I did suspect the thermostat, and may check it. Warms up in 5-10 mins of idling, but when on the dual carriageway the gauge reads to the left of upright and in traffic it reads to the right of upright. I replaced both gauge and sender (I managed to break both with a HT blast when using my oldskool gunson timing light!)

...

Definently on the search for a gt or nz engine with box!

Engine temp sounds okay from that description.

Thanks.

Checked the manifold temperature. It was damn hot, couldn't hold my hand on it.

Pretty sure leads were done by previous owner about 5-10k ago.

Here's the picture of the exhaust thing that I was on about:

Cheers

Rob

Thanks.

Checked the manifold temperature. It was damn hot, couldn't hold my hand on it.

Pretty sure leads were done by previous owner about 5-10k ago.

Here's the picture of the exhaust thing that I was on about:

Cheers

Rob

I assume thats the inlet heater, if its getting too hot it could very well be vaporising the fuel

This is a common problem in older cars that have the exhaust and inlet on the same side of the head

Edited 16 September, 201313 yr by derskine

Doesn't matter about heating fuel so it vaporises inside the inlet manifold. Keeping it in suspension is good.

But it does matter about doing so inside the carb as the Bernouilli effect suction does not work so well to pull petrol in gaseous form out of the well and through the emulsions and down the venturi. Well it does suck the gaseous petrol but it will be the high-volatility fractions which don't carry as much chemical energy. Or so I reckon reading "Tuning for economy" Chapter 3 by Colin Campbell which says least volatile fractions have 220degC boiling point.

So is the rubber carb flange actually meant to provide heat insulation?

Which the aluminium/tuffnol sandwich perhaps does not provide. Despite the shield plate in the linked image.

If so, that's a surprise.

Perhaps the flange or shield should not be metal. Someone on here is planning to use Dupont Delrin resin to make a carb base.

Looking in my Haynes 1982 to 1990 manual, exhaust heated inlet manifold is present on 1.1 and 1.3 models pre 1985.

Going to be hotter and more concentrated than water heated.As Colin Campbell writes " A hot-spot is sometimes provided. This is a sump or well at the lowest point of the inlet manifold which is heated by contact with exhaust or by provision of a water jacket. The exhaust heated hot-spot is most effective when the engine is cold since the low volatility fuel collects in this well where it extracts sufficient latent heat to evaporate fairly quickly."

My LHD 1984 1.3 has a water-heated inlet manifold and I have retro-fitted a Bakelite spacer for the carb as well as the rubber flange. I did it to lengthen inlet tract for more low down torque, but its usual purpose is insulating carb from radiant engine/exhaust heat. I'm sure it does that too making the petrol in the well a teensy bit denser.

Thanks again! The sandwich mount may not be as insulating, but with the Weber, there was only a gasket as an insulator! IDK.

The heat shield one is a standard one I bought from crazy quiffs.

I will buy a new rubber mount if it will make a difference, but I fear it will not as the old one didn't appear to leak and the same problem was present!

Time for a polo nz motor? Sounds easier!

Edited 16 September, 201313 yr by chez08

Well it was a good theory.

How about this. You are using a single choke weber 34ICH with a 29mm venturi.

BUt VW did 1.3 engines with twin 19 and 23 venturi and progressive opening.

Check out http://www.series2club.co.uk/forum/forum/index.php?topic=47453.10;wap2

glenanderson describes 22-26mpg with single and 28-30mpg with progressive twin weber.

(on a 2.25 litre engine p4 rover)

Elsewhere I've seen the VW101 advice- Single choke sacrifices economy and driveability for performance.

All carbs are compromise, never perfection.

Get an NZ.

out of intrest what insurance comapany are you using that doesnt mind all these alterations

you could argue a gti would be more economical lol..my 16v hits 40mpg fairly often

Very cool first car, fair play to you.

You could consider a TDI swap, like this one here:

http://www.skyinsurance.co.uk/blog/2013/08/bumblebee-mk1-golf-tdi/

However you'll find the insurance for any engine swapped car will very astronomical.

Thanks for the replies. The company is Cornish mutual. I'll have to confirm that its OK. I could do a diesel conversion, but I would prefer a bolt in conversion.

Yeah ikr, gti would be more economical!! I guess they don't work so hard.

What would the going rate for a complete nz conversion with about 100k be?

Edited 17 September, 201312 yr by chez08

An spi 1.3 with nz setup will work similarly, wouldn't limit yourself speficially to an NZ, they don't come up too often

A GT engine would also be pretty economical, I can get 50mpg in my GT if careful

OK cheers, I'll speak to insurance. Maybe I'll be allowed a 1.4 abd with mpi setup :P

You don't need the manifold heated, in your case it will solve the issue if you disconnect exhaust heater link pipe and seal it off so the manifold is just warm from the head.

Spoke to insurance, they are fine with an abd/nz injection. May add a little to the policy next year on renewal, going to find out how much 'a little' is.

So now looking for a complete mk3 golf local, with an abd not the apq or whatever it is.

Is it just the case of bolt on the inlet manifold, injectors and throttle body to the and and use the nz ECU? Do I need any other nz parts like dizzy or lambda sensors, and fuel pumps etc?

Can't wait :)

I found a mk3 for £200 complete with dead clutch but it had 125,000. Looking for something under 85,000 hopefully, even if I have to spend a little more, because that is what my car has done, and don't want the engine to have done much more than the chassis! Plus potentially could run into problems with poorly serviced high mileage engines.

Oh and I filled up today. Tried to drive fairly economically, did 25mpg, same as if I boot it :S

Edited 19 September, 201312 yr by chez08

There's a FAQ item (for mk2 to GT) that might help.

http://www.clubpolo.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=12473

Cheers for that, quite useful. Still not sure whether the fuel pumps and bits like that are usable from a mk3 golf though, anyone know?

On old carb tank join inlet and outlet together.

Polo needs tank lift pump and injection pump. New fuel filter.

You can sometimes use vagcat to be Sherlock Holmes and work out part numbers for Polo with NZ (need to register)

http://www.vagcat.com/epc/cat/vw/PO/1992/120/50/1253133/

or Golf with NZ

http://www.vagcat.com/epc/cat/vw/GO/1992/110/50/1087529/

and see if they correspond to mk3 Golf part by searching for the OEM number

Eg NZ, 3F and PY pump is 867906091

which turns out to be equivalent to Bosch 0 580 453 918

used on Golf mk1 cabrio gti so not Mk3 Golf

Edited 21 September, 201312 yr by dvderlm

Great website, thanks!

Found a complete mk3 polo nz, 60k on the clock, all in primer. Mint interior. What could I get from selling everything except the bits necessary for the conversion?

Cheers!

Rob