B3 Estate, Gr8 4 doggin. MOT'd and running... Another distraction!

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Well put together buses, the B3's. I owned a Corrado a few years back and was surprised just how many parts from the B3 Passat were a direct match for the 'Rado.

[Bstardchild]

That guide is great! Cheers man

 

Thanks - put it together a long time ago when I had a bit of a thing for Polo's

[LimitedSlippedDisc]

Had mine for around 6 months now.  It's the 1.6td IDI engine which goes surprising well!

[forddeliveryboy]

 

It was a 1.6 non-injected petrol with 73hp.In its life it would take four people and a boot completely full of luggage on many holidays. I don't know how it moved, really.

 

 

More people knew how to drive and a relative lack of traffic meant you weren't constantly having to slow down then speed up. I had a 1.6 one of them and it wasn't slow, really, just a little torque-low so you used the gears. Had a 1.8 previously for ages which was really more than you needed, so about right. It would keep up with an XJ-S to about 80, from rest, I had it in Europe through winter and it was ace, apart from the carb. Managed 33mpg at 95-110 on the autobahn, too. 

 

Cars from an era when you could tell Germany had been in a mess, so made decent cars to save their bacon. Nothing unnecessary, just reliable, economical, long-lived transport which wasn't unpleasant to drive. Cambelts never went, but if you were the cautious sort they were all of 25 mins to change. Pretty much the same chassis as the Quattro, but with VW's torsion beam back axle.

[DaveDorson]

Swapped out the front engine mount today, and swapped the door handle over.

 

Old mount was toast

 

 

 

 

As suspected though, too much beer, and me not working well hung over, meant these are still to be fitted

[DaveDorson]

Not managed to get anything fitted yet, going to the restoration show tomorrow and doing the Mothers day stuff Sunday, so progress may well be hampered for a few weeks.

 

However, I've taken delivery of all the parts to make something car shaped out of it, so it should come together relatively quickly now .

Expect a mid week update with frustration, broken parts, swearing and blooded knuckle shots.

[DaveDorson]

 

Best do an update..

 

As per usual, I've sucked the big one with regards to taking pictures, as I just get too involved in actually doing stuff and forget that I've got a build thread to update! (sorry!)

 

 

I'll try and get some pics taken of it as it stands tonight.

 

However..

 

The car is solid, I've been under the car and had interior stuff out of it, and it's in fine fettle. I feared a couple of brake calipers sticking, but I'm actually OK on that front, infact it appears to have been relatively well cared for, then abused by an owner who used it to move god knows what around until my mate Nick blagged it, did the machine polish to make it red rather than pink, and then sold it to me.

 

It's smelling less like dog and cigarretes but it needs a clean still, I've taken some oil to the black plastics outside the car and that's improved it no end looks wise.

 

As with all cars of this age, I could really use some decent shocks on it, but they'll do for now, it'll be a wafter not a race car, so I don't mind, the engine mount replacement on the front was really the only "broken" part aside from the screen, which I need to get swapped out. Rear silencer not yet fitted, I'll get to that later.

 

The car now sits lower, on the BBS wheels, but I've not refurbished them yet, I'm gonna roll as is for a bit, with the far too small tyres and loads of tuck, simply as these tyres have tread and haven't gone off, and the ones on the wheels have some patchy tread and have gone off and are cracking. I'll refurbish the wheels at a later date, or at least get the flakey laquer off the rim edges and cut it back with some sand paper, the faces and splitting might have to wait till I've more money in the coffers, I could also do with replacing the top mounts, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the brake flexi's, the ball joints, the tie rod ends and the CV's are all in pretty decent order, and usually on a FWD VW all of this needs swapping out.

 

Tonights job is to araldite up the broken light switch housing and get the stereo back in the car, I might have a bash at repairing the holed mid pipe too, but it's not in the finest fettle and it may well be more viable just to replace the exhaust section. Basically it's still got the original mega heavy VW suitacse fitted, or it did until mid afternoon yesterday when Drew and I attacked it. The exhaust is currently a cat, a section of straight stainless and nothing else.. so alas, I've not used it for work this morning.

 

The mid silencer is replaceable for about £30-50, however the silencer itself seems OK, it's the pipes entering and leaving, that would hook it up to the pre and post sections that are screwed.. part of me wants to repair these.. part of me is screaming that I'd be wasting time and money doing that and I should just pony for the new exhaust silencer and fit it.

 

Engine seems spot on though, clutch is a bit high, but I can live with that for now.

 

 

[castros_bro]

Shonky ole Pisshat estate? I had one which I lavished* care and attention and a new cam belt on during my "too many mopeds" era,  it never FTP but the trailer wheel did fall off. Eventually went to someone else who wanted to go car booting.

 

 

[DaveDorson]

 

 

 

Needs the rear wheels spacing out a bit, and more sidewall, then a damn good clean inside.

[dieselnutjob]

I had a B4 TDI for something like eight years.  I bought it off my employer as a colleague had it is as his company car so I knew its history etc.

 

It was the most economical car I ever owned, normally getting 47mpg.

As it was when I first got it

 

 

 

over the years it got quite a few mods.

 

GL seats

Chip

Blocked EGR

Removed cat

Exhaust from a 2 litre petrol 16V

Cruise control

Corrado G60 front discs and Golf VR6 calipers

Alloys to go over the bigger discs

It went like the clappers and looked like this

 

 

At ran up a huge mileage, I think over 200,000 with the next owner, and got driven to southern Spain and back once which it managed easily, quickly and comfortably.

[scruff]

Nice wagon Dave i like these. They seem to have aged really well. Can you explain to me one thing tho what does OEM+ mean, I am so not with the lingo.

[dieselnutjob]

 

Had mine for around 6 months now.  It's the 1.6td IDI engine which goes surprising well!

 

 

I have some roof bars in the garage which will fit that if you want them.  They are original VW ones and they clip under the door apertures.  They only fit estate ones without rails.

[DaveDorson]

Nice wagon Dave i like these. They seem to have aged really well. Can you explain to me one thing tho what does OEM+ mean, I am so not with the lingo.

 

 

Upgraded using original equipment manufacturers parts (often from other, newer models).

 

So, no lairy body kits or styling modifications, nothing silly exhaust wise (hence using the GT style, better tip), OEM wheels from better models or later cars, that kind of thing.

 

Big around the VW world, because the cars are like lego.