# 91 jetta engine swap good or bad?



## allenjames10 (Jan 16, 2006)

i have a 91 jetta that i bought 2 years ago. the car is in excellent shape and i am now going to do a complete tear down and rebuild. is it better to port and polish the orignal engine and tranny and add a small turbo? or put in a VR6 tubro and tranny? looking for some serious advice on this matter!!!!!


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## markmarshowsky (Jun 26, 2008)

*Re: 91 jetta engine swap good or bad? (allenjames10)*

i would not polish the transmission. terrible waste of time. tried it once and got no noticeble horspower increase.


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## allenjames10 (Jan 16, 2006)

*Re: 91 jetta engine swap good or bad? (markmarshowsky)*

got it. not worth it


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## markmarshowsky (Jun 26, 2008)

*Re: 91 jetta engine swap good or bad? (allenjames10)*

so i'm new to vw's but have built a few autocross/hill climb cars. in my experience porting and polishing most modern engines net relatively little horsepower. if you do the whole meal deal (i.e. knife edge crank, lighten everything, more compression, more fuel, etc) you can get a decent 30-40% hp increase. but the cost will far outweigh the benefits when compared to a turbo. only downside i've found to a properly designed turbo system is, you can't ever drive a non turbo car again and really appreciate it. good luck.


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## alpinweiss (Aug 10, 2007)

*Re: 91 jetta engine swap good or bad? (allenjames10)*

Anything is possible, given enough time and money.
I would recommend going with a rebuild on your present engine (and maybe a turbo), rather than trying to swap in a VR6. The VR6 is possible, but this car/engine/transmission combination was never offered by the factory, so you are really on your own with parts for this modification. Remember to swap the engine, transmission, shifter mechanism, cooling system, engine accessories, half-shafts, wheel hubs, brakes, wheels, tires, and the list goes on. It will also make your car very nose-heavy.
There are now a number of tuners that offer nice turbocharger or supercharger kits for your car. Some of them appear to be of very good quality.
If you are absolutely committed to doing an engine swap, you might want to consider a 1.8T (rather than the VR6).


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## vw leben (May 17, 2008)

1.8T = very $ compared to a VR6. Don't do either. What you are looking for is a Good 2.0 ABA bottom end and port and polish the 1.8 head (unless you want to convert the ABA head, but unless you have digi 2 then its more work converting from CIS to ABA ECU and engine wiring). Either head, put in a 270 cam, get it running great and you will be happy. Then in the future if you plan on a turbo or S/C you will have a great combo at a very good price! Just my too cents but I really think you wil like it.


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