What makes them nearly as easy as the previous Golf 1>3 is that the AKL head is pretty simple to remove, unlike the head on a 1.8T GTI Golf 4 and the sump is easy to remove on all of them, as long as you don't strip the two M6 threads in the crank oil seal holder.
The way I suggest you start this process is to give new rings the best possible chance of bedding in by flushing the engine out with Millers CRO before you even start, this can be bought from the forum Sponsor Opie Oils. With the pistons out, it would be a good idea to give the bores a very quick light honing
http://www.lasertools.co.uk/item.aspx?cat=1090&item=640 . The action you use for this is quite important so ask when you get that far. You must remove the piston oil spray jets to do this or you will smash the stones.
If you found a bore to be damaged or a liner cracked, pulling the block and re-boring it simply is uneconomic and a cracked liner means the block is FUBAR, even re-ringing is uneconomic to pay a pro to do it, DIY is fine though.
The parts you would need are
Full head set (Goetze, Reinz, Elring) 06A 198 012
8 hydraulic tappets (Febi) 050 109 309 J
Cam belt kit (Febi) 06A 198 119
Water pump (Febi) 06B 121 011 E
Oil pump (Febi) 06A 115 105 B
Con rod bearings (KS, Glyco, Mahle) 034 105 701 007
8 Con rod bolts (Febi) 048 105 425
8 con rod nuts (Febi) 048 105 427
4 Piston sets of rings (KS, Mahle or Goetze) 06B 198 151 or complete piston (KS or Mahle) 050 107 065 E
Two oil filters (genuine only) 06A 115 561 B
10 litres of Millers CRO
10 head bolts (Goetze, Reinz, Elring, Febi) 06A 103 384 C
3 litres of G13 coolant (Febi) G 013 A8J M1 (2 bottles)
Pot of engine assembly paste (Red Line)
Tube of VW white silicon sump sealant (genuine) D 176404A2
Sump drain plug (Febi) N 908 132 01
1 Engine mount bolt (genuine) N 103 280 02
2 engine mount bolts (genuine) N 907 124 03
2 consul bolts (genuine) N 102 096 05
2 Mount bolts (genuine) N 105 167 02
8 manifold nuts (Würth) N 911 308 01
Downpipe gasket (lots of makes available) 1J0 253 115 D
6 downpipe nuts (Würth) N 102 090 09
This list only accounts for the absolute minimum required to do the job correctly and doesn’t take account of the inevitable extras required when doing something on an old car. The brands are the ones I would use. This would take care of any possible wear related head or ring oil use issues. You may find with the valves out that the exhaust valve guides need replacing, these are only £4 each from Febi but have to be professionally fitted. It is extremely unlikely that the piston gudgeon pin bushes will be worn so even if you fitted new pistons they should still be OK. You should be able to polish up and lap the valves even if it needs new guides, the valves MUST not be re-worked, only hand lapped, but exhaust valves are only £15 each from Febi and the inlet valves never wear. You need to add to this the cost of having the head very lightly refaced, just a tickle-no more. If you are interested, I can do some very cometetive prices on many of those parts, especially Febi.
