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Resurrection of the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

53K views 715 replies 65 participants last post by  R-Dubya 
#1 ·
Some of you might know me, some of you probably don't. I've been a dubber of sorts since I was born. First car I remember was my parent's 1979 VW Dasher wagon. Dad (US Army) cooked the stock motor on the autobahn while we were stationed in Germany circa 1981-ish and swapped in a euro spec Rabbit GTI motor from a junkyard.

Fast forward 30 years and 10 VW's later. I've owned other cars, but always end up back in a VW.

It's been a few years since I sold my 1991 Golf VR6. I always told myself I'd get another, but it would be something that I didn't have to drive everyday. I didn't want to have a project car that also served as a daily. I've got a little experience with brokeswagons, some with turbo stuff, and a bit with fabrication.

Which leads me to this project. Some folks probably know this car...back when it was red and later on when the OG owner decided to take it to the next level. Hopefully I can do the car some justice and get it back on the road better than it ever was.

Enough with the talk; on to the shenanigans! (sorry for the ishty cell phone pics)


Danger Ranger dub hauler deluxe


new home holding down the pavement


lots of wires


some disassembly of the engine and the shaved bay


potential


more potential
 
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#510 ·
Suede is an awesome way to go for sure, I just couldn't justify the cost right now; especially considering the rest of the interior at some point could stand to be redone (it's not bad, but it's not great either).

I ran it some more today after work. Smoke is practically non-existent. It was an absolutely gorgeous day so I decided to drive it around the block. Considering it still needs a lot of assembly, it runs and drives very well. Also gave me an opportunity to clean the garage floor under where this car has been sitting for the past 9 months.

Done for the day. Have to take it easy for a little while I undergo some treatment and crap on my neck which was injured years ago in an auto accident followed up by even more years of working on cars, and the past few as an electrician. My head is hardly ever straight up looking forward, so the natural correct curvature has actually been reversed and is currently 9 degrees forward instead of 35 degrees back. Thank goodness I've got a good chiropractor ;)



 
#518 ·
When I drove it last week, I noticed a misfire. Cylinder 3 no spark. Tested the wire and found a bad connection at the GM coil plug. Shame I wasn't the original purchaser of the NGP plug wires or I would have pursued their lifetime warranty. Instead grabbed a set from Four Seasons IIRC. Drove around the block again, boost on all 6 cylinders is fun. Now I just nead to put the inside all together and get ready for emissions.
 
#524 ·
Made some ramps to make getting into and out of the driveway a hassle free affair. While letting it idle some, I noticed more damn oil smoke. Pulled apart the turbo and found a mess. Best I can tell it's coming from the turbo. Going to send it in to Turbonetics and cross my fingers. Installed the new wideband, but it didn't include the effing switch and LED that the instructions said to connect for calibration (which the aforementioned instructions said were included), going to have to contact Innovate and see WTF is going on. Cleaned up the wiring a little behind the knee bar/dash. Found the vapor barrier plastic needs to be replaced behind the door panels, in addition I need to getting the rest of the windows working (and power mirrors which also do not work as of yet).

Yet another weekend of one step forward, two steps back.




 
#529 ·
There is a shop in COS with a pretty good turn around time. When I sent mine to them, two of the bolts broke off in the exhaust flange, and they told me it'd be cheaper to buy a new turbo, since 5 bolt flanges were not common anymore.


Forgot the name - hit up greggearhead - I am sure he will know who I am talking about
 
#532 ·
Yep. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right. Besides, no way in hell would it pass emissions blowing smoke.

I'm going to ship the turbo to Precision Turbo upon the recommendation of a good friend and coworker who knows a thing or two about turbos (Bill Willoughby, formerly of PFI Speed who ran a 10.63 at 135 at Bandimere with a street legal 1992 Civic hatch turbo in 2004).

I disassembled it today and took a look at the guts. There was a bit of oil coke buildup behind the hot side wheel shroud. I cleaned it up a bit. Also looked at the compressor side, and saw a little scoring where the thrust collar was rubbing against the back plate. Hopefully neither of those things prevent it from being rebuildable.
 
#537 ·
Don't let yourself get overwhelmed. One task at a time...maybe two. Keep the end result in mind, but don't rush it, you'll only regret cutting corners. I am by my own admittance an impatient person. This project has been a valuable lesson to me on many occasions. It will get done, but never in as little time as you think. Things will go wrong 2 times out of 3, but don't let it get to you. Stay persistent; however if you get frustrated or burned out, STOP. Take a day or three off. Come back to it later. You'll be happier in the end. Besides, that's what this is all about right? FUN?!?
 
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