UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hiya,

As a prevoius owner of numerous vauxhalls I am indeed new to VW. I was wondering if anyone can help? I have an M reg 1 litre Polo parada/parade? and want to fit the g40 engine into it. I understand that it is a straight forward job, but was concerned about the steering, suspension, brakes, exhaust. I understand that I would need to fit anti-roll bars are these easy to fit? I intent to fit strut braces to try and tighten things up.

Or is this project to difficult considering the scarsity of parts?

Any advice given would be much appreciated.

Apexsyle

If you want to take it to G40 spec you'll need a GT/G40 rear axle which has a built in anti roll bar, and a G40 brake setup (vented front discs). I think the GT/G40 steering rack is different too.. dampened or something?
The G40 exhaust is bigger, so you'll want to get that changed, and also the standard G40 suspension is slightly lowed, about -25mm I think, but both of those could be done with aftermarket parts if you struggled to find the G40 items. The project shouldn't be too difficult, the hardest part is going to be obtaining a G40 engine, but they do pop up from time to time if you check ebay and the club websites.

You don't NEED the rear axle, it's a good idea - but it doesn't make a massive difference to the car's handling. G40 brakes are definately a good idea, though obviously it'll still work on the standard brakes - but not recommended (I left stock ones on for two weeks after converting my car, the discs weren't pretty...).

The steering rack is the same, but GT and G40 models got an additional bolt-on damper unit. You might find one secondhand, though they are available new for reasonable money. Definately worth fitting though, as it helps with the torque steer.

If you've got a stock exhaust on the car at the moment, the G40 downpipe will mount straight on to the rest of the system - but not really advisable to run a G40 on such a restrictive exhaust!