I ran ambers for about 18 months when I first had the car. Found this pic the other day (shot in April 2001 while I was in high school haha!) and decided I quite like the look:


I'll probably leave them on for Retro Rides and see how I feel afterwards.

Edited 10 August, 201510 yr by Alex

Now fully orange at the front, thanks to sleag40. I still think I prefer the clear indicators, but I really like these as a change. So we'll see.

Wow your car has been on such an epic journey over 15 years. Fair play 👌

Though I agree the clear indicators look better ✌️ But in this day and age a lot if people will say keep the amber ones for the retro oem look

I like both... but the ambers are a bit 'different'. I can't believe I'm saying that about amber indicators!! :-D

VW's car looks pretty much like the car from Back to the future 2 when marty is walking around.

My god, it really does!

Hi Alex,

I'm loving what you've done with the car. I've been keeping an eye on it over the years, and it's turned out great!

Why did you put the PPP manifold and system up for sale, and what's gone on instead?

Cheers

Matt

Thanks!

It's back using the Longlife system I had before, which is quieter than the new one was. The cut off and re-welded back box on the other system is a failed attempt at making it quieter.

As much as the PPP setup is better built and undoubtedly makes more power, it doesn't suit the way I use the car. Ultimately it's better to realise that's the case sometimes, and make a difficult call. Some of which comes with age.

Actually on that note, it's getting used loads at the moment. It's like being in my early 20s again. Bloody good fun.

Edited 8 October, 201510 yr by Alex

Soooooo... new stuff.

Bought these, haven't got around to fitting them yet. Or, do I go back to the half-tinted and clear lenses? Not sure.

I've also discovered the answer to a question I didn't want answered. When the engine went in ten years ago I didn't get around to fitting the oil catch can - I routed the breather into a hole in the chassis leg and left it. This hasn't leaked a drop, but I've always wondered how long it would take to find a way out.

It took ten years. I guess going from intermittent use to regular driving loosened it up a bit, but it found a way to get into the inner arch and shit me did it make a mess. So I stopped using it while waiting for a slot at the garage to get it serviced and have a catch can fitted.

Here it is... first pic of the bay since the cast iron manifold went back under the bonnet. The catch can is tucked in beneath the boost hoses above the gearbox.

It's a neat installation, too.

The mess left by the oil getting out has left a patch at the far end of the garage, next to a spot underneath the engine caused by a small leak from the oil temperature sender T-piece. So I backed it into the garage to check for leaks (so that there'd be clean concrete under the engine) and... back to normal service. Not a drop. This makes me happy.

Final jobs now, I'm upgrading the foglight wiring loom and removing the oil cooler to see what temperatures are like without it. Boring stuff, really, compared to what's happening in most build threads. But all necessary.

Hopefully all getting done this week before I'm back in work, otherwise it'll be the summer before I know it. Between the job, the travelling, an increasingly active toddler and a healthy influx of freelance work (including some pieces for PVW), spare time is a precious commodity.

Edited 30 December, 201510 yr by Alex

Another New Year with the idiot box. Not drinking this evening, ran a few errands in it earlier. Just gentle stuff, nothing crazy, it's great.

Some idiot nudged it in traffic, got an earful from me but there was no damage because Polo bumpers are designed to... bump.

Wahoo!

 

 

Not much to report with the car. It's still here, my two year old is obsessed with going to look at it, and it's filthy. 

 

 

C'est tout. 

Edited 6 August, 20169 yr by Alex

Good to see CP & The Polo Social getting a mention :)

Nice write up!

Thanks! It's weird reaching the part of this process where I've got naff all to report in terms of actual updates. I'm just enjoying running the car for normal stuff and taking it out to wring its neck when I get a chance. It feels bloody brilliant at the moment:

 

 

The boy has already decided it's his. I've been dismantling stuff in the garden recently, he made me go and open the door to the garage last weekend so he could check that the Polo was ok with all the bits of brick and mortar flying around outside. Trouble is, he's got a habit of wiping gritty hands all over the passenger side wing, and he loves to tell me how noisy it is. 

 

MoT next week...

After a quiet winter, what better a way to blow out all of the cobwebs than a track day?

 

 

I took the Polo around Castle Combe yesterday - an invite-only session where journalists could bring their toys out to play. 

 

The weather wasnt great first thing, and on a fast track with hardly any run-off that's a little unnerving. So the early laps (pictured) were a bit of a learning experience - quick but steady. 

 

Then it dried up. 

 

Man, I love this car. It was screaming around, taking everything in its stride. I'm so used to modern stuff that I forget how direct it feels by comparison. Must. Use. More. 

 

Interesting seeing how it fared since I downgraded the spec slightly too. Oil temperatures weren't too scary - 95°C was the highest I saw - the clutch (now standard) didn't struggle, and i prefer the slight bit of roll I get on the front end with the soft springs. 

 

Mine wasn't the only G40 there, either: 

Edited 21 April, 20179 yr by Alex

A couple more...

 

 

Great pics, still one of the best g40s around.

Thanks!

 

It's nice to get it to the point where it feels finished!

Always nice to see a G40 being used in anger on a track :) 

1 hour ago, kwijibo_coupe said:

Always nice to see a G40 being used in anger on a track :) 

And nice to get a chance to do so!

 

Actually as an added bonus, one of the guys out on track with us was Nick Mason, in his F12 TDF. Stuff you never expect to get to do - track your Polo alongside a living legend. 

 

Spring clean. First chance I've had to scrub the Castle Combe grime off it. 

Uh oh. 

 

Edited 26 May, 20179 yr by Alex

Haven’t updated this in a while, as I haven’t really done much worthy of note. I’m just using it wherever possible while my family expands and work gets more intense!

 

I did, however, tick an item off my list this week. I visited this place:

 

 

This is a branch of Halfords in Louth. But the boarded up windows hint at its previous life; it used to be Loveday and Bennett Volkswagen. And in June 1991, this is where my car was delivered to its first owner. 

 

I’ve always fancied visiting, though when I first had the idea it was still a Volkswagen showroom, and to be honest I’d always planned to go in my car. But it’s a long round trip from Cardiff to Louth! As I was at an event at Cadwell Park, ten minutes away, it seemed rude not to have a look. Mode of transport: a Hyundai i10 press car. 

 

There’s very definitely a Volkswagen UK story behind the HERP cars, too. I’ve got a contact looking into it... though not as a high priority... so who knows what that will throw up!

Edited 3 November, 20178 yr by Alex

It was Loveday and Bennett, then became Louth Volksworld with a lot of the same staff. If you pull out of the industrial estate and swing a left towards town, Volksworld is now about 400 yards down on the left.