Hello, vwdiesel.net! I'm a new user!

[CrazyAndy]

So, um, title says it all ,yeah? 

Hello everyone at vwdiesel.net.  My name is Andrew, and I love VW diesels.  A little about my self . . .

I am 24 years old and live in the state of incompetence Virginia.  I work at my local VW dealership as an automotive technician, a job I have held for about 1.5 years.  I also moonlight as a Taxi driver.  I have only ever owned VWs, from my first '72 super beetle, to my backup-DD '72 bus, and finally my 1981  4-door rabbit L diesel.


I have done a lot of work on her so far, mainly resoring the NASTY original interior.  That included good used carpet, door panels, dashboard (do you know how hard it is finding a good TAN dash???), re-gearing and mileage-mathcing a good used dash cluster, getting the rear seat foam remade, and going so far as to re-cover the whole headliner by hand, complete with covering the roof pillars. 

Unfortunately her old 1.6 NA has a crack in her block near a head bolt, allowing oil to enter the coolant system.  So I have set about aquiring and rebuilding a 1.9L turbo AAZ motor for her (I'll post the questions and info for that build in another thread later), coupled to a 02A transmission.  It's been VW vortex, craigslist, machine shops, and personal car show contacts for the past 5 months, along with working two jobs to just be able to afford to do this build.  Finally, though, I have almost enough money and will be able to start the build proper phase within the month.

Hopefully I'll be able to learn a lot and keep some folks entertained.  But for now, HELLO, and thanks for admittance into such a reputable VW diesel forum!! 

P.S.: sorry for the watermark on the above pic:  I have my photos uploaded to another forum site.  I'll upload them here or another hosting site if this is frowned upon here.

P.P.S.:  Sorry it took so long to get here, CRSMP5. 

[CRSMP5]

im glad they let you hotlink to their forum.. good place for mk1 people..

[ORCoaster]

The Tan VW's are overtaking us.  You and Rabbit82 have look alike cars.  I say a paint competition to get them looking more like guys cars and less like the old lady's down the street. 

Welcome and good luck with keeping it running.

[camboscams]

Hey man i'm over in Staunton, let me know if you need parts i have quite a stock pile of parts. Welcome to the forum

[vwnut84]

Welcome!  You'll find that this place is the best on the 'net for these old diesels 

Clean looking car!  I'm happy to hear that you've been on a quest to keep the original tan insides.  Far too often people just throw in recaros (or insert mis colored seat here), rip out the headliner and trash it.   

A splash of paint on those wheels and some trim rings and it'll look minty fresh! 

[wdkingery]

Congratulations on sourcing an aaz!
I live in chesterfield btw

[R.O.R-2.0]

The Tan VW's are overtaking us.  You and Rabbit82 have look alike cars.  I say a paint competition to get them looking more like guys cars and less like the old lady's down the street. 

Welcome and good luck with keeping it running.

everyone is copying my 84 4dr n/a rabbit..

QUIT STEALING MY CAR DAMN IT!!

(thats the 3rd or 4th beige 4dr to turn up on the forums lately..)

[maxfax]

I'll help you out Kevin.. The next bunny I'm gonna junk is that color scheme....

[CrazyAndy]

I'll help you out Kevin.. The next bunny I'm gonna junk is that color scheme....

Uh, yeah, can I get some tan interior parts and beltline trim out of that B4 you do that?   (seriously, though PM me)

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys.  Much appreciated on the rep for the car and the it's future motor;  really wanna get this done within the next few months.  Also, didn't know that so many Diesel nuts lived so close in VA (both of you  ).  Camboscams, is that said like 'Cambo's Cams"?  Either way, PM sent.

And check out this big paperweight I have. (NO I'm not gonna use it; too big)
http://www.the152.com/modules.php?name=gallery2&g2_itemId=12260

[camboscams]

Yea Its nice to know that there are a few more east coast diesel vw guys around here. And yes its Cambo's cam's not cambo scams. I realized that after i made my user name.
Also I don't know where your getting your machine work done but i happen to work at one. We do anything from honda's to big v12 caterpillar stuff and i have rebuilt a 1.6l vw diesel for myself. I don't know how many machine shops there are on that side of the mountain but luckily we're not far from each other. So let me know!

[CrazyAndy]

Yea Its nice to know that there are a few more east coast diesel vw guys around here. And yes its Cambo's cam's not cambo scams. I realized that after i made my user name.
Also I don't know where your getting your machine work done but i happen to work at one. We do anything from honda's to big v12 caterpillar stuff and i have rebuilt a 1.6l vw diesel for myself. I don't know how many machine shops there are on that side of the mountain but luckily we're not far from each other. So let me know!

Thanks man, good to know.  I'm getting my work done at a place called Eastside auto & machine; small, on the outside of Waynesboro, and mainly a place for Fords, but the guy said he'd do it.  IDK maybe I'll drag the block by you to see if he's done a good job when I get it, yeah?  That and 4 handshakes and high-5s.  Always love keeping in touch with the small VA scene. 

[camboscams]

Ah Eastside, Bill does very good work and being a Ford guy as well i've been there many time for odd ball parts. (he has plenty as you have seen) He should do right by you i have no worries.
PM sent btw

[ORCoaster]

Try editing your profile   CambosCams. 

[CrazyAndy]

Eh, as long as most folks get the name I see no big deal.  But yeah, when you go into Mr Matias's humble shop and see A SHINING FLAWLESS FORD MODEL T ENGINE BLOCK, the little engine builder in you says " okay, this guy knows what he's doing".  That and being the only guy to both know about the extra-rare 337CID Flathead and use the phrase "porosity within the cylinder bores"; wish I could sit this guy down for an hour or 4 and just talk shop.
He's having a bad stroke of luck between his backlog and personal life, so it's been about a couple months before he could get to my engine.  Would've helped more if I has sent in my reciprocating assembly when I said I would.  Oops, sorry.

Nice to hear you've heard of him, though.  More guys saying he's a good machinist just reinforces that I picked right.

And PM re-replied.  

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Welcome to the forum Andy.
Run while you can - these guys are the really Crazy ones.

I thought Cambo was gonna work scams on us at first.
Glad i read this thread.

Most all fairly competent and basically equipped shops can do the blocks just fine. The cylinder head resurfacing is where it gets complicated.
Good luck with your AAZ.
And look into the crank bolt upgrade while the crank is in hand.