gearbox

[D4V1D]

hi, i have a 1987 1043cc polo and the gear box is knackerd, well, its that or the clutch. when i try to select 1st gear its, pretty hard to get it in and takes a few tries. am i looking at something simple like gearbox oil or is it something else like new gearbox or clutch? also, looking in the haynes manuel it points at where you can fill up the gearbox oil but doesnt acctually show you. could anyone explain where it is?
thanks for any help.
dave
oh yeah, (sorry ), has anyone modified the engine of their 1043cc? i know it wont be alot but i like the handling of the car and a bit more grunt would be nice. i have a weber carb to replace the pierburg but dont want to put it untill i can get some more parts, if any are availiable at least.
thanks

[optima21]

the gearbox filler is on the right hand side of the gearbox just in front of the bulkhead at the top of the gearbox housing. Its like a big grub screw and you need a 17mm allen key to undo it.

The engine on my mk2 1.043L with a weber 32TLA carb is basically bog standard, but I did manage to get a bit more grunt by using a bit more ignition advance, so the spark ignited the fuel a bit earlier. I did this by ajusting it a bit at a time driving up a steep hill. If you go to far it will make either a metalic knocking sound in which case you can do some serious engine damage, of may just be a little bit less powerful, in which case just back it off a tiny bit. Top end power is never going be much on a 1L polo, but with a bit more torque its much more pleasant to drive, but it still runs out of steam at about 4000 rpm.

I'm glad you like the handling as I prefer that of my mk2 to the handling of my Mk3 GT. The mk2 slides about a bit so you can feel what the cars doing through the steering, wheras the GT (while much faster) sticks to the road and the steering is completely dead, which is kinda boring