950 hours later -

If anyone's interested, I can stick up a build thread?

Trabant 1.1 

at start i had plan just use bike carbs from cbr600 with 1.1 engine 😁 this motor worked with this carb swap but it was not enough for me 😁

i decided to buy 1.3 gt engine 

and upgrade it with supercharger eaton m45 from mini

now its still under construction

upgrading fron axles,interior and more…

front axle will be something like “hybrid” 😂 parts from opel corsa B,vw polo 86c 

wheels oz ultralaggera r15x7

front suspension opel corsa B coilovers

rear new dumper for trabi with spring from octavia coilovers with custom spring mounts

Hi guys, I recently bought a Seat Arosa 1.0s (very similar to the VW Lupo). I have owned the car since March 2013 and thought it was about time to get a build thread up to track the little things i have been doing. I bought the car for £650 with a misfire, we thought that this may be a simple fix such as new coilpack etc. The car was on 79,000 miles which is relatively low mileage. However, after replacing the coilpack, spark plugs, ht leads, lambda sensor, injectors, injector seals still no luck. So as a last resort we decided to strip it right down to find what the problem was, we stripped it down to find that the first piston had pretty much seized and had been smashing against the head. It looks as though the previous owner had never heard of oil :S ........

"Hey guys picked up a little project from "everlust" last weekend so thought if start a little project/build thread. It's currently sat on my dads drive so I can only get over to it and work on it at weekends so progress could be a little slower then I was hoping.

So basically its a GTX 1.8 8v injection. It's black which I love! Picked it up knowing it was blowing blue smoke on acceleration and headgasket gone. Still I took my friend down and we drove it back at a steady 60 with a few stops to top up oil as the headgasket is leaking quite quick. It ran the 80 mile home beautifully otherwise!!

So here are the advertised pics

So dropped it off and didn't have any time to do anything so came back today. Got it Jacked up and checked it all out, I was amazed to find next to no rust. The little bit there was I wire brushed up as it hadn't done any damage, rust treated it then fully undersealed the entire underneath so I know that's good. Noticed whilst I was underneath its needs a few bits like the rear axle bushes are extremely perished and the steering rack gaitors are ripped up.
So gave it a wash as it has been standing for I don't know how long.
Wash, polish and sealed and came out a lot better. Still not happy with it some will get the cutting compound out next time to get it up much better.

So now that's done I have just started stripping the head off to see what's going on with that when it's off.
Thanks for reading, sorry its not that exciting.

Had a quick look again today before I have to go out

Cylinder 2 + 3 are down on compression so definately need to strip head off and see whats going on

So spent a few hours getting the head off yesterday. Found the compression issue, exhaust valves are burnt so not seating properly. Also found there were burnt due to over fueling. Bottom end thankfully is fine, bores are good and Pistons still ok just need a little clean.

Will hopefully get the head stripped at work in the week during free spaces of time, will replace the valves and stem seals as well as a skim"

Picked this up, from Sheffield this afternoon, It needs a good clean (inside & out)

The interior colour (Babies nappy contents yellow !!) takes a bit of getting used to, but the heated leather front seats are so comfy especially with the heat on max :)

As it's the Laurin & Klement model it comes with just about all the option boxes ticked, Gas discharge headlights with headlight washers, trip computer (average consumption on the trip back from Sheffield 58.6 mpg) Cruise control ( such a great option going through the average speed check sections on the M1 ) 6 CD changer, Climate control, ABS/TCS, Leccy windows all round, leccy sunroof, plus some others I've yet to find!!

I'll get some better pics up after it's been cleaned :) These are from the sellers site

Stainless steel manifold

9n 1.2 downpipe slightly modded into a decat

9n 1.2 throttle body because it has no charcoal canister pipe intake

Removed charcoal canister

Bosch Super 4s (for Corsa C but exactly the same length etc)

Clear side indicators from 9n 

De badged boot

De wipered

Black pit bike foam air filter 

14” 6J TSW Evo’s ET20

Blue D shape steering wheel 

Removed front ARB

I recently bought a 6n flocked dash in the hope of turning my hideous grey interior into a black one but found out after chopping up the Arosa dash, it sits higher than standard and is to short on the back. But sh*t happens right? Also got a lower strut brace to be fitted later on.

As I lost a few 100 on the 9N it was only right to use some of its parts, was surprised the TB was bang on same fitment and plug. The clear indicators just looked better imo, I ended up cutting my original downpipe just where it joins the flexi and cut the 9N downpipe at the flexi and welded it together, still need to cut and extend it a few inches before it bends up as it’s too close to the subframe but will sort that later on. Couldn’t believe I got £90 for the cat so car only stands me at 130! The alloys are from my 6n2, got them at a steal price too, the first time I let my so called friend drive he scuffed them! Lasted nearly 30 years without a mark until then but they would benefit from a refurb. Been offered a Sparco FIA cage for cheap too but can’t warrant it with such little power aha. The same guy selling that has a ABF engine polished and ported, with coil packs from I believe the TT? (Also the same guy whom I got dash from and lower brace) With modded subframe and drive shafts but would need some loom etc. Just not sure as I want to keep this as light as possible and always wanted to turbo the little 1l for a laugh.

Plans:

Fix broken gear selector!!

Vented discs

Better seats/ full strip out

Coilovers

Nicer/smaller steering wheel 

Replace O/S indicator (lens fell off)

T15 turbo?? On 5-6psi 

il have to set up a new photobucket account and get some more pics up soon!

Feel free to tell me I’m mad, my estate already has 😂

I used to read this forum as Guest for few years, and I really like it. Now I wanted to register myself as forum member.

Hope to have good time here.

About my car:

I bought this old Zastava/Yugo few days ago. I never meant to buy it, but it took my heart. It is Fiat 128 rally based hatchback.

I never had courage to put bike carbs on a Polo. So I decided to try it on Zastava, and to see if it works. I like that this is the best bike carbed forum on the net.

I also have twin Dellorto 40 dhla carbs, but they are not that interesting to me as bike carbs..I might sell them.

Zastava is 1.1l engine (1116ccm),  44 kW @ 6000 rpm /55hp,  83 Nm @ 4400 rpm . 0-100 around 17s. It has one barrel carb as standard, so I wanted to get some more performance out of the engine. 

I tried to mount Honda CBR 600 F1 carbs on it. I made manifold from Yugo Efi manifold, it worked good. Had few problems, I will write them later. 

Hope that you will like the car.

Here some photos when we mounted the carbs, and some when I bought the car. I bought it for a very good price, and it is in very good condition.

It is the car that is classic here, it used to be common car in Serbia/Yugoslavia, but now it is becoming rare.

Here are some photos, I will add some more photos soon.

Sorry on my rusty english, I hope that you will like the car. :)

I thought i'd narrowed my choice down to a mk2 Scirocco. maybe another Corrado but was happy trawling the usual places to get some inspiration. Anyway, I came across a Golf advertised on a local website in Oxford that is very quiet these days (even quieter than Gumtree!), I checked the mileage & MOT history and was put off by the mileage so left it. A week later (last Friday) i'd seen that it had been re-advertised at a much lower price. Fast forward a couple of hours and i'd had a chat with the owner, and learnt that he has had it since 2003 and bought off his brother who had it for a few years before that. He also told me that he'd had it serviced a couple of times a year and wasn't an enthusiast etc. 

Took it for a drive on Saturday morning, liked what I saw and did a deal! It's very original apart from 90's era wheels (may a dealer fit?!) and some 6x9's in the (broken) parcel shelf! Despite the mileage the interior is in decent condition for its age, requiring some trim inside and a bloody good clean inside and out. The worst piece of rot I can find is on the passenger door which i'm OK with as the chassis looks good to me. 

Pics to follow!

Been wanting one of these ever since saw the concept and the test mules, so went and asked the question at local dealers (which a friend now helpfully works for ) in the middle of September and put deposit down and confirmed the build order.It was on the build schedule for week beginning 15th October, it arrived in the UK the 9th November and the dealer on 17th November, collected it yesterday 

Specs:

2017 MY VW Arteon R-Line

280PS 2 litre TFSI

Maximum power 280ps at 5100rpm
Maximum torque 258lbs.ft at 1700rpm

4 motion & DSG

ACC / Lane Assist / Traffic Jam Assist / XDS Differential / DCC / Active Display (all as standard)

Only options ticked:  Paint & Heated Windscreen

Turmeric Yellow Metallic (pictures don't do it justice, way better in person)

Makes life in stop/start traffic way better than my old A5 as I've got dodgy knees and the heavy clutch was starting to take its toll

Few pictures

"Dad, we need a small car, not a microscopic one..."

Three years in our hands, and still going.

I've decided to keep a diary of what is going on with the car, and hopefully find helpful advice for whatever breaks next. 

I've been writing about my sickly little Beeza here for a while now, 'thankfully' the reason why I created the topic is currently hidden underneath a disabled throttle position actuator until I purchase a brand new one.

Anyways, in continuation from the previous aging thread, the car is still juddering.

Replaced the dustributor with another one and set the timing mark to 'a tiny bit left' of what the factory setting was, as factory is 500RPM apparently.

Could the coil be cutting out intermittently? It is ironic that I am an electrician and that my car has various electrical gremlins (though not as bad as some that I've seen).

I will have to take a look at a regulator and brush kit then, as dvderlm stated in the old post.

Thank you everyone for your patience!

From having my Polo 9n 3 years ago till the start of April it finally had to go.

But onto another project and more memories!

Here is Ratty v2

69k miles

MOT just expired but I had it MOT'd and passed with no advisories

Tinted Windows

RS3 Grill

I started simple so removed the numberplate and all excess around it for a mean look, and I've got to say it makes a big difference.

I decided to leave to plate off from then and ordered a numberplate sticker, put that on and don't mind it for now! Will run it and decide if I get used to it or not. (Also got my R4TUY numberplate on[emoji1303])

Then was time for ordering all of the parts,

- FK Coilovers ordered with Shortened drop links I will run these until I can afford air.

- Bulb set ordered, ice white for the mean front.

- Glass Wiper Delete

- Subwoofer cables and old Subwoofer in the boot

- New genuine Audi A3 mats

And last but not least the new wheels (for now)

Planning to save up for some 3SDM 0.06s. At the moment they're out of my budget and I really want to run some alloys. So I managed to pick up some Merc SLR Reps for £225 with 2 good continental tyres!

Its a bit of an odd ball, but that is what i like about it.

I’m the 5th owner and it needs a wee bit of tidying in a few places, but is solid, straight and cleanish. It will become the wifes car once she passes her test later in the year hopefully.

Plans are:
*In the body shop to get a few bits tidied – tailgate has a dent and wee bit bubbling above one of the side skirts.
*Fit folding mirrors (no body loom unfortunately), but my first Meriva had them and miss them.
*Fit the factory westfalia towbar kit I got out the scrappys
*Fit rear parking sensors
*Fit Rear Tweeters as they do make a difference despite their size, left them in a previous Meriva before i sold it
*Fit a rear carpet with the underfloor storage flaps if i can find one.
*Try get the AUX in function working on he headunit, believe you get a software CD then Tech2 it in.
*Buy some new chrome fog rings as they are getting a bit tired looking
*Fix the drivers seat bolster foam which is starting to touch the metal.
*Try get a 5th alloy and get the wheels powder coated 
*Whiteline rear ARB kit if the wife will let me.

I like OEM extras on my cars (too many scrapyard visits) so have transferred them from Meriva to Meriva, so work done so far:

2 new lambda probes, coil pack, plugs and oil & filter change as it has a miss fire when i bought it
"Mini me" Meriva on the sat nav hood - present from my daughters.
Hekos wind deflectors (like them as I am missing my twin sunroofs on the Design version)

*Aluminium pedal covers
*Auto rear view dimming mirror with built in console night light
*Rubber mat kit (carpet set away till the sun comes out again).
*12V Boot accessory socket
*Plastic Boot liner
*Boot cargo net
*Glovebox cooler 
*Headlamp protectors 
*Under bonnet insulation
*2nd Rear fog
*Rubber coin holder and cup mat for the front cup holders
*Rear Travel Assistant - storage box/armrest/cupholder thingy (kids love it)
*Smoker kit ashtrays  (don't smoke like the extra wee light when it pops open) and the rear ashtray for the kids storing odds and sods.
*Standard spec spare wheel boot trims and 15” space saver wheel
*First aid Kit & Warning Triangle
*Rear & Side Sun Blinds 
*Seat occupancy front map light - like the wee extra logo.
*Boot rear quarter carrier bag holders (random, but they were £1 so went for it)
*Seat coat hanger
*Sunglasses holder

Previous owners claimed it was standard, but having a crawl round it, it has a K&N filter and drilled airbox base, (plan to replace with a non drilled one), H&R springs,and a stainless straight through pipe instead of the main cat. So the precat decat pipe I bought will have to go on ebay as don’t want it to fail its MOT on emissions and no CAT. 

Here are some pics i if have uploaded them right:

As Bought:

It's on finance, of which I pay monthly over the next 3 1/2 years. It's not ideal but after previous car issues, I couldn't risk it anymore.

I've owned the car now for coming up to 4 months now and I want to add a few reversible mods. I don't know if this is strictly allowed due to the fact I don't own the car yet, but I'm only considering things I can take off. I asked on the Up! Owners page but didn't get a response...

- Coilovers

- Alloys

- Roof Bars

- (maybe something to enhance the sound of the car - without being permanent)

(I already have fitted some wind deflectors)

My issue is, can I do any of this when on finance? Can I just keep the original parts? I intend to purchase the car outright at some time anyway. If it comes to the point where I need (for some reason) to put the original parts back on, surely I can just do that? I took the car from my local KIA dealership who seemed to have no interest in the used car itself. It has a year's warranty on it and after then I don't suspect they'll be seeing me until the last few months of the contract?

I'm not very mechanically aware, or have much knowledge of these things and I'm not trying to do anything stupid, I just enjoy a little personalisation here and there with every car I have.

I have my clubpolo sticker ready and waiting too. I still like to see other Polo's around and always keep an eye out for those who may be part of this site. I don't want to be the guy who owns an Up! But think's he's still part of the Polo ownership haha. I just miss the cars, but one day...

Any advice is appreciated. Recommendations and anything else would be great. Thanks!

Mazda is gone - too slow, too much rust and not enough seats/space.  Was fun whilst it lasted but not a keeper.  Currently breaking it (as I do) and I've spent the money on a replacement.

I had a Clio 182 Cup for 7 years and you literally can't buy anything cheaper that is so much fun.  I did look at EP3 Type R's but by all accounts they are a little number, too heavy and most seem to be really leggy.  Also looked at some older Honda's but scene tax has made sure a good EG/EK Civic is serious money.

I was originally looking for a car in the £1500-2500 range that would be suitable for daily driving, B-road blasts and the odd trackday/hillclimb/sprint.  Nothing too nice that I'd want to baby.  One night when browsing eBay I came across a Clio Trophy for £3750.  Currently these are trading for between £6500-£16000 depending on condition and miles...so it appeared to be a bit of a bargain.  Must be a reason....  cam belt was done, service history was good, not Cat C/D, Sachs suspension refurbished and waiting to be refitted...125k miles....ah 125k miles!  But then if it has been looked after that's only 10k a year....so not bad at all really...

Thought it worth a punt so booked a flight to Manchester (£70) train to Liverpool (£8) and the boy picked me up from the station and took me back to the Wirral.  Money was exchanged and drove backup the same day; stopping at Doune to catch the tail end of the hill climb.

Totally standard car bar: Koni adjustable rear dampers, Eibach Sportline lowering springs, Espace V6 air box, Scorpion RS192 stainless exhaust, Nankang RS2 tires and I think that's about it...that's on top of the standard Trophy spec. of Speedline Turini wheels, Clio V6 spoiler, Recaro trendlines and silly expensive Sachs remote reservoir dampers. It's a little tatty here and there.  Some parking dings, little chip of paint here and there and some kerbing on the wheels.  Worst part of the car is probably the bubble of rust at the front of the bonnet where it has been closed on something but you barely notice it.

Have been driving it to work which it's fine for and I've had it on a couple of b-road jaunts.  Utter banter - so much fun!  Can't wait to get the Sachs dampers back on with the addition of some camber bolts at the front...then hopefully get to Fintray Hillclimb in May. Dampers were rebuilt by Rik Perry who I'm told works for one of the F1 teams.  Shafts are coated in some sort of hard diamond based substance, adjusters de-pinned so they can be used (locked from factory) and lastly dyno'd with a print out and sheet telling you exact numbers of clicks for each side to have them the same...which in this case is 22 and 23...nerdy!

PHOTOS

basically a poverty spec and one of the earliest models of its shape. the intent with this thing is just run it. nothing more. it's gonna replace the polos more labourious duties like shovelling the family around and big hikes, maybe even long journeys too. its spacious, comfy and quiet and it's actually a cracking little motor underneath the horrendous exterior.

or should I say, it was a cracking little motor, my dad has been battling poor running issues for a while with it, and while he confesses to never servicing it, the problem is much more serious than that!

the symptoms all point to air management or spark management, but no error codes ever pop up so it can be a tricky one to diagnose, until you look under the skin. thankfully the internet is awash with information about how the timing chains are made of the same chocolate polo gearboxes are made of, so i set to checking the chain out, as these symptoms are also indicative of a stretched chain.

if the tensioner protrudes more than 10mm from its housing, chain is stretched.

thats almost 15mm hahaha

for reference, a fresh chain looks like this

so this is akin to being a few teeth out on a belt I guess.

I'm going to replace it of course, I can get a chain kit for circa £100.

one problem though, I've never changed even an aux belt before so this is massive challenge, but I'm confident in my abilties, and I have a book of lies (haynes) too. so look forward to it

After looking for a couple of months I realised that the problems were amounting on the Leon. I had also had 3 Polo's prior to the Leon, of which I had a mixture of experiences with them all. I contemplated getting a cheaper 9n2 but with the money I had, I wasn't going to get a decent one.

I always liked the Up! released by VW but knew it was out of my range. After figuring out how much I was spending on the Leon on petrol, insurance and tax I started to justify getting an Up! on finance. I didn't want to fix the Leon with the amount adding up. I did the maths and found a local '14 plate Up! and could do it on finance cheaper per month than my Leon's insurance was per month. It looked great and after a drive, it also felt surprisingly good for a tiny 1.0l. The change from a 1.8t to the Up! was evidently noticable, but I was more concerned for the financial benefit. I went for it. I got £340 for my Leon and I am due to pick up my Up! next week from the KIA county garage. It comes with a year warranty and the package is over 3 years. I wasn't sure about committing to such a long programme but I think it will help. It's a 3dr Move Up! With a nice set of diamond cut alloys and all I could really need. Small, but efficient without being as dull as an i10 or anything similar.

I have a few questions if anyone could help. Firstly, are there any pages similar to this that cater for current Up! Drivers and fans? I'd like to get to know what people have done and any problems I may come across. I've found this page really helpful and have learnt so much as a non-mechanic. I've searched but there only seems to be one Up! page which I think is inactive.

My second concern is about mods for the Up! with the car being technically not being owned by me (Yes, feel free to mock all you like) I've heard mixed stories about what you can do to your car. I'm guessing these are at least sensible...

- Keep all original parts

- Nothing perminently irreversible

I don't intend on doing anything for now, maybe nothing until I have the option to buy the car at least. I am currently paying £XXX a month until the final sum payment. I don't drive like a knob, I look after my cars too. I'm thinking about buying some wind deflectors which I've never put on any of my cars. Same for roof bars. Other than that I'd only really be tempted by coilovers and a nice set of alloys. All these can obviously be put back to standard.

one question I have about the roof bars...

Without sounding stupid (I know very little about cars) Would a set of Polo bars fit an Up!? I've seen the Thule ones listed and they're ££££. I've seen second hand ones for a lot less. I'm guessing it's a width change in the fixing points, but I don't know if there are a better set or equivalent replacement?

If anyone knows anything regarding  what I have asked then I would be extremely greatful. Any other recommendations or ideas would also be appreciated!

Thanks.

Not a polo as such, but i thought ud all like to see what I've been upto!

I've had about 10 polos over the years, and this would be my third Caddy.

I bought her shortly after Dora was crashed into for £350. She's a 99 Primera GX with a 1.6L engine. Poverty spec of course - no front fogs, no sunroof, etc etc. but a nice looking car & in mint condition - a few small dents here and there but a spotless interior and only 93k ish on the clock. I'd say I got a bargain!

Just 18 days after buying it, I was driving through the main intersection in our hometown (about 100 yards from where Dora was hit). I went through my green light at 30, when a young lad in an Insignia coming from the opposite direction decided to make a right turn without checking for oncoming traffic.

This guy had insurance thankfully. Neko was written off, but you know how I am with cars. I called up the garage and asked how much it would cost to buy it back, and they said given the value of the car (£400), they wouldn't charge me anything! YES PLEASE

So I set to work - took out the headlights, bumper and anything metal that could come off with a few bolts. Required the use of a drill and a saw though. Shoutout to Nissan for deciding the best way to hold the bumper to the underside of the car was with philips head screws, when 1 - they are pretty much at the closest point to the road surface than pretty much anything else bar the wheels, and 2 - screws are prone to rust.

Yesterday I made use of a rubber mallet, some rope and my 6n and attempted to straighten out the front & headlight panels, which worked considerably well. But rust was the main concern now, as you can see from the radiator mount. Inside was even worse, moreso than Dora

I figure if I want the car to last more than a few months, I need to replace pretty much everything. Being in a Primera owner's club helps, and I've sourced the bumper reinforcement & slam panel for free it's just the cross member, front panel, headlight panels and so I need now, and I think I've found a company nearby who stocks them. The next step is to take off all the spot-welded stuff, and then decide whether or not I want to spend another £500 or so on a spot welder that I may or may not use again, or if I'll just get the local garage to fit everything for considerably less.

And after that, with any luck it'll be MOT time

165k Miles, its diesel and very Green! Not much else to say about it. It runs and drives and has MOT so can't say anything bad about it!

Not planning to do much with it. Maintain and run it mainly. Its already lowered, no idea how much or whether its springs, springs/shocks or coilys. I just know the ride is hard as f*ck and I've been sump bashing already 

This project actually happened last year but thought it makes a pretty interesting read (I think) HA!

Basically we had a little 2009 Polo 1.2 and I got sick of driving this around (was the only car we had at the time so no G40 at this point). Anyway having owned a few Golfs we love them so found this one for sale for £2000!!

£2000 for a 2007 MK5 ? I hear you say, well the catch was it had a slipped timing chain with unknown engine damage, this basically means write the engine off. Having done my homework and having owned a couple in my time I knew that a running version of this car with such low mileage (60,000 miles) they are worth about £5000 and with the extra's we have about £6000 :-)

This is the engine that is in the car:

Its the 1.4 Twin Charged TSI 140 Sport. So basically the same as the Golf GT 170 engine but has a different MAP. Anyway this engine is the BMY engine code and my research started. I basically had a limit of £2000 to get the car running so my first trick was to strip the engine down and see what I could use.

The story I was told by the garage I bought it from was that the owner had been using the car daily and during a service interval (the second one was due on a long service interval) a warning light illuminated. The garage informed the driver not to use the car as the warning was that there was excess movement in the timing chain thus sending the timing out very slightly, this was the sign that the chain had stretched and needed changing. So on ignoring the garage's advice the previous owner drove the car the next day with no issues stopped after work again with no apparent issues, the next morning the car would not turn over at all. Deciding that the cold had ruined the battery the owner bought a new one and fitted thinking this would be a simple fix, not the case as the engine was still not turning over. When the garage got hold of it they discovered the engine was not turning by hand and was seized. Being a genuine VW dealer they decided the engine was a write off and would need replacing quoting around £4000 to do the work!

This is where I came in and bought it.

So I was hoping that I could strip the engine and with the knowledge that it apparently didn't run with a slipped chain but rather just turned once and jammed I thought this should be a simple piston and valve change. read on to see how wrong I was!

So the engine started to come out.

I love the newer cars, once the bumper and front end is out of the way the engine is so easy to get to!

One thing is that there is things like Aircon to deal with which is a little boring as I had to pay a guy to come out and empty the system for me, easy to do but you need to get rid of the contents properly and it's dangerous stuff so didn't want to mess around with it.

Anyway home made engine crane built and the engine was prepped to take out. Every engine i pretty much the same, unbolt and take out! the great think about this engine is there is not two loom connector the same, they are all different so didn't need to mark anything up, but man there are so many sensors and things. Very complex system this twin charged thing.

So after a bit of fettling the engine came out.

Note the oil coming out, the garage had taken the timing chain cover off to prove this was the issue and hadn't put it back together so when I took the engine out oil came out all over the place

So the next stage was to get the box off and engine stripped down to get it onto the engine stand. I was pretty keen to find out the damage as I was going away with work the next morning which gave me the opportunity to order the parts required for my return. I had found another 1.4 TSI engine (the turbo only version) which I was going to use to donate pistons etc, this only cost me £600 and had a mere 2000 miles on it so from a brand new car. It took me a lot of reading to find out the specs of these engines to determine what parts were the same across the range and luckily for me VW kept the design of the blocks and head pretty much the same across the range (regardless of what VW garages will tell you). There are many differences as I found out and certainly tripped me up along the way.

So on with the engine strip and the first opportunity to get it on the stand. The first move was to drop the oil out. No a lot of bits came out and a few small specks of metal dropped out, not good! then I spun the engine over on the engine stand and a horrible noise followed. it sounded like a had turned over a piggy bank with about 20 2 pence pieces in! it was then I knew I was dealing with a badly damaged engine.

So off with the head! and I was greeted with this

So the pistons are ruined but I knew this would be the case.

Sat on top of the pistons were 6 Exhaust valves

But where is the other exhaust valves? Well one didn't snap off but the other had and then been jammed back into the head, so thats the head written off then!

So having seen the damage I thought I'd strip the block and make sure I could still use the block itself. Here is the remains of the internals once removed

as you can see Piston 3 has shattered into so many pieces they can't be counted, this is where the shards of metal came from when emptying the oil then! One piston was still intact although the crown is destroyed and the other two pistons where only held together with the piston rings! Rods were fine and so was the crank.

So I started to clean up the block and inspect it before taking it to get it properly checked out but on closer inspection I notices that cylinder 2 had a crack straight through the cylinder and liner!

Gutted is one word as that meant the whole engine was a write off! such a shame as well as the block looked pretty good otherwise.

So now the engine I had on it's way was really no use as I had no block to put the new bits into, hmm I wonder if the new block is the same? could they have kept them the same? more research required, but basically I found out that they were identical internally and had all the same stats as each other. So the new engine I had was from a MK6 TSI 122BHP engine. Of course the one thing I was fully aware of is that this model engine had just a turbo and not the supercharger! so did they change the mounting points?

Looking at pictures of this block they looked identical.

Here is the new engine, put it up onto the engine stand and my nightmare had been realised as the supercharger mounting points were still part of the cast however they were not threaded to take any bolts! ah crap!

Next update will include the solution and how i got the engine back up and running, it wasn't as simple as I thought and includes yet another engine strip down! update to follow soon :-)

Actually there's a legit reason. Since I'm now a sales idiot at work I get a car allowance. The car policy at work meant that the old 9n wasn't fit for service and at approaching 170,000 miles, doing a lot of business miles in it was becoming a bit touch and go at times. So since the company were going to give me money for me to effectively buy myself a new car I thought I'd stick with the VW family. Initially I thought new Jetta, but the boot isn't all that practical, then I thought Passat, but really as a mostly single driver it seemed like a bit of a boat. Plus parking is a right bitch at my yard so it wouldn't take long before I hit something or someone hit me. That really only left the Golf or Polo (Scirroco is out as the policy states the car needs 4 doors). Since my sister has a new Golf and my parents have a new Polo, I'd had a test drive both. Now going from a Mk2 to a 9n is a huge jump. 9n to 6R is actually quite an improvement. And the Golf is next level again. 10K better? Probably not but since I might have to take clients around and I'm a customer facing rep for the company, the Golf seemed the grown up choice. Plus the 1.2 tdi in the Polo is gutless and I wasn't going to go for a performance model (mileage costs and all that) so GTIs and R lines were out of the question. So I went for a Golf 1.6 TDI Match. I didn't go brand new as the allowance won't stretch to that, so I hit up my boys at Motorpoint and ordered a 65 plate Golf in pacific blue with a cool 7k on the clocks, barely worn in! Since these cars are everywhere and make up large portions of fleets, resale prices from Motorpoint are very low, especially considering the things you get as standard on a Match (parking sensors, infotainment system with full colour display, Adaptive Cruise Control, shit alloys etc.) so it seemed a no brainer really.

So this is the monster. Or should I say, this WAS the monster.

The more eagle eyed of you will have spotted the pile of wheels and tyres in that picture. That's right, I wasted no time modifying my new sensible daily/company vehicle! However, since it's a company-funded vehicle, I've kept all modifications pretty standard looking and using quality parts. The head of finance at ours is totally risk averse so i know he'd have kittens if he knew I'd modified it, so it's had to be done subtly. 

First off, wheels. These are 18 x 8 MK4 Golf R32 reps with 225/35/18 Nexen tyres. Those sorts of numbers are scary to a Polo driver, I'm more used to 165/60/13!

Then VWR springs. These are the choice for maximum lowering on standard shocks and they're what all the cool big boys are putting on their Golfs. I toyed with coilovers and wanted good ones as it will be a daily, but for the money (I was looking at KW V1s at circa £1000) compared to the final drop i wanted to achieve, the £230 I spent on springs seemed better. I don't want to be mega low, and the stance I've achieved is actually what I would have wanted, so the extra £770 would have been wasted. Additionally the ride is practically stock, so it's a win win!

They also came with this pointless certificate!

Then spacers. There is something called an ECS flush kit you can buy which consists of 2 x 15 mm for the front and 2 x 20mm for the rear plus bolts. This costs £200. I got these ones (not ECS) for about £80. 

I read a couple of how-tos before doing the spring change and by reading them you'd think this was a difficult job. It wasn't I'm happy to say. It's far easier than working on the suspension on an old Polo hands down. Those old boys in the US (most of the posts were written by Americans) have no idea! It's actually the same as doing a strut change on a 9n, so there are a few tips I picked up. Like making a spreader as pictured below to loosen the hub/knuckle assembly. You can buy one, but I just ground down an old Allen key

So after 3 hours in the sun, I was all done up front 

And another few hours and completely done.

And a few more with slightly better light

It should settle a little more, but I'm really happy with how it looks atm. It does rub a little over larger bumps or with someone in the back, so I may get the spacers machined down a few mill each side. All the mods cost under a grand and they've totally transformed the look of the car. I'd like to say that's as far as I'll go with this car, but since we're all car people here, you know that's unlikely! However, there's very little else I'd change on it...

Thanks for reading