pumped up old style vw diesel!!!

[1/4_million_boy]

so im gunna buy a diesel vw an old style one and pump it up. any one ever do this? help me out on what i can do. im gunna find one at pick and pull all i need is the motor tranny and body i will be getting rims and maybe have my friend fab up some suspension. but as far as the motor so far im gunna pull the motor and port and polish the heads and bore it over as much as i can. and my brothers friend has a volvo turbo and intercooler and he said he can fab it all up but from there idk what to do to it. money is no option so im gunna do what ever i can to get 150hp out of that motor and the tranny will be built after. and no im not gunna put a new tdi motor in it, just the old motor built to the max.. its gunna be my commuter but i like fast so any thing i should add

[hardhatz]

Non TDI VWs have head gasket issues at stock power levels, worse as you go faster. When you push them over 80 or 90 HP, they dislodge the prechamber liners. For 150 HP, better to get a TDI. A good TDI can put 250 HP to the ground on a wheel dyno & still get 40-50 MPG. The IDI head has a built-in efficiency disadvantage of about 10-20% due to heat losses & flow problems incurred by the prechamber design. Also, the Volvo diesels are VW-built, just have more cylinders. For the trans, you better get a TDI unit, or else it will be too low geared. Besides, a good diesel VW will shred an ordinary Rabbit gearbox as quick as you can say it, and probably quicker.

I have not heard anyone here in land discuss IDI vs.DI heads, but I am guessing the same rules apply... Any thoughts on that?


I have an 81 Caddy pickup for just such a project. I already bought a new TDI motor, and I am looking for a 6-speed TDI trans right now. I will set it at about 150-200 HP.