1996 B4 website of photos

rrrcryst

Active member
Joined
Mar 11, 2008
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
TDI
1996 Passat TDI wagon,
https://get.google.com/albumarchive...2_CjC4plKX32rYjRYQyMVL?authKey=CIjlwYT9loO_Uw

See photos at google web site.This seems to be the only way an 80year old can get them available I plan to post details on Passat B4 for sale also
I started out with a 39Plymouth in high school back in 1953, Fixed the brakes without any help and didn't realize that wheel cylinders can pit badly, then a neighborhood girl friend gave me a driver's lesson. It ran very well until we had to stop. Fortunately it did have a solid emergency brake. Next was a 47yellow and black Ford convertible. That was fun until while in USAF boot camp South of Columbus, we were run off the road
between 2 large trees by a pickup on our side of a curvy back road.Fortunately a local farmer pulled us out with his tractor.Then a 6 cylinder Ford that could have been a diesel as it billowed black smoke as I drove down the road. After that a TR3 did me for a few years while on active duty. Somewhere in the late 60's early 70's I discovered VW squarebacks perhaps after renting and driving a Mazda rear engine small sedan through the Colorado mountains. For almost 2 years in Tehran I just took taxis,walked, bicycled, took the train or rode in my friend's very anemic Russian car when I needed to go somewhere. The train,bus and small airplane worked well in Afghanistan, India and Nepal. Before returning home to the land of the unemployed in 1975 my 3 year sojourn in Germany and England resulted in two VW squareback adventures.
One was purchased in Cambridge for 100# and driven to Berlin. Interestingly I didn't have to register it in Germany or get in inspected"through the infamous TUFF". The inspector may hit a side panel with a small hammer to make sure it is solid. I drove it for six months around Berlin and back to West Germany and replaced two tie rods with the help of a friendly Berlin junk yard dealer. After the six months I drove it back to England and sold it for 50#. After a boat ride back to NY I rejoined my German bride and 2 kids in Florida. Sometime in the late 70's we bought a 71 VW red van which we drove until the mid80's. After getting a 6cylinder Ram Van we sold the VW to a hippie going to Arizona. Then by 1989 Smogway (my youngest daughter's name for my new white Jetta diesel after she bought it from my son). He eventually got it from me to go back and forth to Gainesville Fla where he was a EEmajor. It was definitely not a TDI though did get 39 to 41mpg through the first 300K miles. It was still in the family when I bought Gertrude my lovely green TDIPassat in 1996. That is a stick and still responsive. The two automatic Jetta TDI's in 2010 and later 2014 never got names.
 
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goodmonkey

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Location
Anchorage, AK
TDI
2014 Passat TDI, 2011 Touareg TDI
rrrcryst,

Thank you for sharing your history of cars with us. I'm glad to see that you still have your B4 and drive Gertrude around. I've owned two 1996 Passats, and after driving them I do miss the extra room when in my Jetta. I haven't spent as much time as you overseas, but did drive a 1998 Passat TDI around England for two years.
 
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