Anyone got any experience of these? Might be looking at one tonight. Bloke from work has had it 3 weeks, used it till now and it's died. Turns over, coughs and splutters but won't start. If it does as soon as it's reved it dies. It sounded sweet when it was running and looked pretty tidy. He wants rid and can't be arsed to fix it so I'm off for a look later, any pointers?

Cheers

Matt

Pm oet, he has one and may be able to help

I do indeed, she will be back in force shortly too after decatting and fitting a nice stainless jetex system:thumbup:

check for rust around tailgate seal, windscreen seal and scuttle arear, check sills, check a pillar, arches too.

Uk cars didnt get the rust proofing they should have unlike my german import, but even so, they are not rust proof unlike our galvanized cars.

what engine is it? 8v or 16v, might be worth bunging some new fuel in, Idle stabilisation valve can cause poor running issues but can be cleaned with carb cleaner. Check plugs, and distributor cap, plus rotor arm, worth changing all if in doubt. Spark leads can break down too causing problems.

Check there is oil pressure/oil running through system so as not to damage engine.

Pics too please:>

Mine for inspiration,

It's an 8v on a J plate I think. I'm going tomorrow now so have a few more hours to research, I'm normally on the ball with cars but these are a bit before my time. Thanks for the info, just what I was after really. Any idea's what sorta money it'd be worth? It's going to be a bit of a toy/ling running project I think if I get it. Yours looks sweet, nice subtle twin exhaust and a modest drop and they look sweet!

Cheers again

Matt

Lad at work used to have one, only drove it once but loved it,

One of other lads had a mk1 and was having running problems and was messing with fuel thing on top of airbox, guessing thats fuel thing mentioned above, he said there quiet common for causing running problems,

I would love a Mk2 but wouldn't be able to leave it alone and would end up putting a 20v turbo engine into it

thanks Matt

Yes just got the jetex fitted, is looking rather good i think too

value really depends on condition, engine is almost irrelevant as can be changed so easily especially for a 20vt, to be honest 8valves dont go for loads unless they are in mint condition, 16vs stock in vgc can go for a lot more.

does it have any goodies ie suspension,wheels, interior brakes etc?

any pics?

let us know how you got on.

Really liked my Oak green valver until I lent it to Ali ...lol

He blew the heater matrix out of it.

Had awesome suspension and handles great

that flippin matrix, you know thats why mine came off the road, i ended up stripping it all inside to clean up the mess, then replacing all of the water cooling system whilst i was at it to silicone and big rad/custom fan setup

my old valver

Right, went to have a nose about today, not ideal as it was getting dark, but:

Bad bits were, few dinks, small amount of rust on the front doors, small amount along the scuttle panel but not too much. Drivers seat bolster mullered, but the rear looked clean and tidy. Wheels are some awful VW mk3 wheels I think, and as it stands he dont know what engine is in it. Started as a 16v and he seems to think it felt quicker than a standard one, but i`m not sure, his come from a 110 tdi so it could just be that it feels quick.

Good bits, body work overall is tidy for a 20 year old car. It has new tyres on, new rear wheel bearings. 160,000 miles which seems ok for its age. Apart from the wheels it seems nice and original, engine bay looks clean and tidy, no rust nothing covered up and hidden. Has some coilovers on it, not sure which, but its on the floor so they`ll be getting wound up. Has MOT & TAX, If I get it running it`d be use-able as it is and could just do the rest along the way.

so. . . . . I`m collecting it tomorrow, £300. Not sure if thats good or bad tbh, seem`s fair for its condition, if the engine is ****** i`ll stick something else in it *cough* 20vT, but if its a easy fix i`ll just run it for a bit. I have the advantage of the fabia for work, so i`m not relying on it and not in a hurry to get it sorted.

Really liked my Oak green valver until I lent it to Ali ...lol

Says it all

Thanks all for the help and advice, once I get it home tomorrow i`ll get some pictures

Matt

8V or 16V? Your post is still unclear. I might still have a box of Valver bits in the loft and a Haynes manual kicking about I think.

Where are you based?

think its a valver..

worthless thread without pics

Ok Ok, so heres some pictures. As I said, not a clue what engine its got, from what Ali has said after talking to him about how it looks, its not a 16v so god knows. Its scuffy, but nothing I cant tackle looks wise. Everywhere is solid that I could check, not looked under the arches though :S

Any ideas?

The wheels are awful, its far too low, and needs the stickers taking off. I`m going to pull it about a bit and see what its like then decide where to go with it.

Cheers all and i`ll update as I go along

Matt

yup def not 16v thats an 8v engine

Its got rainbow interior which is often earlier than j plates, at that age they had ultraviolet seats with slightly better design iirc, its a 90 spec car as far as i can see, tho cant see the hazard button on top of the steeering cowling. Is it there.

Looks quite tidy, i would be saving up for a 1.8t. Dont wasted you time doing anything to the 8v engine, as they are old tech and not that tuneable compared to the 1.8t setup.

An alternative to the 1.8t would be a 2.0 16v abf lump, quite common from the mk3, cheaper than the 20vt often too.

Yeah its on the top of the cowling. Long term I think it has to be a 20v turbo route tbh, I need to put the clear front indicators back in too because them black ones make me want to scratch my eyes out. Seats are also on the hit list, is there any half leather that fits straight in?

Cheers

Matt

Ah! 8V. Don't think I have any useful bits in my box for you then. Oh well, back up to the loft it goes.

The 8v is still a good solid engine and not to be sniffed at. It had more torque than the 16v in standard form and was thought to be quicker around town. The valver loves revs

Is it running smoothly yet?

What's going on with the airbox and intake ducting on the LHS of the pic? Seems to be in pieces?

Cambelt cover? Not in pic?

Check the mushroom shaped thing on the RHS of the Rocker Cover for splits and air leaks - causes bad/no idling

Check the tubing from the ISV (silver cylinder) centre of Rover cover for splits/leaks - already seems to have 22mm copper elbow plumbing 'mod'

Seat bolster - they all do that. You'll never get a drivers side one in good condition. I'm sure you can adapt the passenger side to fit the drivers side subframe.

For all other info go to Best Golf Forum in the World Some top guys (and girls) on there only too willing to help and advise - just like here

Good luck. Look forward to keeping up with your progress with the ol'gal.

The 8v is still a good solid engine and not to be sniffed at. It had more torque than the 16v in standard form and was thought to be quicker around town. The valver loves revs

Sorry chap, but don't feed the man poop. Haha. An 8v never makes more torque than a 16v at whatever revs. Complete urban myth. They feel so different like you say merely because of where the 16v takes off in the rev range compared to the 8v. I've had both 8'vs and 16v's. Still got a 16v Corrado and the 16v will always feel more lively.

Having said that, 8v's are indeed fine. Car looks a decent enough base, defo for £300! My advice would be to get a Mk3 2.0 16v ABF lump and put that in there instead. Your car being a late J plate will run on Digifant injection and not the early K-Jet system, so its nice and easy for a swap with the Digifant 2 ABF. 150bhp and plenty of torque thanks to the 2.0. Usually they make much more than 150 in standard form too. If you wanted to do it even easier, buy a whole Mk3 Golf (which sell for peanuts) take the engine and running gear then make your money back breaking it. Then you've got a free engine!

Sorry chap, but don't feed the man poop. Haha. An 8v never makes more torque than a 16v at whatever revs. Complete urban myth. They feel so different like you say merely because of where the 16v takes off in the rev range compared to the 8v. I've had both 8'vs and 16v's. Still got a 16v Corrado and the 16v will always feel more lively.

Yes, I know the figures but the driveabilty of the 8V off the lights initially has the feeling of more torque and better gearing from 0-20mph then the Valver will nail it

I love that feeling of 4.5k revs when the whole thing comes on cam and takes off. Still gives me goose bumps thinking about the fun

Having said that, 8v's are indeed fine. Car looks a decent enough base, defo for £300! My advice would be to get a Mk3 2.0 16v ABF lump and put that in there instead. Your car being a late J plate will run on Digifant injection and not the early K-Jet system, so its nice and easy for a swap with the Digifant 2 ABF. 150bhp and plenty of torque thanks to the 2.0. Usually they make much more than 150 in standard form too. If you wanted to do it even easier, buy a whole Mk3 Golf (which sell for peanuts) take the engine and running gear then make your money back breaking it. Then you've got a free engine!

Yes, have to agree, the ABF is the way to go. Nice lump to drop in there and easier than the K-Jet. My ABF was putting out around 165 as standard - which was nice.

16valves are great engines, for cost i would abf, however i think i would still do the 20vt if i had the extra pennies, engines are cheap now, qpeng do all the bits you need, and if you are handy you can do those bits yourself and get a cgti member to do the loom adaptation for you (several members offer this service).

Another option for 8v grunt would be the g60....however they are more expensive due to the g-lader units (often not present on engines or need rebuilding)

the 8v does indeed have grunt off the line, when i got my first valver i had to change the way i drove it, it is mental however when it gets in the power band and has none of the turbo lag my 20vt does just 180 odd brake in lightweight car

Edited 14 September, 201114 yr by Oet

Thanks for all the replies, keep them coming

The mushroom thing is ok, no splits. The pipe that runs across seems to have had a pikey repair, sealant all over the join to the airbox pipe but didnt look split at all either. The various missing bits are in the boot. I`m going to de-sticker it, sort the indicators out on the front, and wind the coilovers up. Then if I cant find anything obvious i`ll send it up to Ali to get him onto it. Then i`ll stick it in for a MOT and see what it fails on.

Cheers

Matt

Have you re-assembled the airbox ect? Is the air flow sensor (the square thing on the airbox lid) all plugged in correctly. The reason I ask is it will run like a bag of cr@p otherwise, symptoms as you describe.

Also as mentioned above, remove the idle stabilisation valve and clean it out with white spirit ect.

I ran a 1990 digifant one of these for 4 years and it was really reliable, the only problem I ever used to get was seizing rear calipers.

That's crying out for a vr6 lump

Looks good tho mate for that price, I'll be keeping an eye out for updates

I have a vr6 engine perfect for this low miles pm if interested

Epic car for 300 quid . Just how cheap is it for that 170bhp engine conversion?

Quite a tidy looking car.. I would stick a 2.0 8v in with a late crossflow head on and run i on bike carbs if it were me doing a project on it, good luck with whatever you end up doing to it... 1.8t engines are over-rated IMO...