GTi vs 1.6 Driver vs 1.3 Ryder

[Diamond Hell]

I would be buying on the condition of the shell, rather than what it has bolted to it. A driver or a 1.3 with a decent body is probably going to be easier to find than a decent gti, and if not easier, it will almost certainly be cheaper.

+1

It might pay to buy a G2 1.3 or other poverty spec and then pick up a G3 8V GTI and pull the rear beam and front subframe off it.  This would give you big brakes and wide-track which would both be appropriate for a 1.8T conversion.

[warnesey333]

Cheers for all the help,

I'm hopefully going to look at an 8v GTi soon.

[fishnchipsx2]

The 1.3 engine mounts are all in the same locations, as are all golf 2 mounts, the front and gearbox are both as usble, even the rear has the same bracket layout..

If you have a 1.3, the driver's side mount on the chassis rail will need to be cut off, flipped upside down, and welded back on closer to the bulkhead to accommodate the big block.

No, that's a Mk1.

My bad, cheers!  (Misleading original post edited) 

[dubber36]

I'd be tempted buy a poverty spec non sunroof shell.

[mwep201081]

I replaced the rear beam on my 1.3 with a mk3 GTI item and it took less than a day to complete. That includes making up new brake lines too.