UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

hi

my names mark and im from northern ireland. i recently sold my renault 5 gt turbo after owning it for 6 years and now have a void in the shed which needs filled with another project . i have a e46 bimmer as a daily driver so dont need to worry about getting the project on the road anytime soon . i thought on many cars but kinda thought the polo would be good fun to do . i do bodywork and spraying as a hobby afterwork anyway and am quite handy with a spanner after having a gtt (you need to be able to with a 5 lol)
the plan is a mk3 polo coupe . totally smoothed, slammed as low as it will go on 14" wide rims.
the one thing is i wanna start on a rough car at about 200 quid . as long as its not rotten or badly rusted i dont mind . the g40 is too expensive to buy for all the oomph its got so id like to stick in a bigger lump (evil cackle ) . what can be fitted relatively easy . do mk2 16v's fit etc . if im gonna do an engine swap it doesnt matter if its a 1 litre or a gt cos it will get pulled out anyway
the interior is gonna have 2 seats and a wheel . thats pretty much it lol


any help or advise would be greatly appreciated
thanks mark

Welcome to the site!

Engine conversions, you're not dipping into a particularly large pool if you're getting a Polo. For ease of fitment the G40's hard to beat really. Though a full conversion would set you back £1000 it's easily swapped in a few days with no buggering about. Very much a plug and play engine.

However, the disadvantage is you'll be wanting to make sure everything's running right. So new fuel pumps, filters, charger rebuild etc is well worth doing if you want to avoid problems in the future. But a charger rebuild is an excuse to get it ported out for more power, add a chip, pulley and Polo GT inlet manifold into the equation and you'll be looking at a little over 130bhp. And that's barely scratching the surface. If you get yourself an engine sans charger you could go down the turbo route, there are DIY kits on German eBay.

Using parts from later small block engines with the Polo GT engine management could see you with a 1.6 GT. That's good for triple figure power and torque without any aftermarket parts, I've seen it done.

The alternatives, well, they're not easy. 1.4 and 1.6 16v engines from the Mk4 and Mk5 Polos will fit, but require chopping and cutting of the bay and wiring loom. Plus what you'll end up with is 100bhp (1.4) or 125bhp (1.6) without much chance of upping the power significantly unless you spend big money on them.

1.8 or 2.0 16v engines from a Golf aren't a great idea either. They're a lot of work to fit, and will probably affect your handling. What you'll save on engine costs will be lost on making it fit, making it work and how it drives afterwards.

20vt conversions have also been done. In the front and in the back. Massive amount of work, and very expensive to carry out. And I believe when you fit these up front the sump is very close to the floor which isn't a great idea if you're slamming your car.

Best bang for your buck, really, is the G40. While you'll have to make sure everything's pukka before you fit it, this is a good idea with whatever engine you buy.

Hope that helps.

That helps alot Krupa . cheers fella .
is there anywhere i could get details of what all is needed exactly to build a 1.6 or even a how to . ive spent the best part of today searching the boards with little success .
how much could i get a g40 for with a good engine etc but crap interior and paint . realistically all i need is a sound shell with a decent lump . everything else will be taken off .
if anyone knows of cheap ones that need tlc send me a pm .

thanks alot
mark

The car I was referring to is owned by someone who goes by the username "86c" on the Club Polo forum.

IIRC it's a 1.6 head and block from either a Vento or a SEAT Ibiza, with the Polo GT engine management bolted on.

Knackered G40s vary wildly in cost. I've seen them go for £300 (very lucky people find these) or for as much as £1500. The advantage with the more expensive end of the scale is that the interior and other bits are desirable to sell on.

Generally speaking the engine and charger sell for about £7-800. Gearboxes go for £200-£250 on their own, or you can probably get the whole lot for £1000. A full setup with a serviced charger will sell for more of course.

While the engine's out it'll be worth doing the niggly bits like engine mounts and gaskets, and fuel pumps (although expensive) are well worth investing in. If they fail, you won't get enough fuel going into your engine and run the risk of melting a piston. Considerably more expensive than changing the pumps.