I'm Koen, Koen IJff, I'm driving in a Polo G40,
because we're doing the MOT for Klokje Rond today.
It's very important to us to know if the car is in good shape, because me and my wife Wilma have to rely on the car.
I use the car to drive to different workplaces, because I am a truck driver and I work from different places.
My wife is a doctor, and she needs the car in the weekends or on night shifts.
I expect the MOT-tester will find some things which I'm not aware of.
I'm hoping I can fix them myself. I think there's something wrong with the suspension.
The springs, the damping... I think it's rattling a little.
Other than that? I don't think this car has got many faults, to be honest.
Especially if you consider its 23-year lifespan. Also, it's already done more than 500.000 kilometres.
Today we're featuring a special car in Klokje Rond. A Polo G40 which has done 500.000 kilometres.
It really is a very special car. It's got a 1.3-litre engine producing 113 horsepower I think.
It was quite quick, and that has remained after all these years.
The rest of the technique however, seems to have abandoned the car a few hundred thousand kilometres back.
It really is a lemon, to be completely honest.
Even though I like them, I don't really get excited about this one.
Except for the engine sound and performance, that is.
It does bring a smile to your face.
The real Klokje Rond-fans might remember the Polo G40 from Koen IJff.
A few years ago, he visited with his Polo as well.
The car then had done around 420- 430.000 kilometres. Recently, it hit 500.000 and Koen sent us an email if we wanted to see it again,
so we replied: we would love to!
The G40 does have a lot of power. 113 horsepower from a 1.3-litre was a lot for its time.
That's because of the G-lader, a kind of mechanical turbo.
It makes sure the air in the engine, gets in under pressure.
A 1.3-litre engine can suck up to 1.3-litres of air.
With that goes a certain amount of fuel, and that leads to a certain amount of power.
When the air gets injected under pressure, you can fit 2.6-litres of air instead of 1.3-litres.
That also means you can use the fuel you need for 2.6-litres of air.
With a G-lader you get more air, more fuel and more bang.
That's why you can get that much power out of a small little engine, just with a compressor.
In contrast to a turbo, which is powered by exhaust fumes,
a compressor or a G-lader is powered by the engine itself. That's done by V-belts.
To move such amounts of air and pressure it into the engine, you need a lot of force.
So it's an intensively used part in the engine. The V-belts therefore, which power it, need to be very tight,
otherwise they'll slip. In this case, the belts are way to soft.
That means it won't be able to give its full power.
The owner has installed some upgrades aswell, albeit from another era.
For example, it now has a spaghetti manifold.
That makes sure the exhaust fumes get released easier.
That directly gives the car more power.
The spark plug cables have been replaced with bigger ones, manufactured by Magnecor, which a few of you may know.
The distribute the electricity easier and lose less current when forwarded to the plugs. That means they produce a better spark which translates into more power.
Also, it's got an upgraded fuel pressure regulator, presumably for a bigger fuel supply.
I don't really get how it's been installed like it is, because it doesn't achieve its full potential.
The underside of the Polo is covered in a muddy, dark brown substance. Also known as Dinitrol.
It's a very good conservation method.
The only downside to it, is that if you have to adjust some things under here,
you'll be covered in Dinitrol to your armpits, and it stays there for a week.
So yeah, it's great as a conservation method. To be honest, I don't really like it.
I do get why people use it, but it has made working on the car very annoying and it doesn't look very nice.
But then again, for the underside of the car it doesn't really matter.
What's nice to see however, is this rigidity upgrade.
The front chassis braces in these cars tend to succumb to the pressure. The chassis literally severs.
That isn't the case with this Polo, according to the owner.
That could have something to do with this reinforcement.
Right now we're looking at the rear brake line.
If you brake, the fluid moves from the pedal, to the wheels which move the brake parts.
The fluid flows through steel pipes, but the wheels move so there's a little line in them as well.
Those little lines move fluid as well, but they can dry out and a rupture will be inevitable.
Those little tears can't reach the inner circle of the line, just like with tires.
Little wires are incorporated in the little lines, and if you can see them through the tears, you won't get a MOT.
You can replace them before that though.
These lines are... Well, especially if I look for them... They're done.
They'll have to be replaced.
When you're driving you can hear a sort of clunking noise, when driving over a small bump.
That's about right.
The shocks under the car turn with the wheel when you steer, so on top of the shock is a bearing.
Normally, that's a bearing covered in rubber. In this Polo, it has been replaced with a Uniball-bearing.
It's got quite some slack, which produces that annoying sound.
You won't get denied a MOT, but it's not very good.
Hey Joep, I thought I'd be surprising you with quite a special car.
But there's a second Polo G40 in the garage, where did you get that?
Well, the second G40 is from a customer of ours. It's quite the treat for me.
It's a hobby car from the owner, and it's done 300.000 kilometres less than this one.
It only drives a few thousand kilometres a year, and it's really in mint condition.
They really spared no expenses, so you could say I'm a little prejudiced with this inspection.
I'm used to an almost flawless car, in contrast to a daily driver.
It has done 300.000 kilometres more, which is a car life more than the mint car.
So I was more critical than usual. I could hear more cracks, more squeaks, more loose things...
All of them are little things, but they give this car another feeling to it than the mint one.
So I'll have to set aside my prejudices, and if I look at what I've found in the form of flaws etc.
We can say that this Polo is in pretty good shape, not bad at all. Sure, it needs some tender love and care,
but considering its mileage, it isn't too bad at all.
I'm happy that the owner cherishes its 24-year old bomb.
You can say that.
I think if nothing strange happens, like accidents or anything,
it will be among us for a very long time.
The final verdict from the tester is that the car is in pretty good shape, considering its age and its mileage of over 500.000 kilometres.
He had to set aside some prejudices, but like I said; our Polo, which has done over 500.000 kilometres,
can keep going for quite some time. If nothing strange happens, that is.