Old Polo's are too slow.

[Petrina Polo]

I wish you well with your project, Im just trying to play devils advocate.

Add the realistic cost of the project against selling the car and buying a Mk4 GTi...

Surely VW dont build cars which require new gearboxes every 2 years. How must you drive the car? A new rebuild should outlast the life of that car.

Ive done a few rebuilds of cars, I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy. Cost, time, headaches and for questionable gains. Remember the tried and true saying "you play, you pay" What if you get an engine and gearbox combo with its own problems (burning oil, leaks, needs a rebuild etc etc) $$$$$

Just my opinion, I wish you (and you have my support) well how ever you decide to go.

[noone]

I'd be interested in someones estimate as to the cost of this project.

$500 for the engine

$2000 for the install / custom works?

Allways hard to compromise between the car that you want and the changes vs cost that it will bring it up to speed (or handling )

[Petrina Polo]

the thread title is "old polos are too slow, so is it about the gearbox? or old Polos being too slow (ie power)?

Dont dream of paying $500 for a motor and expect it to be brand new, your guaranteed of a rebuild being required. As he said he does 40,000km per year, so he wants a quality motor to keep him going. So add another $2000 at least.

It will cost you WAY WAY more than you think, maybe more than the whole car is worth. No good getting rid of one trouble to jump in the saucepan of another trouble and make it exponentially worse.

Im just trying to give practical advice, your choice, your cash. I wish you well.

[SoVeReIgN]

I still think leave the original motor and gearbox. If its not powerful enough, sell it and buy another car. There will be too much heartache and money to get the car with an extra couple of kw.

I drove a Hyundai Getz 1.4 and 1.6 back to back. One had 60kw and the other 76kw and a bit more torque. Could hardly tell the difference. You will spend all that time and money for no significant difference.

Extractors for the win on the stock motor.

If you just need more power, For the mucking about sell it chuck some money on top (that you would spend for the motor/gearbox and conversion) and walk away with a Mk4 Gti. They are going cheap now.

As for fuel economy, 1.6,1.8 or even 1.8T, they are still frugal, rememebr most people out there are driving big 6s and V8's. They would scoff at you if you talked about fuel economy being excessive in a small car like ours.

I'm not sure I understand your point, you say you couldn't tell the difference between 60 and 76kw (16kw gain) and then suggest he gets some extrators, which would maybe make 2kw?

I've driven a 1.3 and 1.5 Yaris and they are worlds apart.

[Grant]

getting an upgraded gearbox + upgraded engine for the price of a regular gearbox seems like a no brainer.

[jasn78]

I think everyone is misunderstanding what petrina is trying to say, all he is saying that unless Loon has said this is a straight swap and that no hassles will arise from it. That there could be problems arise from the swap, also he is just trying to say that maybe the money for such a swap which if you include an engine restoration would be better spent else where, these are just his and mine opinions on this neither of us are saying he is crazy etc cause we all know what its like once you get the mod bug. (Mind you I had one a 6N and wouldnt waste a cent doing anything to it)

[Petrina Polo]

I'm not sure I understand your point, you say you couldn't tell the difference between 60 and 76kw (16kw gain) and then suggest he gets some extrators, which would maybe make 2kw?

I've driven a 1.3 and 1.5 Yaris and they are worlds apart.

I couldnt tell the difference between the 1.4 and 1.6 motor in the getz. maybe there was a little difference but not really worth the $2000-3000 they want for it. It wasnt a big difference.

I just said extractors as they might give you a little more low end torque which will make it feel a little more powerful. A set of extractors would be much cheaper than overhauling a motor and gearbox if he wants it to go a bit better.

[Petrina Polo]

getting an upgraded gearbox + upgraded engine for the price of a regular gearbox seems like a no brainer.

It appears to be a no brainer but I highly doubt its the same price. thats my point. Its not fair to compare a brand new or reconditioned gearbox he could get against an old motor and old gearbox combo. Even if they are the same price.

A new gearbox > old motor and gearbox combo in my eyes.

[Jarred]

but he has to reco the gearbox already!

he wants to upgrade to a stronger gearbox, and wants to take advantage of doing a gearbox to get some noticable power increases as well.

I'd go a 1.8 over the 2.0, just because they're a little bit revier, and reasonably simple [& reliable]

Don't listen to the nay sayers. go for it!

[Petrina Polo]

Im thinking about it solely from the money side.. It doesnt compute with me as viable.

But if you dont care about losing money but want a more punchy polo go for it. Keep us all in the loop how you go. Interested to hear your afterthoughts.

[Gravey]

why not put this argument to rest speed_racer and tell us the figures! Cost, k's on the 1.8, etc.

Over a couple of years it could very well work out more economical.

he says he'll be able to do a lot of the work himself, even some re-engineerng takes place, so if labour is minimal and the 1.8 is good, who's to say it wont be worthwhile?

[Jarred]

Im thinking about it solely from the money side.. It doesnt compute with me as viable.

But if you dont care about losing money but want a more punchy polo go for it. Keep us all in the loop how you go. Interested to hear your afterthoughts.

if you want to save money, then don't buy a car at all! Cars cost money. end of story.

[Petrina Polo]

Ok, we have a difference of opinion. We could argue all night about this but I wont, I hope what I said made some sence to some.

[sports racer]

To replace the gearbox with a reconditioned one will cost me $1600. Matt has a 2nd hand one for $1250 with 62,000 km on it. He will sell me a 1.8 motor for $350, wiring loom for $200 and gearbox for $600. Please don't come back to me and say you can do a better deal, I'm more than happy with Matt's prices and professionalism and won't stuff him about by dealing with someone else. He's wanted to do this to a Polo for a long time and has thought about all the little hiccups that might get in the way. He thinks the swap is straightforward and can be done in a day, who am I to contradict him.

If there is a problem with adapting the gearbox to the Polo subframe Matt will take the Polo subframe and do a straight swap (at no cost) with a Golf one which will still fit the Polo and suit the Golf engine/gearbox perfectly. I'll probably do the swap at Matt's workshop because if there are any fiddly bits Matt should have them on hand. Yes this will add a few hundred dollars to the cost but at least I won't be 300 km away doing it myself and wondering how long will it take me to get a 47mm double overhead split-pin inverter to fit between the Polo chassis and the Golf gearbox.

My car has 188,000 k's on the clock so the motor I get from Matt will have less k's on it than my 1.6 and it will be much longer before I require a rebuild.

I live 90 km from work and do the drive 5 days a week. That's 900 km a week or 43,200 km a year if I take 4 weeks holiday (and don't drive the car during those 4 weeks). 43,200 km a year will easily kill a 2nd hand Polo gearbox in less than 2 years, a reconditioned gearbox in 3 years.

I need a new gearbox now. My gearbox makes a loud whining sound even when standing still with the engine idling and I can no longer use 5th gear because it jumps out every few km. It's weird but petrol economy is better running the car in 4th, probably because it isn't straining up the hills. With the extra torque of the 1.8 I should be able to leave the car in 5th which means less revs and maybe better economy. I don't care if the 1.8 uses a little bit more petrol, it still works out cheaper than buying a new gearbox every couple of years.

So, price wise I get a motor and gearbox that have done less than the ones currently in my Polo. I also get a stronger gearbox which was my original intent. The bonus is more power and torque which will come in handy when doing all those hills between home and work.

All at a price less than a reconditioned Polo gearbox and much less than selling my car (with a noisy gearbox) and buying something else.

To me that's a win/win situation.

Paul

[jasn78]

Well Paul that does sound like a win/win situation, myself and petrina werent trying to contradict you all we where doing was putting forward the points of what usually happens with engine swaps etc.

So i hope it works out for u mate