Good morning. After looking in the search function and not finding what I was looking for. I was wondering if anyone had done a 1.8L TDi conversion. My wife's 2002 VW Bug TDi, gets 45-53mpg and is a punchy little engine. Not perfect for a track, but I have 3 914's and thinking about putting this type engine in the one that I would drive daily. Any and all thoughts or suggestions welcome.

Best way would be to use a B5 Passat TDI tranny from Europe, giving you the appropriate gearing, as the 914 gearing is pretty low, relatively speaking. (Maybe you could find a higher ring and pinion for a 901?) Also, you should look for a TDI engine from before they used the immobilizer system, because the later engines require the instrument cluster to be transplanted, a real PITA.

The Cap'n

maybe if i refer you to a conversion by a member here, it will help and give you some ideas about your project. okiflyer (the member) has installed a VW 1.8 turbo
(so who said you can't turbo a 914 ) mated up to a cable shift boxster transmission. the car is absolutely awesome in what had to be done and i think is the epitome of the craft of engineering and mechanics. i don't know how much difference (well, besides diesel and gas) but i would think his project is a great reference to yours. a TDI sounds incredibly interesting re the Audi racing diesel (the one the Porsche RS Spyder races with)

I think someone posted not too long ago about using a 1.9 TD (not tdi) engine in their 914, they were mid conversion. Here it is:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...f=2&t=84047

Think the TD would be much easier to do, fewer complications, cheaper, but at the expense of power and probably MPG.

Thank you gentlemen

I am getting 41-42 mpg with my 2009 jetta 2.0 tdi. It is pretty quick too. I think the jetta weighs in at a hefty 3500 pounds so 1500 pounds lighter would probably get high 50's low 60's mpg.

Probably pretty close. I can hit 60mpg pushing 1750lbs with 900cc in a 3 cylinder tdi. The teener has a lot smaller frontal cross section than my car so that might make up for the bigger engine and slightly more weight.