Engine Swap Into A Seat Ibiza

[Mk2Ibiza]

Anyone done the conversion before? Mk2 Seat ibiza, 1.4 8v? Want to put a 1.8 20vt. Whats needed? And how much do i need to budget?

[turbonutter69]

Not 100% sure but for a start you'll need an engine (obviously) wiring loom, driveshafts, Maybe engine mounts, Ecu.
Somewhere to mount an intercooler and also the plumbing for it.
You'll also want to uprate the brakes and suspension.
The best way is to buy a car with the engine you want but with rear end damage so it's cheaper.
Price depends on who will be doing the work as i'd imagine labour costs would be high.

[HDi fun]

it might well be more economic to flog the Seat and buy a car the suits your needs and wants.

There are plenty of Audi A3s with the 150bhp 1.8T engine available at very nice prices.

[pgarner]

selling and buying the 1.8t will be easier

youll need

Engine
gearbox
mounts - engine ones look near enough the exact same but sit slightly off.
ECU
engine bayt loom
Suspension
Hubs - you cant really upgrade the crap brakes from the 1.4 -2.0 engines as the calipers are connected directly to the hub rather than on carriers. full 312mm brake setups can be had for around £100
and someone who has access to vagcom and vagtacho or vagcommander to recode the immobiliser in the key, instrument panel and ECU

[Mk2Ibiza]

Been a really long time since ive had a chance to get onto the site, thanks for the advice. Any idea if it would be hard to do myself? All the mechanics would be fine with me but the wiring loom sounds daunting, would it just be a simple plug loom? Or is there anyone you guys know that will do the entire conversion for me?

[pgarner]

the actual swap isnt that hard but if you dont know what your doing with coding the ECU id leave that to someone who knows what their doing

[Mk2Ibiza]

Thanks alot will look further into it. But i was also thinking if it would be cheaper if i bought a higher capacity car like a saxo vtr because of the low-ish insurance group? As im only 18.

[pgarner]

yeah it would be easier just to buy a 1.8t in the 1st place unless you have done alot of stuff to your own that couldnt be swapped.

and 1.8t at 18 will be hard to insure

[HDi fun]

Insurers really do hammer young drivers these days. Possibly slightly unfairly in my opinion - lots are very capable drivers, despite relative lack of experience.

It's not all bad though, you start to feel old when you get a sub £400 quote for a 4.4 litre v8

[Mk2Ibiza]

Yeah, swapping my Seat will be too hard, already spent alot on it. Ouch making me jealous with your £400 insurance. Looks like im going to keep the Seat off the road for a while until I build up my NCB, and get myself a saxo.