VW Fox questions

I know the cars were made in Mexico and are generally regarded as junk. However, please confirm for me that the engines ARE a North/South installation and not East/West...?

Second, are there any cheap performance upgrades for the engines? Give me a little background on them if available.

Just noodling an idea.

North/South.

I think Brazil, not Mexico.

Some in-depth reading:
http://www.lunaticfringe.org/vwfox/mod/FoxTuningGuide.html

Yep, Brazilian, not Mexican.

Engine performance is pretty much the same as any 8v VW with CIS-E. Cams, cam gears, turbo, efi swaps, all apply. Most had a wide ratio 4 speed, except the wolfsburg edition came with a 5 speed. If you want to put a 5 speed in it, the Audi 4000 used the same one. I also think the 4000/Quantum diesel had a super low geared close ratio 5 speed transmission that's kind of sought after in the Fox world.

I thought about using a Fox engine and transmission in that old Formula Ford chassis that I used to have.

they were also detuned from the factory not to compete with the golf. I think a larger exhaust can free up the missing ponies.

I wanted a fox wagen when they were new.. but were not availible with a 5 speed

Our BABE car for '08 had Digifant and 5spd trans. ('93? Wolfsburg) Ours was a pretty darn good car. I may have a box o' parts (all new) if you get this thing.

maybe the 5 speed was added? This was also back in 88.. so they may have added some content from the earlier ones

I had a 93 with a 5 speed for a while. It was just about the most reliable thing I ever owned. Loved that car, despite the fact that it was intensely boring.

Woody wrote: I thought about using a Fox engine and transmission in that old Formula Ford chassis that I used to have.

BINGBINGBINGBINGBING!!!

Damn, you genius, Woody!

Not a lot out there in terms of chassis/body/suspension mods out there off the shelf, but some parts bin re-engineering could take you places. Eager little engine for having one of the most restrictive head/exhaust combos I've ever seen. Great commuter out of the box, but you'll need to do some legwork to get it to dance.

carzan wrote: Our BABE car for '08 had Digifant and 5spd trans. ('93? Wolfsburg) Ours was a pretty darn good car. I may have a box o' parts (all new) if you get this thing.

This wouldn't happen to be your car, would it?

There are a couple of sites on upgrading the Fox, but not a lot. It was a few years ago, I forget what we did, but we were limited by rules.

Freeing up the exhaust was the biggest boost in power.

We gave up on the Fox and switched to the Golf just for ease of getting parts and getting rid of that CIS injection thing.

My buddy had a Fox right out of High school. It was a 2 door, 4-Cyl - 4 Speed. It was a great car, but he lost 2nd or 3rd gear and couldn't find another trans so it went out back with the 5 other cars he killed before the end of high school.

MrMook wrote:

carzan wrote: Our BABE car for '08 had Digifant and 5spd trans. ('93? Wolfsburg) Ours was a pretty darn good car. I may have a box o' parts (all new) if you get this thing.

This wouldn't happen to be your car, would it?

Nah, ours was a 2dr sedan and was painted as an "art car" by my wife and friends with discarded house paint.

Ha, that Fox wagon is 16vCorey's.

That note in the windshield is hillarious.

If I remember correctly, that car ended up in a demo derby after BABE, and very successfully used knobby motorcycle dirt tires on minispare rims.

mad_machine wrote: they were also detuned from the factory not to compete with the golf. I think a larger exhaust can free up the missing ponies. I wanted a fox wagen when they were new.. but were not availible with a 5 speed

VW legend has it that there is actually a restrictor welded into the exhaust system somewhere. A header or an exhaust manifold from a 4 cyl Audi will apparantly make a big difference as others have noted.

A few bits of trivia(?):

Wagon was available til '90. The 5 speed arrived in 1988. NO power steering was EVER offered. Apparently, Brazilians are short(er) people, headroom in a Fox is skimpy. Horsepower for all years was 81, with the "equivalent" Golf/Jetta engine went from 85 to over 100 Horsepower over the time the Fox was offered. I believe I read once that the exhaust restriction is at the end of the exhaust manifold and could be drilled out, but just getting a better manifold on the aftermarket is a better idea.

NGTD wrote: VW legend has it that there is actually a restrictor welded into the exhaust system somewhere.

It isn't welded in. It is the "donut" at the flex joint where the downpipe meets the exhaust.

See the restriction? Just grind it out and reinstall

Not my pics but it was the same on my wagon and a 1 hour job to remove, mod and replace

Early 1988 Canadian Foxes allegedly had 90ish HP because they were sold without cat converters. I used to have one, was actually my first car in high school. I know Ontario is harsh on cars, but man, I swear the steel in that thing was about 50% cheese. Not even hard Swiss cheese either; a really soft one like gorgonzola.

MrMook wrote:

carzan wrote: Our BABE car for '08 had Digifant and 5spd trans. ('93? Wolfsburg) Ours was a pretty darn good car. I may have a box o' parts (all new) if you get this thing.

This wouldn't happen to be your car, would it?

Haha! Yeah, that was my car. Did I block your driveway?

In reply to 16vCorey:

Haha, nope. I snapped the pics in May 200(9)? I was riding with some friends, and you were parked outside of my buddy's building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, right under the bridge. I thought it was cool so I took pictures, and noticed the note. Not sure who left it.

Your car introduced me to the BABE Rally. I hadn't heard of it before.

Haha! That's awesome! We were actually staying with a friend for a couple of days before the start of the BABE Rally. I'm pretty sure that happened right outside of her apartment. Small world.