[Vwdiesel] 81 Dasher sedan

[Brian and Ruth Decker]

                I have just got my 81 Dasher sedan back on the road. I
originally bought it as a fixer in about 2002. I put a rear glass in it, an
alternator etc. I gave it to my daughter and her husband. A couple of years
later they got divorced and she moved to Maryland. She gave me the car back.
Not long after I was running down the freeway towards Portland OR in the wee
hours of the morning when It started to lose power. I then noticed a lot of
smoke following me. I  got the car trailer and took it home and parked it.
Just one more fried 1.6 N/A diesel.  A couple of years after that when gas
got to 4 bucks or so a guy wanted to buy it. I didn't have a good 1.6 N/A
diesel engine laying around but I did have a good one in an 81 Rabbit
pickup. I have been planning to put a 1.5 turbo engine in the pickup anyway
so I pulled the 1.6 and we put it in the Dasher. By the time we got it
almost ready the guy backed out so I just left it set. This week I went and
bought plates for it and started driving it. It is sweet ( something nice
about a 30 year old car in decent shape with no rust) but the Dasher 4 speed
is so short geared that I know I will fry this engine on the freeway if I
don't do something. Tomorrow a mechanic type friend who owes me a few favors
is going to pull a long legged 4 speed from an 88 VW Fox parts car. In a
couple of days it will be in the Dasher. It will have almost as tall a gear
in 4th as my 81 Dasher Station wagon has in 5th with its VW Quantum 5 speed.
The Dasher wagon with the 5 speed will run all day at 70 mph without a
whimper. It just means that its 1.6 N/A diesel engine gets about 47mpg
instead of 50. If the Dasher Sedan with its tall 4 speed turns out as good
as I think it will the wife and I will be leaving in it in a couple of weeks
on a trip to Maryland.

Brian Decker

Western Washington