hi all, kinda new to the forum. im not sure if this is the right place to post this but here goes... im looking for a mk2, ideally a 16v but it would seem they're hard to come by. today i saw a 8v 90 spec with a piper 270 cam, AMD chip and and exhaust system, g60 arches + brake conversion, lowered on coilies, magazine featured a few years ago. anyway... it was up for 2300 with almost full history and 120'000 miles, seems a little pricey to me, what do you guys think? now for the engine related questions, after doing a bit (lot) of research on this site, the general opinion is that 8v models seem to get a bit ''breathless'' after 5k rpm, would this still be the case with the cam,exhaust and chip? also, would a big valve head from the man in the shed free up a bit more power (is it worth the money?)? or, is it better to just hold on for the right valver? cheers for reading this far thanks in advance ben
2300 sounds a bit steep unless it's an absolute minter. Sounds like the fella is trying to get back some of the hard earned he put into it. However, if someone is prepared to pay the money it will sell. yes the 8v in standard form does get a bit breathless after 5k, however the limiting factor is the head so a cam, chip and exhaust will only do very little for the engines breathing without a flowed head. After that the limiting factor is the size of the exh valves. You will see further improvements over the above mentioned with a big valve head. Without the bvh and keeping the 1.8 block you will see 120-130bhp at a push, with the bvh you should get in the region of 130-140bhp. To see the sunny side of 150bhp you'll need a 2.0 bottom end unless you are running a crazy cam, TB's and a rather high CR. It depends on what you want to spend modding it. At the end of the day you will have to chuck a few shillings at the 8v to get it putting out the power of a std 16v. Put the same money into a std 16v and you will see 160+bhp easy. Horses for courses and all that... I prefer the simplicity of the 8v And don't let anyone tell you 8v's have more torque. There is loads of data on this site to say otherwise. hope that helps...
I agree with Phil... Don't know the car, but it's a lot for an 8v, unless it's mint. Take your time and find the right one, rather than rushing to buy a car. You can JUST get over 150bhp with a road-usable 2.0 8v with about 1000-1500 quid's worth of bits, and doing most of the work yourself, without going for throttle bodies. A 2.0 16v with KR cams and not much else should get you 160 bhp.
re cheers for the replys guys, the car is on a forecourt in banbury and i think they took it in PX for something else. i think 2300 is too much. i was going to offer him about 1600 to start with as its got a bit of (minor) rust on the tail gate and the paint is a bit marked on the wing, it needs a new side trim and a few small bits that let down the overall condion. the interior is pretty clean aswell he seemed to think that its was running about 130 BHP with the mods but i thought that seemed a bit optimistic? i only spoke to him on the phone, i might go up and see it at the weekend and see if hes got any proof of the HP etc
If you're serious about it go and see the car and start picking holes in it. I'm sure it's been modified to a decent standard with good parts but you're looking for a 'nice unmolested example' afterall...lol Remind him as a trader he has to offer a basic 3mth warrenty on the engine and gearbox and that the cars probably had a hard life and most likely the next owner will give it more of the same. You're gonna have to replace alot with OE parts etc etc offer him 1400 and see what you can get away with. can't hurt to try.
thanks for the advise, i didnt know about the 3 month warrenty thing, that would have saved me so much money on the last car that i bought. i think ill have quite a lot of leverage on the price due to some of the mods, the ''raylle'' front end (jetta lights with BLACK TAPE across the bottom ) is one thing and the lights at the back are not to my taste etc its had the red GTI side badges sprayed black (badly) all little things that, as you say, detract from its original spec maybe ill try 1400 and then move quick out of the way
If I didn't already have 3 cars I'd buy this one and stick a bigger (2.0 16v?) engine in it... 11 months MOT for 300 quid, with a re-con 'box. It'd break for more than that. http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114015 although I'd want a closer look, as I'm not convinced about the panel gaps. or one of the many fine vehicles in the classified section
If you don't like it, don't buy it at any price.... have a good check of the condition of the expensive bits before you make an offer. Coilies might cost 4-800 quid new, but if they're old and shagged they're worth nowt!
sounding more like 1000 as your starting point. I'm not 100% certain about the warrenty, I know over here you can't ust say you are a trader and not cover the car for some period with some sort of basic warrenty. My friends 200sx was sold by a provate garage before he owned it. The previous owner said 1 week after he bought it the shells went forcing a rod out through the block, trader wanted nothing to do with it but it but was forced in the end to replace the entire engine at his own cost and get an engineers report etc etc... funny thing is the same car did the same thing 12 mths later.
Why... oh why did i feel compelled to look at that ! [:^(] ... it would fit on my trailer nicely.. What dont you like about the panel gaps Mike ?
Indeedy, if it's solid enough. You see lots of Mk2's round that kind of price now - either a bit scruffy, with a major mechanical problem, or unifinished projects. Dunno why anyone would pay 2k for anything with less than 180 bhp, or a fully sorted race car.
