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Just got this b3 wagon...

15K views 114 replies 18 participants last post by  sin bar 
#1 · (Edited)
Just to confuse you all. :D

a 91, in many ways just like dan's,
but uniquely mine.

It started when I decided i was "done" with the diesel mk2. It only needed bodywork and some motorwork, and it would have been done for real. but too much for me to work for anymore, and the money to satisfaction ratio was no longer in my favor.

A local friend of mine has always wanted a four door mk2, and a b3 passat has been on my wishlist since 2000, when i got to drive one around cortona, italy. I haven't forgotten that car, and it's got me here today.



My goal is an OEM+/- theme, with a few motorsport inspired touches. It may also serve as a hillclimb support vehicle/road trip monster, which probably means a roofrack. ooOOoo

It needs a fresh motor, the headgasket is done, and may have warped both the head and done damage to the block. Rather than screw around, i'm planning on grabbing a known good motor locally, and replacing all seals and suspect parts with fresh ones, and maybe throw an upgrade or two at it while i'm in there. I'd like a full clean and paint will also happen, although color options are still way up in the air.

The suspension is also mostly toast, but will be getting a full oem+ upgrade with r32 bushings, fresh everything, and a good refinishing wherever possible. My "old" weitec coils from the blue golf will come with me to this car, so a lowering will be forthwith, as well. I expect at the very least to be with a rebuilt motor and a lowered car by late December. :D wheels will come in February or so, also with a fresh look.
Today, i hit the centercaps that were yellowed and paint flaked with some "oem wheel silver" to make myself look slightly more presentable on the way around, at least from ten feet. :laugh:

tl;dr here's the damn car





here's the old thread for my golf:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3813730-it-s-at-its-new-home.&p=47891297&viewfull=1

i'm gonna miss that one.

to little things, and new beginnings!
 
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#63 · (Edited)
yeah, that's probably for the best...

here's a minor update:
for my birthday weekend, my buddy jesse took me up to his work to refinish some control arms dan sent me for the cash i sent him. :p
as it turns out, the bushings in them that looked like they were good were actually torn a significant amount, so i replaced the rears with the r32/tt variants and just good ol' stock front bushings.
i got to use the big sandblaster (just behind the arms there):


which turned the cruddy junkyard parts to this:


jesse pressed in the new bushings:



threw it in the paint booth and primered them up:




and ended up with this!



they'll go on when the suspension comes back through, hopefully soon. the old diesel i had is about to let go of it's bottom end (gross), so maybe while it's down the suspension can get swapped around...

meanwhile, i sent the head to the machine shop, where it was immediately obvious that all of my exhaust valves were bent. guh. so i'm adding 100 bucks or so to the tab on that.

i really enjoy refinishing parts, i'll probably redo some brakes and do s/s lines when that comes along, and the intake manifolds and valve cover will get some love later on down the line, too.
anyone have some spares they are willing to let go of real cheap? like ten bucks cheap? i'll send you my old ones when i swap on the refinished ones! :D brakes too!

i can't thank jesse enough for the help, he also dropped the head off for me as it's right around the corner from his work. they built up his vr head somethin' fierce, too, so i know they do good work. wooooo!
 
#73 ·
got one out of two control arms in yesterday,
thought i had a wrong part...
turns out i'm just not very good at control arms.

other one will go in when i have some time,
perhaps tomorrow evening
or afternoon, if work is slow.

while i was under there, i saw that basically the whole suspension is toast.
so tie rods, tie rod ends, ball joints, and at least one axle,
in addition to the suspension i hope to replace with my old coilovers one day.


my poor sad car
oof.
 
#77 ·
FINALLY got the damn control arm in with a little persuasion to locate the rear bolt. couple taps with a hammer, then viola, which is slightly larger than a violin.

however, while tightening up the ol' swaybar endlinks, i snapped off the threading with some overzealousness. good thing i have backups, but no backup nuts. Nuts.

picking up the motor this weekend, figuring out where to store it now.
researching everything needed to swap over the digi2 stuff from the motor in it now.


anyone want some autotech cams, header, and euro intake? let's say, 400 ish?
 
#78 ·
Nice work on the B3 estate

I am looking for a B3 US spec rear license plate tub for a euro spec if you want to straight swap ?


I believe they are rare over in the USofA


E mail if you are interested ;)
 
#81 ·
things is happening!

paid for the motor, but i'm not going to pick it up until i get back from a work/trip to california in about 11 days or so, but i will immediately strip valuable, easy to reach parts and sell them to fund better parts for the car. :)

almost have all the registration kinks worked out, so that's nice.
some little details will be coming soon,
and i think i worked out a deal to replace some tired parts with better same parts. woooo!

progress is coming, the passion is back, i'm in it now!
 
#84 · (Edited)
well, the motor swap was fun.

not really.

filthy old motor out, new motor in, got it 95% running,
but i wired the alternator back funny. wasn't charging right, died driving towards my home.
went back to check the wiring, but i broke the wire terminals off of the old starter. ugh.


took me about twenty hours total to swap the motor, including removing the old motor, swapping over the p.o.'s o2o clutch and flywheel setup (lightened!), swapped the header for a dual downpipe setup, reinstalling the motor, and wiring/coolant hosing it back together. the only hiccup was plugging the injector wiring harness into the coolant sensor housing on the side of the block. fixed that real quick, and it runs like a champ.

to sum up, it's at a shop getting the starter replaced and the alternator wiring figured out (possible bad alternator, not sure. the original alternator was broken into three pieces).

the euro intake and header are off, so that will go up for sale shortly. i'll probably just keep the "fast" cams in the car unless someone wants to swap out the cams for me. i'll take 100 bucks off the price if they do that for me lol.
 
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