Somehow i bought a G40 and have ended up poor but having a cracking good fun in the meantime… By no means a mechanic, just a student with too much time on my hands..

Hi All

So here is quick update of the last 11 months of G40 ownership:

Was on the look out for a mk2f polo after my last vehicle didn't fulfill certain criteria.

I bought this G40, having viewed it 4 hours previous, not a shred of service history and taking it for a test drive. No idea why anyone would put a supercharger on a 1.3 8v but it drove nicely and bloody quick.

After a good wash and bucket of T cut and some bumper spray. looking pretty flash.

But clean engine bay and no apparent abuse to any part of the engine

Now, I am still young and hopelessly optimistic, but when i thought i could run this car cheaply, that was my first and greatest mistake. Especially as i am not a mechanic, my hands are soft and only good for writing reports on my ergonomic keyboard.

24th birthday i got a Haynes manual, single greatest tool...... And then it all kicked off

but it was summer so long days and warm weekends

the culprit

but i made a good friend in the process.... his head work skills (waaaaahhey) are top notch

Plus the charger was pissing oil, so one top Yorkshire bloke later (pete) i had a fresh set of seals and a refurbished charger.

Usual top scroll bearing issues.............Hammer time

New belt and water pump....... never paying a mechanic to do one of these again is a good feeling

rebuild was a success and after a few timing issues she roared into life

Bought a £50 ATV with a smashed set of planetary gears

After a refurb and oil popped it on, runs mint but the release bearing has gone. Should haven't swapped it out and not been a pikey about it

feel good small jobs..

..nice results

So here i am now, stripped the plastic arches to reveal bad wings. Popped some solid red doors on, not the best look though

Rust is pretty prevalent

So an window out spray is in order

frustratingly quite a bit of water still seems to be getting into the driver side foot well, i think the battery tray weld needs a touch up

The lake of water

So that's the plan, strip it down and paint it up.

Got the rolling road on Saturday so in preparation I tightened the v-belts

And swapped the intercooler for one without a small stone chip hole on the front (left-stone chip)

Rolling road on Saturday. This is how it's done in the north.

Generic rolling road photo

Results were good 106 at the wheel. Reckoned around 130 at the flywheel. Torque was good and peaked at 127.

Sooo time to rebuild the engine as I need a project. Daily is a 1.9tdi A4.

Been tagging the wiring loom so I don't forget where each belongs. Plus plastic bags to hold the bundles. There is a bit of damage to various wires. So thinking I may replace some sections

Got hold of an engine hoist so thought I would get it all done in one weekend

Then once free, got to stripping it down. Much easier second time round

Finally 24 hours after the rolling road...

So been a cracking polo related weekend. Got a cylinder head off here. Hoping to get a bit of porting and flow figures.

And just wondering if this is a standard exhaust?

Cheeky 2 hour session this morning before uni, the bonus of studentom. Got hold of this weapon. With a fully charged battery it made quick work of the bottom crank bolt and flywheel bolts as well as the drive-shaft bolts. I have a feeling a lot more energy would have been expended otherwise. Plus i picked up a engine stand which i will attach the engine to later this evening.

So I have whipped the entirety of the engine bay loom out. And spent the week measuring cutting and determining current capacities. Just need to order some up and cut to size and hopefully I will have a spanking new loom.

This is how it all started:

Now I have spent the day breaking the cylinder head off, valves and plugs are pretty black. Over fuelling is my guess!?

And finally p*ssing around trying to be arty!

Edited 30 March, 201412 yr by physicsfool

Sent off the flywheel and got it back looking shiny and thinner, looks to be about 1kg knocked off which is spot on

This kick started the motivation and I stripped the front wings and struts off

plenty of seized bolts means I am going to have to get hold of an impact driver again, but that shouldn't be a problem and then I can drop the struts and brake carriers in deox-c and get them painted.

Next step will be to clean up the arches, check for cracks and get the bulkhead strengthened.

Recent activity has included stripping fuel and brake lines, now the bay is looking bare and ready to be sanded and welded.

The struts have been causing me all sorts of problems due to seized and snapped bolts. Had to get my mate and his torch on the carrier bolts. Happy to say they are now stripped and ready for a deox-c bath.

Added pressure of my parents wanting to move in the very near future means i need to get the old girl on all 4 tires again.

Righto, been about a month since my last update… So here is my process so far, this is the slower slightly less revolutionary stuff, but a big ol' learning curve never the less.

here are the areas of greatest concern.. drivers side sill

coil pack area

and bottom of the passenger side front wheel arch corner

First bit of fabrication

And the rear wheel arches are in decent condition, nothing a quick sand and primer won't sort

Arches are fully stripped and welded up, welds are still looking urrrrgggeeellly but doing the trick

Annd the drivers side with the rust patches brushed out and etch primered up

Empty bay with small weld job by the coil pack area

brakes and steering arms are close to being refurbed so not long till she is rolling once again….

Good work, you don't mess about.

And yes that exhaust is standard.

Keep up the good work.

Excellent enjoyed reading the thread so far

Great progress and seems you've learned a lot on the way, Haynes manual is a legend lol

you seem to have got right stuck into that!

good luck bro! whatever you do dont give up

Afternoon all,

I thought this weekends findings were a game changer, but turns out everything is fixable.

Found the drivers side chassis leg is cracked and slightly off, so i need to get hold of a stage 2 subframe from PPP and get it welded up, not ideal but it will be worth it when its finished.

from the underside, its cracked the underseal which isnt ideal

and separated slightly

this also looks fairly lairy but i was calmed by the other G40 chaps and with it due a respray in the next month its going to look quality when all put back together

I have also sent the rear axle off for sandblasting as its looks pretty rusty.

Picking up the painted front struts with fresh skf bearings and all parts to refurb the rear drums inc cables and bearings. Will be at Stanford hall this weekend so good motivation to get the polo finished

Edited 29 April, 201412 yr by physicsfool

Here are some photos of the front struts being painted and other bits and bobs

Here is how the strut started out

Once sandblasted and painted (z3i or Taylor)

Painted disc protectors, fairly pitted but Taylor has done a cracking job

bearings pressed in and looking goood. Thanks again Taylor top lad

Steering arms also needed a refresh

and paint

I have painted them black since, just don't have a photo of it

any way I think that's pretty much it so far..

Afternoon all, mid week boredom has kicked in so updating this with last weekends work!

First things first (rear axle bushes going in) questionable choice in footwear i agree and the track suit trousers shouldnt really be worn in public but fashion isnt a priority anymore, getting this car finished is.

This is where the weekend started, no wheels and no engine

Coming together with the GAZ rear coilovers i purchsed off Matty! cheers lad

All in place ready for the wheel

And finally she is rolling again (sort of)

Fitted an uprated radiator brace in prep for the PPP stage 2 subframe and welding that will happen soon

Sun is shining all is coming along well so i decide to take another look at the drivers side sill which isnt looking too great

Its fairly rotten all the way along, so currently assessing my options.

awesome build so far mate keep it up, can buy new sills http://www.carbodypanels4u.co.uk/volkswagen/polo/volkswagen-polo-coupe-1981-1990-mk2/sill-full-1 decent fit recently changed both of mine wouldnt know the difference

Cheers for that pal.

The stage 2 arrived today, so I thought I would paint it with por15

And now it's nice and shiny

Great work here :)

So been getting the motor rolling again to my parents amazement, think they may be sick of loooking at a shell

Firstly rebuilding the front legs with all new/resprayed parts (apart from some pikey apex springs)

and the car as she stood at the beginning of the weekend

One PPP stage 2 fitted, not an easy job but worth it. one of the chassis legs was slightly twisted

And voilllla

So with it rolling i took it to my mates for the sills to be welded and engine bay where it had cracked.

one pallet and a forklift later:

Pretty jealous of the workshop he has on his farm.

Poor photo but the work is good.

Edited 6 June, 201412 yr by physicsfool