What about a 16v conversionÂÂÂ

That should be about that price to buy and install, and a 16v in a mk1 will be rapid.ÂÂÂ

Don't forget you'll also need to uprate the rear brakes so you need to budget for that too. A 1.8Twill be double that price deffo.ÂÂÂ

Not sure which companies could do the conversion though, try JBS autodesigns in Chesterfield, they feature in the Golf+ quite a bit.ÂÂÂ

Also have a look at the links on the golfgti.co.uk home page as there are a load of companies on there.