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Dubsport VR6 Lupo


LiamD
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Just curious..

Anyone got much knowledge of this car? Or anyone got any pics of the build of this car?

Very interested in how they fitted the engine into the bay and what modifications had to be done to the bay.

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Current owner has about 3 lupos, A GTI, A Non-GTI with a GTI Engine and the VR6 Lupo.

The car was originally built as a Joke/Mess around whilst the Dubsport workshop was a little quiet, shortly after they churned out the Mk4 VR6 Polo they'd built for a customer. It's Chassis number (believed to be 000006) was one of the first Lupo's off the production line (i.e.) one of the models which should have been Crushed! It started life as a Left hooker!

The car was built by Ian Birch (Dubsport's Creator) and Jeff Webb (Current owner of Pipewerx Exhausts). The car was a complete and utter frankenstien using a Mk3 8v Subframe, Mk2 Golf hub/drive shaft on one side and a Mk3 Golf Hub/Driveshaft on the other side!

Please note - A lot of this is from Memory. It'd been a while since I spoke to the Owner last and a while since I spoke to Jeff Webb about it.

Edited by nfbr
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Do it Liam ;)

It's not much of a secret I'm scrapping the Mk3 shell after the next rwyb :)

The car was built by Ian Birch (Dubsport's Creator) and Jeff Webb (Current owner of Pipewerx Exhausts). The car was a complete and utter frankenstien using a Mk3 8v Subframe, Mk2 Golf hub/drive shaft on one side and a Mk3 Golf Hub/Driveshaft on the other side!

Please note - A lot of this is from Memory. It'd been a while since I spoke to the Owner last and a while since I spoke to Jeff Webb about it.

That's EXACTLY the info I wanted to know. Thanks Al. I had a feeling it would use a Mk3 subframe. I'm guessing it doesn't run mk3 vr widetrack then.

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Hi Al, Yep been a while since we last spoke!

Me and my girlfriend have owned the dubsport vr6 lupo for about 3 years now.

What Al was saying about it being thrown together isn't half true, redrilled 5 stud discs, proper abs hub on one side and non abs with abs ring welded on the other, ball joints bolt holes had been redrilled etc Was a proper mix and match of mk2 and mk3 parts.

With regards to the subframe, it is a standard lupo subframe with vr6 rear engine and gearbox mounts welded on it, then there is a seperate cross brace which bolts between the front chassis legs that the front mount attaches to.

Engine bay space is a little tight so say the least, the engine belt pullies are less than 5 mm from the chassis leg and the other side has been modded to give room for the gearbox. Also the inner bonnet skin has to be removed and a part of the frame notched so as not to hit the inlet manifold. Obviously few other bits like slam panel needs trimming etc

It does like to eat front wheel bearings for fun though, thats partly to do with the wide wheels and the spacers it runs and also because the driveshafts are a bit too short. One shaft is a mk3 vr6 and the other is a cut and shut job. BUT the combination of mk3 ball joints and mk2 hubs ment the track was a bit too wide for the driveshafts so if you gave it full throttle with full lock round a bend it would pop the shaft/cv!!!

In fact it's actually been off the road for the last year getting rebuilt with all new lupo gti hubs/ wishbones, ball joints etc. engines had a once over, vibratechnic mounts fitted etc engine bay's just been painted so will be putting it all back together soon.

LiamD if you need any info or help send me a pm

Thanks Adam

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Hi Al, Yep been a while since we last spoke!

Me and my girlfriend have owned the dubsport vr6 lupo for about 3 years now.

What Al was saying about it being thrown together isn't half true, redrilled 5 stud discs, proper abs hub on one side and non abs with abs ring welded on the other, ball joints bolt holes had been redrilled etc Was a proper mix and match of mk2 and mk3 parts.

With regards to the subframe, it is a standard lupo subframe with vr6 rear engine and gearbox mounts welded on it, then there is a seperate cross brace which bolts between the front chassis legs that the front mount attaches to.

Engine bay space is a little tight so say the least, the engine belt pullies are less than 5 mm from the chassis leg and the other side has been modded to give room for the gearbox. Also the inner bonnet skin has to be removed and a part of the frame notched so as not to hit the inlet manifold. Obviously few other bits like slam panel needs trimming etc

It does like to eat front wheel bearings for fun though, thats partly to do with the wide wheels and the spacers it runs and also because the driveshafts are a bit too short. One shaft is a mk3 vr6 and the other is a cut and shut job. BUT the combination of mk3 ball joints and mk2 hubs ment the track was a bit too wide for the driveshafts so if you gave it full throttle with full lock round a bend it would pop the shaft/cv!!!

In fact it's actually been off the road for the last year getting rebuilt with all new lupo gti hubs/ wishbones, ball joints etc. engines had a once over, vibratechnic mounts fitted etc engine bay's just been painted so will be putting it all back together soon.

LiamD if you need any info or help send me a pm

Thanks Adam

Wow thanks for that, thanks for taking the time to reply. :)

I must admit it wasn't a conversion I was thinking of doing, I was more just interested in how it was done, and how many Mk3 parts it used. Looking now, and seeing as I have a full car sat here, it would be as a ridiculous thought as what I first thought!

I do have a source for reasonably priced (and very tough, no failures so far!) custom driveshafts if that's any help? They're about 400 a pair... :) My friends had some made for a 20vT Lupo recently.

Last question... and one we all want to know... is it fast? :P

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Do it Liam, man up and put the VR in a lupo, if you do as I suggested earlier, it could be rather more cost effective than just chucking a lupo and a VR and the two andy's.

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It's fun to say the least!

Only problem is the handling is a bit pendulum like with all that weight at the front, my gti engined lupo s can run rings around it on the bends.

It doesn't help that the engine is angled quite far forward to get the box & driveshafts to line up.

One advantage though is that traction is excellent with the added weight up front, hardly any wheelspin even on a full drag style launch.

Basically, I'd say if you want something to destroy most things this side of a 911 on the straights this is for you, if you want to go round bends on 3 wheels a 1.8T or tuned gti engine would be a better bet.

BUT just the sound of it makes it all worth while! :P

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Why? :confused: They only weigh a little bit more than the AVY engine.

Yes I was wondering why as well?? As far as handling goes mine isn't too bad at all not really too disimilar to how she was before. And correct it doesn't weigh all tht much more if I'm correct?

Sam

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