Angeles).

The cheapest TDI they have is about $2000 though. But, you don't need the whole wiring harness and ECU if you're going to be using a mechanical pump so you may just be able to buy the longblock only for less. I have not used them but they seem to be a good place.

Get an earlier (mk3) TDI, if you want it to be an easy swap into your 1982 car.

BTW, a TDI is not the same as an AAZ. The AAZ is an IDI (indirect injected) engine that happens to 1.9 liters in displacement. But it is not a TDI. I think what you want is an AHU. That is a TDI (direct injected). I know the engine codes are more confusing than they need to be.

[nwcali6]

There's plenty of diesels in Ca, if you're willing to spend the money. How you intend on using the vehicle will dictate how you do the build. Or what you may need for your vehicle, which in your case will need to have AC because of the summertime heat. Being as I moved away from the valley to avoid the heat, and hardly ever return, I just don't want it & all the hassles. If you're like me, I need a vehicle which will not leave me stranded , gets good mileage, and will hopefully run good for the next, say, 20 years. So I'm building it with longevity in mind. I don't think it's possible to do it on the cheap. My brother did, but he spent a lot of time working on it. I'd rather not. Just my opinion.

i have a large budget to work with for the entire car build. but id like to cut costs without cutting corners. if that makes sense.

are there any engine dealers in CA somewhere, where i can get a long block?

  Some German place in LA sells long blocks and running 1.6, 1.9 and TDI's including MTDI's...

[Adamksi]

Landrover MTDI pumps over here can be bought silly cheap. Got mine for £30, rebuilt for £90 by a friend of a friend. All in works out about $150. With a K24 turbo, .240 nozzles it goes pretty damn well, and still returns 40mpg sat at 80-85mph, tone that down to around 70 and see 50mpg+

Can you pick these up at just any scrap yard in the UK? Is there a certain part of the UK where these vehicles would be more common than other parts? I think plane tickets to Heathrow may be in my near future. I bet if I could get a few of them, the trip would pay for itself.

Pretty much anywhere, might be worth searching for specialist breakers of offroad stuff, but then you'd probably pay more. The odd ones pop up on ebay for varying amounts, pot luck what needs doing to them though, mine was just a basic rebuild with seals etc, my mates needs some new internals due to bad fuel, cost nearly £200 rebuild

[wolf_walker]

[/quote]

It's fairly straightforward. You go to the DMV and have the right person change the "G" to a "D" on your title. Sounds easy right? I know someone who has done it a number of times, and it takes a fair bit of hassling but it gets done. It would probably go a lot smoother if you made an appointment for something like "correction to title" on a slow day or something. When I brought my Golf in, they had to verify my diesel engine (which involved some lady following me outside, looking at my engine, deciding that it was probably  diesel) to give me a "D" title. This was because the state it came from did not specify the fuel on the title. In all seriousness, it's totally legal to swap an engine from one car to another, as long as you stick to certain parameters. The engine is supposed to be "newer" than the car. It's supposed to be a "road" engine, not something out of your John Deere. It's supposed to have whatever emissions equipment went with that engine. Because of that, I wouldn't specify that it's a TDI if they ask, but say it's something like a "1985 Jetta turbodiesel engine..." which is what I have in my Golf. As far as this discussion goes, I'd rather have an m-tdi. Those are all federal laws about engine swaps, by the way. But only California really bothers to enforce them.


[/quote]

Might be hope for my TD Scirocco in CA then?  I'd be glad to know that's the case.

[745 turbogreasel]

If it is on record as a gasser, You are supposed to go to the BAR referee which costs $50.
The refs are knowledgeable, not there to screw you over, and get paid the same either way.