VW Golf swap to all mech diesel
 

OK, I am going to try to make a long story into a short one. My sister bought an early-mid '80s VW Golf. Its a POS. I havent seen it yet other than a picture because she lives ~5 hours away. I cant get too many details right now because I dont have anyone over there with any mechanical know-how. From what I can gather it needs a starter and the engine is currently hanging in the compartment (isnt bolted to the frame).:argh::argh: I'm gonna pick it up at Thanksgiving and begin piecing it back together. I'm thinking of just scrapping the current setup and trying a all mechanical turbo diesel swap but have no clue what kind of engine to look for. Is there an option that might fit well with the current tranny? A little nudge in the right direction please.:c:

Mk2 Golf's came stock in Europe with 1.6 liter turbo and aspirated diesels.
From what I can gather, all VW 4 cylinder engines have the same tranny bolt pattern so you could swap a mechanical TDI from an Mk3 Golf. Either way, simplest option is a VW engine.

get a mechanical TDI engine from a MkIII !

Most power.. with mechanical..