PoloDriver

After the recent months’ snow and an appearance in the March 2010 issue of Volkswagen Driver magazine, Rich Gooding’s Polo GT Coupé is now parked indoors and undercover – temporarily at least…

The biggest thing that’s happened to L307 JTM since my last report is that it’s now taking shelter from the weather in a borrowed indoor parking space not far from home. And while it will have to be moved, blinking into the great outdoors once more, it might not happen for a few weeks yet. Why indoors? The reason is simple – the water leak in the passenger footwell would have had time to dry out, or at least that’s what I’m hoping. Then it’s off to find somewhere that will water test the car, sourcing the leak once and for all.

In other news, fresh from last month’s minor DIY service, I looked back at some old parts receipts. It turns out the spark plugs were only changed 8,000 miles ago in 2008. Yes, that’s right, the Polo’s had only 8,000 miles roll under its wheels in two years. That was news to me (pleasant, I think) and was a much shorter distance than I’d thought. That figure might increase slightly this year, as I intend to attend more shows once the season gets underway, but then again, being effectively laid up for the last three weeks, maybe not…

Costs this month: £0

Just to prove that they are still around, here’s a 1991 Polo GT Coupé that we saw for sale on eBay today. It’s black, done 98,000 miles, has the optional factory-fitted sunroof and alloy wheels (which you don’t see often and are in fact also fitted to the 1980s Polo Coupé Ss) and, unbelievably, has had just two careful owners. With that registration plate, we think it could either be an ex-Volkswagen UK press or fleet car, too. Want a tidy piece of Polo history? Bidding ends here on 13 March.

EDIT: When the end of the auction was announced, the car sold for £620.00, attracting a total of seven bids.

Monthly UK title Volkswagen Driver features the 1990-1994 Polo Coupé GT as the star of its model profile section in its March 2010 issue. With five detailed pages devoted to the spritely small Volkswagen, the magazine looks back at the Coupé GTs life with period Volkswagen photographs and ‘anorak’-type panels covering the colour and trims available as well as a full technical specification. The page of owners’ opinions also features two of PoloDriver’s long-termers, with Simon Kimber and Rich Gooding explaining why the sometimes overlooked GT appeals to them.

Grab a copy of the March 2010 issue of Volkswagen Driver from all good newsagents (find your nearest stockist here), or contact Autometrix Publications on 01525 750500.

Last month, Rich Gooding’s Polo GT Coupé passed its MoT, but only just. This month, there’s been more tinkering and a much-needed part-service

I hadn’t realised I’d neglected the car for so long. It was only when I thought about things and asked myself when the last service was, that it dawned on me that 2006 was probably the last time when a basic tinkering took place. And although only 13,000 miles ago, that’s far too long, especially for a 16 year-old car. It might have been later than that of course, but I neither had anywhere to work on it or have kept the service book up to date since then.

So last weekend, I set about rectifying the neglect. A basic part-service with easily-changeable items was the order of the day and a quick trip to our local branch of German Swedish and French yielded a set of new spark plugs, a new set of ignition leads and a new air filter. The journey was an insight in itself; the car was spluttering all over the place and almost stalled at two junctions. It felt more like a carburettor-engined car than a fuel-injected one, and brought back memories of driving my earlier Series 2 Polos.

The feeling was almost that of a misfire, something which I’ve experienced a lot this last winter. Damp conditions don’t make for smooth running at the moment, and even the inside of the car complains with iced-up windows, no doubt due to perishing seals. Opening the bonnet and taking the old ignition leads off diagnosed the problem. Some of the tips were oxidised and although not too bad a degree, the cloudy green ends that were once copper were no doubt the cause.

The plugs were much healthier and – according to the Haynes manual – signified that the 160,000-mile engine was in good order, the ends covered with a slight brown tint. The air filter wasn’t bad either; so much so I’ve kept it for now. All in all though, it’s amazing what results refreshing the most basic items can make. The car now feels transformed and is much, much smoother and no longer complains about the damp mornings or evenings. Only the heated rear window connector, front foglight bracket and passenger footwell leak to sort out before the summer…

Watch out for a basic service workshop feature coming soon.

Costs this month: £41.15 (ignition lead set £24.50; set of Bosch WR6DC+ sparkplugs £10.40; air filter £6.25)

(All parts prices are subject to VAT.)

Simon Kimber’s last update on his 1991 Polo GT Coupé concerned suspension surgery, where the car’s tired old Weitec dampers finally gave up like the proverbial ghost and had to be replaced. How have the new replacements been?

A few thousand miles have now passed under the wheels and I think it’s safe to say that the Konis which now occupy the Weitec’s previous homes in the wheel arches are pretty good considering they were the only option available. The performance is progressive and neither overdamped or too soft.

This set-up actually suits what is being asked of the car day to day, whether it be speed humps (of which I encounter many during a week’s driving) or having to deal with the snow and ice we all experienced a few weeks ago. That’s the GT, there, on the right nearest the camera in the picture above.

I don’t know about you, but I find that I treat the snow and ice as my own personal playground and there are certainly benefits to having an nineteen year-old Polo. One of those is that there is no room for airbags or ABS/traction control electrickery and the car will actually pull away in third gear without any complaint.

Not having all this modern-day wizardry is actually more of an incentive to stay on the slippery stuff, as even ABS can be made to look a bit of a fool sometimes and not even ESP is completely immune from the odd Bambi moment! Long may the bodywork of your Polo be undamaged in this weather and may the traffic always be behind you and not in front…

Costs this month: £0