8v to 16v radiator swap

[drew@scirocco.cs.uoguelph.ca (Drew MacPherson)]

The 16V radiator is 675mm, the 8V is 525mm. 

I did this conversion on my 84 after completing the turbo diesel swap 
because the 525mm rad did not have sufficient cooling capacity for the 
1.6TD.

I had to install the rad on an angle in my 84 to clear the TD's alternator
- however this won't be an issue on a 1.8 8V.  This required me to make
adjustments to the upper rad support for the right bracket.  The rad I 
used was an A2 non-ac 675mm rad, with bypass connection.  This allows you 
to use much cheaper rad hoses for the swap.

I used a non-bypass A2 upper hose (must be from a car with 675mm rad) and
trimmed about 1.5" off the engine side.  I initially used an A1 16V lower
hose, which worked fine.  Overall it was a good swap for my TD, especially
in the Scirocco, which doen't seem to have as much air flowing over the
rad as other A1 cars.

I am currently in the process of redoing the install, as I had to move the 
rad over to the right (and further forward on the right side) to allow 
room on the left for the intercooler plumbing.  As far as hoses go it's 
not a major issue - a new A2 upper hose will work (ie one not trimmed) and 
a new A2 lower hose works just fine as well.  However, I'm having to 
fabricate a new alternator tensioning setup as the current one interferes 
with the lower rad connection.

You can see some pictures of the rad installed near the bottom of my
intercooler page:  http://scirocco.cs.uoguelph.ca/gtd/intercooler.html

Drew

On Mon, 21 Apr 2003, Robbie Cotner wrote:

> Has any 8valver ever converted to a 16v radiator(they are bigger,
> right?)  How hard was it as far as hose routing, I noticed the flanges
> appear to be different.  Notice any significant drop in temps?  Thanks
> in advance- Rob
> 
> 
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|  84 Wolfsburg Edition TurboDiesel Scirocco  |
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