Polo engine swap suggestions wanted

darkwolff27

Wrench Pro
Points
21
Location
fenwick scotland
Car
honda civic 1.4s
hay im gavin i have a 1.2 vw polo (1991) id like to do an engine swap (bigger engine) what is the biggest size i should aim for whithout doing much to change the overall layout of the car and what type of donor vehicle should i use?
 
Re: hay

hey and welcome.

G60 and 1.8t would be good swaps to get in.
not sure on the g60 but if you can get the 1.8t immobiliser de mobilised then it should be a relatively easy
 
Re: hay

g60 was golf
1.8t take your pick 150bhp to 240bhp standard depending on where you get it from - golfs,boras,polos (newer versions only), a3, s3, tt, seat leon, ibiza octavia

omitting A4 and passats due to them being mounted longitudinally rather than transverse.
 
Re: hay

depends on whos doing the refurb.
some will strip down the engine and put new rings, bearings etc in others seem to think that a powerwash of the exterior classes as a refurb.
some scrappys will give you the engines cheap if you pull them yourself. this is good if you can find some, lets say golf turbos mixed in with the leon curpra Rs so you can get the more powerful engines cheaper

you will need however engine loom and clocks as a starter
 
Re: hay

ok cool thanks i had a plan the plan is to build up the engine i want then drop it into the car rather than do what my friend did he dropped the engine in first then added the rest of the gear later what do you think is the best way to do it?
 
Re: hay

if youve got the time get the engine and rebuild and make it stronger. no poiunt putting it in ripping it out and them putting it back in again.

ie if you can get a decent 1.8t (doesnt matter what spec) and get a new turbo for it, fit new rings, stronger crank etc before fitting it youll save yourself hassle.
 
Re: hay

single turbo is easier to map and fit in the bay. there are road running 600bhp varients of the 1.8t going about. granted they have had quiet a bit of money spend on them
 
Re: hay

ok cool im not looking for anything thats at that sort of power not till i have more experiance on the roads but id like it to come out at 400 450hp at max for now
 
Re: hay

Hi Darkwolf and welcome to TorqueCars.

For a budget of around £3000 you can push a standard 1.8T to 300/350bhp any more than this and you are looking at around 3 times that amount. You'd also have a lot of traction issues to overcome with that sort of power going throught the front wheels.

Beleive me when I say 150-200bhp is sufficient in your car to have real fun without keep breaking down or risking killing yourself;)

Just dropping in a 1.8T will make a massive difference to your car so perhaps this should be phase 1 and then when you get bored with that you can drop a bit more money on mods.
 
Re: hay

ok cool i was thinking of turning it into a 4x4 to gain more grip with 2 limited slip diffs one front one rear and a transfer box but im unsureon how to go about doing this tho is it possible?
 
Re: hay

not going to be easy. basically youd need to cut the car in two. and weld in the floor from a 4motion golf or A3 quattro. rear beam with haldex unit (not heard of anyone actually keeping theirs pernament 4 wheel drive but only having the haldex engage when front wheel slip is detected) propshaft and gearbox with the transer on it - think some 1.9 diesels had 4motion otherwise your going to have to look to germany for the gearbox.

in reality even if you get a 2001-2003 1.8t then your have a 150bhp to start out with with the later turbo so a map alone and your looking closed to 210bhp in something that weighs about as much as a tuna can
 
Re: hay

i like that description yeah i see the point your makeing i was going to fit a roll cage in it cos theres no back seats carpets or door pannels thes just front seats and the dash its so light i dont need a jack to liftthe rear of the car you just grab the wheel arch
 
easiest swap is a 1.4 16v as thats a standard polo engine, comes with 100BHP as standard.
Then add a ported and polished head with larger exhaust valves, fast road cams, 4-2-1 manifold, full decat stainless system,lightened and balanced flywheel k&n panel filter in smoothed OE box, pair twin 40 carbs and the relevant ignition management and your looking 150bhp minimum, in a small light car like a polo thats more than enough believe me. A grand all in and you'll have a rather large smile on your face. then budget another £1k to seriously sort the handling/brakes. it will be nippy enough to see most things off the line, and will outcorner most cars too.

The amount of money you'd be looking at spending for a 450bhp 4wd polo is well in excess of £10K... seriously not worth it. you could buy an R32 for that money
 
HI buddy, was just looking at your post as i was looking at putting the 2.0l 8v engine in my polo from the golf mk3, but your post has got me interested in doing that, where can i get hold of twin carbs though,are they an easy install/setup? cheers
 
about this whole engine swap thing..

i own a 1.8 polo player(2002) and i speculate that the engine is set out very similar to a 1.8 Touran.
so would it be necesary to do an engine swap if all i want is a turbo on a similarly set out engine?

my only concern is that the touran engine would be built stronger than mine to be able to facilitate a turbo - a small one at that, no?

if thats the case id rather just overhaul to a 2.0 Gti with all the necessary replacements etc.

just need some advice on the matter?
thanks
 
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