Dont get me wrong if everything goes to plan it is possible. Just to get holes to line up it requires some persuasion. The TCA brackets are the worst as you need to get the holes lined up perfectly or you will end up killing the thread if you choose to hammer it through.

Maybe my chasis was not perfectly straight which caused the problems. Either way I hope its worth the hassle

Awesome, looks spot on mate :)

I cannot wait to see this in the flesh!

I'll get my own project thread started!!

Get on it, more project threads the better.

I think that looks fucking brilliant. Brings a tear to my eye reminding me of my old GT!

LA9V is awesome. Will have to take it up to Badentoy Industrial Estate and recreate some of your photos.

looking excellent man.

No problems with the rear bolts then i take it?

Nope none at all, bought 38mm for the front...and I think 34 for the rear...can't quite remember but I have two sets so got to make sure they don't get muddled up. Rear bolt sit flush with the inside of the drum, perfect.

surprisein how different a car looks with different wheels, looks even better if BBS wheels are you are sytle of wheel then bound to love it. looks brillinat from the chop. lookin forward to the suspension updates

BBS wheels are my fav. RM's + LM's + RA's are so nice. Would def. have BBS on any car I buy in future.

Cheers for positive comments, hope the suspension will live up to the photo shops.

Edited 28 March, 200818 yr by Tav

Personally I think it might look better with early specs and orange indicators? Maybe not

Cracking on though, 14s do look just right!

Looking good Tav...

Spot on!!!

One of the best MK3 build threads I've followed for a while!

Cant wait seeing it with all the bits on

As if you dont have tuition fee's! Should have gone st Andrews or Aberdeen! Bugger.

One of the best MK3 build threads I've followed for a while!

Cant wait seeing it with all the bits on

As if you dont have tuition fee's! Should have gone st Andrews or Aberdeen! Bugger.

All Scottish students don't pay tuition fees...kind of harsh because I am sure some of the English/foreign students in my classes are paying. No wonder you always hear on the BBC news about student debts, I can't imagine having to pay £1500+/year. We do/did (can't remember if they got rid of it yet) graduate endowment where you pay £2k at the end...that goes back into the system to pay the tuition fees for other students. Perhaps if we had to pay less wasters would go to uni, too many slack people getting in these days.

Apparently we pay nothing now, except a £300 graduation fee

Banter!

Banter!

Never knew that about scottish fees, think of people paying 3k+ per year because of topup fees!

One of the best MK3 build threads I've followed for a while!

Cant wait seeing it with all the bits on

As if you dont have tuition fee's! Should have gone st Andrews or Aberdeen! Bugger.

All Scottish students don't pay tuition fees...kind of harsh because I am sure some of the English/foreign students in my classes are paying. No wonder you always hear on the BBC news about student debts, I can't imagine having to pay £1500+/year. We do/did (can't remember if they got rid of it yet) graduate endowment where you pay £2k at the end...that goes back into the system to pay the tuition fees for other students. Perhaps if we had to pay less wasters would go to uni, too many slack people getting in these days.

I finished uni with a full 15k of Student debt :lol:

Just land a decent job and it drops away rapidly though

3/4 of the way through lowering the car. Just the passenger side front to do. Thought I'd take some pictures of the progress...started on Monday....nightmare! Hopefully with the other side lowered the front as a whole will sit a little lower, little too high just now...looks wise. Should be fine performance wise as the arch gaps aren't silly small...after all the car will get used/abused heavily:

Edited 9 April, 200818 yr by Tav

looking mint, very good progress :)

Perfecto!

looks brillaint! remember mine was like that at first, didnt take long at all to settle

keep at it dude

Yeah it reeeeeally looks spot on. The more I walk around it or see it moving the more nostalgic I get.

Looking forward to more progress as time and money allows :)

Thoughts of suspension so far (H&R Cup Kit with standard + old everything else):

The 60/40 drop over 14x6J BBS looks great. Perfect amount of arch gap front and rear to be aesthetically pleasing. I will need to get some pictures up to show it off properly. It doesn't scrub at all which is excellent. I've had three in the car and no issues with tires making contact with things they shouldn't. It's a relief. Ground clearance has only proved to be an issue when entering and exiting my driveway, the exhaust taking a liking to the pavement.

The car likes to follow creases in the road. Particularly noticeable on busy stretches of city road where trucks have created tram lines in the tarmac. The steering wheel was putting up a little fight on the back roads tonight thanks to a far from perfect road surface. I think this is probably down to the 195 width tire? I can only imagine it being even worse on a bigger wheel + tire combination. A fine reason to avoid 15" wheels me thinks.

Ride is firm but still reasonably comfortable over all but the most severe bumps. The rattles of a Mk3 Polo interior never help, making each bump sound a little worse than it really is. Definitely much better than a budget PhilJ kit (obviously, we're talking more than double the price) and on a par with a friends Koni kit for comfort. There is still some roll in the body which is nice. I'm hoping as it beds in it looses some of the bouncy-ness. At this stage I'd def. be tempted to recommend the kit...will see how it stands up as I put some more miles on it.

Toyo T1-R's are scrubbing in well. Occasionally feel pushed too hard, but I haven't even covered 100 miles on them so that's to be expected.

Can't wait to fit the new G40 steering arms and track control arms to see how they improve the car as well as new rear beam bushes.

Suede steering wheels...not convinced its right for every day driving. I can't let it slide through my hands as I'd like...thinking of replacing it with an identical black leather trimmed wheel. Suede certainly feels good on the open road when your hands can be left at a quarter to three...feeding the wheel through residential streets requires a little more care than I can be bothered with.

Front brake disks are warped so hoping to fit the 256's if I can ever get pads sorted. Next week, fingers crossed.

Edited 6 April, 200818 yr by Tav

great colour mate so shiny too! and good to see ist goetting put through its paces

Looking superb Tav.

The tramling problem could be that the tracking is slightly toeing out. The sensible wheel width/offset you are using shouldn't create too many problems, even with the relatively wide tyre you have. (Personally, I wouldn't use anything wider than a 185 tyre on a Polo because of their low kerb weight). Get the tracking checked and set to zero/dead ahead. This may improve the feel and reduce the "fidgeting" you are experiencing.

Probably worth getting the new steering components fitted first though. Should really reap the benefits then.

Keep us posted Tav, and good luck.

We fitted a HnR kit to Demolovers mk2, and at first it bounced over the rutted roads so badly that it was nearly scary! However, a short time later it had settled a lot and the ride was briliant. Did you trim the bump stops down? We fitted new ones and cut an inch or so off iirc.

I think a bit of temporary castor correction (you do have G-laderseite ARB blocks don't you? I think you do...) would iron out the tramlining issues?

We fitted a HnR kit to Demolovers mk2, and at first it bounced over the rutted roads so badly that it was nearly scary! However, a short time later it had settled a lot and the ride was briliant. Did you trim the bump stops down? We fitted new ones and cut an inch or so off iirc.

I trimmed the rears down a little...was going to inspect it in the next week or so and cut down further as required. I didn't touch the front G40 bump stops...but again thought I might need to tickle these in future. Got to strike a balance between making sure the car doesn't hit them too often and making sure they stop the wheel from contacting the inside of the arch under large loads.

Looking superb Tav.

The tramling problem could be that the tracking is slightly toeing out. The sensible wheel width/offset you are using shouldn't create too many problems, even with the relatively wide tyre you have. (Personally, I wouldn't use anything wider than a 185 tyre on a Polo because of their low kerb weight). Get the tracking checked and set to zero/dead ahead. This may improve the feel and reduce the "fidgeting" you are experiencing.

Probably worth getting the new steering components fitted first though. Should really reap the benefits then.

Keep us posted Tav, and good luck.

I think some toe out could be the issue. I haven't had the tracking done yet (going to wait till I fit the new steering components in a couple of days. It's remarkably well behaved for a lowered car...drives in a straight line. Just the steering feel and eagerness to divert from course that suggests the geometry isn't spot on.

I considered 185/50 Yokohama A539's but with no assurance they would be around in future I picked the more common size, I figured its what I'd most likely be using in years to come. Will have to play with tire pressures to get the best from the tire....like you say the car doesn't weigh much so I think it could benefit from running a few PSI below the magic 30.

I think a bit of temporary castor correction (you do have G-laderseite ARB blocks don't you? I think you do...) would iron out the tramlining issues?

Sold my ARB blocks...saying that Bennett still has his. Might have to see if he's game for letting me try them out on the car for a week or two.

great colour mate so shiny too! and good to see ist goetting put through its paces

Amazing what upping the contrast in Photoshop can do. Car had been sat for about a month unwashed in the above photos....

Edited 6 April, 200818 yr by Tav

HnR kit FTW, def better than the cheaper Phil J kit, but worth the extra cash