Tell me about a 1986 Jetta TD!

[deezel_rat]

I'm looking at a two older diesels as it is right now, one is an 84 Rabbit and I got most of my information on Fred's page, but I also found an 86 Jetta TD IDI and I'd like to see if you can help me on it.  

What are the power specs?  I think I saw 68hp and 98ft-lbs somewhere, is that right?

How much boost does it run stock?

Are they moddable, and if so to what extent?

What is the reliability like on them?  This particular one has "undocumented" mileage, but its around 240k.  The previous owner (not the guy selling it) put in a new cluster.  There appears to be some motor work done to it, like a rebuilt head or something.  Is this a good sign or a bad sign?

And last but not least, the car has a salvage title.  Now the guy is only asking $900, so it's not a huge deal.  He told me it was hit in the rear, but when I asked him he said it drives all straight, and he actually said the back of the car looks brand new.  I guess the previous owner got hit in the rear, it was totalled out, and the guy bought it back and fixed it.  

It sounds pretty good and like it could be a little more fun than the Rabbit.  Whatever information you can give me is greatly appreciated!

[dieselpower]

hey,
those are the specs i've heard. 68hp and 98ft-lbs
they run 9-10 boost stock.
they are very modable depending on how far you wanna take it. they can easily be modded to get around 120hp i've heard. i don't know how much i have at the moment but my car ran the 1/4 mile in 15.9 seconds @ 83 mph. which is pretty good for a little diesel. but i'd worry about that after you get the car.
i've heard they last up to 500k  IIRC
i also take it that the rabbit is naturally aspirated? or is it a turbo diesel like mine. cuz if its a turbo dieseli'd go with that one. its more of a personal preference but ya.
well if it drives straight and normal i wouldn't be worried about the salvaged title except for registering it, insuring it and reselling it.  if he's currently driving it i wouldn't be too worried about the first 2 but i can see that as a problem of reselling it if you dont like it anymore.
anyway i hope this helps and good luck


Mark

[deezel_rat]

And how about the suspensions?  Do they hold up ok?  The Rabbit I was looking at had a leaky tank and 143k miles, and it seemed pretty good.  It drove great, suspension had a fair amount of new parts.  I just don't want to get this Jetta and have to sink money into it.  I just want to get in and drive it and have it be a fun little second car.  It's only $900, I don't want to be spending $900 to get it back driveable, you know what I mean?

[dieselpower]

well i can honestly tell you that i don't kno much about the suspension on these cars. but i've blown lots of shocks before but just look under the car and check out the rear axel and make sure it is straight and make sure the shocks arent leaking and there is no damage to them. also you can kinda jump on the bumper and if the car bounces up and down then the shocks are bad. if it just goes down then comes back up and stops it should be ok. its hard to explain but you should be able to feel the differene between good shocks and bad ones. you should also check the body around where they fixed it because my dad's friend bought an old cabrio that was in an accedent and now all around where it got fixed its starting to rust through because they did a crappy job fixing it. i'd ask to take it for a test drive and make sure it drives straight and all before i bought it.
i hope this helps


Mark