Lug_Nut
TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 1998
- Location
- Sterling, Massachusetts. USA
- TDI
- idi: 1988 Bolens DGT1700H, the other oil burner: 1967 Saab Sonett II two stroke
ON DEPOSIT
consider it sold.
F/S: 1995 Cabrio TDI, $4800, central MA
As much as I will miss this car, it makes logical sense for me to part with it.
more images are being linked into this posting. Be patient, grasshopper.
Beige over beige on green, with GLX trim level equipment, which for the 1995 Cabrio included: ABS, leather seats and door cards, power windows, power door locks, central locking, anti-theft alarm, tumble and fold rear seat with trunk pass-through, glass rear window with defroster grid, power side mirrors with defrost and the expected PS/PB/AC and Cruise.
Formerly with a 2.0 ABA gasoline engine, now with a 1997 1.9 liter TDI driveline (AHU engine, transmission, shifter, wiring harness, ECU, clutch master cylinder) transplanted and fully integrated in.
Swap/transplant history in the link below:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=249433
Both the 1997 engine donor Jetta and the 1995 Cabrio (VIN: WVWBB81E5SK027861) were purchased by me with blemished titles. The Jetta had been totaled due to rocker panel rot and a minor accident. The Cabrio, with pristine rockers,
has a 'true miles: unknown' from a cluster replacement. As near as I can tell the 125k+ on the Cabrio's new cluster and the 91k+ on its original put it quite close to the 225k on the Jetta at the time I bought them both.
While the structural parts of the Cabrio are near perfect, the right rear corner has some dents and scrapes as can be seen below.
The Cabrio is titled and registered in Mass (a CARB emission adopting state) as a diesel. As a 1995 diesel is it exempt from emissions testing in all 50 states. If there is a requirement in your state to test it as the newer 1997 driveline, it also is fully OBD II compliant and meets all 1997 diesel light duty vehicle OBD II scan requirements.
The car is currently at 244k miles on 1997 driveline, roughly 244k miles on 1995 body.
In addition to the conversion from gas to diesel the following have been replaced or rebuilt during the year and a half I've owned the car:
Front fenders, cheap aftermarket grille to replace smashed original one,
rear wheel bearings, front wheel bearings, lower control arms and bushings, low mile used Koni red in rear, new Bilstein T/C up front, right tie rod inner and outer, VW front drive axles (I rebuilt them), N75 boost control valve, MAF sensor, cam and followers (worn, not hit), cam timing belt, belt tensioner and belt idler roller (because there was no replacement history), thermostat, the 1995 radiator and heater were drained, flushed and refilled with G12 (matches 1997 engine), A/C evacuated, sealed and re-charged, all scheduled maintenance items such as air, oil and fuel filters and 505.00 oil changes have performed.
Items I've added are: variable delay intermittant wiper relay, 15 inch alloys, boost pressure gauge and exhaust pyrometer, Bosio Sprint 520 injection tips, 900 Ohm Evry and switch for stock setting, boost bleed, locking glove box and locking center console from 1997 Jetta (separate key from the Jetta to lock these two), front fender mounted clearance and/or turn signal repeaters, B4 Panasonic premium AM/FM/cassette radio (with security code) plus six disk changer in trunk, antenna, four Goodyear Eagle Performance Touring tires, 205-60-15, purchased and installed in mid-Sept 2010.
Also available are four OEM alloy 'Orlando' wheels and covers with four studded 185-65-14 snow tires.
The manual top can be opened in about 5 seconds while seated in the driver's seat, but it does require getting out to release the latch that holds the top folded open/down in order to raise/close the top again. Figure 10 seconds to raise the roof and secure it. Installing or removing the cover over the folded top, if desired, takes about 3 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is nearly no odor of exhaust when the top is down, unless stopped in traffic and there's a tailwind.
When closed the top is quite secure and dry. There is an occasional drip (one each ten ~ 15 minutes) from the seal at the top of the driver's window when at highway speed in a downpour, and the lack of drip rails does allow many drips to get on the seat when the door is opened in the rain. The top is tight enough for hand washing with a hose, but don't plan on using power washers or car washes. The top squeaks when the seals are wet as the glass or metal skips on the rubber seals. The tensioning cables inside the top shake on very rough roads and make noise. The beige vinyl top outer layer is in very good condition. It has some staining that looks like mildew, but I haven't tried to bleach it out or anything like that. The staining does not wash off with car wash soap. The roof material has signs of abrasion in the lower corners by the side windows. See the image files.
The more common tear prone areas show no signs of any stress or failing
The Cabrio's prior owner was a surgeon in RI. He's leave the top down in the hospital's lot. The prolonged sun exposure has dried and cracked the leather hides on the seats, and when it would rain the water pooled in the footwells and caused staining of the carpets. The seat foam is still good and the skins aren't torn, but they aren't optically appealing. I didn't care and, as with the roof stains, I've left these alone, too.
I've run biodiesel (B99 and B100) except in the winter when I've run as low as B20 due to temperature reasons. My fuel economy can be seen here: http://www.gassavers.org/garage/viewgaslog/2646
My personal best in this car: 57+ mpg.
As I mentioned, I really like this car and I will not be giving it away.
Contact me through e-mail
Lug_Nut@Juno.com
consider it sold.
F/S: 1995 Cabrio TDI, $4800, central MA
As much as I will miss this car, it makes logical sense for me to part with it.
more images are being linked into this posting. Be patient, grasshopper.
Beige over beige on green, with GLX trim level equipment, which for the 1995 Cabrio included: ABS, leather seats and door cards, power windows, power door locks, central locking, anti-theft alarm, tumble and fold rear seat with trunk pass-through, glass rear window with defroster grid, power side mirrors with defrost and the expected PS/PB/AC and Cruise.
Formerly with a 2.0 ABA gasoline engine, now with a 1997 1.9 liter TDI driveline (AHU engine, transmission, shifter, wiring harness, ECU, clutch master cylinder) transplanted and fully integrated in.
Swap/transplant history in the link below:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=249433
Both the 1997 engine donor Jetta and the 1995 Cabrio (VIN: WVWBB81E5SK027861) were purchased by me with blemished titles. The Jetta had been totaled due to rocker panel rot and a minor accident. The Cabrio, with pristine rockers,
has a 'true miles: unknown' from a cluster replacement. As near as I can tell the 125k+ on the Cabrio's new cluster and the 91k+ on its original put it quite close to the 225k on the Jetta at the time I bought them both.
While the structural parts of the Cabrio are near perfect, the right rear corner has some dents and scrapes as can be seen below.
The Cabrio is titled and registered in Mass (a CARB emission adopting state) as a diesel. As a 1995 diesel is it exempt from emissions testing in all 50 states. If there is a requirement in your state to test it as the newer 1997 driveline, it also is fully OBD II compliant and meets all 1997 diesel light duty vehicle OBD II scan requirements.
The car is currently at 244k miles on 1997 driveline, roughly 244k miles on 1995 body.
In addition to the conversion from gas to diesel the following have been replaced or rebuilt during the year and a half I've owned the car:
Front fenders, cheap aftermarket grille to replace smashed original one,
rear wheel bearings, front wheel bearings, lower control arms and bushings, low mile used Koni red in rear, new Bilstein T/C up front, right tie rod inner and outer, VW front drive axles (I rebuilt them), N75 boost control valve, MAF sensor, cam and followers (worn, not hit), cam timing belt, belt tensioner and belt idler roller (because there was no replacement history), thermostat, the 1995 radiator and heater were drained, flushed and refilled with G12 (matches 1997 engine), A/C evacuated, sealed and re-charged, all scheduled maintenance items such as air, oil and fuel filters and 505.00 oil changes have performed.
Items I've added are: variable delay intermittant wiper relay, 15 inch alloys, boost pressure gauge and exhaust pyrometer, Bosio Sprint 520 injection tips, 900 Ohm Evry and switch for stock setting, boost bleed, locking glove box and locking center console from 1997 Jetta (separate key from the Jetta to lock these two), front fender mounted clearance and/or turn signal repeaters, B4 Panasonic premium AM/FM/cassette radio (with security code) plus six disk changer in trunk, antenna, four Goodyear Eagle Performance Touring tires, 205-60-15, purchased and installed in mid-Sept 2010.
Also available are four OEM alloy 'Orlando' wheels and covers with four studded 185-65-14 snow tires.
The manual top can be opened in about 5 seconds while seated in the driver's seat, but it does require getting out to release the latch that holds the top folded open/down in order to raise/close the top again. Figure 10 seconds to raise the roof and secure it. Installing or removing the cover over the folded top, if desired, takes about 3 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is nearly no odor of exhaust when the top is down, unless stopped in traffic and there's a tailwind.
When closed the top is quite secure and dry. There is an occasional drip (one each ten ~ 15 minutes) from the seal at the top of the driver's window when at highway speed in a downpour, and the lack of drip rails does allow many drips to get on the seat when the door is opened in the rain. The top is tight enough for hand washing with a hose, but don't plan on using power washers or car washes. The top squeaks when the seals are wet as the glass or metal skips on the rubber seals. The tensioning cables inside the top shake on very rough roads and make noise. The beige vinyl top outer layer is in very good condition. It has some staining that looks like mildew, but I haven't tried to bleach it out or anything like that. The staining does not wash off with car wash soap. The roof material has signs of abrasion in the lower corners by the side windows. See the image files.
The more common tear prone areas show no signs of any stress or failing
The Cabrio's prior owner was a surgeon in RI. He's leave the top down in the hospital's lot. The prolonged sun exposure has dried and cracked the leather hides on the seats, and when it would rain the water pooled in the footwells and caused staining of the carpets. The seat foam is still good and the skins aren't torn, but they aren't optically appealing. I didn't care and, as with the roof stains, I've left these alone, too.
I've run biodiesel (B99 and B100) except in the winter when I've run as low as B20 due to temperature reasons. My fuel economy can be seen here: http://www.gassavers.org/garage/viewgaslog/2646
My personal best in this car: 57+ mpg.
As I mentioned, I really like this car and I will not be giving it away.
Contact me through e-mail
Lug_Nut@Juno.com
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