Hi was wondering,

What engines do fit in the MK3 polo engine bay without a lot of work?

yeah sure you can fit the g40 or gt engine in easily but, these are getting a bit scarce especially in some countries, so there surely must be other alternatives. How about a 1.4 16V engine fom a 2004 polo fit in? or maybe a Golf engine? anybody has any ideas on any other engines?

anything with time money or skills but easy options are -

1.4 8v abd

1.6 8v aee

1.4 16v afh will need work to get it to work on original loom of go for after market ie megasquirt

1.6 16v same as above

most golf engines are tall black and will not fit without major mods

i found all of that out in about 2 mins by using the "SEARCH" facility

I tried the search never turned up anything, must have searched for the wrong things. So these engine have been fitted before? what gearboxes do they use and what do I need to search for to find the threads regarding such installations?

most of that information is in the faq section alot of people with gt's tend to fit the 1.4 abd because of the extra 100ccs so i know that fits and caver and a few other people have fitted the 1.6 8v. max crox has put a 1.4 16v into a mk2 so it will fit in a mk3 and if the 1.4 will fit then so should the 1.6 16v. as for a gearbox I'm not to sure but i think you can use any 085 box's if it will fit a 8p would be a good place to start or a g40 atv box that is if you can find 1. if your not to fussed about how difficult it would be you could use one of the later cable operated box's but for ease i would try and get a rod operated ones to fit.

Understandable I

When you said the 085 gearbox to which one were you referring? I am kind of new to the watercooled scene so I am a bit miffed.

I would like a fairly simple install, tha car currently has a1.05 engine and teh 4speed, it is slow, finding a 5-speed box from a gt should not be that hard in theory, and 1.4 8V engines are cheap and can be tuned a little bit. So hopefully it should work out ok

the 085 if i am rite refers to the bolt pattern on the box but i could be wrong. the boxes you could use will come of the 1.3 spi and g40 I'm sure there are others aswell but i dont know what they come off, the 1.3 5 speed (8p) has nice long ratios iirc so suited to a more powerful engine. the 1ltr 4speed would work and so would the gt but with 4 gears it will find the limiter in each fairly quick and the gt box is short ratio so lots of zip but no good for anything much bigger than the 1.3/1.4's. if you are looking for easy power i would look at putting a 1.4 mk4 polo engine in on bike carbs or throttle bodies with a mild cam maybe a shrick 268* and a stainless 4 branch

the 085 if i am rite refers to the bolt pattern on the box but i could be wrong. the boxes you could use will come of the 1.3 spi and g40 I'm sure there are others aswell but i dont know what they come off, the 1.3 5 speed (8p) has nice long ratios iirc so suited to a more powerful engine. the 1ltr 4speed would work and so would the gt but with 4 gears it will find the limiter in each fairly quick and the gt box is short ratio so lots of zip but no good for anything much bigger than the 1.3/1.4's. if you are looking for easy power i would look at putting a 1.4 mk4 polo engine in on bike carbs or throttle bodies with a mild cam maybe a shrick 268* and a stainless 4 branch

This set up looks nice, still not sure about the gboxes tough will maybe a later gearbox fit ? the 4speed boxes would be my last choice, and the gt5speed boxes would be great for acceleration but would do my head in with the noise. So would the standard 5speed box be tough enough to take the greater power?

if you go for that setup you will be looking at close to or just over 100bhp and people use the 8p 1.3 5speed boxes on g40's which are 113bhp standard so shouldnt have any problems what so ever

great, I might not tune it to get the maximum bhp as it has to be a good daily driver, so I will aim at maybe 90bhp and a very good torque curve. Which means bike carbs wouldn't be my best option, maybe EFI would be on the cards.

you will need to budget a fair bit for a good efi managment system like megasquirt/microsquirt you could run it on gt injection with a chip but you will need a gt engine loom and asociated parts for it.

you will need to budget a fair bit for a good efi managment system like megasquirt/microsquirt you could run it on gt injection with a chip but you will need a gt engine loom and asociated parts for it.

Yes I know, EFI does cost, but it leaves so much room for improvement it would be worth doing, I could go for forced induction as well which is much to my liking, especiallya supercharger, my guess is , a standard 1.4 8V engine with lowered compression, ported head and standard internals could easily take about 8-10psi but I don't know how much that will do me good.

I am still in a brainstorming stage meaning anything goes, but I do need to make more research.

if you go for that setup you will be looking at close to or just over 100bhp and people use the 8p 1.3 5speed boxes on g40's which are 113bhp standard so shouldnt have any problems what so ever

Isn't the G40 box an ATV and not 8p?

if you go for that setup you will be looking at close to or just over 100bhp and people use the 8p 1.3 5speed boxes on g40's which are 113bhp standard so shouldnt have any problems what so ever

Isn't the G40 box an ATV and not 8p?

Information is scarce because there are so many differences from one engine to another.

You dont want a 1.4 8v from a Polo,you want one from a Golf. Why? Bolt patterns,anchorage points,plumbing,even the bore and stroke are different.

Post-94 gearboxes have longer drive flanges,attached by a different bearing/diff design.. all the pre-94 boxes are under-geared but for the Formel-E and G40 (hens teeth) though the 1.3 S/CL aren't too bad.

My 1.6 16v is a hybrid based on two engines,neither of which were a straight fit,and it was a pain in the neck.

My gearbox is also a hybrid,and getting it to fit meant shifting the whole unit nearer the passenger side of the car.

Seems pointless doing a write-up of mine because there are various ways of getting 1.6 litres and 16 valves over them,they're all a pain,parts access is a factor in any build,so good luck to the few who'll bother.

I used to drive from Bucks to Scotland regularly,all round Great Britain with the mountain bike in the back,I've tried 1.3,1.4 and 1.6 eight valvers too,and the best set-up as a daily was a mid '90s Golf 1.4 8v engine on CBR600F-Y bike carbs.

Smooth,tractable,gutsy at low revs but still sat at 5700 in 5th,was very economical (worked out nearly 70mpg on a max economy run),and sounded so sweet.

Never missed a beat either.

Whatever fuel system you use,its a wise choice of engine.

So let me get this straiht, If i use a MK3 golf 1.4 engine, fitted on a mk2F/mk3 polo gearbox it should in theory work out a simple install. What if I use a Golf gearbox as well, I understand that the shafts might be longer, but isn't the golf gearbox a rod type not cable? and how will it fit?

The Polo 085 gearbox is the easy option along with the Golf 1.4 ABD engine block. These will bolt straight in and can be run on a standard Mk.2 carb or Mk.3 injection system(you were asking for easy options here right?)

Do not use the Polo 1.4 AEX/APQ engine as they are different and things don't bolt up so easily, and they have a poor power output(small ports, pap camshafts).

so, this going to be the plan,correct me if I am wrong anywhere::

MK3 Golf 1.4 8V engine on dual carbs or EFI(preferred option), with maybe a camshaft and a balancing porting job, mated to a polo mk2/3 5speed gearbox, running on 13"x6 or 14"x6 rims. Lowered by 40mm back and front.

Is this setup ok?

forgot to say this, cut is there a 1.6 ABD engine?

Set up sounds good.

For info on the 1.6 AEE/ABU engine, search out carver's threads.

great thanks

As said they're your main options, I love the 1.6 8v (ABU/AEE) conversion. Its not quite G40 excitement but a hell of alot quicker then the GT and 1.4's.

Didnt realise you were on the 1.6 16v now Mikey? How are you finding it that compared to the 8v?

Didnt realise you were on the 1.6 16v now Mikey? How are you finding it that compared to the 8v?

Its still not running yet,thought id have it done in a few days but keep changing my mind about the setup.

Was gonna use a full '03 BCB engine with 6n diesel fly/clutch/box but I'm being fussy about things. There are a lot of problems getting it light and simple but I'm determined to use the AFH block.

Also been busy with other things and I'm now ill with flu but here's hoping it'll be done by the weekend..

Ignore the AFH in the bay,but driveway engine conversions FTW!

Looking very good

I agree driveway workshop FTW, what other choice do we have

Its not ideal for research,though! I've practically banned the other half from my flat cos its like a workshop these days. In the last few weeks I've gone from building..

Alloy block AFH (light,but will there be enough torque? Great for a MK1).

Alloy block 1.6 AFH (crankcase not wide enough,unfortunately).

BCB 1.6 16v Golf iron block unit with lightened diesel fly,clutch,6n diesel bellhousing,front mounted Golf petrol starter with custom wiring,block drilled for steel sump.. (too much messing about even for me,heaviest,small clutch,but do-able).

And now standard AFH unit but with 1.6 bottom end internals,which is working out to require parts from various engines to fit (belt's too wide for compatible crank sprockets,need snapped-type shorter rods with previous 1.6 crank,etc).

And try all that before it rains next.. I dont get so much time to work on it these days,either. But its now almost fully built and i swear this is the last time - when its complete,its complete.

I do have an idea for a carb'd turbo,though..