The 1998 B5 Passat TDI (one of 2 stateside?)

[Frankencar]

I am really hoping I can get it all taken care of and at the same time get the whole car re-sprayed and some other damage fixed up.

Bummer - I hope it all works out!

 

[Oberkanone]

I thoroughly enjoyed the progress of your build and have gained new knowledge during your project.
Thank you for sharing and hope this is repaired with some type of improvement at the same time.

 

[NoJoke]

Hey John glad you're OK and hope this really jump starts progress on the Porsche. It will be a learning experience with the insurance company but fixing it even at a salvage point is the only thing to do...unless swapping into a 4motion wagon.

 

[JFettig]

4motion maybe. I don't buy enough groceries to need a wagon

I'm pretty sure this is only going to slow down the Porsche progress due to cash flow I could probably make some progress with other parts of it though.

This weekend I'm getting my backup vehicle that I just purchased up to snuff(clutch to come another weekend, it needs it bad)

 

[bhtooefr]

Wagon can haul Porsche parts.

 

[G60ING]

How about a 4-motion wagon?

 

[TornadoRed]

Sad day...
Heading south on a 4 lane highway out of town, car in front of me signals to take a left, slows down. I slow down with it, lady behind me is not paying any attention, speeding toward me, looks up, hits brakes, steers right, almost hits the ditch, steers left and BAM!

When I moved back in August last year, it only took a few days for me to realize what terrible drivers Minnesotans are. Nothing I've seen since then has caused me to change that opinion.

Also, bad driving seems to have no correlation with gender, age, or national origin.

 

[JFettig]

Got a call from the adjuster, they still haven't gotten the valuation back, I'm guessing its hung up on the TDI part of the deal.

They estimated the damage at $3000+ The valuation will have to come back over $5000 for them to not consider it a total loss.

 

[JFettig]

Structurally its repairable. When compared to a 1998 Passat V6 Tiptronic with 173,000 miles, they are calling it a total loss.... Compare it to a 99.5 jetta TDI, its repairable. I will dispute this and get it repaired.

 

[VeeDubTDI]

What's with all of the good VWs getting totaled lately?

 

[burpod]

ughhhhhhhhh idiot drivers ***. sorry to see your nice passat get smashed!

 

[Niner]

Sad, seems collectible VW's diesels make prime targets for moronic drivers.... then the hassle of fair valuation with insurance adjusters to make it right, despite it not being your fault. Hope you get that baby back on the road soon, looking new. Demand it be repainted in factory Glasurite paint. I've not found anything else as good yet.

 

[etag1949]

I had this silly thought yesterday that, given the rarity of this particular car, might this be a TDIfest 2012 project? Dunno if it's done but the talent to get it done would certainly be there.

 

[JFettig]

I'm not sure if I'll make it out to TDIfest, I'd like to one of these years.

 

[JFettig]

Repairable! No salvage stamp.

THe car is sitting right in the MIDDLE of my driveway(1 lane wide) 50-100 feet from my garage...

I have a check in the mail.

-ETA- its off to the side, in the dirt... gonna be fun getting it into the garage if I can't steer it.

 

[tdidieselbobny]

And if they did give any problems-just point this thread out to them......be careful not to park it too close to the street-you saw what happened to compu85's & VeeDub's Eco...... too many inattentive drivers these days.......

 

[Oberkanone]

Any progress on the repairs?

Repairable! No salvage stamp.

THe car is sitting right in the MIDDLE of my driveway(1 lane wide) 50-100 feet from my garage...

I have a check in the mail.

-ETA- its off to the side, in the dirt... gonna be fun getting it into the garage if I can't steer it.

What is the status of the repairs to the Passat? Any news?

 

[JFettig]

I've been swamped with work, vacation, setting up a temporary daily driver, amongst other things where I haven't touched the car

Tomorrow I'm renting a dolly to pull a Jetta home to replace a head, at the same time I'll pull my Passat up to the garage so it will be next in line for repairs.

 

[JFettig]

Spent a a little time on it yesterday, Sirpuddingfoot gave me a hand.
Donor car has a newer set of these:

And one of these that isn't broken off

The rest of the knuckle is still in here, lower control arms might be ok, I will see whats on the donor car before pulling them

Wheel is still good right?

And this is supposed to be the straight control arm

I might dismantle the front end on the donor car today. Its pretty low on my list of priorities but maybe I'll get to it.

 

[JFettig]

Small update:

I replaced the broken suspension, bolted up a fender and front bumper cover and have been driving it for about a week. I'll take a Stage 3 TDI running winter tires in the summer over a 170hp Audi A4 any day of the week.

I'll stop by some body shops soon, I have a connection to one who just got back from vacation.

The support above the wheel that holds the fender(and does virtually nothing else) is tweaked upward 1/8-1/4" causing the fender to sit a little high, its not even pushed in. The door is a little mangled but still functions fine. The tab that bolts the front bumper to the fender is broken off so it hangs a little. Its a pretty sad looking car at the moment but hopefully it can get better soon.

I have some new exhaust clamps and a Vibrant resonator, along with another hanger so I can fix up the exhaust. I hope to get some time doing that soon. Right now my garage is completely occupied.

 

[JFettig]

I felt like taking some pictures. I detailed the engine bay for the Eurowerks 6 car show.

This is all post accident, I've been driving it like this for a while now. Wheels are temporary.

 

[compu_85]

The black leather looks really sharp with the green paint.

 

[greengeeker]

The black leather looks really sharp with the green paint.

x2. Such a big difference from the beat up tan leather.

 

[JFettig]

Thanks

I kind of want to do black headliner and pillars.

 

[shadowhand]

Next time I see this car, I'm going to take a good long look at the engine bay... I was a bit preoccupied last time. Really amazing to see the old pictures and how much better it looks now.

 

[JFettig]

well we can set you up with some big injectors and give you a reason to come down again if you want

I did my own alignment when I got it back together, I assumed the left side was good so I adjusted it until the steering wheel was straight and everything felt great.
I'm also running 16" wheels. My mileage went up almost 4MPG to 45-46mpg with the same driving style(and I'm not afraid to get on it)

 

[rotarykid]

I wonder if someone at VWofUSA/Canada follows this string, thinking "why didn't we sell a ton of these here?"........We all know they would have if they had taken the risk. I'm sure I would have owned one by now if they had.......

 

[JFettig]

New wheels.

 

[JFettig]

Port it, then fix it until broke

 

[JFettig]

I came across this article about the serp belt tensioner by accident. I wish I had it before so if anyone is ever looking for info:
http://www.audifans.net/article694.html