1.9 Auto To Manual Conversion

[RallyGentry 0]

I've aquired a 1993 205 gentry as a donor vehicle for an abandoned project i started 7 years ago and i'm gathering a bit of information before starting any work...

 

What i'd like to know is can i gain reasonable bhp from a GTi head?,i know the XU in the gentry is a lower compression engine and i'd probably be better off replacing it but this particular car has only covered low miles with full history and runs superb,i cant really justify spending a great deal on my budget for this project and i'm intending on entering a few road rallies so reliability comes before power everytime.

As for the engine management is the loom in the auto diferent to a manual,will i end up replacing it?,can i run a GTi ecu?.

I've got a choice of boxes... 1.6 GTI,1.9 GTi,and 1.8 diesel.the later being out of a 50k one owner 1995 car,would the gearing suit twisty lanes?.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Jason

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

1.6 would suit road rallying as the gears are the closest ratio and the shortest. Putting a GTI head with GTI Cam on will reduce the compression and give you bigger valves. I presume you are running with a cat as it is a Gentry. The ECU would be better swapped for a Motronic 3.1 unit though this would require a bit of relooming, but would be more efficient and give better performance.

 

The AFM is bespoke to the Jetronic ECU you have (0 280 000 345) so this may need to be swapped if going for a GTI ECU. Expect about 122 bhp out of it. These XU9J1/AZ engines are pretty solid, low mileage and tend not to have been thrashed so are good basis for development so a cheapish way to avoid a full rebuild on a GTI lump.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

The GTi head Increase's compression by a fair margin as the Gentry engine uses flat top piston's unlike all the other GTi engine's