1984 Wolfsburg: 10-yr shed sitting, restore?

I had a '78 Rabbit I bought new and kept running till it was killed at 160k.
There's no car I've liked as well since.

This is an 84 Wolfsburg Rabbit that a friend left me.
It's been in a shed,
dusty not rusty
hasn't been started since stored,
no special storage procedures,
The tires hold air,

My thought is that I want to get it back as my regular car.
Impossible?

I need to move it to the new house.
If the wheels roll, how should it be towed?
what about prep for first-time startup?
I have a new battery for it. (electrics seem to work ok)

THE SCARECROW:
"There's just one thing I wnat you guys to do..."

John in DC

Pull spark plugs before starting it.

Put some 5-30 oil or some other light oil in cylinders and let sit for a day
or 2 before you try to crank it over.

Some seals will need to be replaced. Check them all very carefully before
going anywhere and then check again a few times after driving it a little.
Don't drive with broken CV joint seals at all if you can help it.

TL




"JoVee" > wrote in message
...
> I had a '78 Rabbit I bought new and kept running till it was killed at
160k.
> There's no car I've liked as well since.
>
> This is an 84 Wolfsburg Rabbit that a friend left me.
> It's been in a shed,
> dusty not rusty
> hasn't been started since stored,
> no special storage procedures,
> The tires hold air,
>
> My thought is that I want to get it back as my regular car.
> Impossible?
>
> I need to move it to the new house.
> If the wheels roll, how should it be towed?
> what about prep for first-time startup?
> I have a new battery for it. (electrics seem to work ok)
>
> THE SCARECROW:
> "There's just one thing I wnat you guys to do..."
>
> John in DC
>

JoVee wrote:

> I had a '78 Rabbit I bought new and kept running till it was killed at 160k.
> There's no car I've liked as well since.
>
> This is an 84 Wolfsburg Rabbit that a friend left me.
> It's been in a shed,
> dusty not rusty
> hasn't been started since stored,
> no special storage procedures,
> The tires hold air,
>
> My thought is that I want to get it back as my regular car.
> Impossible?
>
> I need to move it to the new house.
> If the wheels roll, how should it be towed?
> what about prep for first-time startup?
> I have a new battery for it. (electrics seem to work ok)
>
> THE SCARECROW:
> "There's just one thing I wnat you guys to do..."
>
> John in DC
>

replace ALL fluids (oil, coolant, gear oil, brake fluid)

plan on replacing brake hoses, calipers, wheel cylinders, master
cylinder as required

pull the spark plugs and put a little penetrating oil or ATF down the
holes...

repack rear wheel bearings (the fronts are hopeless, they're sealed,
they're either good or they're not at this point)

check CV boots

I'd do all this, at a minimum the oil and pulling the spark plugs,
*before* attempting to start the engine...

expect problems with anything that rotates, i.e. alternator, starter,
heater blower, water pump, etc.

good luck

nate

PS- when towing a FWD car always do it with the front wheels off the
ground, never the rear, much safer for the car that way. Flatbed is
obviously best but not always practical.

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

"Nate Nagel" > wrote in message
...
> replace ALL fluids (oil, coolant, gear oil, brake fluid)
>
> plan on replacing brake hoses, calipers, wheel cylinders, master cylinder
> as required
>
> pull the spark plugs and put a little penetrating oil or ATF down the
> holes...
>
> repack rear wheel bearings (the fronts are hopeless, they're sealed,
> they're either good or they're not at this point)
>
> check CV boots
>
> I'd do all this, at a minimum the oil and pulling the spark plugs,
> *before* attempting to start the engine...
>
> expect problems with anything that rotates, i.e. alternator, starter,
> heater blower, water pump, etc.

Replace the tires regardless. Even if they hold air they're probably dry
rotted and will fail once they warm up when the car is driven.

"JoVee" > wrote in message
...
> I had a '78 Rabbit I bought new and kept running till it was killed at
160k.
> There's no car I've liked as well since.
>
> This is an 84 Wolfsburg Rabbit that a friend left me.
> It's been in a shed,
> dusty not rusty
> hasn't been started since stored,
> no special storage procedures,
> The tires hold air,
>
> My thought is that I want to get it back as my regular car.
> Impossible?
>
> I need to move it to the new house.
> If the wheels roll, how should it be towed?
> what about prep for first-time startup?
> I have a new battery for it. (electrics seem to work ok)
>
> THE SCARECROW:
> "There's just one thing I wnat you guys to do..."
>
> John in DC
************
In addition to the other suggestions, you'll probably have fuel problems
(old gas turned to varnish). I used a product called "Seafoam" on my ZX
when I first started it, after it sat for several years. Pull the fuel
lines loose & rig up a squirt bottle to force the Seafoam into the system;
the injectors will probably need it the most. You might also start (or turn
over) the engine briefly to pump the Seafoam into the injectors. Might want
to also poor some into the tank.
The car should not take very much work to put it back on the road. The
fuel & brakes would be the biggest concern. You should also replace all
the belts & hoses - don't forget the timming belt.
HTH,
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

Thanks, all, for all the suggestions and caveats. Only odd thing is the
injector note as this is a Wolfsburg with a carburator.

The other thought is that, remembering my 78 injected/no-steering-assist
Rabbit, is this indeed the car I should sink time and money into or maybe
instead look for else... Is the Wolfsburg a simple fun driver?


I'm saving all these notes and listening.
The tires issue makes me think I'll be having the thing flatbedded to the
new house and set up for working-on... and get a car-cover for it.

thanks again... and any more comments are welcome.

John V

flush the fuel tank, its going to be full of gunk.. (anyone else her
call that chit varnish?
From VWsport.com NNTP Gateway

Do not go crazy when you get that 65 hp beast running. If it has a 4
speed with overdrive type of 4th gear it gets great gas mileage but it
feels sort of like a 67 Beetle in terms of acceleration. I have driven
both. I have actualy worked on 2 of the carb equiped 83 or 84s. I
could not find any info for rebuilding one, I could not find info from
the dealer except for a wiring diagram. I think the carb was a
Carter/something.

JoVee > wrote:

>Thanks, all, for all the suggestions and caveats. Only odd thing is the
>injector note as this is a Wolfsburg with a carburator.
>
>The other thought is that, remembering my 78 injected/no-steering-assist
>Rabbit, is this indeed the car I should sink time and money into or maybe
>instead look for else... Is the Wolfsburg a simple fun driver?
>
>
> I'm saving all these notes and listening.
>The tires issue makes me think I'll be having the thing flatbedded to the
>new house and set up for working-on... and get a car-cover for it.
>
> thanks again... and any more comments are welcome.
>
> John V


Jim B.

JoVee wrote:

> Thanks, all, for all the suggestions and caveats. Only odd thing is the
> injector note as this is a Wolfsburg with a carburator.
>
> The other thought is that, remembering my 78 injected/no-steering-assist
> Rabbit, is this indeed the car I should sink time and money into or maybe
> instead look for else... Is the Wolfsburg a simple fun driver?
>
>
> I'm saving all these notes and listening.
> The tires issue makes me think I'll be having the thing flatbedded to the
> new house and set up for working-on... and get a car-cover for it.
>
> thanks again... and any more comments are welcome.
>
> John V
>


--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

JoVee wrote:

> Thanks, all, for all the suggestions and caveats. Only odd thing is the
> injector note as this is a Wolfsburg with a carburator.
>
> The other thought is that, remembering my 78 injected/no-steering-assist
> Rabbit, is this indeed the car I should sink time and money into or maybe
> instead look for else... Is the Wolfsburg a simple fun driver?
>
>
> I'm saving all these notes and listening.
> The tires issue makes me think I'll be having the thing flatbedded to the
> new house and set up for working-on... and get a car-cover for it.
>
> thanks again... and any more comments are welcome.
>
> John V
>

It's probably worth it if you can do the work yourself and can get good
deals on rubber parts. All in all I think it will be more work than
$$$. Probably can get it back on the road in "drive anywhere" shape for
under $1K if you don't have any unforseen problems. I've resurrected
cars that have sat for far longer periods of time (see .sig -
specifically the '62 Stude, it sat from 1968-2003, but then again I
didn't do it for $1K either, I kinda went nuts...)

nate

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replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
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