# mk3 cabrio aba 16v turbo



## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

so i have woken up today with the intention of starting my engine swap after my morning coffee. i have been doing research on this build now for about a year and collecting parts for the motor and swap over tha last eight months. over the last three months i have built the motor, made my own fuel rail and generally scoured this site for any useful information to me and now todays the day to start. :beer:

so, what i have in my engine so far

obd1 aba bottom end resurfaced, bored .020" over and honed
je forged 9a pistons
re-bushed shot peened and stress relieved rods
p&p'd 9a head with stock size valves
stock cams
scirocco intake manifold modded for mk3 tb and IAT sensor
modded 16v dizzy with the mk3 hall sensor crap
some adjustable cam gear (+/-10 degrees)
BahnBrenner timing belt and injector cups
33lb per hour injectors from a volvo turbo rebuilt and balanced
garrett 50 trim t3/4 turbo, dont know the numbers off the top of my head
modded aba serp crank pulley for alignment with the rest of the accessories
and arp bolts throughout.
3" dp
high flow 2.5" cat
2.5" spintech muffler single in/out

probably forgetting some stuff for the engine but ill have pics up later today of the motor and then of the car once i begin pulling the old 8 valve :laugh:

also if anybody lives in the ventura county area for calif. hit me up :thumbup:
theres nothing but hondas here where i live
thoughts?


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

I wish i still lived down their, I would give you a hand. I moved back up to Oregon a few years ago. I was in Ventura. I have a MK2 with a ABA bottom end G60 head and DIGI 2 in it. its not Turbo yet but i am getting all the stuff together for as we speak. My other is a MK1 with a built 9A running Mega Squirt, 185hp all motor. I will be watching this to see how it goes.


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

cool, well i havent posted in a week and a half since i started the swap, but the engine is in and now running strong with a full 3" downpipe back exhaust and spintech muffler.

anyway i will try to post pictures of the entire process of the swap later on today or tonight. :beer:


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

*video of first start*

[video]http://s1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa429/Chris_Castorina/?action=view&current=P2261376.mp4[/video]



first start


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## \/\|/ (Jun 27, 2010)

nice im working on mine j/w how much it cost you all together


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

*cost*

just looked through my book of reciepts.... rough estimate without taxes or other bs id say $2700. but thats doing it all myself without taking it to a shop. i cant imagine what shop prices would be.

good luck on your build though! vortex needs more 16vt's :beer:


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## \/\|/ (Jun 27, 2010)

ok thanks i'm doing it for my auto3 project. and we do need more 16vt


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

[video][/video]


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## \/\|/ (Jun 27, 2010)

hey if i were going to buy a turbo kit what would i get the aba or 16v if i get the aba i know i have to get a 16v exhaust manfold. any help is nice


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

for the aba/16v motor you should deffinately go with a 16v turbo kit. because when it comes to turbo kits alll the kit really includes are the peices that directly attatch to or affect the top end including placement of the turbo inlet tube as well as routing for the intercooler piping.. all in all it would just save you a lot of time and a headache if you went with the 16v turbo kit :thumbup: 
just remember to refresh or rebuild/strengthen the bottom end a bit 

the bahn brenner kit is quite nice...


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## Rusty Dan (Dec 11, 2008)

Nice work you have done! :thumbup: 

What head gasket did you use for the conversion and did you set the torque on the bolts any differently to the manuals using ARP?? 
Also what did you do to lower the compression for the turbo? 

Cheers 
Rusty


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## \/\|/ (Jun 27, 2010)

Rusty Dan said:


> Nice work you have done! :thumbup:
> 
> What head gasket did you use for the conversion and did you set the torque on the bolts any differently to the manuals using ARP??
> Also what did you do to lower the compression for the turbo?
> ...


 an aba with a 16v head gives off 8.5:1 compression.


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

thank you! 

i actually used the aba metal headgasket with the 16v head. To get the compression ratio where i wanted it, i re-bushed the rods for 16v 9a pistons at 83mm. that put me roughly in the 9.0 or 9.2:1 comp ratio.. 

as for the arp studs they came with their own torquing specs that i followed. :beer:


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## 35i 2000 (Jan 27, 2005)

congratulations!! 

16v turbo are serious motors! you wont be able to get bored with this, you have a very nice set up 

congratulations again


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

thank you for the kind words! 

i know what you mean by not getting bored with this setup, its been a blast to drive! but in order to get the car where it is now, it sure was a pain in the a$$. now its just time to get the looks of the car down now that i have the motor.


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

*too much*

power. 

so i have my car pretty much broken in now with no leaks and about 1200 miles, but now that its broken in im trying to see how fast this thing really is... 

so on the freeway, drop it into third, boost goes up and the clutch cant hold the power :facepalm: 

so what would be a good clutch for me? current guestimate is 250-260ish horsepower


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## brosef (Mar 10, 2008)

Jealous... very nice. Who tuned the computer? What tranny are you running? How did you route the coolant lines for the tubro, and did you keep the heater core? I'm in the process of my aba16vt, shaving the bay and routing the SDS wiring currently... :thumbup:


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

ok now im actually running bosch/ford 42 # injectors from a mustang cobra (dark blue ones for multi valve head) and for the tranny im keeping the stock cabby one but built with cryo treated and shot peened gears. i also did keep the heater core and airconditioning. PITA to run the hoses and lines... trust me. :banghead: but it all seems to run fine, i just need a wayyy better clutch because this current one slips... idk if i should go with some stage 3 or.. what? :what:


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

also, its on a c2 motorsports 42# turbo chip... otherwise stock ecu


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## Dmoneythegreat (Jan 13, 2010)

Cabrio16ValveTurbo said:


> also, its on a c2 motorsports 42# turbo chip... otherwise stock ecu


 Nice work! I can't wait to see vids of this thing pulling


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## brosef (Mar 10, 2008)

Cabrio16ValveTurbo said:


> ok now im actually running bosch/ford 42 # injectors from a mustang cobra (dark blue ones for multi valve head) and for the tranny im keeping the stock cabby one but built with cryo treated and shot peened gears. i also did keep the heater core and airconditioning. PITA to run the hoses and lines... trust me. :banghead: but it all seems to run fine, i just need a wayyy better clutch because this current one slips... idk if i should go with some stage 3 or.. what? :what:


 Are you sure it's not oil leaking into the clutch region (rear main seal, etc)? Stage 3 would suck on the street, I'd just get a Stage 2, it's probably just a worn clutch. :thumbup:


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

surprisingly i have no leaks.. the cement is always completey clean and ive got full fluids... so maybe a stage 2 then. thank you for the advice brosef, now i just need to save up for it lol 

next paycheck :thumbup:


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## 2point0jetta (Jul 22, 2009)

Nice build :thumbup:


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

*Clutch*

I had the same problem with a clutch in my MK1. Its only pushing 185HP, but it would do the same thing. I drop a gear and hammer on it. it slips. So here is what i did. I got 2 Pressure plates and drilled out the rivets holding the bands on. their are 3 of them. Then stack 2 and bold them back down. spot weld the nuts so they don't back out (that's what i did) Or just use red lock tight. 
I still run the stock disk and clutch feels the same as far a foot pressure but the force to the disk is doubled. I run my car in the low 13s in the 1/4 and its not slipped once. I still street it all the time. i lost no drive ability 

I will be doing the same thing for my 16vt that i just finished building last night. Its going in next week.


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

Jones84 said:


> I had the same problem with a clutch in my MK1. Its only pushing 185HP, but it would do the same thing. I drop a gear and hammer on it. it slips. So here is what i did. I got 2 Pressure plates and drilled out the rivets holding the bands on. their are 3 of them. Then stack 2 and bold them back down. spot weld the nuts so they don't back out (that's what i did) Or just use red lock tight.
> I still run the stock disk and clutch feels the same as far a foot pressure but the force to the disk is doubled. I run my car in the low 13s in the 1/4 and its not slipped once. I still street it all the time. i lost no drive ability
> 
> I will be doing the same thing for my 16vt that i just finished building last night. Its going in next week.


 thats a pretty interesting idea. im going to experiment with that with a few crap clutches i have laying around my shop and see if i like the outcome. hmm just may work


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

If you need more info i did take some pics, i would need to up load them. one thing you need to be careful of is, on the one you are going to use Grind the heads down and use a punch to knock out the rivets, so that you don't drill out the pressure plat Ops.. If you have extra ones like i do you will figure it out. I was told that you can go 3 bands, 2 works great. I was very happy with the results.


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## brosef (Mar 10, 2008)

Jones84 said:


> If you need more info i did take some pics, i would need to up load them. one thing you need to be careful of is, on the one you are going to use Grind the heads down and use a punch to knock out the rivets, so that you don't drill out the pressure plat Ops.. If you have extra ones like i do you will figure it out. I was told that you can go 3 bands, 2 works great. I was very happy with the results.


 I'd like to see pics, if you've got em.


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

I just did this for my 16vt, I don't have it in yet but it is going in this weekend. I just got all the T-bolt clamps and silicon hose for the intercooler. here are the pics i have from the first pressure plate i did, I have done 3 now. My buddy with a G-60 had me build him one to.


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

im going to give that a shot, i just ordered another pressure plate today because it turned out i only had one laying around my shop.


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

Cabrio16ValveTurbo said:


> im going to give that a shot, i just ordered another pressure plate today because it turned out i only had one laying around my shop.


You could just use the one in the car, it only takes about 1hr to do. I should mention that if you running the stock Flywheel you might have to taper the outside of the bolt heads that face the flywheel. I found on the eurospec on you don't have to as its cut out a bit more on the inside. 
I was test fitting the one i just did the other day, with a stock and the light weight one. It fit the light weight eurospec fine but i had to grind back the edges of the bolt head so that it would clear the stock one. Not a big deal. As long as you test fit it with it on the bench be for you install you should be fine. 
One more thing a 7/16 bolt fits perfect in the holes. It did in mine anyway :thumbup:


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## pendulum (Apr 29, 2001)

Excellent build!  :thumbup:

Any thoughts of running a LSD or even a bolt kit along with that new clutch? That might help your tranny out a bit. I am doing a similar build but will be upgrading the transmission before I put the snail on there. :beer:

If you were building your 16v ABA engine for use _without_ a turbo, what piston/rod/bushing setup would you go with, and what would your target CR be?


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

well surprisingly, when i bought the car a year ago, it already had a peloquin 

but i think if i were to build a n/a aba/16v i would use the 159mm rods, rebushed for 9a pistons and maybe use JE 11:1 comp 9a pistons which should give roughly 10:1 compression on the hybrid.... idk, i would have to do more research. :thumbup:


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## pendulum (Apr 29, 2001)

Cabrio16ValveTurbo said:


> well surprisingly, when i bought the car a year ago, it already had a peloquin


You lucky SOB! 

Which rods are 159mm? ABA?


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

yea those are the aba rods..

i know i was realllly surprised to find out about the lsd! lol


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

*completeish car pics*

picked up a mk2 recaro trophy seat at the local yard the other day for 30 bucks. made it fit in my semi nice clean car


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## pendulum (Apr 29, 2001)

Cabrio16ValveTurbo said:


> picked up a mk2 recaro trophy seat at the local yard the other day for 30 bucks. made it fit in my semi nice clean car


Damn friend, you are the KING of finding deals! 

I got a full set of the half-leather Trophies with the power bases for quite a bit more! And by quite a bit I mean a heck of a lot more 

How did you go about "making it fit"? I had to extend the Mk2 mounting points out; welded the Mk3 sliders on to the mk2 seat bases by widening the bases to fit the wider mk3 mounts. It's been a PITA to do it this way, and if I were to do it again I'd probably just cut the mk3 rails out and weld mk2 rails in and use the factory Mk2 mounts.


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

well i wish i had a full set... i only have the drivers seat haha.

well to make the seat fit, the only part that wouldnt line up with the mk3 rails was the left rear slider, it was 2 inches too narrow. so i hack-sawed off the press fit pin holding on the slider, drilled it out and tig welded on a 2 inch extenstion and put it back together with a nut and bolt through the drilled hole. also on the front center slider, the adjuster was on the wrong side for the seat, so i just moved the adjustment pin to the other side and drilled a small hole in the mount for the pin return spring. 

it was also sorta a PITA, but it worked


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## nfx (Jul 18, 2004)

Let me get this straight... you're running an OBD2 ECU with C2 stage 2 forced induction software for an ABA... on a 16v hybrid?

And that works out?

Interesting...


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

yea the car runs perfectly with that setup. if you think about it, because its running the same management as an aba engine, not much to the physical design of the engine has really changed. all that has essentially been changed is that there is now an extra cam, and 8 extra valves. so, the ecu still thinks its an aba, as it has no way of detecting the dohc setup.


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

I want to know more about your managment, I just put my ABA 16vt in my Jetta. its a MK2. I am running Digi1 with a BBM 16vtHighRev chip. I am not to happy with the digi. 
I am running 15pis max. What are you running on your set up?
I am have LSD also in a 9A tranny. I still spin them when i hit boost. In all gears but 5th. lol


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

well, all the management that i have right now is the obd2 aba motronic computer with all the stock sensors, and tstat, but with a c2 aba stage 2 turbo chip for 42lb injectors... works perfect for me. i upped my boost from 8psi (for break in) to now 12psi and still runs great


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## nfx (Jul 18, 2004)

I guess I need to do some more research... but if this is the case, I've been sitting around wondering what an ABA 16vT would be like... but the stand alone route is not the cards because of passing OBD2 emissions.

Hmm...


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

Cabrio16ValveTurbo said:


> well, all the management that i have right now is the obd2 aba motronic computer with all the stock sensors, and tstat, but with a c2 aba stage 2 turbo chip for 42lb injectors... works perfect for me. i upped my boost from 8psi (for break in) to now 12psi and still runs great


I did my break in at about 7. Mine runs good but i want it to be a bit more rich. I have some 48# that i can put in but my chip is for 30#, I guess i could just drop the FP. 
So i would need a MK3 ECU and harness for it to work? correct?


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

yea what would probably be easiest would be to head to your local yard and just get the whole deal: ecu, wire harness, fusebox and all the sensors. should be pretty easy. 

i did it because for one, im in cali so i need to pass emissions. and two, my car being a cabrio, already had the aba ecu and wiring for me. all i really had to do was get the digi 2 water neck off an old 8 valve that had the two sensor pots and the chip from c2. along with injectors...

i would recommend staying with a 3 bar fpr though, unless your injectors han handle 4 bar fuel pressure going through them.


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

Cabrio16ValveTurbo said:


> yea what would probably be easiest would be to head to your local yard and just get the whole deal: ecu, wire harness, fusebox and all the sensors. should be pretty easy.
> 
> i did it because for one, im in cali so i need to pass emissions. and two, my car being a cabrio, already had the aba ecu and wiring for me. all i really had to do was get the digi 2 water neck off an old 8 valve that had the two sensor pots and the chip from c2. along with injectors...
> 
> i would recommend staying with a 3 bar fpr though, unless your injectors han handle 4 bar fuel pressure going through them.


O ya it can handle it, i have a Adjusable FPR. You have to use the 2 hole water neck? It that for the blue sensor and for the gauge? I use the 1 hole off a digi 2 motor. then i run my gauge off the back of the head for temp. 
Or do you need 2 just for the ECU? Sorry man i dont know anything about OBD yet. 
How much boost do you think it will handle??


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

you need to get the two sensor waterneck for the obd2 computer... maybe there is a way around it that can work, but for me it was basically plug n play so i could just put all the stock sensors in the correct locations..

as far as how much boost it can handle, are you talking about my car? or how much the obd system can handle?


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

Cabrio16ValveTurbo said:


> you need to get the two sensor waterneck for the obd2 computer... maybe there is a way around it that can work, but for me it was basically plug n play so i could just put all the stock sensors in the correct locations..
> 
> as far as how much boost it can handle, are you talking about my car? or how much the obd system can handle?


Well my setup is about the same as yours, i am limited to about 15psi do to the MAP only being 200kpa, that 100 below and 100 above. 
So your system i think has no MAP ( i could be wrong) you have a MAF. 
I know that are motors will handle around 20+ psi, if you have ARP holding things together.
Just wondering how much your going to run and what you think you Management will handle. 
I am trying to figure out if its worth it to swap in the OBD or MS or just a 4bar MAP. 
Sorry for all the questions. I used to live by you, if i still did we could have hooked up and had a nice conversation.. lol


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

yea i have no map system on my car, just a mass air flow meter. im sure from my chip tune and injectors i could in theory do 20psi of boost no problem, but i think with my current tranny being an o2o, albeit a built o2o, im only going to run a max of 15 psi.. 

yea its too bad you dont live around here anymore, i wish someone was close enough by to actually talk to about these motors in person.


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

I lived in Ventura, right by the fair grounds.
I have a built 020 9A tranny as well. I am not sure how long it will last. I have blowen 2 of them in my 16v N/A MK1 so i am sure it will go some time.
I am going to run MegaSquirt v3, i should be in soon. I plan on taking my boost up to 20+psi so i will let you know how it goes.


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## 20B_envy (Mar 16, 2006)

Any chance I can get a shot or 2 of your coolant piping? I'm working on mine now and I'm a little lost for the routing


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

20B_envy said:


> Any chance I can get a shot or 2 of your coolant piping? I'm working on mine now and I'm a little lost for the routing


Witch one? side of head or front of head. I was able to use all the stock hoses. The placement did not change. 
Side goes to heater
Front goes to radiator


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

awesome. id love to be able to see what one of our motors can do with a true stand alone system. should be a blast.. 

i would like to save up for an o2a tranny swap.. but the wuste trip is taking financial dibs at the moment lol


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## 20B_envy (Mar 16, 2006)

I am picking up where a shop left off so I have no reference other than the Bentley which I haven't looked for it yet so any would be helpful.:thumbup:


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## Jones84 (Sep 6, 2007)

20B_envy said:


> I am picking up where a shop left off so I have no reference other than the Bentley which I haven't looked for it yet so any would be helpful.:thumbup:


I will snap some pics tomorrow of the motor and pluming for ya, Not sure if its going to help.
I can tell you that
side of head= heater
Metal tube going from front around to the back= Heater
front of head down= top of water pump and oil cooler
front of head straight= radiator top
bottom of water pump= bottom of radiator
I hope this helps, i will still get some pics up tomorrow


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

*i am now*

WUSTE BOUND!   

hope to see you guys there :thumbup:


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

*ive decided to make a change.*

i need my car to be a bit more reliable... i keep breaking axles and balding tires too much. which by the way is fun and all, but generally only in a race car, and not in a daily. so im taking a leap of faith, and removing the turbo, chip and injectors and getting a euro manifold and a header instead. im also going to be raising the compression to keep some power, but now the ultimate goal is a RELIABLE but still FUN daily driver.


plus, i really love the way a n/a 16v sounds... 

either way, ill let your readers know how it all pans out, and my turbo stuff is going to be for sale in a few weeks once i get it all sorted. :thumbup:


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## EasyTarget (Sep 11, 2007)

Hey man, I talked to you at wuste about your motor, I was driving the brown MKV GLI on bags. If you really do decide to sell your turbo setup, let me know, I'm very interested.

Car looks great by the way. :thumbup:


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

yep im going to get rid of it, just ordered my n/a stuff today.. so as soon as it arrives, im going to clean up the turbo stuff and sell it cheap so i'll let you know when its ready :thumbup:


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## EasyTarget (Sep 11, 2007)

Cabrio16ValveTurbo said:


> yep im going to get rid of it, just ordered my n/a stuff today.. so as soon as it arrives, im going to clean up the turbo stuff and sell it cheap so i'll let you know when its ready :thumbup:


Sweet deal buddy. :thumbup:

Which headers did you get?


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

cheap ones... lol i got the raceland headers that fit an abf mk3. hopefully it works out... trying to get this all done before the big socal get together at the end of july


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## chc-rado (Nov 20, 2008)

I'm not sure what trans your using. 02 trans are weak with no LSD. 02A trans are better. If boosted, all trans should have LSD. Use 02A or 02J trans with LSD and get better axles. CV Source builds good cv axles for import guys with boosted cars. You might spend same about for LSD for going NA. Either way you go, just have fun with this project. Nice build.


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## \/\|/ (Jun 27, 2010)

chc-rado said:


> I'm not sure what trans your using. 02 trans are weak with no LSD. 02A trans are better. If boosted, all trans should have LSD. Use 02A or 02J trans with LSD and get better axles. CV Source builds good cv axles for import guys with boosted cars. You might spend same about for LSD for going NA. Either way you go, just have fun with this project. Nice build.


He has a LSD read.


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## Cabrio16ValveTurbo (Dec 23, 2010)

maybe i just had weak axles? dont know... either way im having fun making it naturally aspirated now. talked to bahn brenner about a n/a chip once i get it done, and it sounds like a good deal to me. any input?


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## Malik-goose (Nov 7, 2014)

*Help me get started on my 16v conversion on my 1995 Volkswagen cabrio*

Hey man can you help point me in the right direction todo the 16v conversion as well as add a turbo kit 
What i need is a parts list aswell as maybe a general order that i should install parts


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## Malik-goose (Nov 7, 2014)

???


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