PoloDriver

Robert Templeton and Jack Eddy are planning to drive a 1988 Polo hatchback ‘breadvan’ from London to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.The ‘Mongol Marauders’ (as Templeon and Eddy will be known) are just one of around 400 teams who will complete the mammoth 10,000-mile Mongol Rally 2014 for charity.

It won’t be easy. The car is 25 years old for a start (how does that happen – the Mk 2 Polo first appeared 31 years ago), no stop-offs are planned, and no approved routes are given by the organisers. To make its just a bit more of a challenge, Templeton and Eddy are planning to drive back to Blighty, too.

The Mongol Marauders’ chosen charities are Help for Heroes and Cool Earth. If you would like to sponsor the pair and their Polo, donate to their causes, email themongolmarauders@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/mongolmarauders. Follow the duo on Twitter, too: @mongolmarauders. The Mongol Rally 2014 starts on 20 July, and the finish line ‘opens’ for competitors on 9 August.

GAZ has released a height-adjustable suspension kit for the 1990-1994 Polo G40 (we presume that the kit is also suitable for earlier pre-facelift Mk 2 cars). Suitable for ‘fast road’ and track use, the GAZ damper units allow damping adjustment while in situ, courtesy of easily-accessible adjuster knobs. Ride height can be adjusted by -25 to +65mm. The coilovers are provided for all four corners of the car, but donor front struts are required as axle components are reconditions and then transferred to the new kit.

The units boast a coarse acme form thread, and each one is plated in black zinc to minimise corrosion. High-quality springs are also included, and rates can be altered on request to suit customers requirements. Chrome silicone springs are also available as an option. Before leaving the factory, all units are individually tested and are covered by a 2-year warranty. The recommended retail price for the GAZ GHA coilover kit is £723.45 plus VAT. Visit the GAZ website for more detailed information.

Volkswagen Classic entered a 1990 Polo G40 at the recent running of the Auto Zeitung Youngtimer Classic 2013 car rally. Once again the event – the fourth – started and ended in Frankfurt, and was open to cars built from 1969 to 1993. Around 100 classics took the roads around the city, completing a timed 280km course. Volkswagen Classic usually sends cars to the event from its ‘rolling museum’ and this year sent a pristine Polo G40 (we think the same car used to launch the Polo GTI in the UK in 2010), as well as a 60bhp 1989 Golf and a Golf Limited-powered, 210bhp Corrado G60 from the same year. The 1990-1994 Polo G40 developed 112bhp from its supercharged 1.3-litre engine, and posted a 0-62mph time of 8.2 seconds. Another G40 and a 1978 Audi 50 (Mk 1 Polo) driven by Audi Tradition also took part on the event.

After a lengthy absence, PoloDriver.com contributor Simon Kimber updates us on the story of his 1991 Polo GT Coupé. This time he reports on his ongoing replacement suspension track control arms saga

Regular readers may recall that sometime ago I had the front track control arms on my 1991 Polo GT coupé replaced for a pair of TAS adjustable ones at C&R Enterprises. Now these arms are starting to show their age, with creaks coming from the original-type ball joints.

After much searching and with a few enquiries to companies such as Eibach at GTI International, I am seeking a little assistance and guidance to build my own as my search for replacements proved fruitless. I have been able to find gas pipe that will be plenty strong enough from a contact at Red 9 Design, who assures me it is of the required strength. The plan is to buy a pair of new arms from one of the many aftermarket suppliers, as VW are running down supplies of track arms – if I were to buy directly from my local retailer they would cost about £70 each, although there is only one single arm available with no possibility of obtaining a pair if I wanted to. And not at £140 a pair if I could anyway.

The aftermarket track arms are far cheaper, somewhere in the region of better than half price. Superspares Balham High Road suggested I go to Stockwell Motor Accessories, who said they can order a pair of TRW arms at the suggested price of £31 each. They arrived one Saturday back in August, and on comparing the new arms with the adjustable arms still fitted, they appear to be around 7mm longer. I have emailed TRW to find out if the specifications have been altered and what kind of settings I could possibly end up with once they are fitted.

When I stripped the front suspension and compared the relative lengths of the track arms, the new and unmodified arms from TRW were only 3mm longer in the crucial area between the inner mounting bush and the anti-roll bar locater outboard. This actually meant no modification was deemed necessary – I would assume to be in the region of 10’N from the original settings using the arms fitted so long ago by C&R Enterprises. I am guessing that TRW may have adjusted the design to suit the Camber specs to somewhere in the middle of 10’+ +/- 30′, which leaves me a little bit miffed by not being able to brew my own special pair of arms.

The C&R replacements have lasted well, though, as they have been subjected to regular trackday use in addition to everyday driving over the past 11 years and 90,000 miles. Their condition wasn’t brilliant, but then I have owned this 21 year-old car for a very long time and am pretty aware of what alarming noises early Polo suspension can make and what each little creak and crackle actually means. So, overall I am very satisfied with the replacements.

Volkswagen Classic Parts is currently offering a promotion on selected Polo 86 and 86C parts, with price reductions on chosen lines. Running until 18 December, the selected parts will fit all Polos with type numbers 86 and 86C (Mk 1 and Mk 2 cars – and their facelifted variants – produced from 1975 to 1994). We’ve also been contacted by Andy Gregory of VW Heritage in the UK, who says that the company is the UK partner for Volkswagen Classic Parts, and has access to 40,000 lines, many of which are now obsolete. While full listings for Polos are unavailable, Andy and his team can search by part number to check availability. This facility is also available on VW Heritage’s website – click here to look up your part request.