acidtonic

iTrader: (1)

Scored this bad boy for $600 today. Very little rust for a car nearly 35 years old. Drove it home under its own power.

This is replacing my 1997 Geo Metro 1.0 liter 3 cylinder 5 speed. (My other hypermiling 74mpg toy).

I think this diesel 1.6 can do better.
EDIT: Upon further investigation, I think it's a 1.5 diesel though I'm still not sure.

Also got extra radiator, bumpers, axles, and some other odds and ends. First order of business is to get the heat working. The heater fan doesn't turn out but otherwise it has lights, signals, and runs fantastic.

This thread will document some of my progress with the new toy in the stable.

acidtonic

iTrader: (1)

Reserved 3

DSMdynamic

iTrader: (38)

Wow what a steal, I've always wanted one of these. Looks like it's in awesome condition for it's age.

Best of luck with it!

acidtonic

iTrader: (1)

More pics....

MinusPrevious

iTrader: (3)

LOL, Many years ago I owned the same model. Didnt have it for long. It was truly gutless

I remember being dogged on the on ramps & saying to myself, OK, Ill put my foot into it & leave them in a cloud of black diesel soot

I think the head cracked head & glow plug issues & shortly after bought a VW GTI

Anyway, your thread brought back a memory. Thanks & GL

acidtonic

iTrader: (1)

I bought it purely for the diesel engine and the amazing gas mileage. Then on the way driving it home, I really fell in love with it for other reasons.

The little vent windows instantly take me back to my childhood when all the vehicles I rode in had those little vents and I would play with them.

Plus this has the working sun roof and better yet it still seals and keeps the inside dry. I cannot wait for summer when I can pop that sucker open and drive to work slowly and leisurely. My commute is 1.7 miles so it should be fun and stress free. If it breaks down I'll park it and walk to work. I can walk 2 miles if I have to. But man I put a few bucks in for the drive home and the gas needle *still* hasn't budged in over an hour and a half of drive time and roughly 60 miles.

It's so retro and gets a lot of looks on the short drives I've taken it on. The Evo is such a heart pounding frantic-type of car for me where as in this thing I just relax and take it easy. I don't find myself cussing slow traffic because I'm no longer in a rush.

Besides if you look closely in the photos I have a geo metro 3 banger parked behind that fence, and the Evo is tucked safe in the garage behind that in case I get in a hurry

Ancyker

Where do you people find these interesting and dirt cheap cars at...

Does it have a block heater to assist on cold starts? Also, is it still gas mileage when it's diesel?

acidtonic

iTrader: (1)

It has a block heater already. In fact without it the car will not start. I think the glow plugs are all bad. My plan is to replace those, but my 1980 has the older "slow" plugs which means I have to upgrade a relay as well and the whole kit is $137 all together.

I also have now correctly identified the area where the Bosche injection pump is leaking and it's the "cold start advance lever". This means the pump has to come off and a timing belt change will be done since it has to come off to get to the pump. Pulling the pump means I need a timing kit and then that means I might as well fix the small coolant hose as well. Then this beast should be road-ready.

So now the waiting game begins while I wait on parts. In the mean time I'll focus on other "free" things to do like rust proofing and cleanup. I also need to fix the wiring problem with the heater which is going to be a pain I'm sure.

I wish I was friends with a diesel mechanic.....

acidtonic

iTrader: (1)

Well I just got done throwing 2 new glow-plugs in (cylinders 3 & 4).... Also got the plug in cylinder 2 loose and ready to come out which I'll finish up tomorrow.

I think cylinder 1's plug is best reached by removing the timing belt cover and going in from the side. Either way I'm happy that I will be able to get them all without pulling the injector hoses or messing with any of the fuel injection pump components.

I ended up finding Bosch Duralights which are supposedly compatible with either the slow or the fast relay kit. I didn't want to pay for an expensive relay upgrade so I specifically sought out
these plugs.

rossbots

iTrader: (1)

Love the Mk1 Golf... I've had 3 so far and itching to get another. Been toying with fitting a 1.9 tdi to get the mileage too. They have lots of character and handle like go-karts. Enjoy...

acidtonic

iTrader: (1)

Okay I got all the glow plugs changed without removing the injector lines! 8)

To rethread the glowplugs without any room I used the rod end of a factory tire jack with the flat-head on one end and the curled loop of metal on the other.... I used the loop kinda like a support and was able to lower the plug down and slide it into the port on the head. Then I carefully reached between the head and the fuel line and was able to get my index finger and middle finger around the thing and thread it in one turn at a time. Eventually I figured out how to get each one in and out and it was tricky but entertaining.

For anyone interested here was my strategy.

Cylinder 1: Remove the timing cover and come in from the left side under the belt with a small wrench. Then the left hand reaches in and unthreads/catches it. Same for reinstallation.

Cylinder 2: By far the worst and hardest overall. 8 mm wrench going between the two injector lines and the head doing an 1/8th turn at a time slowly and surely. Painfully slow but even with a wrench that hits either side of the injectors leaving no room, it's possible. I used the closed end of the wrench so there was no slack. Then let it fall out and I used a magnetic tool to pick it up. For reinstallation it was a pain to get the glow plug back in because the cold start advance lever blocks it from going down. So first I hung the plug off a magnet connected to a long screw-driver, then lifted it up and started "swinging" the plug back and forth using only the magnetic forces to hold it to the end of the screwdriver. If done correctly you can "swing" it up and into the hole enough that you can use the loop end of the spare-tire jack tool to then hold it in place (or a coat-hanger)

Cylinder 3: Small swivel fits in between the right-angle injector hose bends coming right out of the Injection Pump. If you move the front coolant hose out of the way you can fit a small 6 inch extension and ratchet which lets you get *right* at the bolts making this one quite easy.

Cylinder 4: Painfully easy, just come in from the right hand side or go straight at it with an extension and ratchet.

Old and Busted....



New hotness...... (literally)













Looks like I do in fact have the 1.5 liter.... Says 90 cid here. The 1.6 is 97cid.
Guess I have the crappy engine. I still love it




Here is the small hose that is cracked and leaking bad. Next project when I get more time.

PZ.eu

1st pic on the OP, is that vintage Jaguar XJ seen through the window?
If you want an idea for some later Mitsubishi diesel project I have one, if you want to hear

acidtonic

iTrader: (1)

Someone is paying attention.....

I've actually gone quite far with this project on another forum.... mostly because I was seeking advice.

Right now I've completely torn into it. I have the timing belt off, the injection pump out and removed (waiting on seals then I'm rebuilding it), I also found some rust on the front engine mount area and discovered a $100 bar that is meant to fix it so no welding.

I found a local dealer for selling just the pump seals I need. I'm driving up there tomorrow to fetch those and start rebuilding the pump.

There was a little confusion since people told me on the other forum that I screwed up and failed to time the engine properly, then I had a few back-and-forths and discovered that I'm just fine and on track.

Here's a bunch of photos showing more progress..... Text in between.

Battery wasn't cranking well. Got a sweet UPS battery from work that instantly cured that. Heavy for the size.... like a good 30lbs heavier than the same sized 880cca battery that came out.




Shots of fuel pump rebuild and some new parts.

(I just sprayed PB-Blaster on a lot of the bolts before shooting these photos. That's not fuel leaking around the injectors)

PZ.eu

Yeah I can always recall that darling by the side, great car. And is only a tremec transmission away from having a nice mpg for todays age, 4.2 or V12 btw?

Golf Mk1 diesels are still running strong from where I come from (eastern europe), with as minimal maintanance as possible due to the shallow pockets of its owner, and they also take a lot of beating, proper maintanance once is good enough to be trouble free a long time with them. Just make sure the pump is well tuned, its the most key component of any early IDI diesel around.
As for Mitsubishi diesel project I'd share the idea, anyway. Mitsubishi Starion's (virtually) transmission bolts directly to 4D55 engine from Ford Ranger '85-87 and '83-85 Dodge Ram 50. Thats not all, you can tune the engine with various stuff to an easy 100kw of power(crank) which is enough to run starion's rig.

steve0677

iTrader: (6)

Great buy! My parents had two of those brand new in the 80's. One lasted over 400K and was still running solid when sold. I bought one for $400 bucks back in 95 for first year of college.