What's the best engine upgrade for MK1 Polo?

All Types · Post by **All Types** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:11 pm

Hi

I have a 1980 MK1 Polo, which I want to change the engine on.

What is the easiest & best engine to go for?

G40 ?

Thanks
Dean

www.ultimate-dubs.co.uk

SteB · Post by **SteB** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 10:02 pm

SPI Mk3 1.3 engines are simple and cheap. Lot of people go down this route.

G40 offers more power and greater tuneability, but you have to cut a hole in the front panel.

1400/1600 16v engines from Mk4/5 Polos, Polo GTis and Lupo/GTi's have good power, torque and are rev happy, but are more costly to source and not as many people have done it, so not much info available.

Appart from that, Golf engines over 1300 are taller blocks so dont fit without major chassis modification.

All Types · Post by **All Types** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 10:12 pm

Thanks for that.

Whats is the normal bhp from a SPI MK3 1.3?

I take G40 aren't that easy to source (very popular) and are more costly.

Dean

omicron · Post by **omicron** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 11:14 pm

If I were after an easy job, I'd go for a carbed 1272 lump out of a Mk2. No power difference to the Mk3 SPI units, but easier to work with.

Shaheen · Post by **Shaheen** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 10:09 am

Howzit....

I'm busy with my MK2 Polo as well in South Africa.....At the moment its got the 1,3 carb motor but i think i'm gonna be going the difficult route of making new engine mountings, etc....

The motor that i'm planning on fitting is the 2,0 8V cross-flow motor with a set of individual throttle bodies.....Car should be flying....

Still busy restoring the car, respray, wheels, drop, etc....Once that is done then i'm gonna start with the motor....

Didn't get much helpon this site....Most of the guys say that its impossible to change the motor and only the "MAD GERMANS" have attempted it.....

L8R
Shaheen

Tahrey1043 · Post by **Tahrey1043** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:25 pm

well, the krauts ARE a bit mental when it comes to ZUM AUTOMOBILE... but still, many things are possible.

What about a GT conversion? Pretty much same footprint as SPi, gives you a good bit more top end power (75 vs 55hp, officially speaking - compared to 40 and 50 for the mk1 lumps) though peak torque stays much the same... merely covering a lot more of the rev range than being jacked up!
It may need slightly more room in the engine bay than the SPi (different airbox shape & location, the quad injector array etc) but certainly not as much as trying to wedge in the compressor and intercooler for a G40 (which itself is a lower compression GT with knobs on)...

Or sacrifice the back seats and a little of the rear floorpan and make a 3-litre audi V6 twin turbo monster hybrid...

Gareth_GT_Hatch · Post by **Gareth_GT_Hatch** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 5:24 pm

biggest engine you can fit on the original mounts is a 1400cc ABD motor, from an early mk3 golf or similar age SEAT ibiza. This has the same SPI system as the 1.3 but comes with alot more torque. I was originally planning on putting together a weber carb'd one of these in my mk2 but I've decided to go down the 1.6 route now instead (more complicated, but worth it.

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