82 rabbit upgrades.

[sombreromaster]

hi, i have just recently acquired a 4 dr, diesel 82 rabbit, and was wondering what i could do to make the car a little more fun to drive. id like to get it to be a 5 spd, or 6 but i dont know what engine would work, and what should i do to make it basically a little sportier for more aggressive driving.

[stevethefolkie]

You could snag the turbo diesel plumbing off of a MK2 TD - should be fairly straightforward to install - I've owned both MK1 diesels and a MK2 TD - the TD was a lot more fun to drive. You'd want to get the exhaust manifold, turbo, downpipe, airbox and plumbing to go from the compressor side of the turbo to the intake manifold - doubtless you'll need to do some fabrication - but it shouldn't be a daunting proposition.
A 5 speed will give you a bit more top end on the highway (especially when combined with a turbo) - I believe the diesels had different gearboxes than the gassers to accomodate the lower revs and additional torque of the diesels - but I've been wrong before!

[Fourt1thirty]

Originally Posted by stevethefolkie

You could snag the turbo diesel plumbing off of a MK2 TD - should be fairly straightforward to install - I've owned both MK1 diesels and a MK2 TD - the TD was a lot more fun to drive. You'd want to get the exhaust manifold, turbo, downpipe, airbox and plumbing to go from the compressor side of the turbo to the intake manifold - doubtless you'll need to do some fabrication - but it shouldn't be a daunting proposition.
A 5 speed will give you a bit more top end on the highway (especially when combined with a turbo) - I believe the diesels had different gearboxes than the gassers to accomodate the lower revs and additional torque of the diesels - but I've been wrong before!

Depends on what gasser. 5-sp diesels usually came with FF code boxes. Much of the TD componentry will bolt onto the MK1 diesel. The downpipe assembly was different from MK1 to MK2 but that's something easy to get around. The important part is that you not try to take it too far in tuning a turbocharged N/A diesel. They simply aren't as durrable at the TD blocks (which are pretty damn tough).