It Runs!!

Tim Walsh · Tim Walsh's Garage

Well the clock runs at least. I hooked up a battery as the last thing I did today and the only cuirits that worked were the radio, trunk light, clock and parking lights (no turn signals).

Do you ever feel like you're soo close and yet soo far away? That's me right now.

Btw I haven't started the engine yet. I'm waiting on a 14 pin connector and that should be it enginewise.

tryan · 03-10-2003, 04:23 PM

little brown men in the driveway tomorrow? that will give you time to polish up the calipers. saturday is comming.

Jack Olsen · 03-10-2003, 04:26 PM

I was psyched when I heard that my dome lights came on when the battery was connected. Any sign of life is a good thing.

Tim Walsh · Tim Walsh's Garage

Saturday's coming but do I trust a car that's been sitting for 2 years and has been on the road less than a week with a 200+ mile trip?

dtw · 03-10-2003, 04:47 PM

Damnit Tim! LOL. I let out a big whoop when I saw the title of your post.

Well we'll get your brakes put together tomorrow anyway...did you get pistons ordered?

Tim Walsh · Tim Walsh's Garage

pistons are on order but they'll take a couple days to get here.

at least I can do some engine tuning and electrical troubleshooting without any brakes.

CamB · CamB's Garage

"I was psyched when I heard that my dome lights came on when the battery was connected. Any sign of life is a good thing."

But Jack, did they turn off again with the 12 second delay ;-)

makaio · 03-10-2003, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by l33t9eek
Saturday's coming but do I trust a car that's been sitting for 2 years and has been on the road less than a week with a 200+ mile trip?

If you have given it a thorough check out (safety & mechanical) then yes I would trust it.

Tim Walsh · Tim Walsh's Garage

I have given it a pretty through check out.. but as I don't really know what the innards of the longblock are like I'm still hesitant.

dtw · 03-10-2003, 05:42 PM

zuffenhausen and I have been scaring Tim with tales of broken rings. We figure with water sitting in iron cylinders for a couple years, the rings likely froze. At this point he's playing the odds and has nothing to lose by firing it up. I hope the rings came loose without breaking.

Keepin' my fingers crossed for you man!

Tim Walsh · Tim Walsh's Garage

THanks dave. I've been thinkin' that wensday will be the day that I find out if I'm going to have to spend the $4-8K for a rebuild. I'll disclose what I find out then. Hopefully things will check out but who knows.

Keeping my fingers crossed

dtw · 03-10-2003, 06:02 PM

4-8k?? Whoa- it's a T motor man. Crank, cylinders, and pistons are likely just fine (unless bits of ring get loose..) Forget that figure.

Tim Walsh · Tim Walsh's Garage

what is the going rate on a T motor? I really have no clue.

dtw · 03-10-2003, 06:15 PM

There's no going rate, but just a factor of how many parts need machine work and/or replacing, how many mods you make, and who you pay to do it. The cases, cranks, pistons, and cylinders of T engines often fare better than others due to their low compression and horsepower.

4-8k is if you have someone drop it from the car and rebuild it. You know how to drop a motor already, between your skills and the people in the area who've been through this before, there'll be no need to have a pro do yours.

It's all good dawg!

makaio · 03-10-2003, 06:15 PM

I have seen T-motors from $1500-2500 used, on e-bay and in classifieds. I'm sure they aren't brand new, but I figure they could be good for a while.

I think as long as you spay some lube in the cylinders and crank it over by hand a few times, you'll have the best odds.

When my brother bought his Karman Ghia it had been sitting for 6 years. We flushed the fuel system, re-built the carb, changed the oil, and cranked it over by hand a few times after spraying some wd-40 in the cylinders, and it fired right up. Been running for the last 5 years like that, and the motor was no where near fresh. Granted a type 1 VW motor is not of the same caliber as a Porsche 6.

Tim Walsh · Tim Walsh's Garage

ahh I didn't realize the price everyone quotes is for a turnkey. My rebuild would be just about as far from that as possible. I'd much rather do all the work myself, except the machine work.

jpnovak · 03-11-2003, 04:27 AM

It won't be lnog now Tim. I know you can't wait to fire it up.

I took the targa out on Sunday for the first time since November. It fired right up and ran flawlessly. All it needs now is tire pressure adjustment since they are over inflated from storage. No flat spots though.

BTW, Why hasn't Dave dipped into that stash of M calilpers he has on his garage shelf. I know there are several sets that should work fine.

Tim Walsh · Tim Walsh's Garage

He may have M calipers but I've got S alloy calipers on the front of my car and the pistons are trash.

I'm SOOO excited about it. 6 months of work jus to figure out if this thing'll run.

jpnovak · 03-11-2003, 05:14 AM

AHH, I did not know yoiu had the S calipers up front. don't forget to pull the rears and rebuild them too. they ususally just require a good polishing of the bores and pistons. Of couse, you probably have that covered.

best of luck when you turn the key.

Jamie

dtw · 03-11-2003, 05:26 AM

One of his rear pistons is frozen. Each night I go out, whack on the caliper with a hammer, and put 100psi to it. Nothing. So I douse it in penetrant and come back the next day. We'll see. That caliper may be trash if the bore is that rusty. I checked my stock, they're frozen so far too. LOL.