Does anybody want to check out this car for me?

rammstein · 12-14-2008, 01:05 PM

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4060223

$3500 fits the budget nicely. Mileage is low enough that I could be reasonably certain I won't need a new tranny or engine anytime soon. I always dug the style of these too, and parts should be cheap. Only issue is the A/C, but for $3500 I could afford to take it to a shop and have it fixed. Bonus there is the A/C would be fresh and good to go for a few years. Any thoughts?

If any of you live nearby and could check this out, there's be a case of pabst in it for you

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

You are closer than I or would volunteer. I would buy it if i was closer.

SLO-BOB · 12-14-2008, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porsche4life

I would buy it if i was closer.

Yeah, no kidding! looks like a great deal on a cool car.

Chocaholic · 12-14-2008, 02:00 PM

Waiting for input from notfarnow. . .

KaptKaos · 12-14-2008, 02:21 PM

I had a 16v Scirocco. Fun car. I shouldn't have sold it.

That one looks very nice.

rammstein · 12-14-2008, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Waiting for input from notfarnow. . .

Me too! I hope he can tell me what to look for. The good part is, my budget was about $5k, so this leaves me room to fix a thing or two if needed. And if its ALL good, then I could buy some slicks for autoX. AUTOX!!! God, that would be fun! I just wrote the seller and asked if he has records and if he could give me some info on the tires and if the suspension is still original. If its original, I assume it would have to be done pretty soon to be decent for AutoX.

Anyhow, if anyone is nearby there and wants to look at it, my offer of a case of Pabst still applies.

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

I need it to keep the Corrado company. There is another car you should look at.

slodave · slodave's Garage

Wow. Looks like my old '88, except I had mine repainted pearl white, lost the rubber side strips and had the black side pillar material removed and painted black. I also had the Tectonics Tuning box as well as different cams, exhaust, sway bars, lowered....

87911jon · 87911jon's Garage

Must be buy a Scirocco month. I bought this '84 8 valve at my sister's auction for $200. Full black leather interior, electric windows, split rear seats, no rust and very straight. Dash is cracked but other than that it's in great shape. Slapped my historic 911 tag on it and drove it an hour and a half home. I've decided it'll be my winter beater and then I'll sell it come spring.

notfarnow · 12-14-2008, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Waiting for input from notfarnow. . .

Quote:

Originally Posted by rammstein

Me too! I hope he can tell me what to look for.

I'm no expert, that's for sure.

I'll say this, any VWs I've owned that preceded the A3 cars were great. I had an '87 Jetta with 596k kms, it was a fantastic car. I had a '91 Jetta that was great, my mom had a '92 that took unspeakable abuse. I think the problem was that VW reused a lot of the stuff (suspension components, brakes, 020 transmission...) in the later heavier cars. They also cheapened the overall build quality, things like electrics and the interior materials.

Anyway, I happen to LOVE Sciroccos, and have no issues with A1 or A2 VWs, so I certainly don't have any pissy comments. And FWIW, years ago I dated a girl with a Jetta GLI with the 2.0 16v. What a GREAT engine!

rammstein · 12-14-2008, 09:03 PM

I've read that the 2 liter is more amenable to mods than the 1.8, although I don't think I plan to do anything to the engine. Suspension is another story

slodave · slodave's Garage

I also had an early version of the SmarTire system. Cool device. I ditched the front yellow turn markers with the rounded euro version. I was going to get the euro bumpers as well, but then I was given a 911...

I had Nuespeed everything on that car. I went through 3 sets of Racing Dynamics rims. I sold it with a set of AZEV's.

Scuba Steve · 12-14-2008, 10:36 PM

That is a NICE looking car! Incredibly clean! Wish I could go have a look but it's more than a bit far...

onewhippedpuppy · 12-15-2008, 06:49 AM

VERY nice car. Go for it! A road trip is a great way to get acquainted with your new car.

rammstein · 12-15-2008, 07:55 AM

Waiting on an email from the seller. I asked him about a few things, I hope I get a coherent response. He needs to do it soon, because for me to get a car at that distance, it would have to be this weekend realistically, because I won't have much time off after that. Even though its only a $3500 car, I think if I was about to pull the trigger I would have a PPI done at a shop unless someone I knew could take a look at it, which seems unlikely.

What is the absolute worst case $ for fixing the A/C on it? I'd have to have that done by April or so.

I caught myself looking at coilover sets last night. Also may have browsed a few LSDs. I hope this works out.

rammstein · 12-15-2008, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 87911jon

Must be buy a Scirocco month. I bought this '84 8 valve at my sister's auction for $200.

Wow! For $200, I'd put up with just about anything, and that one actually looks really good. Nice score!

Rot 911 · 12-15-2008, 08:03 AM

That is a clean looking car. Hell I'd probably buy it sight unseen as clean as it looks!

notfarnow · 12-15-2008, 08:08 AM

Hey if you're going to get into tranny work, I just picked up a transmission from an '83 rabbit diesel. Doesn't sound very exciting, but it's got a VERY tall 5th... 0.71. I normally ebay them or sell them on vwdiesel.net, vwvortex... but if you want it let me know. Would make a nice highway gear, but then again you may prever the revs. I also have a 0.76

FWIW, you can swap out the 5th gear without even taking the transmission out. The 020 was originally a 4 speed, and then they added the 5th later on, alone in the end casing. You can swap out the 5th in 2-3 hours with a couple simple homemade tools.

rammstein · 12-15-2008, 08:11 AM

Just got a response from the seller!!! What do you guys think? His response is below:

rims and tires are matching. rims are motegi somethings? 16 inch tires are matching. i wanna say kumho sport tires. 95% tread. suspension all original. leaks include a small leak at drivers cv axle seal on transmission. had a water leak coming from under dash somewhere a while back. added silicone to hvac box inlet . leak stopped. other than that that is it. records i have . from original owner a book with oil change logs and other services. i have tried to keep up on the log. but as long as i have had it changed oil and filter every 5000 with castrol syntec. a/c question i think expansion valve is plugged up with trash from the retro fit to r 134. high side goes to 400psi low side draws a vacuum. hope this answers yor questions =)

How big a deal is the leak at driver CV axle seal? Pretty much anything wrong will need to be fixed in a shop as I don't have a garage yet. UNless it is SUPER easy and can be done in my friend's driveway in a couple of hours.

notfarnow · 08:27 AM

It's a pain in the ass!

If it's a small leak I wouldn't worry about it too much until you have the time and energy for it. You can top up the gear oil pretty easily. Heck, in a pinch you can pull the speedometer cable and squirt a liter down there... ask me how I know.

Anyway, I had to do this on my Jetta. It wasn't much fun, even getting to the point where you've got the axles out can be a PITA. My Jetta had such high mileage (596k kms) that the axles were actually worn by the rubber seal. Kinda like the RMS on high-mile engines. Anyhooo, I still have my homemade tools if you want to borrow them.

Good DIY guide here:
http://www.brokevw.com/020flange.html

Keep in mind you won't be standing upright working on parts on a workbench. You'll be laying on your back & side, saying BAD WORDS