[Vwdiesel] Nice to be back on the road

[Bryan Belman]

 Nice story Steve.  I COMMEND you on your massive efforts.  Be sure to get the leak fixed that allows the water to drip on the fuse panel ASAP or even more work will be in store for you.
 
Maybe post some pictures of the beast, we love pictures no matter how ugly. 
 

 
Bryan Belman, Pt. Pleasant, NJ
04 Jetta Wagon TDI PD, 100hp, 5sp -- running :<)
92 Jetta 1.6 Eco-Turbo Diesel, 5sp -- running :<)
82 Diesel Westy 1.9NA -- running :<)
70 Type 1 stock Elm Green Beetle -- Under Restoration :-)

From: steve boser <greenerwheels at gmail.com>
To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com 
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 4:03 AM
Subject: [Vwdiesel] Nice to be back on the road

Howdy all
I thought I'd share an experience that I'm currently going thru that might
help others considering getting an older car back on the road.
I've got a 1981 VW Rabbit diesel that about 5 years ago, I took off the
road because of what I considered more suspension work than I thought was
worth the time and money to do. I kept the car stored outside but started
it about once every other month, kept the battery charged and even
occasionally washed the moss off it.
Well 3 months ago I decided I was tired of driving my full sized pickup and
thought I would invest a little money and sweat equality and get her put
back on the road.
The cars been licensed and back on the road for a couple of months and has
offered a few challenges. First off about a year before I parked it, I
rebuilt the motor and installed a brand new Bosch fuel injection pump so I
was confident I was starting with solid bones.
a couple of days on the road I remembered why I parked it, the front end
sounded like it was going to rattle itself to death. but before I had a
chance to change the struts, I noticed my turn signals stopped working,
checked and replaced a couple of bad bulbs that came apart in my hand when
I went to remove them........ I then changed all the outside bulbs as a
precautionary measure, still no turn signals, I removed the flasher and it
looked fine, but when I pulled the cover off it, it was completely rusted,
replaced that one, next day it rained and the flashers stopped working,
opened new flasher and blew out about an ounce of water, let it dry
reinstalled and it was fine. Need to find and fix an abundance of leaky
seals
Next bought a set of Gabriel Ultra inserts and top bearing plates, still
felt and sounded like crap, took it over to a local shop and gave them a
list of various work I did and asked them to check my work, so for $20
bucks and 2 hours they found I didn't tighten the passenger side strut nut
and it had backed out a couple of threads allowing the cartridge to slop
around inside the strut, now front feels and sounds better. Next while
under the car I noticed the half shaft boots were torn and decided to
replace the half shafts, still need to replace the passenger side boot on
the steering rack, it is also torn, ball joint seals aren't so good those
will need to be replaced.
Next I replaced the rear struts.
I had some over sized 185/70/14" on the car on some American eagle rims,
they looked wrong on the car and the over sized tires made for a 7mph error
on my speedo, oh yeah somewhere during the first week or so, the odometer
stopped working, the gear split, disassembled the speedo, drilling out the
nylon gear and super glued in back in place, works again.
I took an old set of Tarantula alloys to the tire shop and had them take
the old tires off and I brought them home and wire brushed and sandblasted
them, then I sprayed the rims with Hammertone paint and let them dry for a
week, brought them to the tire shop and had them mount a set of 175/70/13
Falken 828's
Oh but wait, there's more, on my way back from across town, I stopped at an
estate sale in a pricy neighborhood thinking there might be some goodies to
be had, nope nada nothing. I go to start the car and all I get is a click
click, dang here I am in a place where the gardeners helpers are driving
nicer cars than mine and I'm stuck, well as luck would have it, all I had
to do was push the car about 25 feet to a really steep decline and by the
time I was half way down the hill I popped the clutch and drove her
directly home, checked the battery and charging system, everything was
good, tried to jump the starter with a screw driver nothing, pulled the
starter and removed the brush cover to find the brush holders were badly
corroded and bent, called around for a new starter. While waiting for the
starter, I decided now would be a good time to check belts and hoses,
removing the top hose was really easy as the plastic on the radiator
housing literally came apart in my hands, well good thing this was Friday
because I now have to drive across town again and buy a new radiator. Other
than a few misc. parts and pieces I think that's all I have had to do so
far, I'm figuring an alternator and water pump are soon in my future and a
new headliner, I'm into the a little less than $900 (and lots of work) to
get it back on the road at the moment, but the effort is being rewarded
knowing that the mileage I get in my car is almost as good as the Prius
that I park next to at work everyday and costs a 20th as much
Anyway I'm sorry for being so long winded, but I thought this might be
something for others to consider when trying to bring an old car back from
a period of long storage.

Thanks
Steve

1981 Rabbit diesel
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