I just got another Mk1.....

[Michael Bee]

Chris..... this is very very important.

When you went for a drive in your cool-ass Mk1..... Did. You. bringyourbeard?

[MickR]

Nice Chris! Hope to see this car soon, compare intact stock engine bits

[Chris16vRocco]

Chris..... this is very very important.

When you went for a drive in your cool-ass Mk1..... Did. You. bringyourbeard?

Yes Mike. Don't you fear, my beard is always here.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

[crazyaboutrocs]

I assume you will be attending this:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/m...134239007.html

[Chris16vRocco]

Oh damn, I might need to go to that.

[punchbug]

I drove it today!!!

The roads in the immediate vicinity of my house don't appear to have much salt on them, so I topped up the coolant, checked the auto trans fluid, and took it for a quick spin around town, culminating in a tankful of gas.

Wow those wheels look good on anything! The car looks fabulous!

[punchbug]

I assume you will be attending this:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/m...134239007.html

Oh hell, if there is bacon, *I* will glue a stache on!

[roccodingo]

Glad you managed a spin in the chariot Chris

On a side note, my alternator / water pump has sounded like that for about the last 8 years on my colibri daily driver...all still works fine..

[Chris16vRocco]

Yeah, so I haven't kept up on updating this thread in a while.

Recently, I've changed the timing belt and tensioner and relayed the headlights. No pics of those processes, actually.

I also bought some ST coilovers, and installed them yesterday after work. Looks pretty good, methinks.

[petebee]

Yes Chris, this looks good.

[ziggirocco]

Looking good, wish I had one!

[Jacob Matthew]

Love it man. I think the wheels look awesome.

[canexrabbit]

Yaay rocking the aeronautics

[Chris16vRocco]

Thanks guys!

[Chris16vRocco]

Quick update:

The fuel gauge hasn't been working for quite some time, and the speedometer cable is broken, so refueling intervals are sort of a shot in the dark. As a result, I ran out of gas a little over a month ago. Since then, it had an issue where after about 30 minutes of driving the engine would start cutting out, sputtering, and generally running like ****. Ultimately, the fuel pump died, so I replaced that. It was a bit better, but not completely better. I pulled the sending unit out of the tank, and found that the inside of the tank was well coated with rust from the 18 years of inactivity. This caused the car to not make the trip to Cincy (my first and last time in a Kia).

I discovered while at work that the strainer that sits inside the tank, though discontinued by VW nearly a decade ago, is still available in a couple of VW warehouses in North America. I ordered some, with the intention of improving the running situation on the cheap (the strainers retail at around $7.50) for the time being, so I can drive the car to a few shows etc this summer before replacing the tank when I have more time.

I put the strainer in on Friday afternoon, and took the car on a 45 minute drive with no issues whatsoever. Problem solved for now, it seems. Yesterday I was preparing for the Cult Classic show in Coopersburg, PA. I installed a radio that works (I had tried the one out of my old black 16v burn victim, but it wouldn't work properly), changed the spark plug wires (one of the boots disintegrated, and they don't fit very tightly on the plugs), and installed the duckbill I bought a couple of years ago.

Last night at 11pm, I was about to drive the car home when the ignition switch decided not to work anymore. It had been a bit flaky, requiring a jiggle of the key to start cranking on occasion. The car started fine at first, but it stalled when I was backing up, and it wouldn't crank anymore after that. So it was incapacitated for Cult Classic as well.

Hopefully once I change that switch, nothing else will break last minute before Mk1 Madness.

[petebee]

Oh the joys of 30 year old cars! Bit by bit you'll solve all of the issues