ello.... 3rd go at a build thread.. ill be keeping ontop of the chat in this one!

the car is a 1985 mk2 polo coupe s, in comet blue. 58,000 miles at the mo, was originally a 4 speed with a 1.3 carb engine.

the car was originally my best mates, but in 2010 he unfortunately passed away in a car accident, and at the time owned 2 mk2 polos.

at the time his old one was for sale anyway, but as his parents needed the room they kindly gave it to me, which was a bad move.

i now rapidly became addicted to old volkswagens, and fell in love with the thing!

it was a 1990 1.3 polo coupe, with grandad spec interior and tired bodywork.

it started off like this :

and by the time id finished with it, it had a different interior, was lowered on some starmags, and had a 1.4 16v engine conversion running on CBR600 bike carbs..

the bodywork was always tatty, so i ended up spraying it red oxide!

heres how it looked at GTI Springfest last year:

ended up taking 1st place in the Dizzy rascals course with it too which was a massive bonus!!

anyway after owning it for nearly 2 years, and having a good chat with my friends dad, he finally agreed he would let me buy my friends other polo, this was the car he loved, so had alot of sentimental value. the red one was just a runabout.

so a couple weeks after springfest i sold the red mk2, and went and picked up the blue one!

what a difference, the blue one being an early german built mk2 rather than spanish like the 90' car. you can tell as soon as you sit in it. feels so much tighter, even down to the headlight switch ect.

so it started off looking like this,

53,000 when i got it, good for a 1985 motor!

coupe s interior

1.3 engine (solid lifter head like a mk1 golf)

which was nice, but i wanted to make it my own, aswell as something my mate would be proud of!

and so it began.... ha

new rare crystal rear lights, with botom half tinted

after a much needed wash!

clay bar ect, paint came up lovely!

bit of a neaten up in the engine bay

then i treated myself to some 13x7 Mattig steels and an eyebrow spoiler

new steering wheel and a cool lil volkswagen horn button

derby front end fitted, love square lights! (also got a golf with a jetta front haha.)

then was in the right place at the right time, and a lovely looking backbox popped up!

electric window conversion

cobra bucket seats

then i had some bodywork done by a friend.

the rear 1/4 had taken a nasty nock before i owned it.

heres it before, during and after!

was super happy with that!!

then i untinted my lights and went to graffitti tunnel in london and had some pictures taken by my friend ash

then got a new OMP wheel

got fed up of the standard carb so put it on a set of CBR600 bike carbs

new sub and amp

put factory style pinstripes back on,

strutbrace

sprayed the mattigs silver and modded renault 5 mirrors to fit on

fitted a 5 speed gearbox

and then the fun started...

1.6 8v AEA engine

so ripped out the old lump

changed to the 1.6

looked awesome! unfortunately though i started it up and quickly realised id been sold a duff engine. bottom end was nocking BAD!

this was a week before VW Action so with no time to waste i ripped it straight back out and chucked another 1.3 i had in there!

then chucked some polybushes in

so the day of action came, and SHIT!! i had no MOT! so rushed around and my mate liam sorted me out! made it in the end

with clubpolo

gt camshaft

then went to players

parked next to my old mk2

got some carb filters

bought a 1.6 16v engine and started making an inlet

went to GTI Festival where i picked up my second dizzy rascals trophy in a row!

then i got bored again.... 16v time!

picked up some new wheels - smoor roadsters. 13x7 and 13x8.

now unfortunately, for the second time i had been sold a duff engine. THANKS CRAIG.L , it burnt a litre of oil in 30 miles!!!

rebuilt the head just incase

put it back together and still burned oil, so got pissed off and garaged it over winter.

bought a stage 3 subframe

took the engine out on the drive

then i cut the raintray out! haha

bought a rebuilt 1.3 engine and chucked a carb turbo setup on

put the engine in

decided against the turbo stuff and refitted bike carbs (for now)

this is because I've decided to rebuild my 1.6 16v engine. took it to work and stripped it down to is current state

1.6 piston next to a train piston at work

engine bay sorted

dash back in after rewire

on the driveway

single wiper conversion

then went to GTI Springfest and picked up my third dizzy rascals trophy!

so yeah, car is now on its 5th engine since april, won me the dizzy rascals twice + once in my old car, 1.6 will be rebuilt soon then go in in the summer!!

its parked at the start of an incline on my drive, so the sills look higher than they are.

changed my backbox over to my nice FK item

built 1.6 bottom end up with new rings

rebuilt head

then went to apex festival!

Edited 5 August, 201313 yr by erixtar1992

ground the weld back, looks sweet. bit of tidying up and itl do the trick!

also modified my oil pickup. cut an inch off of it to fit the earlier shallow sump. again gas welded it, was gonna braze it but its effort.

then gave my sump a quick paint and shoved it on to protect the bottom end while i wait for conrod bolts.

oil pump painted. looks so much better. need to sort the bolts now.

Few parts to source and inlet to finish. Got 3 weeks to do it.

Edited 10 June, 201313 yr by erixtar1992

Well Eric, day 1 of being off with injuries and this has happened, god knows what youll be up to in a few weeks!

Nice summary though

Probably another engine swap by the numerous activities above haha

yup. 1.6 swap is sposed to be in 2 and a half weeks jus in time to run it in for poloshow, bu unfortunately I've broken my ribs so i may not be able to do it :(

I was working on a jacked up 4x4 last year and fell of the crate I was standing on straight onto the wing and broke 3 ribs the doctor said there was nothing he could do apart from wrap me up and give me some pain killers so with bandages wrapped round my rib cage I was back at work the next day finishing the turbo change I started. Good luck with the 1.6 mate

Edited 10 June, 201313 yr by mattieboi6n

ouch stuff that! I've got a broken rib, torn muscles, mild whiplash and a very bruised hip! lol

on a lighter note! seats... as much as i love the coupe s interior i want something different!

now I'm thinking either a set of buckets again but fixed ones this time,

or a set of mk4 golf gti recaro fronts as my mates got one and its LUSH to sit in. they hug you so well.

either those or a set of retrimmed S2 rs turbo escort recaros?

There a lad selling 2 sets in mk4 reactors on here for £130, need a little tlc though

RS Turbo Recaros, 100%. Some of the best seats I've ever sat in, hardest bit is finding some good ones!

Car's looking hard mate, lots of tough action shots in here which is good to see!

^^THIS !!!!

Now eric .. I had a set of rover 800 vitteese half leathers ...

Which were preety much the same as the rs turbo ones, Seem to be abit slimmer and suite the polo ..

I've heard that you can get mk2 golf subframes to bolt straight onto them..

They are alot cheaper and easier to pick up then leather rs seats.. :)

I've looked into both - RS Turbo ones are WAY more supportive than the Rover ones. The side bolsters are huge!

On the flip side, the Rover Recaros are a much better fit for the style of interior you get in a Volkswagen (in terms of fabric and patterns). RS Turbo Recaros tend to be velour, which can feel a bit out of place, and as Jamie says they're wider. They do fit though.

100%, if you're getting Recaros for comfort and support then the Ford ones are the ones to get. Plus they tip forward, most Rover ones don't. If you want something which goes in and looks factory-fit, the Rover ones may be better.

Escort S2 RST:

Rover Vitesse:

yeah think ill be on the lookout for rs turbo recaros if i cant find some nice buckets.

on another note i hobbled into the garage and did this.

slight overspray on the tyres but I'm getting them swapped aroud to hide the scrubbing anyway as there not directional.

then also fitted my oil pressure gauge from the golf at last

Wheels look smart in blue :)

Personally id go for the half leather cossie recaros in black

cheers. ill have a look for those, are they the same just different material? as i want the massive bolsters.

UPDATES !

got bored being stuck at home, was gonna spray another wheel but i cant really pick them up and move them about at the mo, so instead...

i tackled the dodgy engine bay paint on the passenger side!

heres how it was before, (used a different can on this side and it was a bit dodgy, so came out AWFUL.)

you cant really see much from the pic, but its more a silvery colour aswell as being sorta spotty looking?

anyway here it is now, painted it on the driveway in rediculous winds

basecoat

and with laquer. much better.

as you cansee its ALOT closer match to the rest now! haha, plus its actually shiny. once its dried properly ill take all the masking ect off and take a descent pic of the whole lot.

that just leaves the slampanel to redo at some point.

wired my oil pressure gauge up while i was there too. on idle its running at 20psi, 2k is about 40-45psi and 3kis about 80psi give or take a few. sound okay to you lot?

cheers

Edited 13 June, 201313 yr by erixtar1992

okay paints dry, heres some pics!

gonna redo the other side at some point i think. want it shinier. what an improvement though!

Edited 13 June, 201313 yr by erixtar1992

looking nice and tidy mate!

Looking good!

Yeah the seats are the same as the rs turbo ones just different covers :)

Rs turbo seats purchased :)

looking good dude. sure your mate would be very happy with how its turned out.

Good progress the only thing that annoys me is that manky rad! hah, apart from that the engine bay looks sweet.

Million dollar photo right there. How good does that look.

Some people ask me why I don't just buy a new car and be done with it. They ask why I don't leave it alone. You're one of the few who know why. All you do to yours, that's what it's all about. We're not talking mere transportation here!

Thanks guys!

Polotommmy - i have another rad to chuck in i just haven't done it yet as i have to repair my slimline fan as the mounts broke! Lol

Mikey, exactly. I dont drive my car just to get to work. I drive it for the experience. I absolutely love it every day, puts a massive grin on my face. Its what its all about for me. Not polishing split rims every day. Plus it actually gets used, on a track, dragstrip and wherever else!

Id dislike driving a modern car daily. Would rather get the train!

I love that pic. If only my wheels were colour coded at the time!

Edited 16 June, 201313 yr by erixtar1992

recaro test fit

THEY ARE SO COMFY