Hi all, I have just been GIVEN a 1983 86c Bready. Only 2 owners, first was a lady who only went to the shop and back once a week for 15 or so years. She then gave it to her daughter who did the same. She only got 30k on the clock and its legit. This is how she came to me. Check it out. :)

Given her the once over and she's in good shape mostly. I've read on here that the carbs on these are shite. Well this one might be too. Not idling smoothly, needs the choke on too long and doesn't warm up much or very quick. Stutters whenever the throttle is at around 20-30% in every gear. Found new plugs and coil so doubt its that. What are the symptoms of a worn rotor arm? Been so long since I worked on old school engines. Noticed the fuel filter is a bit dirty too, getting one tomorrow.

So what do you think peeps? Shes started shining up nice, got through a fair bit of t-cut so far lol.

Edited 22 November, 201312 yr by funkster

Any thoughts most welcome... cheers.

I'd be a happy man if someone gave me it!

Very nice, very original, get polishing and see how it comes up :)

Could be carb related as you say, however you need to factor in that this car may have never actually reached temperature for long and sometimes low mileage becomes a negative. Lovely car though and not may about.

Such a nice car, dont rat it.

Keep it nice and it will serve you well.

seeing this makes me miss my old bready :,( paints coming up well keep it up

What a result!

I'm pretty sure these early polos had a Solex carb rather than a Pierberg, in which case they are OK. Probably just need a tune up. Pierbergs are the really crap ones.

id imagine its got points ign , so replace /gap those as well

Thanks peeps. Changed fuel filter. Old one had a big black patch on it and bits of crap in it. Slight improvement.

Still waiting for a haynes manual, so can someone tell me how to gap the points as when i cleaned up the cap and rotor, i noticed theere was a plate over where the points are. Didnt look to see if the points have an access hole. What is the gap please?

Thanks.

Heres a picture update.

having issues with uploader

http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/dudeish74/library/VW%20Polo%20C?sort=2&page=1

Stupid up loader. I'll just post here when i add more.

Get some auto gylm bumber gel will bring them up beautiful mine were the same it's the best stuff by far.

Ditch those points and save the adjusting.

Get yourself a Saab dizzy with later Polo ignition unit, GK ignition or 16 valve golf unit.

Would also start better and run nicer if you do away with the ballast resisted wire from the coil.

See the FAQ for details.

Thanks, handy to know but doesn't help me now, lol. I have to optimize what I have for now.

Not just a Polo but one of the best classic Polos ever, Imo.

See these early MK2s were built to last like no other. They were the most resistant to rust of box Polo before the galvanized 6n2. There's a lot of trim and mechanical stuff I prefer from later cars, not to mention technical advancements - I chose the telescopic steering column from the later car as the pre-86 design is pretty poor, one of many things i've changed.

But the pre-84 bodies are the ones to have. That looks like Mars red, too.

Quick update:

Took her to Portsmouth and back at the weekend. Started cruising at 60/65, then after a while noticed I had been cruising at 70ish for most of the journey. The engine loves high revs and so smooth it was almost singing.lol. Trouble is after about 105 miles, I had used over half a tank of fuel. A further 50 miles and now its only 1/4 full. Shes running at a higher (normal) temp all the time now and seems to warm up quicker too. Cant live with that consumption though. 55/60mph max now.Does this seem abnormal? With 4 gears I expect I was thrashing her a bit. Poor girl :(

Just done oil change, new air filter and rotor arm

Gave it a blast of carb cleaner and now my jets are blocked.

Need the car for a job on monday. Any tips on how to get the jets unblocked quickly? She wont even start now.

HELP! :(

Edited 10 December, 201312 yr by funkster

Keep it clean, please!

It's a wonderful van!

I have one with 25 years old and is my lil' love.

Please see my topic if you like.

Congrats and good luck! :)

Sorry. Edited.

Non runner atm. Used carb cleaner and now wont run. :(

Hmm perhaps might be worth putting some petrol through the top of the carb, just to give it something to start with. I cleaned my carb with carb-cleaner and consequently in my case it was empty of petrol. After I poured some petrol into the carb it fired and from them on was drawing through petrol as and when.

As for your consumption that seems a little juicy, even for a Polo! I would figure on a ballpark range of 300 miles to be okay, I used to use my Polo up and down the M6/m5/m40/m1 constantly and found it settled at around that mark, less usually though.

How is the oil and filter? If the oil is old and cruddy that won't help operating temperature and mpg. If the car has done low miles or maybe been neglected a little then it probably needs a good blow through to get everything running right. Treat it as a re-commission and work through things like oil/filters/plugs/ht-leads, they're all cheap and easy to do, and put some miles onto it.

I had a Tornado Red breadvan just like it and absolutely loved it and would have another in a heartbeat.

Also! Buy some Boiled Linseed Oil for ALL the black plastic trims its the absolute business for that and super-cheap - forget about messing around with any 'back to black' type products or heat guns, Boiled Linseed Oil beats all of them hollow and is peanuts to buy from diy stores.

Also! Buy some Boiled Linseed Oil for ALL the black plastic trims its the absolute business for that and super-cheap - forget about messing around with any 'back to black' type products or heat guns, Boiled Linseed Oil beats all of them hollow and is peanuts to buy from diy stores.

Ironically peanut oil works the same hahaha

Well. I let her alone for a bit as I was getting stressed about it. eventually took all the jets out cleaned them all and put the top back on. Nothing. Turned her over while craning over the bonnet to watch. No fuel flow. I had recently changed the fuel filter and noticed at the time that all the top fuel hoses were new, while the one the tank side of the filter was old. When I looked today, the end of the filter was poking out of the side of the hose. Hmmm. carb cleaner overspray melted hose maybe? Either way. SOLVED.

WOOP!

And yes I do feel like a total mup!

Edited 4 June, 201412 yr by funkster

Well after all that messing around, this is whats been done so far.

Body:

About 40% of the surface rust has been stripped and primered. Much more to do though.

Stripped and cleaned rear lights as they were leaking in the rain.

Major T-cutting and polishing (ongoing)

Engine:

Oil/ filter change

Air filter change

new rotor arm

new fuel filter

new fuel line from chassis to filter (see above)

Carb stripped and cleaned.

Plugs re-gapped.

To do:

Rocker gasket

More rust spots

Battery tray rusted and (I think) leaking rain into footwell, ends up behind drivers seat as I park on a slope. (a small bead of silicone has directed the water down the wing instead :))

Eventually respray repairs

Boot door and front right wing have oxidized orange instead of the same pink the rest of it had. T-cut effects no colour change. Seen it before but still not certain its because they were replaced and painted wrong.

Any thoughts? Cheers.

Getting loads more mielage now but still cant get used to how quick it goes down. (only 36L tank!?)

Edited 10 February, 201412 yr by funkster