[Vwdiesel] Clutch Calamity & Burnin' Bunny

[W. Kennedy]

Greetings!

My 81 rabbit is having intermittent clutch trouble.  Starting last week, when I (engage?  disengage?) release the clutch, nothing happens.  It's as though the cable is not connected to the pedal, or the lever that actuates the disc isn't doing its job.  Twice now, I've shifted into first gear from a stop, and released the pedal only to have no friction whatsoever.

I adjusted the pedal freeplay to 1/8" - 1/4", and that helped the resistance of the pedal (which changes from soft and sloppy to solidly springy) and let me shift enough for a test drive.  I noticed that the point where the trans engages is not smooth like it was.  I thought that may have done the trick, but this morning it let go after chattering when I started out in 1st - two separate times.  It hadn't done that before today.  Also, the times when I release the pedal to start moving forward and it doesn't grab, the spring resistance on the pedal is much stiffer and regular through the range of travel.  When it's actually grabbing, it's not at all smooth, and the pedal resistance is much lighter.

I'm about certain that it's going to need clutch repair at this point, and it's still overheating after changing the thermostat and flushing the coolant.  That leads me (among other things, like (seemingly) heavy blowby at the rear of the head, to some abnormally rough valvetrain noise) to believe that it might be time to pull the head and check for cracks, and perhaps rebuild it.  

Any recommendations as to what the clutch ills might be?  How about a reputable water-cooled VW shop in Tampa?  Until recently, I was an air-cooled St. Petersburg citizen.

Anecdote:
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Two weeks ago, I was heading out to run some errands.  I pulled around the corner from my house, and smelled *heavy* electrical smoke coming from the front of the car.  I pulled over to see ribbons of white smoke coming from under the hood.  I lifted the hood, and *MY BATTERY WAS BURNING*!!  The corner under the POS terminal was melted, on fire, and leaking battery juices.  One of the supports for the hood insulation had shorted across the hot terminal and set the battery on fire, and along with it, the oily insulation.    Luckily, I was outside a restaurant where I know some people, and I went in to borrow a fire extinguisher, since splashing the insulation with water did no good.  My pal came out with the extinguisher and it did its job.  The entire engine compartment was now dusted with yellow powder, but the fire appeared to be out.  I made sure it was out, closed the hood, and walked away to let it cool and ponder the situation.  I went back an hour or too later, cranked
  it up, and drove home.  I have pictures, if anyone's interested.

I'm curious if this is a well-known occurance, or if I've purchased a cursed bunny.  It's the car I've hunted for, but it seems to be plagued.
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itomato
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