It's good to know that some things don't change - Darner in a 16v <G>. Congrats on retirement - look at all the crap you haven't done in all those years. As my Dad said when he retired "I didn't realize there were so many other things to do".
I can't remember if I reported it or not but I sold off my '89 GTi 16v a few months back - got tired of all the silly niggling faults that plague older VW products. When I was in my 20s and 30s, it was amusing that the power band was sporadic - in my 40s, I just want a comfortable car that gets decent fuel economy. I'm currently commuting in an '89 MR2...with a JDM 20v engine that averages 35 mpg!!! Too bad the damn thing is "murdered out" so I look like a punk-kid so long as no one notices the grey hairs. Unfortunately I broke my golden rule when I sold the 16v and sold it to a friend - a friend who purchased the car under the knowledge that 1) the car did NOT run and 2) that I'd give him a rebuildable block so he could turn it into a track car. He got the car running and proceeded to wear me out playing 20 questions about why this doesn't work or why EVERYTHING needed to be replaced. My favorite calls involved "It ran yesterday but it won't start now - I diagnosed it and it needs plugs, wires, coil, injectors". My reply was "It's a 21 year old VW - wait until tomorrow and try starting it". Lo and behold, the car would start b/c, well, it was spiteful. Fortunately he decided to sell the car b/c he didn't have the patience to work on a CIS-E car (although he'd owned Audi Coupe GTs for decades). In the meanwhile, I foolishly decided to build a car for my 84 year old father - a Mk4 Jetta wagon. The car arrived at my house, looking for love and affection. It sat for 6 months before it had tempted me enough and I decided it'd be a good car for my Dad since his Sienna was getting long in the tooth (and it was much too large for his needs or abilities). After hammering the seller for MONTHS to provide me with the replacement engine, I started taking the thing apart. So much easier than working on the old Mk2 cars - all kinds of room, even with a VR6 slush-o-matic and all the connectors release without too much drama. A few weeks later, I did a t-belt and clutch on 2.slow Mk4 Jetta wagon - even easier than the VR6 - acres and acres of room!!! I hate to admit it but I really liked the Jetta wagon - granted, it was a full-boat GLX with every option which is how I tend to like my "cruising vessels" these days. I forced myself to drive the car for several weeks before handing it over in case the car had any faults from long-term disuse. In that time period, I was really spoiled - working a/c, power windows, slush-o-matic (which I still dislike) and boatloads of power, even with said slush-o-matic. The best was that I could finally talk on the phone (handsfree, thank you very much) without having to scream or using my standard phrase "I'll call you when I get home". As a result, I'm really leaning towards a 2000 2.slow Jetta sedan that, like the wagon, showed up at my house seeking love and affection. Damn cars seem to seek me out and make me repair them. Then again, my OCD kicks in as well - The friggin MR2 needed a rear wheel bearing which turned into all 4 wheel bearing, all 4 ball joints, new rear tie rods (remember, the MR2 is a Corolla drivetrain moved to the middle of the car), new front inner and outer tie rods and the installation of the OE rear sway bar. It sucks to be anal-retentive - can't just fix one thing b/c the other stuff looks like crap and needs attention as well...ugh. Matthew >________________________________ >From: darner <[email protected]> >To: Volkswagen a2 16v discussion list <[email protected]> >Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2011 2:09 PM >Subject: Re: [a2-16v-list] new to 16v > >Yeah, I'm still on here. I only have the one '86 16v, and an earlier >('83 or '84?) 8-valve, but neither is currently licensed nor >roadworthy. Yes, I DO need to change that, and get them running! > My daily driver, until about a month ago, was a 2000 Jetta with >1.8t and manual shift. I overheated it BADLY in a construction zone, >with nowhere to pull off, and damaged the engine; will need to move a >friend's Jetta from my jackstands & ramps, in order to put mine there >for teardown and evaluation of what exactly needs to be done. It has >214,000+ miles, and is essentially all factory-original - the water pump >was replaced at about 90k miles (plastic impeller version replaced by >cast iron one), and the alternator was rebuilt - but it still has >all-original shocks, struts, axles, rotors and calipers, etc., etc., >etc. It has NEVER had a major repair of any sort. I figure that it >deserves to be repaired or replaced by a very similar car, given the >reliability and the fun factor. It is ready for quite a number of >maintenance items, like strut bearings, struts & shocks, rear axle >bushings, and the exhaust is finally going bad, so I'll need to consider >the alternatives pretty carefully. I'm driving a borrowed four-wheel >drive Suburban that is an absolute pig in several senses of the term, >but I've been busy trying to get lawn and garden under control after >years of neglect due to working long hours with a 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 hour >[daily total] commute time. I retired in April, so that is finally >behind me... The only VW project I've done since was swapping a >friend's Jetta transaxle last Saturday. > >On 6/15/2011 10:26 AM, Michael Pelletier wrote: >> wow darner you still are on here ? so cool how many gti's do you have in your >> stable these days? >> _______________________________________________ >> a2-16v-list mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list >> For list archives, see listinfo link above. >> >_______________________________________________ >a2-16v-list mailing list >[email protected] >http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list >For list archives, see listinfo link above. > > >
