April Fool? More like Fox Wagon Fool...

[novws]

You should have no shame about posting those under carriage pics. It's simply a reminder of the adversity you face due to extreme road salt.

[bluetoes591]

What he said. Makes me respect your insanity more, knowing how much time and love you give a car that I wouldn't bother to save.

[KRAMMIT]

Looking back...I think that was what Mark (my buddy who bought me the Silver Wagon) had in mind....he has watched Woody II deteriorate over the years...and intended Woodrow the Third to be a REPLACEMENT for Woody II.....even in the March prior to acquiring the Third.....I was driving by old VWs for sale; eyeing them up on a drive by....wondering, "What if I put a couple bucks into that one...?"

But then when he told me what he had done (bought the car); and after I spent a summer learning how to patch holes with fibreglass....I thought....if I can fix up this car; why not fix up the other one too...? I already own it....I am QUITE familiar with the cars' history.....and Woody II is an '87...!!! Which makes him ALL the more valuable.....because he is EXEMPT from any emissions test...!! I am NOT scrapping this car....why would I...? "We can rebuild him....better....Stronger....FASTER...!" (...and I Don't have Six Million dollars...man) One thing at a time....start with fixing the Swiss heritage....!!

The "birth" dates of my two wagons differ by only one month....but it figures...the month was August....traditionally the month when the production of NEXT years' models will begin.......Woody II born in 07/87.......Woody III born in 08/87 (because of this technicality; one is '87, the other '88)....both are non-catalyst, CIS, and would burn LEADED FUEL if I could find it any where.....in January of '09; Woody II had a fuel tank replaced (by my buddy Mark), I got a call...."I have good news and bad news......the good news is; your new tank is in, and you have a full tank of gas.......the BAD news is........three quarters of the tank......IS DIESEL FUEL...." "Really..?!? Swell...." One of the not-so-astute technicians, had drained a corolla that some wingnut FILLED with diesel fuel (had to get towed in!); then the tech neglected to drain the machine....Mark only removed a few litres from my car, so he just hit the fill button, knowing the machine would stop when it ran out of fuel to pump....only, Mark had no idea there was a hefty helping of diesel fuel in the Gas Guzzler....he said there was fuel spraying everywhere in the bay....bathed my car in stinky fuel....but....Woody II STARTED...!!! Ran a little rough in the cold temperatures...until it warmed up some.....likely due to octane starvation....BUT IT RAN....I burned through the tank as quickly as I could...topping up with premium fuel when there was some room in the tank........still running strong...!! I just found it hilarious that the brand new corolla gets gutted and flushed.....but the near vintage Volkswagen just wants something to WASH IT DOWN WITH...!!!

My apologies for the recollective tangent....but, that is one of countless stories that I have that endear me to this car......maybe this is ALL a complex manifestation of having seen "Herbie the Love Bug" (yeah, the ORIGINAL version...Dean Jones, Michelle Lee, and Buddy Hackett) one too many times when I was a kid....a blast from the past if you don't mind finely aged CHEESE....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6S1EvWcub4
I was a highly impressionable 3 year old (1969, when this movie was released), who LOVED the Drive-Ins....!!!

Thanks again for the words of recognition, understanding, and acknowledgement bluetoes591 and novws....it will be a LONG road to RUSToration as myboxyfox put it a few posts back....too many components have been replaced as of late to give up on it now..."in for a penny....in for a pound"...!!

Good to hear from you Martin...!! I will have to look into that next time I am wandering through the tool section in CT....how are things in 'the Park'...? I hope Old Man Winter is treating you and your Fox well...!

Thank you so much for saying Steve...!! You are quite right...!! The masses would rather PAY someone else (and PAY they do; working at a dealership, I hear ABSURD bottom lines...!!) to fix it for them (so they can break it again, maybe?), and not learn about the underlying causes of what they did to their car....to cause it to require automotive surgery.....LEARN....so you don't do it again.......I KNOW how I buggered the head gasket....but I am eager and willing to Learn how to FIX IT....perhaps when it gets warmer...I will go visit Woody I...and have a dry run....get familiar with the dismantling procedure on a car that has been sitting for almost ten years....then when it comes to removing fasteners on cars that have been in service....it should be easier.....not to mention if I mess something up....it won't matter, he's not going anywhere.......
Would you know off hand, Steve, what size tri-square bit is needed to remove the head bolts...? I know the 12 point bit for the drive axle flanges is 8 mm.....would the head bolts possibly be 10 mm tri-square...? If I can just get the bit that I need to use...I would rather not buy the whole set if I didn't have to....are these bolts widely used within the engine.....? Maybe the set would be a good idea in that case... There is a certain amount of 'calm' that you experience from knowing how to fix it; and be self-sufficient with respect to motoring....the world could use more calm.... Thanks again for the commendations on my efforts Steve, (I appreciate that...!!), it's NICE to be acknowledged....the more I do...the easier the work becomes.....

Warming up sounds necessary right now.....the wind is gusting to about 40 km/h (25 mph), and the outside temp has stalled around the -10 C (14F) mark....it's just below the freezing point in my garage (where I hang out to make all my posts), I have to put the beer in the fridge to KEEP it from freezing......I had intended to post some more pics tonight...but it's too cold to hang out here any longer.....until NEXT TIME.....

[bluetoes591]

Just to be clear (looks like you took it the right way, but one never knows), I mean insanity in the best possible way. I really appreciate the time you spend on your cars and especially the time you take to document all of your projects. It can be really helpful to see pictures sometimes. And lets face it, we're all a little nuts to still be running these old cars.

[KRAMMIT]

Quite right Milo...!!! We all must be a little touched to be running these cars...!! I am not Rich enough to be referred to as "eccentric", so insane will have to do...speaking of RICH enough....one of the Service Advisors at work, returned a Lotto Max ticket to find out he is an Instant Millionaire...!!!

http://www.citynews.ca/2013/01/25/to...ontent-preview

Couldn't happen to a Nicer Guy...!! (...except ME maybe...!!) He and his wife just had a child (8 month old girl), and he also just purchased a brand new Scion tC....BEFORE he won....must BE N I C E....!!! I bought a ticket for last Saturday just in case lightning wants to strike close, but not in the same spot....

Until that time arrives for me (if ever...!!), I have to keep repairing what I have, just to stay mobile....sometime around the beginning of December, (the second, I think), I wanted to swap out the handbrake lever from Woody II; and replace it with the lever from Woody I....(it was about 4 C; 38 F)


The lever that is in there doesn't retract all the way....sits up some times on its own....making the brake light on the dash come on intermittently....annoying..... I had retrieved the lever from Woody I on a previous treasure hunt...I think I also took the shifter box....(some time last summer, I remember breaking the something in the inside of the box in Woody III)....


Then I took a blade and extended the slices in the carpet a little more to allow easier access to the bolts on the base of the lever...


...here too...


...I think it was a 13 mm socket that I used to remove the bolts...


....this one plus two more...


...Now that the bolts were loose....time to jack it up in the air.....


...and cut the nylon ties that I put around the union to keep it from separating...the rod would fall away from the brake cable whenever it would like...(also annoying)...


...with the ties cut; and the nut removed...the assembly can now be withdrawn from the floor...


...a shot with out the flash....you can see through the hole to ground beneath...


...the one that I am removing looks to be in better condition on the outside....but; the one that I am installing just WORKS better...


...had to chase the threads on the bent rod a bit for ease of adjusting purposes later on...

...will have to do some thing about those worn threaded spots later...

...the older "new" brake lever to be installed...


....now it was just a matter of putting the bolts back...


...one here...


...one here...


....and the last one here...


.....I tightened them down gradually, diagonally opposing, the same way you would tighten road wheel lug bolts...then raised the lever to put he base plate back in place...


....it just makes it a little easier to put things back in place...


....put the screw back in....


....and the easy part is done....


....I still had to get back under the car and connect the actuator rod to the cable...then the adjusting process begins....two notches on the lever....then tighten the nut until BOTH wheels lock evenly....the EVENLY part is the nuisance, I have found....I always end up having one wheel lock more convincingly than the other....you just have to play around to get it to your liking.....

Next up...another transfer pump install...but that will have to wait...until NEXT TIME....

[KRAMMIT]

Hey there Guys....! It's been a while....things have been rather trying at work....new management....trying to BUY my respect....(not with wages either)...trying to micro-manage me out the door I think...needless to say I have been rather unsettled for the last couple weeks....

During this time...I have been losing coolant somewhere....I thought it might be going out the tailpipe with some oil (perhaps a head gasket leak), but the oil level is good....about a week ago...I finally noticed a puddle under the front end.....AHA...!!! Without getting down on the ground to actually inspect where the coolant was coming from; I assumed it was coming form the water pump....last weekend, after having to add another couple of litres of mixture to the coolant reservoir....I decided to actually have a good look this time....to see where the leak is.....the water pump and connecting hoses were BONE DRY....Woo Hoo....but then, my gaze shifted to the bottom of the radiator....to see a Dozen Green Drops....taking turns...as if it were a contest....to see who could make the biggest splash on the driveway below........but more on that later....

According to my pics (date stamp), I had some ambition on Dec. 2nd; after adjusting the parking brake....I decided to have a look at the transfer pump, which I have had suspicions of it having died already...I had received a package from GAP in the mail...


....excuse the blur...had the flash turned off...


There was the task of getting to the access plate....much easier in a Wagon....regardless of what is in the hatch....


I needed to visit my golf bag....


....for a couple of PLUGS....

....I use these to plug the hoses that go to and from the tank...

With the hatch emptied, the carpet rolled back, and the plate removed....I could get to the clamps...


....look at this corroded crap...


....the hoses were QUITE comfortable being stuck to the pipettes in the cap of the tank....when I tried to remove them.....apparently there was still a great deal of PRESSURE in the system.....there was less than half a tank of fuel, but when I tried to pry away the hose....all I got was a spurt of fuel instead of progress...I decided to tighten the clamps back up.....take a few more pics of the patient....and drive some more fuel out of the tank before attempting this again...

....how am I going to get that cap out of the tank...? Without it disintegrating, AND with there being enough of the cap to put back IN to the tank...


....my "X"ed screwdriver method will ONLY work if there is enough of a lip left to work WITH...


.....hmmmm.....what to do....what to do....


...can't even use the other two sets of pry points....too many delicate things in the way...


....this kind of resembles a coral reef if you zoom in on the pic...(probably just as fragile)....


...sad but true...all I could do....


...was tighten the clamps and put things back.....until NEXT TIME....

[QuantumSyncro]

The system will always have some pressure in it, it's designed to be that way. The pressure from the in tank pump shouldn't be that much though. The return line should not be pressurized though, and if the tank vent is working properly there shouldn't be any significant pressure inside the tank.

That sender looks like it's completely shot and so it really shouldn't fight you to come out, but it won't be usable to put back in...you'll need to find a replacement before you attempt to install a new pump...unfortunately.

I've had projects like this where I go to do something and then figure out that it's not gonna happen the way I want and I just have to walk away from it for now...

steve

[KRAMMIT]

Work has been very taxing as of late...the GTA has been getting some weekend snowfalls that have found the roads littered with STUCK vehicles....NOT the FOX though...!!! On the eighth of February, I shoveled snow for ten hours; seven at work before they sent us home, then three at my house...just to dig my way IN...it must have snowed for about 27 consecutive hours....leaving about 20"...!! JOY...!!!

Quite Right Steve...! Walking away is sometimes necessary for progress....I am finding now, that as I LEARN more form you guys, I am having to make two attempts at fixing things; the first is more of a reconnaissance mission to see what I'm up against....see what's broken/missing....begin the parts availability/acquirability process....and hope I was thorough enough during mission one to make mission two a success....

While I was mulling over, the problem of removing the sending unit from the tank; I decided that I absolutely wanted to have a rear wiper this winter....it hadn't been working for the last few years....I wanted to find out why, and fix it...I had removed the wiper arm (since it wasn't working anyway), and just replaced the nut to protect the threads on the spindle some time ago.....it appears that I was also a bit sloppy with the fibre glass resin that I was playing around with....


....after a bit of scoring with a blade, and a little chiseling with a screwdriver, I was able to make not too much of a mess, and get the retaining nut and the support bushing removed from the outside......the rear hatch panel with some after market fasteners twisted into open spots....I had also previously double taped some magnetic strips around the edges to help if the fasteners failed...


....with the panel off, the motor is exposed, and easily removed by undoing a few fasteners...

(like the maroon hatch on my white wagon...?)

...only four slotted screws to remove the backing plate from the motor...


....easy to see where the travel occurs.....


...I think the reason why the wiper wasn't working properly, was because the spindle had seized within the housing of the motor....I removed a couple parts within the mechanism to allow the shaft to be pushed through the housing in an effort to free up the spindle...


...some force was required to persuade the shaft to come free, a few taps from the mallet allowed some 3-in-1 oil to be able to seep in here to marinate for a while....


...at this point....I still wasn't completely sure that the problem wasn't electrical...but at least I knew the mechanical end of things was ready to go...


...before replacing the four screws to hold the business back together....I redistributed the gooey grease on the gear and screwshaft within the motor before putting the plate back on....there was a pic...but it was horribly out of focus and not worth posting...with my regreased motor in hand....back out to the hatch....putting it in was easy to do....next I had to satisfy my curiosity about the electrical connections...I am pretty sure the connections for the wiper motor run through the cable coming from the left hinge....


...the shabby tape job of years ago got a refreshing after I confirmed that the electrical connections were intact....I zip tied the new wrap to the hinge to keep it from chafing...the right side connections looked to be undisturbed, so I left them as they were...


...after testing the wiper motor....it worked...!!! SWEET...!!! I put the arm back on and now enjoy using it whenever possible..!!! I also figured out a way to reinforce the edges of the sender unit cap...but...that will have to wait until.....NEXT TIME....

[KRAMMIT]

I am enjoying the use of my rear wiper again...!! I seem to utter a Tim Allen-like, "...Aurr-Aurr-Aurr...!!!" every time I use it...we have had a worthy amount of snow this season to make it extremely useful...of course, I pick fantastic weather opportunities to make my repairs....it was early December, and starting to snow....(...and yes, I have since repositioned the arm...)


....my Fox grew an orange tail....


...had to clear out the backseat enough to fold it forward; relocate a couple of items, and pull the carpet back, to get to the access plate...


...looks like I already unplugged the sender in the above photo...but before I was able to take the next pic in the process.....there was a good FORTY MINUTE period of tapping/hammering/chiseling....and of course...the uttering of some "magic words" which inevitably seem to release the component in question......I managed to get the rusty mess free...


....disconnect the old....unpack the new...


...this is what remains (I'm guessing) of some, nearly twenty-six year old paint...


...if you zoom in on the lower right quadrant of the opening of the tank...you can see evidence of my struggle to remove it....(also, probably the third gas tank in this wagon too...!)


....the edges of the opening look to be in good condition....that's good news....


...and the inside of the tank also looks to be in good shape....pretty damn low on fuel...a couple of sediments....but no leaks....ALSO GOOD NEWS.....


...during my extraction effort...I kinda bent the lip on the edge of the cap....


...perhaps THIS is provides a better visual explanation....you can see that it looks ready to peel off like a pencil shaving....more sturdy than that; but, repeated chiseling would be a bad idea...


...so that's why I thought THIS STUFF would be a good idea....I have used it before...several, highly ODD ways to use it....why not here too...?!?


But first, I had to clean up the site of its intended use...I used my Dremel and a few brushes...it doesn't look fantastic, but, better than it was...and clean enough to put the putty on...


...you may be wondering why I didn't remove any of the paint on the pipettes....two reasons....first, the Dremel provided limited access in that confined a space....and second, I didn't want to create any more work for myself by finding/creating a hole on either of the pipes....the putty could patch the hole, but, again, that would be more work...


...this stuff is like Plumbers' Epoxy...you just cut off how ever much you need...then start kneading it in your hands for a minute or so...the two different coloured putties will blend into a different hue between the two....that's when you have a few minutes to put it in place before it hardens....my application didn't require much putty, but, I needed four pieces for what I had in mind...


....while the putty was still malleable...I pressed a screwdriver into each of the faces where the edge of the cap would be, making sure to keep the blade of the screwdriver perpendicular to the cap edge....I also pressed the putty enough that I could feel the edge of the cap coming into contact with the back of the blade of the screwdriver...


...and the same for the reinforcements on the other side...


...a schpritz of some rubberized rust reformer/inhibitor....


....also quite fast drying...


...having this extra support where needed will make it easier to remove the sending unit in the future....whereas in the past, up until now...it was always something that I dreaded; due to its' extremely, delicate/fragile nature....a slip of the screwdriver could mean a massive set back....now, the screwdriver is less likely to slip...


....the other side...


....connect the new transfer pump assembly....


....and of course, better not forget to plug in the electrical connector....'cuz that would SUCK to put everything back in the tank...to realize that the electrical connection...isn't....


....with a little spray of some silicone lube on the o-ring and the surrounding area...the assembly locked into place beautifully AND easily....there was no slipping of screwdrivers during the installation....hoses and wiring plug back in place.....


....it was nice to work on the inside of the car for a change....


....instead of being "on the outside looking in"....


...while putting the access plate back in place...I noticed that the bracket/rivet gig was kinda sloppy....it was too late to mess about any further.....I was DONE...so, I decided to stick a fork in it....to make it official....


.....on the 23rd of December, I mashed a big pile of TURD.....and a also a tail lens....while doing some last minute Xmas shopping....but, that will have to wait...until NEXT TIME....

[myboxyfox]

Cool! So, fuel problem solved?

And you really did put a fork in it~ nice touch!

[KRAMMIT]

Yes myboxyfox...more of a preventative measure though...I remember there being a LOT of pushing last time this went in the Silver Wagon....pushing in snow is not so.....possible....so I decided to take it out before it became a problem....the old pump had a very low hum to it, when bench tested....perhaps not even as convincing as an aquarium pump....certainly not the WHIRR that it is supposed to be.....given the amount of RALLYING that I have been doing when it snows heavily...I know it was a good idea......

[KRAMMIT]

.....wow.....it's been a while guys....after reading this one....perhaps you might see my reluctance to put this out there............and I took pics............so it happened.........

In an attempt to keep things in a chronological sequence of events.....I find myself having to go back to pics that I took LAST YEAR....granted...nobody wants to be reminded of Xmas in the month of April....but, that's when this 'fecaliasco' took place.......December 23rd.....during some last minute shopping shenanigans......while rounding third, on my self-imposed list of things to do.....suddenly, draining my bladder, ROCKETS to the top of the list.....

Being the festive season, OF COURSE, I had been drinking to excess.....(for those of you who haven't met me, I don't really do much of that...UNLESS...it's to excess).....so finding a suitable venue (Quickly!) became of paramount importance.....I was close to Wacky Wings; who have a wonderfully appointed dumpster area; on the surrounding, grassy boulevard of the rear parking lot.....in my HASTE to keep from imitating an over-pressured sprinkler head; I was NOT taking very close notice of where I was placing my feet on the way to relief.....

THREE STEPS BEFORE BLADDER BLEEDING BLISS..........it happens.......(NO!!! I didn't piss myself...!!!).....I stepped in a pile (not small) of TURD.........soooooper........my right foot....so, the potential to soil TWO pedals........

I spent a number of minutes with some blue nitrile gloves & a stick, cleaning the bulk of what I could, out of the treads of my Kodiaks......after what I deemed enough to be good to touch the pedals; I got in, and started heading home along Dundas St.; I quickly remembered the coin-op car wash that is on the way home......sure....I'll pay three bucks to blast this KRAP off my Kodiaks.....

Trust me.....it SMELLED a lot worse than it looks....


....my $3 saviour....(or so I thought)


.....but....as things go in my life.....it wasn't going to be that straight forward........a previous patron had left a can of engine de-greaser.....I hadn't checked....was it empty...? Nope....half full...!! Nice....!!


Why not...? Let's use it....popped the hood....shook and sprayed to my desire....

...done.......still some left for next patron......perhaps things are looking up......







Ha- HAAA....!!! (Phil Ken Sebben ; Harvey Birdman Atty. at Law ref.) .....FOAM ON FOAM......!!! When I squeezed the trigger.....SUDS started gushing out of the nozzle when I had it set to RINSE......regardless of what setting.....FOAM.....are you *&^%$#@! kidding me......SERIOUSLY...?!?!?.......fine.......

I proceeded to 'rinse' my engine; and entire car with the gushing foam....after all.....the damn thing already had my three bucks.......so, after the cycle had ended.....my hood is raised; with the motor covered in engine de-greaser and foam; the windows, mirrors, etc. covered in foam.....I decided to move the car to a bay that has an actual WORKING RINSE CYCLE......(...here's where the fun begins...)

The foam didn't do much to alleviate the reason for being here in the first place...

....that's IN THERE...!!!

....simple....just move it to the next bay....only my windows and mirrors are rather foamed up....
....then this concrete island jumped out in my way while backing out...


...hit it pretty good too...! ....you can see some Tail Lens remnants in the concrete....


....and it wasn't as though there were any pieces to pick up......it turned to dust....

...I guess I am in the market for another rear right lens...

....that chunk of bumper had already been compromised by the previous owner; glued in by the scheister, Horst Kroll; and correctly displaced by a solid, stand up stanchion....


.....but at least I got trap KRAP outta the treads.....


.....and another project is created....( merry !*&^%$#@ Xmas)....getting the rear bumper cover from Woody One to put on to Woody Two.....but that will have to wait until NEXT TIME....

[KRAMMIT]

A couple days after the 25th of Dec......there was a good amount of snow.....and a Great Deal of Wind.....I came outside to find the elements had added another few pounds to my rear hatch.....it sort of reminded me of a Nissan (Re) Pulsar, from the mid to late '80s...


...after the weather had mellowed out....I decided to go return a couple of things....I went to start the car.....it turned over....then rolled over....and played DEAD.....I tried again....same result....for six tries....the starter would turn the motor....the motor would run for a cycle or two....then die....

It sounded as though there wasn't enough AIR getting in, to mix with the fuel....I unclipped the element housing to find a collection of greasy, gravel laden, sludge....


I am supposing it has been MORE than a few years since I have changed this.....likely part of the, "Run Woody into the Ground", campaign that I undertook five or six years ago...before I got a computer......and wised up......with help from you gents....

....it was rather LADEN with heavy, greasy, residue......okay, downright SOGGY......!!!

....had a new one ready to go into action....


...took the boot off and cleaned the inside of the metering cup with isopropyl alcohol...


....there was quite a lot of GOOP that I managed to clean from the surfaces....


....wiped the goop from the boot going to the throttle body.....


....and also the boot coming off the metering plate....


....also cleaned out the filter box.......yes, this is the BEFORE shot....


....a shot of the element from above....I should have tried WRINGING it out, like a chamois......it was pretty saturated....which got me to wondering, what caused this...apart from my negligence regarding routine maintenance.....I had been running 87 octane in it for the last couple years....with a blast of 94 every now and then.....now, I have been putting 91 in it since December....and have been just rippin' it around town......5,000 rpm, 2nd to 3rd shifts while getting on the highways....funny to notice the gaping maws on people as they fade in the rear view.....then, when they realize they have been left behind by a RELIC.....seeing them pass me by.....only to watch their brake lights illuminate; because they are going too fast for traffic conditions...I most definitely notice more response with the premium fuel.....better mileage too....when I'm not being a menace to the newer, computer controlled, cars........'til NEXT TIME.....

[KRAMMIT]

It is already the beginning of May, and I am still trying to get through my order of pics from the past January........these pics are from January 12th.....I was starting Woody III, to keep the motor accustomed to being run.....even though the heater core is cooked....I still start him up and run the motor for five minutes or so....until the temperature rises enough (needle covering red light) to make me shut it down......I was sitting in the drivers' seat, and noticed the catching funnel I made, on the floor on the passenger side....


....looks a wee bit deformed from the excessive heat....


...I sopped up the coolant that was in the foot wells...drivers' side...


....and the passenger side...


....I used a mock shamwow from the dollar store....got the job done.......'coffee' anyone...?


....the real problem that I discovered....is that the motor did not escape the overheating episode unscathed.....there appears to be a head gasket leak; on the intake/exhaust side of the block, just behind the timing belt cover and the first cylinder.....


...Just have to add that to the LIST of things that need to be done to this car.......there is STILL the matter of replacing the heater core in this car; along with tracing/repairing a leak that exists behind the dash....which will be addressed when the dash is removed for the core job....and the exhaust manifold leaks.........when I thought about the heater core.....I realized that I didn't have any foam to cover the core with.....the replacement unit that I got from GAP came "naked", and needs some foam to keep it from rattling around inside the heater box....

This was when I experienced a BLOW OUT on my rear left tire; on the way home from getting the foam....in an effort to keep my thread chronologically accurate....I am going to copy the post that I made for "Saturday Night Shimmy"; and paste it in here......this is where it fits....so, if it looks like you may have seen this story before.....you may have already been familiarized with this part of my saga.....my apologies in advance for the redundancy....

"The past weekend of the 12th/13th of January brought unseasonably warm temperatures to the Toronto area....I had jostled around the idea of getting the second heater core job done; seeing as there were going to be two days of warm(ish) weather....

The Core that I got from GAP doesn't have any foam around it; so I thought I would go get some foam....found something suitable at the Home Depot on North Queen....got on the 427 N to come home....and just as I was getting ready to catch fourth gear at the crest of the hill near Dundas.....KA-BOOM...!!! was all I heard.....there was some rattling of stones/debris from under the rear of the car....then a few moments later.... another KA-POW...!! Equally unsettling...but not as severe as the initial audio delight...only this time....there was a SEVERE VIBRATION coming from the rear left of the car....and doing 130 km/h at the time...I thought it prudent to gradually ease off on the throttle; while STILL maintaining the power to the front wheels.....

This, I think, was the INITIAL...KA-BOOM....


Then, after immediate air loss...the remaining rubber QUICKLY deformed at the highway speed...


The SEVERE VIBRATION was due to the tread having FLIPPED itself inside out (possibly the 2nd KA-POW..?) for a part of the circumference.....this was what I drove on for three highway exits....(all the while chanting, "Please stay on the wheel...Please stay on the wheel....Please stay on the wheel...!!")....and from the highway to my driveway....(had to stop at a red light too..!!)...about 5 km (3 mi) in total...... the culprit...as seen in the driveway, before jacking....


This'll hurt the fuel economy.....


I think....


....this tire......


....was made by....


.....NABISCO..........'cuz they make......


....................SHREDDIES...!!!


Believe it or not...I just bought a couple new snows to replace the shredded tire and its (soon to be?) mate....and put them on the SAME STEELIES...!!! The wheel bead is intact....no flat spots...!!


"Oh what fun....it is to drive....when-the-Fox be-gins-to-sway....HEY...!!!""

I am kind of glad that I had the tire blowout when it did....it made me purchase a couple of new snows for the front: a couple of HANKOOK winters, you can see the tread pattern in the background of this pic that I took to show the flange of the SS Dual Dp from Flipside Custom to show mes0cycl0ne....


....(plus, I now know what a date code is, thanks to bluetoes591!)....which looking back.....was a blessing (or signal) in disguise....the amount of snow that fell this past winter warranted having good snow tires.....

That one particular Friday, I think it was February 8th; it snowed for about 27 hours straight....there was a good twenty inches on the roads for the drive home.....I literally was laughing at people and their brand new cars (with new all season tires)......STUCK.....in the middle of the road....I had to change routes four times to get home; due to people either being stuck, or having abandoned their vehicles in the middle of the street/snowbank....

Having NEW snow tires was the difference between making it home that day.....and not.........it doesn't matter WHAT you are driving.....your tires are the ONLY thing connecting you to the road.....but the next day....after the flakes had settled....I went out to the car to get something, noticed that the mat had some accumulated water in it (from melting snow I presumed), so I took up the rubber floormat to dump the water from it.....to discover that there was a PILE OF SNOW about the size of a small, squashed, grapefruit......."What the F---?!?!?", then, in a flash I remembered a moment of the previous nights' ride home where I bottomed out in the massive amount of snow that was on the road; at the precise moment I bottomed out....I felt something under my FEET......that wasn't floor........looking back...I have realized that the jagged, rusty, gaping, mess of disintegrating metal.....that IS my floor.....had PLANED OFF a layer of snow; while I was rallying through the streets of my neighbourhood, in an effort to get home.........I didn't recall anyone pegging me with a large snowball on the way home......'cuz that would've been a helluva shot.....to make it end up underneath my floor mat.......I have to tend to THAT issue some time in the spring.....noticing cracks in the windshield.....but, that will have to wait....until NEXT TIME....

[KRAMMIT]

I had been experiencing some coolant loss.....the level kept dropping....a couple of litres every two weeks or so.....only I couldn't find any evidence of a leak anywhere......none in the cabin around the heater core hoses......couldn't see a puddle on the ground where I parked........then, one day, after a bit of a thaw, I found a puddle...!!! It was under the front of the car....I assumed it was the water pump....the next day....I actually had a look under the car....to see that the water pump and connecting hoses were bone dry.......then my gaze shifted to the bottom of the rad....

....this pic doesn't do the LEAK justice.....

One of the techs at work suggested, "....How about a bottle of Stop Leak for the time being......that is, unless, ...you WANTED to lie down in the snow to mess about with it.....!" He had a valid point there.......so off I went to Crappy Tire to get some Rislone....


I had tried this stuff before....on one of my Sciroccos....another lifetime ago....without too much success....I decided, this time, to follow the directions thoroughly....the directions recommended running the car for half an hour after application...the application requires you to pour half of the liquid; and half of the pellets....EVER TRY THIS...?!? I used a plastic spoon, to get a decent amount of pellets out of the bottle; while still leaving some liquid in the bottle too...

....kinda looks like a large reptile...breaching the water....

Anyway, with the Rislone in the rad......I idled for about twenty minutes....then drove the car for another forty....just to make sure that optimal temperature would be reached; to make the pellets melt; and find the gaps, like I need them to......while I was driving around to let the stuff do its' thing.....I decided to pay Woody I a visit to see what he had to offer.....he looks so LONELY.....(and cold....this skating rink thaws into a small LAKE....about 6" deep).....[the yard is behind a body shop; the owner lets me keep Woody there....awesome...!]


....I knew there were a couple of radiators in there.....just wasn't sure of their condition.....


....I couldn't decide on the spot......so I took them both......one still had the fan and shroud attached.....the other one was separate.....

...the Rads are now in my garage....awaiting warmer weather, and waiting for the Rislone to fail....(still no leaks in May, from Feb.)....it has worked very well so far....

It snowed for another week or so....


.....fortunately....I didn't have a great number of issues to tend to with Woody II over the winter.....I drove the hell out of him and had awesome HEAT as a result of the heater core swap-eration......also fortunate for me....my friend Jackie wanted to help shovel the snow.....she's standing by the Old Mans' Buick....


....this brings me up to the middle of February with respect to my pics.....something happened on the way home from work on St. Patrick's Day.....but that will have to wait until NEXT TIME....

[KRAMMIT]

Slightly off topic....but, seeing as there is snow in the above pic......about eight houses down from my place....on the other side of the street.....somebody 'erected' a different version of a snowman....

....on my way home one night; as I turned the corner....this is the first thing I saw; as I laughed the word, "...Really...?!?"

[KRAMMIT]

This actually happened a few days before St. Patrick's Day, the 12th to be more accurate....I had just finished work and was on my way home.....about 20 yards before the on ramp to the highway.....and SNAP.....something gives way.....and now it is DRAGGING; as I make my way up the 270 degree turn to get on the 427.....what the hell was it...? I was listening carefully (above the highway sounds and traffic...yeah, right...!!) to try to place the noise.....couldn't be suspension....did that last summer....not the muffler.....would surely hear that elsewhere......what else is back there...? By the time I got to Rathburn, (2nd of 3 exits), I had decided it was a gas tank strap that had let go.....and was being dragged along behind the car.....turns out, I was sorta right.....the strap had let go at the hook end, the front of the tank; and was being PUSHED along the highway.......I got it home....put it up on the stands (the snow had melted), and had a closer look......the strap hanging down....as seen from the rear of the car.....


....this was where it broke away from....


....this was what was being pushed up the 427....


....where am I going to get a gas tank strap for an '87 VW Fox at this time of night.....?


....it was also quite COLD out too....maybe 3 C (37 F).....I think I remember uttering the words, "Say FREEZE...!!"....


.....my replacement strap was sitting right next to me....just had to jack up Woody III and take which ever one looked good....

....this one will do....I think it's a 15 mm deep socket that does the trick....

....took the broken strap from off of Woody II...


....measured the distance from hook to hole.....


....approximately 32"....


....not quite a visual match.....


....but holding......for now....


...time to let it down; and get some sleep....


....2:30 am.....past my bedtime again....until NEXT TIME....

[KRAMMIT]

Around the middle of March....the backing plate on my left front wheel decided to let go completely....and began rubbing on the inside of the wheel, as the plate was no longer attached to anything....it was just making a lot of aggravating noise...on St. Paddys' day, (one of TWO amateur nights in the year; the other being New Year's...!!), I decided I had had enough of the rubbing sound....it was getting warmer out; with the window rolled down more often, I didn't need the audio portion....adding to the already OBVIOUS visual of the rustbucket.....rattling down the road.....so I popped off the front wheel and removed the culprit....


Having done that on the Sunday....thinking I have alleviated the heat on my poor car for another, uncertain, amount of time......(the local authorities ALWAYS give me a second look)....on the following Wednesday...on my way to work....I am traversing my usual, non-descript, casual route through the neighbourhoods, as I do.....and upon surfacing to a main street, having to make left.....there was a mini-van....followed by a gap of about four car lengths....and then...A COP.....!!! So, naturally, not a good move to make an ABRUPT traffic maneuver in front of a cop....I just sit tight, waiting for him to pass; and then I can make my left hand turn.....and get my ass to work....and go on about my day.....but, NOOOOooooOOOOOOOooooo.....mister, "I have nuthin' better to do, than to EFF people like YOU over", decides to slow down to a quick crawl, and start EYEBALLIN' my license plate over.......(I didn't know that, that was what he was looking at, at the time...).....and of course...this is ordinarily NO BIG DEAL, for your ordinary, law-abiding motorist.....[....which I don't believe myself to BE, for the most part...]...however, I was enjoying my morning ritual, as I do, on my way to work......some people drink coffee....one of the last LEGAL drugs.....(caffeine)...I am NOT a coffee drinker....as I was SCALDED by an urn that had been percolating for over three hours; FALL ON ME when I was nine years old....{mental SCAR}....at any rate, my morning ritual is not, dissimilar, to a pass time enjoyed by NUMEROUS concert goers.....but nonetheless frowned upon by physicians, law enforcement, and ESTABLISHMENT TYPES in general......

Suffice it to say....I had no desire to be BOARDED at this time....on my way to work in the morning........the moment he passed.....I accelerated briskly, to make my left turn, to get the hell going in a different direction than he was.......I made a quick right and booted it....looking in my rear view for my pursuer.....he wasn't there....so I made another left to get out of sight from the corner.....but that didn't phase him.....the street I turned onto was very long....and he found me easily.....though I did see him overshoot the turn, in my rear view mirror.....about three eighths of the way down the street, he pulls me over....making me late(r) for work......

He takes his sweet ass time getting out of his car to come and tell me why he has pulled me over....which gives me plenty of time to call my work and advise them of my situation......work tells me, no problem, see you when you get here.........then the cop gets out of his car, and makes his way towards me....leans in, I hand him my three ACES....License, Insurance, & Ownership.....he asks me, "I guess you're wondering why I pulled you over...?" ...and the smart-ass in my head says, '....actually....you had to CHASE me to pull me over...!' but, fortunately, those words never made it to my mouth.....instead....what came out was something more like, "Well, Yeah, I was kinda wondering...."

Then he proceeded to explain to me that my license plate is becoming illegible.....and that he doesn't like to issue tickets that people cannot DO anything about.....[forgot to mention.....as my gaze travelled his uniform; I noticed the letters 'S N I C K E R Z' in the place of where his name plate should be.....my inner smart-ass took a QUICK glance around to see if there was a hidden camera].....FOR REAL...!!! Dudes' name was SNICKERZ...!!!! can you imagine how hard I had to fight back a giggle or two...?!?!?!? THREE...?!?!?!? I really thought this was a HOAX....but, then it all became VERY real when he handed me a ticket for $110.00 for an illegible license plate....is it really my fault that they made the plates out of such inferior material.....that they RUST after 20 years....?!?!?!? So, this was on the front of the vehicle....what made him slow down and decided to UP his quota near the end of the month (27th!)...


That plate used to be on the back....but I thought it would be better to have the better of the two on the rear....in the event of a 'scanning'....being a signwriter....I had considered touching it up....but, later learned that would be a provincial offence.....altering government issue plates....this plate was on the hatch...the important plate....the one with the validation sticker on it....


These plates are totally OLD SCHOOL...and still made of STEEL; not TIN..!!! ...now our province issues 4 letter-3 number plates...it used to be 3 number-3 letter....and before that.....3 letter-3 number.....; which would be going back to the '70's....I remember my dad had BHK-989......my FIRST license plate was YDO-301....which got stolen off the back of one of my Sciroccos in the late '80s....then came 625-HZH.....which was only my second plate in over 25 years of driving....now 625-HZH has been superseded by a plate that I was forced to BUY; BECAUSE my plates were illegible....so, I get given a ticket for $110.00.....then I have to BUY another set of plates, FOR $22.00 MORE....because the old ones are no good anymore.....then, I have to take TIME off work to go to court to get the $110.00 ticket rescinded (May 23rd!).....are you FLIPPIN' KIDDDING ME...?!?!?!? WHY DON'T COPS GO OUT AND CATCH FLIPPING CRIMINALS ANYMORE...?!?!?!?!?!!?!??!!?!?!? INSTEAD OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN PAAAAAYYYYYYING THEIR !@#$%^&*()_ SALARIES FOR THE LAST TWENTY YEARS....?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!? GODDAMN INFURIATING...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...nothing more than a HUGE CASH GRAB....!!!!!

...this was where the rear plate used to be....


....the front plate was on here long enough that you can still make out the letters for "ONTARIO", and the 625HZH in silt, on the plastic bumper...


I can't tell the difference.....can you tell the difference...?


I suppose the good thing to come from all of this....is that...NOW, I have a legal, legible set of plates....better to have been pulled over at 9:30 in the morning...than 2:30 in the morning....on the way home from SOMEWHERE....in who knows WHAT condition.....this way....it's just ONE LESS reason they have to PULL ME OVER in the future.....

[KRAMMIT]

About halfway through April....I began noticing a strong fuel smell, coming from the car somewhere....there were no visible leaks, drips, or puddles to speak of...I seemed to notice the smell more when travelling on the highway at speed, with a lot of fuel being fed to the engine......or perhaps it's just when I back off the throttle; when fuel is being returned to the tank.....I think I just re-used the old O-ring when I changed the transfer pump....maybe this is the source of my phantom fuel smell.....

I thought, perhaps, that I am running rich....my problem is...I am not sure how to adjust the CO content; AND measure it accurately.....my Wagon is an '87, has CIS fuel delivery system....no electronics anywhere....no provision to hook up a DPR harness....


...there is no little black box next to the air filter...I am not sure...because I haven't seen one live.....but, the Bentleys tells of a black box next to the air filter housing, that has connections within, to hook up a DPR harness, and get an accurate reading.....I don't have such a box here....


I am aware of the 3 mm Allan key hole....looks as though some one has removed the plug....I don't ever recall messing about with this.....I have always regarded this as one of those things that is set from the factory and is best left alone.....


I was having an on-line chat with redone17 one Sunday afternoon....he sent me a link of the harness in question....I thought, "COOL, I can check it", then, had difficulty seeing where the harness would connect to my car....the cold start injector is the only area where I see any wires /connections; that would allow for the insertion of a metering harness......


....I am puzzled....anyone have any suggestions...? .....Anyone.......?

[ziddey]

Ahh, a Canadian 1987 model. CIS basic. No lambda feedback. I think these models didn't have a catalytic converter either?

Yeah, there's no good way of adjusting the mixture without say an exhaust gas analyzer. And if it doesn't have a cat, this would be as simple as shoving the analyzer into the tailpipe and going from there. Otherwise, there should be a test tube that runs from the exhaust manifold for this purpose.

You could always add a cheap narrowband o2 sensor for the purpose of setting/monitoring the mixture. Check your exhaust manifold. There may be a spot for an oxygen sensor if you decide to go this route (maybe a bolt in its place). Of course, there wouldn't be any way to use it for feedback unless you swapped out the cis system (with say cis lambda or cis-e).

edit: Your parts Fox is an 88 and should have cis-e then. I don't know if it'd be worth your while to swap all the necessary bits over, but that's always a possibility.

I figure you've probably got some connections to just get the tailpipe sniffed, but if not, that may be a pricey diagnostic/labor cost nowadays.

[KRAMMIT]

Right You Are Ziddey...!! No catalytic converter.....no CO tube either....my two running Wagons are the early Canadian models....Woody I; also an early CDN model with no cat, but he has a CO tube for some reason....though there are no electronics either.....my first Fox was an early '88 model.....also just CIS...............this is Woody III....no CO tube either...


I did actually think of considering taking the fuel management system from my donor car.....if it was CIS-E....but, it has the same CIS system as my other Wagons; this one also had A/C....which I have thought about harvesting....but, realized that procedure is WAY beyond my abilities.....

Currently, I am unable to get Woody III licensed (sticker); due to a failed Heater Core, a bad Head Gasket, and an Exhaust Manifold leak.......three items which need to be addressed before I can even GO for an emission test........and now; our useless government, has implemented a NEW test....where the machine is plugged into the cars' computer....the new system SUCKS...in that it even fails brand new cars......very unreliable.....and there are ONLY A FEW places left that still have the facility to do a tail pipe probe test.........AND, on top of that, the Ministry requires a photo of the vehicle during testing, AND of the Technician performing the test, with the vehicle in the background.....so, I am pretty much buggered, as far as getting the Silver Wagon on the road this year.....maybe ever again.....a buddy suggested that I enter it into that show, "Last Car Standing", a new show on the Discovery channel......http://www.discovery.ca/Showpage.aspx?sid=50590

The Ministry has clamped down on testing....probably because they make so much money from it....I heard that the Conservatives (if elected), want to do away with the test........I wonder what the trade off would be...?!?!? They changed the test at midnight, last new years'.....without very much publicity about it, at all......!!!

The test is COMPLETELY unfair to these cars....the parameters are set for cars with cats....mine have neither cats, nor O2 sensors, nor electronics to use the feedback....so, even putting on a cat, just for the test.....will drop the Hydro Carbons and the CO to negligible levels.....but, the Oxides of Nitrogen will be through the roof....no sensor....will have to do the work anyway.....maybe I should get it tested, as is; let it fail......then provide bills for the repair efforts (upgrades!) made to change the results of the test.......I think there might be an option for a $450 conditional pass.....

It's getting late.....Thanks for the reply ziddey...!! Gotta get some zzzzzzzzs myself.... until next time.....

[DubbinChris]

Great thead man. I just sold my Fox wagon a few months ago. As much as I loved it, I just had too many cars. I did quite a few DIY threads back in the day with it.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ven-click-here.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ion-work-today.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...-brake-upgrade.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...-a-new-exhaust.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...some-new-tunes.

[KRAMMIT]

In the first week of April.....one of my bosses at work, had said that he had a set of 4 x 100, 15" rims sitting in storage, that he had forgotten about....I think he said that they came from an '00 Acura RSX; and that he had them on a Honda, then a Golf.....he asked if I would be interested in having a look at them.....I said SURE.....why not...? He brought them in; and placed them in the backseat of a car that had been traded in for a new one, at the dealership where I work.....

The car that he put the rims in the backseat of; had brand new blizzaks on the wheels.....and a new set of all season radials in the trunk.....it was an '03 Mazda; that choked some chewy, thick blueish-white smoke out the tail pipe from the moment you turned the ignition key, until you switched it off.....this car was going to the wrecker...!!! But...not with my new snow tires on it...!!! My boss said to me, "If you want the tires from it....help yourself...you just have to pay to have them switched."

Not intending to go winter tire shopping in April.....the prospect of getting four new Blizzaks for just over $50 was TOO GOOD to pass up...!!! All I had to do was pay the technician to switch the tires from the trunk, to the rims, and then I would be free to take the dismounted tires home with me....so, I DID...!!! Why not...?!? A set of new snow tires for fifty bucks...?!? DONE...!!! This was what I brought home,,,


.....they are 185/65 14's.....I have a set of steelies that these will fit....


....a shot of the thread....no flash....sorry for the blur....


...the tread is deep enough that I can't even get my finger to touch the bottom....in the big lugs...


....but in the back seat were the rims that my boss put there....they have an offset...


....I made a post in the "What did you do to your Fox today?" thread; and 90quattrocoupe replied that these rims will accommodate 195/R15s.....Thanks Greg...!!


...someone painted them with flat black paint.....again...(or still)....not quite sure about how I feel about that yet...


...at any rate....I picked up the rims for a hundred bucks......got the snows for another fifty...all in all.....a good day.....managed to find a place to put them for now....until I can find them useful.......but that will have to wait....until NEXT TIME....

[KRAMMIT]

Thanks for saying DubbinChris...!!! I wouldn't have been able to do my heater core swap without your FANTASTIC D.I.Y. thread to guide me...!! I am currently in the process of trying to get an exhaust upgrade done....but, I want to duplicate the SS Dual Downpipe that I have, before installing the both of them on my Wagons.....Thank You Very Much for the links to your upgrade projects....I look forward to making use of them soon...!!! CHEERS


Towards the end of April....it was beginning to get warmer out....on the 21st; it was time to get the snow tires off......before they MELT....I just took the first set that was easily accessible in my garage....they were quite dirty from last season; as I didn't clean them up very well, when I put them away for the winter......so I took a tin of acetone to them....with some paper towels and a few pair of rubber gloves.....the acetone will eat through the gloves after about five minutes (or less) of being in contact......the wheels cleaned up not too badly though....


These are 14" rims....from what; I'm not sure....but I had to get a set of hubcentric rings, to make them sit properly on my Foxs' hubs....

....without the rings....it was a TREMENDOUS PITA to try and balance the rim, while trying to line up the holes properly, and feed a bolt in....$20 well spent; to save time and aggravation.....(the ring on the rear right wheel cracked; from the extreme heat build up during last summers' agonizing brake episode...the wedge locked the shoes against the drum, etc....)

I tried to get the filth from the inside of the rims....without leaving shreds of paper towel everywhere...


I should have taken a before pic of how dirty the rims were to start.....the back of the spokes; and the recessed pocket on each spoke, didn't get a lot of attention...and are still at the original level of filth, before the acetone....around the balancing weight too...


I changed the oil on the 27th of April....it was time....I used my usual 20W50/Duralube regimen....I know additives are gimmicks etc....but I have found that this stuff really works well, to keep the top end lubed; when your oil is sitting in the pan....it takes about ten minutes longer to get heat in the car during the winter, after putting in a litre of it.....

....what a difference a set of wheels can make to a cars' appearance....in my case....it's like puttin' lipstick on a pig...!!! (pucker up!) ...until next time...

[KRAMMIT]

I wrote that I bit the billfold; and bought a Stainless Steel Dual Down Pipe from Flipside Custom Fabrications.....I haven't actually posted any pics of what I received in the mail...I ordered it last summer (June 17), and had to wait an inordinately LONG time, to receive what I had paid for in advance....there were all sorts of production delays....according to Rob....but, without going into too much detail.....the pipe managed to get built, and shipped....to my house.....Rob covers shipping anywhere in the continental U.S......but, because of the delay on his end.....he covered the cost to send it to me here in Toronto...which was nice...

On the tenth of December of last year....it finally arrived...!!! Since it was about to become quite winter-like...I really couldn't do much with it until warmer weather returned...it has just become June again....and I find myself having to address other issues, before being able to turn my attentions to getting this component installed....but, here are some pics of Robs' work....


I considered quite a few things before justifying the expenditure to myself...I consulted my logbook to see how many entries were exhaust related over the years...and after that....decided that stainless would be a worthwhile investment....


I thought about perhaps having a local muffler shop TRY to put something together for me.....but, then, considered how much they would charge me to "learn" how to fabricate a Fox Dual Down Pipe set up....after visiting the Flipside site; learned that Rob has made over Fifty of these gems....PERSONALLY.....I thought that this would be the proper way to go.....relying upon Robs' previously proven, expertise.....


I recall Rob stating that part of the delay was due to the guy who cuts the flanges for him....apparently there were some health issues on that front....and the water-cut flanges were delayed in their scheduled delivery deadline....


Of course, I have yet to install this component on either one of my Wagons....so, I cannot report on any fitment updates as yet....


...looks like there is a small pinhole, just to the left of the weld on the upper pipe......hmmmmm....I am not too concerned for the moment.....I have an idea.....


I think I took these pics near the end of April....mes0cycl0ne was considering an exhaust upgrade....and was looking for a source for Dual Downpipes....I sent him a link....

....looks as though Rob MISSED a weld....on the right pipe, inside the flange...!!! Again...I have an idea....

....as you can see, I was trying to balance the dual port manifold, on the downpipe, to get a pic....the pipe is quite light.....the manifold.....not so much....


.....a slightly different angle....tried to line up the flanges a little better...


....before I install this....I would like to get it duplicated.....


...my friend ED, at Vangro Welding, says he knows a guy who specializes in stainless (perhaps HE can fix the pinhole and finish the weld on the dual port flange)....I will have to let some more money accumulate in my bank account, before I can make this happen...


....the single pipe end...


....and a shot of the welds around the dual pipe flange.....


.....the other side of the flange...


The pouring rain has subsided for now....I have to go and clean out the guck from the eavestrough before it rains again....otherwise my garage will flood...which has already begun.......at the beginning of May....I pulled up the carpet in my white '87 Wagon, in preparation for some welding....what was beneath the carpet.....wasn't very much at all....but that will have to wait....until NEXT TIME....

[KRAMMIT]

Cleaning the decomposing sludge from the eavestrough was more fun than I could possibly put in to words; but, the wonderful aroma; reminiscent of a grade seven science project (closed ECO system), garners honourable mention......I really must apologize with respect to getting my events posted in a timely fashion....as of late, I have had to become re-acquainted, with the related time constraints, of being fortunate enough to enjoy: female company....a couple of my young lady friends (in their 30s) have been frequenting my garage....a VERY welcome distraction to be SURE....but, it has been kind of hindering my progress....with regards to my Foxes (hmmm) anyway....

On May fifth, a Sunday which I took my time getting off my butt to pull the carpet in my '87 Wagon....(I was distracted by the above mentioned phenomena on the Saturday)....at least there was some light out when I started....here we go....*CAUTION*....some of you may think me even MORE of a lunatic...(as if!)...after seeing these pics, and reading this post...

A shot of the rear floor, behind the drivers' seat....the bright light seen through the carpet is just a glimpse of what is to follow...

...the yellow stuff is just foam crumbs from my '82 Scirocco seat....

...there was a SERIOUS contour going on behind the drivers' seat....looked like it wasn't supposed to BE like that...


....then...zoom out to the passenger side door; for a shot of the task at hand....


...I should declare that my passenger seat has been sitting in the garage for over a year now...probably closer to 18 months.....I was just diggin' the loads of room up front...but, what I later realized....was that the floor....would NOT have been able to support the weight of the seat...PLUS the mass of a passenger....thank goodness for GUT FEELINGS.....!!!

....this is the underside of the drivers' side door sill.....I recall having ED weld that rail in there about SIX years ago; just to keep my seat from BOUNCING when I went over any rough pavement....the drivers' seat was about an inch and a half LOWER than the passenger seat......!!!


...the rail ends just by the drivers' left knee...the ROT and DETERIORATION however.....does not.....


....the other end of the rail...towards the rear of the car.....kinda looks as though the floor is pretty much being held in by the brake lines....

....WISH THAT WAS A JOKE...!!!

....right next to the parking brake cable.....between the rusted edges....that IS the fibrous insulating material between the floor and the carpet.....


...a shot of the underside of the drivers' floor pan...or of what remains of it anyway....

....the marshmallowy stuff is Great Stuff insulating foam...good for filling gaps....also good for retaining moisture....unless properly sealed....which as you can plainly see....I did NOT....what a mess.....!!! (in my defense; a GREAT DEAL of this decay had manifested itself before I actually owned the car....it has taken me until NOW......with a lot of inspiration from YOU gents;.....to actually become aware; that this thing is disintegrating beneath me; and to muster the will to confront it; and do something about it......this car is EMISSION EXEMPT....IT MUST SURVIVE....!!!)

.....I......REALLY....NEED.....TO....LEARN ...TO....WELD.....!!! I think this has made my need very real.........(more to follow on that)....

....time to start removing things..... like those vents that direct heat, to the floor of the rear passenger foot well....


....the jagged loveliness awaits me.....


....NO...WAIT....without the flash....that's a conduit to another level of existence.......nope....just another perforation.....


...17 mm socket...off with the seat belt anchor....I put the bolt back in, and the cap back on, after I took up the carpet....just so I know where they are...


....Alright....it's time...!! ....pulled off the door seal....enough to let the carpet free up....exposing some stereo cables.....(if you get a chance to pick up one of those ABSORBER items in the pic; I highly recommend it...BEST Chamois you can buy!! I use them at work, not on my cars; mine never get washed....the DIRT is what's holding them together...!!)


...removing the seal towards the front of the door...freeing the carpet further....up to the dash...


...removing the middle console........(smoke much?)


...my naked shifter....with a plate made from sintra.....(extruded foam, sign making media)...


....its' mate; the cover plate....my answer to the deteriorated accordion/bellows shifter boot modification.....actually works quite well...fits perfectly (cuz I cut it that way) into the plastic clip that anchors the bottom portion of the bellows; the other plate moves beneath it to conceal any gaps....I took measurements to be able to duplicate the plates; in case anyone might be interested....I had an idea of using an inverted, modified, cigar tube to cover the spring....just never got that far....before something.....MORE PRESSING.....revealed itself.........the prototype works well....so well, that I haven't removed it to make copies.....

....anyway; that was supposed to be a post for another thread....

....took out the bolt that keeps the seat from sliding all the way back out of the tracks...and removed the seat...


...removed the drivers' seat belt anchor rail...


....and that plastic stopper that is beneath the accelerator pedal...


...had to get creative with the knife....didn't feel up to removing the dash to find the top edge of the carpet...I did the same thing to my other Wagon; when I removed the carpet for a similar purpose....I guess I will find out where I cut it; when I remove the dash, to do the Heater Core on it very SOON...!!


....got the leading edge of the carpet up; all across the front...


...got it past the shifter...


...and the parking brake....just gotta pull it all the way out of the car now....


...and there it is....out of the car....as you can barely see...it is DARK out again....by this time...I could barely see....I was heavily into the beers...and determined to get the floor ready to be welded...getting the carpet out was only a SMALL step...


....awww; maaaaaannn....?!? Damn....!!! As much as I HATE to do this to you, Dear Reader; it is fast approaching 3 am....I hafta say....I must interrupt this segment....gotta end it here.....more to follow....until NEXT TIME....

[KRAMMIT]

I can't remember exactly what time I got the rug out (maybe 10:30 pm)....but, once I did.....I realized I wasn't going to get very much sleep that night...so....I cracked another beer....and got my camera out.....and took some time to reflect upon how long I have been driving around with my TRAP DOOR FLOOR...!!!

This growth of insulating foam was the first thing that caught my eye with the carpet out....


....I think that there might be a tiny sliver of metal (maybe 4 mm wide), that i still actually connected...the cable is obscuring the spot....


....a shot of the area; after I removed the foam....it was stuck on there quite well...but, came away easily with a scraper.....


....flashlight through the floor....


....that's some SERIOUS ROT...!!! The gap is ~1 1/2" to 2".....and yes....that IS my exhaust pipe to the far right of the pic....thanks for noticing...!!


...a candid, worms'-eye-view shot.......very appropriate.....as I was PRETTY BLURRY during this whole procedure anyway.......!!!


....well....at least all the IMPORTANT stuff is still connected......


...this is the gap behind the drivers' seat....also substantial....~1 1/2" to 2 3/4" in the corner to the right of the shot...


....the opposing corner on the right side....the entire rear seam.....seemingly disintegrated.....(except for that 4 mm wide sliver of metal; still connected at the hump)


....this is behind the drivers' seat; next to the hump.......a shot in the previous post; referred to the underside, noting, ...the ability to see the, "...fibrous insulating material...".....this is the same area from inside the cabin....


...the debris......I saved the pieces of insulation......I think I'm just going to cut new pieces from carpet under padding that I got from Home Depot; leftover from when I did the same to my other Wagon...


....alright....enough of the seemingly deteriorated rear seam....get a load of THIS...!!!


.....how many FINGERS...?!?!?


....I started to sweep up the crap inside of the car....then I thought to myself, "....what the hell am I doing...?" then just swept the remnants through one of SEVERAL gaps in the floor...

...it was easier to just sweep it all up after I was finished making a mess...

....a shot from under the car; the 500 W work light is in the cabin....no flash...


....the drivers' side floor...after I got to it with a wire brush...I became progressively more selective with what I took away....I still had ti pilot this thing ONCE MORE to get it to the welding shop in a few hours....!!


....the rear passenger floor area....after some sweeping....


....now to the front passenger section....or what remains........this is the RANDOM passenger eject system.......

....probably SHOULDN'T be able to see the right front mudguard.....................^!

...who needs A/C with this Free Flow Air venting...?!? (not ministry sanctioned!) ...no foot tapping...!!


.....and increased weight reduction....


...by a factor of......RUST....!!!


...one of the last shots I took that night/morning......of the drivers' side floor pan, seat removed...


...one of the entire floor pan....


...but, I thought it might be interesting to see the "negative" aspect of the floor....with NO FLASH.....and some back lighting....or sub-lighting perhaps....


...one last shot of the mess that dropped behind the front left wheel....


I managed to close my eyes for a VERY short period of time; before having to greet the day....I got the patient to the doctor...in one of the most interesting rides I have ever had in any of my Foxes....but, that will have to wait...until NEXT TIME....

[germanpettingzoo]

Jesus H... that's a good amount of rust you got goin' on. Makes me afraid to pull up my carpet lol. It's like a TV series - waiting for the next episode to see how it turns out