Author Topic: G40 Lupo  (Read 15604 times)

Offline gameoner

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G40 Lupo
« on: February 03, 2013, 12:59:23 pm »
hi everyone my names Ryan, i own a G40 engined Lupo  ;D



the car was originally a 1.4 Sport, after buying it around 3years ago i quickly noticed an engine issue as the rear was permanently covered in oil. hoped it was the stem seals but turned out to be a piston ring. didn't want to sell it for peanuts or rip anyone off, so i thought about a replacement engine. everyone said go 1.8T, but i've got a mk4 golf 1.8T plus i always wanted a G40. so i bought an engine off of edition 38 and lined up a mechanic who had done the conversion in a polo to fit it. for reasons i still am unsure of that all fell through and the car lasted another year before the engine finally pooped itself. shortly after, the tax, mot and insurance were all almost up and i was sitting on a broken car, a foreign engine, nowhere to keep it and nowhere near 5k to pay a company to fit it. I was out of options and randomly contacted this guy who normally does VR6 conversions based in Scotland called Dougie. So we sorted a deal and i asked my little brother if he'd let me tow him in the lupo from london to scotland.  ::) so after the headlock he agreed  :o checked both cars over loaded and strapped the engine in the back of the lupo and headed north! little brothers!?  :-*




Dougie had the car for a bit, worked his magic and last November, i flew up to scotland with the mrs to collect the car.  ;D



its not 100% few flat spots, think its timing related and my dash is a little erratic and I've got a weird brake light issue where the brakes are always on. I've taken it to a few mechanics but none have done a lot yet. Dougie says its running both ecu's as he couldn't get the Lupo clocks to read the signal from the engine, so if the dash cant be sorted I've been advised to look at going with standalone management. I also need to book a trip to longlife as its ridiculously loud, due to it only having a backbox. lol. this will be an ongoing project and I'm guessing a steep and possibly expensive learning curve. I currently don't know too much about the engine, it came with a stack of receipts and stuff but thats about it. It came out of a bogey green mk1 golf, I know its been serviced regularly, the charger was last done at jabba, its had a toothed belt conversion, i'm unsure on the estimated power or pulley size and whether or not the ecus been chipped. a mate thinks it has a rpm rev limit chip, and is a stage 2 g-lader but i'll hopefully find out in due time. I've got a few plans and a garage full of parts but my main concern is getting it set up and running right first.



oh and I'm lead to believe that this MIGHT be the first G40 engined Lupo, found a few arosa's on the continent but no Lupo's as of yet. I'm here to ask for help and learn from the best possible people to ask, G40 enthusiasts. Ryan

Offline youngprodigys

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2013, 07:57:14 pm »
The engine is from my mates old G40 mk1 golf.
Looks good - really dont understand why it is running 2 ecus for the clocks to work - its a W reg so pre Canbus - unless it is an early canbus in which the rev counter needs the ECU or a tach adapter - swapping to pre canbus dials will sort that out! and obviously a rewire of the harness- i suggest a plug in loom would be easier than chopping it up.
I run a TT dash with my G40 so i know it can be done!
Standalone management is a lot of cost for whats going on and can easily and cheaply be rectified

Do you know if he tried to wire the Tacho to the coil? it should be off the ECU if that was his mistake

Offline SamG40

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2013, 12:32:31 pm »
Sorry but is that a rope in that picture? If so you towed on a rope all the way from london to Scotland?! Fair play, thats pretty mental.

G40 in a lupo is something Pete on here has been banging on about doing for years. Welcome to the forum.

Offline gameoner

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2013, 02:33:22 pm »
@ SamG40 rope :o no mate, its a 3part static tow pole. it was 440+ miles, and i'm not totally crazy. oh and thanks for the welcome
@ youngprodigys  iirc the guy with the mk1 golf was called Mark? & pm coming your way.

Offline randombadger69

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2013, 10:49:54 pm »
Props on towing it all the way to scotland with a bar. You will owe your little brother big time no-doubt.

Hows the clutch in the Golf doing after that escapade?

I recently had the joy of being towed (read dragged) back to my workshop in my mk1 Golf in the snow and ice. Horrible not being in control especially when your car becomes a sledge due to it grounding out on frozen snow in the centre of the road.

At least you had the reigns to both of your cars so to speak.

Good effort. Out of interest have you weighed it with the G40 motor in it?

Offline gameoner

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2013, 03:19:11 pm »
@randombadger69; its not something i wish to attempt again, left london around 4pm, didn't reach scotland until maybe 2:30am? on the way we hit, rain, snow, hail.. i foolishly thought the lupo's battery would be fine with the sidelights on for the duration of the journey, the battery lasted until maybe birmingham, before it went pitch black behind me and i was almost pulled off the motorway. i think as the battery went completely dead, the power steering cut out and it caught my lil bro off guard. pulled in at the services and told him to keep it in 5th as i figured the alternator would keep the battery topped up and it worked.  ???
The golf is still on the same clutch? cars now covered 146/7k
and no i haven't weighed it, its driving like a bit of a pig if im honest. really need it looking at first, think i may have found someone  :) will weigh it once its sorted, how would i go about it? go to my local skip?

Offline GR40

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2013, 02:05:15 am »
Any updates on this project!? I am very interested in it as I am planing on doing the same thing soon with my Eatoned G40 engine and either an Arosa or Lupo shell.

Offline gameoner

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #7 on: April 19, 2013, 06:54:43 am »
No major updates, my mrs was ill so she's been my main focus. A friend forum member had offered his help but with my mrs plus the pants weather we we've been having I didn't manage to take the car. I've changed the leads, plugs and oil. Also stolen the front recaros out of my mk4 golf and ground the bases down to get them into the lupo. If today stays dry will have a fiddle under the hood, think my exhaust needs knocking back together also.

Offline GR40

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #8 on: June 09, 2013, 11:57:19 am »
I have a question! What Gearbox are u using with the engine!? I am starting my project soon and I am really baffled about it as I am not sure if the G40 gearbox can be mounted or if I have to find a replacement one to be fitted with my engine! I have read that a 1.4 gearbox is too short!

Offline gameoner

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #9 on: July 19, 2013, 07:37:00 pm »
GR40 I dont know what car you're putting the engine into? but mine is running the standard G40 box, i got told the ratios on the Lupo box would be too short. 3rd gear is so long ;D. Cars currently with a vag specialist in guildford, thinks i may need a G40 fuel pump. i've seen the ones on ebay and fuelpumpsonline.co.uk. has anyone had any experience with sytec or pierberg pumps?

Offline GR40

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2013, 11:10:38 am »
I am gonna swap everything from my G40 into a Lupo/Arosa so I was curious if everything would fit, like the gearbox and the driveshafts. I am trying to think ahead with these things cause I want the car ready as soon as possible when I find a decent priced chassis to buy!
« Last Edit: July 20, 2013, 11:14:14 am by GR40 »

Offline gameoner

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #11 on: July 21, 2013, 01:48:05 pm »
Yeah the G40 box fits, I'll try and get a pic once the cars back. I noticed the drivers side driveshaft sits 5or10mm shorter than the passengers side, I've used a spacer to get it to sit right. Getting the newer clocks to show the correct speed and revs is becoming a pain. My lupo was DBW so i used a polo 6N pedal box. And you'll need to make a mount in the drivers side chasis leg for the lower mount. There's another G40 lupo not long been finished, think her names Chloe, she's asked me a few questions on facebook

Offline GR40

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #12 on: July 21, 2013, 02:38:33 pm »
I really like the idea that there are more people out there going down this path. Everyone I have told that I am going to swap a G40 engine into a Lupo is giving me an akward look! Even a couple of tuning shops that have heard my story, turned my project down before they even got to meet me (my friends talk a lot)! I have found a couple of threads on how they used to swap the G40 engines in 6n Polos so more or less I know what needs to be done in the engine bay! Stil there are some grey areas (ex. driveshafts) so every hint I can get before I start my project is greatly appreciated as its gonna save me a lot of time and frustration.

Offline GR40

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #13 on: October 29, 2013, 10:04:55 pm »
Bump! Any updates?

Offline olethalb

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Re: G40 Lupo
« Reply #14 on: April 24, 2014, 01:54:37 pm »
i'm the original mechanic who fell through for reasons we shall not disclose (mainly having nowhere to do it) but there should be my thread on clubpolo from where i converted my polo 6n2 gti to g40 and is closer to a lupo than the 6n i also converted to g40 engine