Well, I guess it's time to update here since since we moved to another state and I'm once again driving the wagon.
Since the kids are out of the house, which was too large for us, we decided to downsize. Since I hated my job (only decent sized employer in the area) and she could transfer, we decided to buy a smaller house in another state. A few years ago we looked at North Carolina and visited the Asheville area (loved it) but decided the humidity in the summer would be killer. Our second choice was the Prescott Arizona area and we made a trip a few years ago. The weather and people were great so we decided this would be our landing site. Then we had to vacate 2 houses and move across the country. The issue I had was what to do with the B4 and the B4V.
The B4 had a TON of mods on it but the motor had a noticeable knock. It still ran OK but obviously needed attention to get back on the road. It'd been sitting for a few years under a tarp and I decided it should just go. I really hated the green anyway. I kept the wheels and tires, the PP520's, and the Koni struts, but the rest went with the car. It's a shame because there were TONS of great new parts on it but I didn't have time to pull them off. It sold for $800 and the guy buying it was going to put it on the road. He got the spare good engine with it as well.
The wagon was a different story, I loved driving that car, but with the fuel line having a hole in it, the timing belt needing changing, new brake calipers, and the rust work, I just didn't have the time. All our spare time was prepping 2 houses for sale, to include rebuilding a barn, painting, new floors, plumbing, and anything else you can think of, while we were still working full time jobs. We were wiped out with everything we had to do. So I contacted TDIDaveNH to see if he'd take on the project of getting it back on the road. He'd drive across the country several time and knew what the car would need, his work is impeccable, and I trust him completely. He reluctantly agreed to do it since he's busy enough and I had it towed to his house.
I had to go back home due to the sudden death of my dad (W386 on here) and decided to pick up the car and drive it back. I had planned on driving it back sometime this year when I had time but now needed it to coincide with his funeral.
In typical VW Fashion, it needed more work than was originally known. He replaced a rear caliper and noticed the rear brake hard lines were quite rusty, so he replaced them. Then in the process of bleeding the brakes, one of the front caliper bleeder screw wouldn't come out. He finally got it out but the threads wouldn't seal. A new caliper was ordered (the last one in the country) and it came in but was wrong. It would work so he put it on, but then couldn't get a hard pedal. A new master cylinder was ordered but it turns out the 1996 master for ABS VW's is different from the 1997, and it wouldn't work. He pulled the master off his own '97 GLX TDI and put it on my car so I could have it when I arrived. He did a lot of other work as well, like a new flex pipe because it separated, new fuel hoses because the old one had a hole in it, (it turns out the sedan and wagon fuel hoses are different, so he found another set of wagon ones), had tires mounted and balanced, oil change, and a host of other things. He even washed the engine bay. I was floored.
Here he is showing us the V10 TDI he picked up and has for a swap later on in something. What a monster.
From there I drove the car to K&B Automotive in Ellsworth, Maine to get the AC system fixed. I've known them for a long time and they're the only ones I trust to work on any of my cars. They started working on it and I offered to help, grabbing a wrench. They don't let just anyone work on their cars in their work area, but I've known them a long time and they trust me with a wrench. Since it was my car and I was willing to put in some wrench time, they moved on to other customer cars since they have a 3 week backlog due to being shorthanded (like everywhere). I had the front of the car off in short order, replaced the condenser, and we evacuated and charged the system. An AC system isn't critical in Maine and when the condenser developed a hole I never bothered to get it repaired since it wasn't used but one or two days a year. In Arizona having AC is a necessity. The pump wasn't putting out enough pressure so it needed replacing. They were ahead of me and had another pump ready, but it was the wrong one even though it was listed for my car.
They looked for a new pump and found a match to one that would work, but it was a remanufactured and he said he wouldn't recommend it because the remanned ones only last a year. I looked on ID Parts and they had one left, so I called and Peter answered. He asked how Arizona was and we chatted for a minute, and I told him of my dilemma. I ordered the pump and he said I'd have it the next day, with the Ideal shipping they offered, talk about service! I got to the shop early (they let me use the 'shop' truck for the night) and while we waited I changed the tranny fluid and gave the car a once-over. The new pump arrived late afternoon, we buttoned everything up and the AC was ice cold.
From there I visited my mom for awhile and looked over my dad's B4V, which will be available soon. I had just put the last set of Bilstein HD struts in the country on his B4V, with HD springs from the UK, and wanted them back. If the car was to be sold, I was keeping and could use the setup. It took me awhile but I swapped them over and put the Bilstein TC struts back on his car. Now the wagon was ready to travel.
(Continued)