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81 Caddy parked in 89

27K views 200 replies 23 participants last post by  Butcher 
#1 · (Edited)
Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
Goal
I want to end up with a street car that reminds me of my old 84 GTI, but with a pickup bed

Back story:
Finally brought home a Caddy. Had an 84 GTI white/blue sunroof no A/C from 2010 to 2015, when I lost it in a garage fire that my Alfa Milano started. Prices on those went up quite a bit since then, and a friend sent me an ad for this 81 Caddy on Facebook Marketplace, which I don't use since I'm not on Facebook. 30min after the ad went up we had a deal. Seller thought he underpriced the car based on how much interest he had.

The car:
  • 1981 Rabbit pickup
  • 1.7L gas, 4-speed
  • I think it's the base model?
  • Aftermarket vinyl tonneau bed cover
The condition as purchased:
  • 66k miles
  • Sitting in a barn since 1989 - 31 years!
  • Rear drums in-op, so no parking brake
  • Ooold tires
  • Leaking exhaust
  • Leaking radiator
  • Loose engine / trans mounts
  • Cracked windshield
  • Crusty suspension
Rust?
  • Relatively clean!
  • One bubble on each side of the windshield seal
  • No rust at base of windshield
  • One spot on driver door where it was hit on something
  • Pinch welds are mostly clean
  • Jack points clean
  • Floor pans are very sold, small surface rust at driver rear corner
  • Clean strut towers
  • Edges of hood support stamping starting to flake
  • Very clean bed, one spot of surface rust
  • Clean rear window seal
  • Spare tire carrier is crusty
  • Shocks, rear springs not looking good
Plans
  • Address rust
  • New windshield
  • Clean up underbody surface rust and undercoat
  • 4k trans from 84 GTI
  • JH swap or JH/3A swap with mild cam
  • New rear leaf springs, new coils up front
  • All new suspension components
  • New exhaust
  • Headlinder repair

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by
leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
 
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#30 · (Edited)
Got some small parts back from plating yesterday. Yellow zinc. For those curious, this cost $100, and I could have done probably 2-3x as many parts for the same price. Took them to the sand blaster first where I asked for the parts to be fine glass bead blasted but I'm almost certain they just got sand blasted. Lots of pitted stuff here, but I just hate throwing away (original) parts that could be saved.

None of this is any attempt at a restoration in any sense of the word - I just enjoy knowing that the parts are protected and look half-decent and will remain so for a number of years. I gave up on sandblasting at home (too much of a mess and way too much time with the system I had. What I may end up bringing in-house soon is e-coating.

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

And a final shot of the engine bay. I wire-wheeled away the larger surface rust spots, primed, and then painted with a rattle can paint I got matched online. Looks fine for an engine bay, especially for areas I won't be seeing. Left some of the smaller paint chips and rust spots since it's not a resto - just trying to recover and protect the larger areas:
Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Finally, this is the third car I've done this on - clear truck bedliner on the battery tray. That way the repair paint has a chance when plopping down the heavy battery. Little bit more protection against battery acid (but I'm not actually sure if that's true).
Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
 
#33 ·
Broke down and paid for the blasting, lol. Seriously though, there are a ton of DIYs to improve the cheap cabinets. I actually don’t mind using mine and it makes practically no mess. Media falling out, when I open the door is the only stuff that I can see. I have very little money and about 2 weekends spent making the improvements.

Did you remove the plastic lock out finger from the shift rod, or did it melt in the acid bath?

Who makes the clear bed liner? I’ve used SEM heavy texture guard, but I wouldn’t call it bed liner.

-Todd
 
#34 ·
Ha, I'm no stranger to improving Harbor Freight equipment - I spent $200 on parts / fluid to upgrade the pump and add filtration to my Harbor Freight parts washer this winter haha. I will definitely be insourcing some more in the future, including finally dialing in a blast cabinet. What put me over the edge was the fact that I wanted to powder coat the rear axle (which doesn't fit in the cabinet), so once I was paying for that, adding in the rest of the pieces didn't increase the cost much.

I removed both pieces of plastic from the shift rod! With some heat I was able to pry them off without damaging them.

On the plating, I'm curious if it's up to your aesthetic standards. I'm not super picky, as I just wanted the zinc plating for corrosion protection. If I were concerned about appearance, I probably not use this company. This was through Plymouth plating. It's pretty dull because the parts were sand blasted (despite the fact that I requested fine glass bead blasting - different shop). I was lucky to get these back in 1 business day, but next time, if I have the patience, I will try arrow plating down in Texas. I've seen more attractive work from them on my friend's Alfa.

It's clear Dupli-Color Bed Coating: https://www.amazon.com/Dupli-Color-Clear-Truck-Coating-16-5/dp/B015B8YQXM

I like to spray the shelves on my Harbor Freight rolling carts with it to add some extra protection.
 
#36 ·
Some dual outlet manifold woes: After breaking all of the studs flush with the manifold lower flange, I dropped the manifold at the machine shop to have the old studs drilled. Figured I could time-set or helicoil them.

I'm almost certain that the shop drilled too far. The two stud holes in the middle now allow air to enter from the bottom. I've done a lot of searching online and can't find a good thread sealant for something high-temp like that. No great access for welding. A shoulder on the stud doesn't seal it either, because the holes are drilled to helicoil.

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
 
#37 ·
And now for the better updates:

Got the new leaf springs installed. Used 4crawler's poly shackle bushings. The bushings weren't sized such that the original bolts could be used, so after some hesitation, I drilled the shackle bolt holes up to 9/16" and installed the larger bolts that I ordered with them. Pretty nice product, no complaints on the fitment.

Bolted up the new powder-coated rear axle with brake drum backing plates and axle stubs. I am local to Parts Place and bought some of those NOS leaf springs they carry. Easier than cleaning mine up. Upper leaf brackets were coated, and I had new U-bolts made up for cheap at a local shop. Bolted up rear KYB shocks.

Assembled front Sachs struts with new springs and bump stops / dust covers. Used some Febi strut mounts, IIRC. Didn't manage the exhaust donut trick but will keep an eye on the mounts. Sort of an experiment since they are so easy to change. New lower control arms, bushings, ball joints.

Rebuilt calipers, new hoses, new pads, new rotors up front too. New wheel bearings and dust covers. Bolted a snowflake up and they are going to look good.

I bent the large front to rear brake lines over the weekend. Ordered new stainless fuel lines to be safe, and ordered new vent line that mounts up above the fuel lines. Coughed up too much to get a NOS fuel level sender since mine was pretty destroyed from removal. Got a much cleaner fuel pump bracket in the mail - mine was trashed.

Need to figure out how to run a pin-style radiator in my pickup. I have rubber mount style rad support. Just drill? Or did I order the wrong thing?

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
 
#38 ·
Need to figure out how to run a pin-style radiator in my pickup. I have rubber mount style rad support. Just drill? Or did I order the wrong thing?
I would just drill and try to indent the hole. There should also be a rubber washer between the rad and core support shelf.
I had the same dilemma but was cured when I swapped the whole core support for other reasons.
 
#40 · (Edited)
The 83 TD Jetta with AC used the largest radiator put into mk1 from factory. Pin mounted too.
Also it used the most powerful electric fan up through the mk2 era at least. Think its 350 Watts. 3 blade design, 3 pin power connector, 2 speed and needs the shroud that corresponds to its larger diameter. Not yet mounted, is a resistor that mounts on the tab bracket for Low speed. If you are holding that fan in hand and trying to test one and get it on high... Hang on!! it will torque right out of your hand and its a wind tunnel.



Your 93 cabby may have also used the stand alone cooling harness with relay. The TD Jetta used that and certainly needs it with that fan.

I have a couple NOS gated valves in the hoard. But Honestly never had an issue with a newer style other than it being kinda stuck in position after a full season of being on or off. But I can see the O-ring tearing up after being stuck in one position too long. Saw the thread about the valves, and that made me dig mine out to see some differences. One thing I found from the valves I have is that the Gated type do pass some air when I blow into them... all the gated ones do. The newer boxy type seem to seal completely when closed.




For 15 years I ran the VW Autobahn blue juice coolant in that TD engine with distilled water. Think the Pentosin equivalent is G11 and that is what's going back in it, but new juice. Removed the block heater I installed 15 years ago and also replaced the center rusty looking on outside, freeze plug while I was doing it. But no joke inside that block was spotless. No signs of rust and still seeing green spray paint when the factory painted it before installing freeze plugs. Never ran any of that green or yellow crap coolant sold at auto parts stores. The 1.5L D I took out of the rabbit had that green in it and it was nasty rusty. Anyway use the best coolant you can get and ALWAYS use distilled water in the concentrate type mix.
 
#41 · (Edited)
There are two style of Porsche valves. Both look similar but when looking at them closely they're different. They will only operate one way [coolant flow will force the valve open above 1,500 rpm]. The two valve part numbers are 477819017 and 94457208502. Both should work fairly easy in a VW. Just locate the valve in the right direction and hose. There is no reason you can't use either hose to get the right valve orientation. Google search the pictures and look closely.

Although I do believe you checked the valves correctly, I seriously doubt that a fully close valve, running the proper flow direction will pass coolant. Maybe blowing thru it will but air is thinner than coolant. The door is forced shut with coolant flow and has a rubber seal [if I recall]. An old one may have a hardened seal or once lubed with coolant would seal better.

The largest radiator in a Mk1 is out of a 16V Scirocco[675mm vs your 570mm]. I cannot recall which radiator I have in my Caddy, but the Passat dual fan bolts up and fits without any modification. You need to use the Scirocco 16V lower radiator hose to miss the power steering pump.

I use Rowe G11 coolant [21066-418-03]. Much cheaper than Pentosin [What are they thinking, it's just antifreeze] and OEM for many manufacturers. $16 gallon. Same shade of blue. I fortunately live in a place where tap water is probably better than most bottled water out there. I never have used distilled but there are places that you should.

You seemed to be surprised to see that maintaining the cooling system keeps the system like new. No surprises here. When I work on clients cars, I know who maintains them or not.
 
#43 · (Edited)
@ Butcher
I got the pentosin from rock auto $8.32 for 1.5L of concentrate, NF-G11. Locally its double that.
Had about 10 gallons of the VW blue I bought at shows for $1/gal back when VW went pink. Seemed everyone was selling the blue super cheep. Guess they were supposed to dumpster it all. Dunno...

Didnt think of the 16V rocco rad with AC. But that also uses some expensive hoses.
The TD AC rad is 575mm wide core and uses some cheep 8V friendly hoses.

Need to look at the old gate valves again, but I think there is a small slot in the moving gate to allow some flow. Will look and try to take a pic in a bit.
Thanks for the Porsche PN's. Will check them out too.

@ Graham
Hard to make out whats wrong with the manifold hole in the pic. Just looks drilled out. Know you said the machine shop had it... But a machine shop should have been able to get a broken stud out without loosing the original threads.

If they drilled through inside... I dont think it would be an issue. Gasket will seal around the stud. Eventually it'll rust and seal its self.

But Geez. I have drilled them by hand and got close enough to the original threads to worm out the old stud threads, Saving the original threads.
I dont even try those nuts any more. Long chisel (parallel to stud) and hammer the nut. Couple good smacks usually is enough to deform nut to get penetrant in threads and get it off. Or just split it all the way. For the middle ones. Outside corners I have the KD tool nut splitter that works well.
 
#44 ·
I got the pentosin from rock auto $8.32 for 1.5L of concentrate, NF-G11. Locally its double that.
That is a good price for Pentosin and it does not surprise me on the local price. Still, list for the Rowe is $25ish for a gallon and list for the Pentosin is $18ish for 1.5L. Both could be had cheaper. I do my best to support the locals around here so I do not beat them up too much. Its just impossible to keep up with the big internet corporations and eventually the locals will go out of business if you do not give them some business once in awhile.

Don't get me wrong, Pentosin is good stuff but I prefer not to use/sell it. Takes away from my beer money.
 
#46 ·
Engine is in, thanks to excellent help from some friends. Normally I like to really clean the engines up (and rebuild them...), but this one just got a quick power wash and reseal. Found a TT 070 marking on what appeared to be a fresh cam on the JH I bought from Todd here and it's a G-grind (which I have sitting on the shelf already...oh well). Between the G-grind and the Scientific Bunny manifold / dual outlet manifold + TT dual downpipe + 2.25" exhaust I'm expecting it to feel...slow. But fun as hell!

Need to sort out pulleys for the JH I swapped in. I think I just need a standard non-AC crank pulley and standard 30mm hub water pump pulley but between my 1.7L and my MK2 JH parts engine, not to mention the JH I swapped in, I didn't have the right water pump pulley. I'll figure it out.

Dual outlet manifold still needs either an M14 and copper washer to plug the larger threaded hole or a redrill and a 5/8 pipe plug...leaning toward the pipe plug since the threads on the M14 hole are rough.

Brake lines went fine (all replaced), though the system isn't bled to perfection yet. Drums are new and shoes/hardware/wheel cylinders all replaced and working well. New adjuster wedges in there too thanks to VWPieces :cool:

Had to pull the brackets from my caddy fuel pump bracket off and weld to a rabbit hatchback example. Took some chiseling out on the isolators first, of course. Also replaced all of the fuel hoses and vent lines, but trying to figure out the best hose to use for the upper vent to the filler neck. Currently have a vinyl hose in but I might go to a 14x18mm rubber hose.

Otherwise just need to install radiator and plumb for cooling and hook up wiring. Kid coming Wednesday, so going to have to wait a bit

I bought fuel lines from MK1autohaus and they weren't even close to fitting on the floor pan area. Turns out their design is for a different floor pan configuration. Those guys make some decent parts that are hard to find, but kind of hard to get a hold of. Had to rebend what they sent me.

New engine mounts in the powder coated brackets, new 210mm clutch and Sachs clutch kit / hardware, and FK trans installed.

On to the photos:

The fuel pump bracket rework:
Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

And the rear drums:

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

You can see where my lines go the other way underneath the passenger floor here:
Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Clean dual outlet manifold:

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Engine bay:

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Back on the ground: Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
 
#49 ·
You can see where my lines go the other way underneath the passenger floor here:
later models moved the fuel and brake lines to accomodate front sway bars
assuming its easier to produce and stock 1 type of line than 2 (older & newer)
 
#47 ·
#48 ·
I just did this job on the rabbit. I used the 5/8 vinyl from local hardware store. Round here its called Cole's but a sub of True-Value chain. They had 2 different wall thicknesses on large rolls, sold by the foot. I went with the thicker one. But the shtuff that Lowes and HD sells in the packages is complete garbage. You can never get the kinks out of it and its practically flat and not round. Like its uncured and still hot when they rolled it up and package it.
 
#51 ·
No real update, but I got the car moved to the new house. Towed it a couple of miles behind the Passat...went fine.

Sorting my thoughts, here's what I've got left
  • Plumb fuel tank venting
  • Plug extra manifold holes and install studs
  • Install radiator (drill for pins and install rubber grommets)
  • Swap single heater outlet fitting over from 1.7
  • Plumb vacuum lines
  • Plumb cooling
  • Plumb engine bay fuel supply/return
  • Bleed brakes
  • Alignment
  • Fill engine/trans oil
  • Install manifold/downpipe/exhaust



Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
 
#53 ·
No fuel at distributor

Do the accumulators ever clog up? Car has a new fuel pump, new fuel lines, clean fuel tank, fuel in the tank (3 gal), fuel in pump inlet line, but I'm not getting any fuel to the fuel distributor.

Car ran (poorly) in May when I pulled the original engine. Not sure what would have caused the distributor to fail.
 
#54 ·
You do not need the accumulator for the system to work. It's used to dampen the fuel pressures and to keep the system under pressure when the engine is shut off.

Is there a way to bypass the accumulator easily? If there is, I would do that first. I have not seen accumulators plug up or prevent fuel from flowing. I guess it's possible of you have a two hose accumulator.
 
#55 ·
I guess it doesn't make much sense for it to have failed so suddenly (after being removed from the car and before being reinstalled). Possibly, but unlikely. I will pull the line on the outlet side and see if there is fuel.

Unfortunately, not I am wondering if I just reversed the fuel supply/return connections at the front. I bought metal lines online but after bending them to make them fit, I might have accidentally swapped the position. Pump sounded like it was deadheading. Wonder if this could be why. Will check
 
#57 ·
Engine starts! 1.8 JH on CIS basic from the 81 truck. I set the timing to 6* BTDC using the timing mark on the flywheel and a timing light. I did not remove any vacuum lines from distributor per the manual. Cam timing double-checked, set properly (though I do need to hook up a tach and make sure idle speed is within range).

Previous starting issue likely due to low fuel level in the tank. It would catch but couldn't sustain. Added 5 gal and much better.

Truck sets into idle fairly nice. When I go to give it throttle, it bogs down. Truck ran ok with the old engine, so my thought is vacuum leak. I'll be checking through all of that. Nothing stands out, so I'll check all of the clamps first, then try starting fluid or similar at the boots.

After that, I guess I'll take on a methodical inspection of all of the CIS components / functions. Can only get about an hour in the garage these days with a 2mo old, but I'll manage!
 
#60 ·
If your distributor has a vacuum advance canister make sure it hold vacuum. Some cans are advance and retard... Also make sure you are getting full motion out of the plates inside the dizzy.
And make sure its connected to the correct ports on TB that are able to make it work properly.

I set timing by total advance which is why I mentioned getting a dizzy known good and functioning. I also don't trust the 0* on flywheels these days and some replacements dont even have the Zero. Confirm and or make your own mark and use a timing light you can set your degrees of advance into the light. Also not all lights are the same or accurate so what one tells you may not work for you. But I would try 28* total to start.
 
#62 · (Edited)
Thanks for the total advance recommendations!

At this point, I can't get the engine to rev at all using the throttle, even with 6 degrees advance at idle. I need to go through an double check my work again. Sensor connections, grounds, vacuum connections, etc.

And, the car ran ok in May when it had the stock 1.7L. It did feel incredibly slow (I'm used to a stock 84 GTI, which isn't a dog) but maybe that's just what a 1.7 / 4-speed feels like. Point being, I imagine that the CIS components are functional enough to allow the engine to idle / make power, so I must be overlooking something that I missed during the installation - something that would be keeping the engine from revving when I give it throttle.
 
#63 ·
Went to bleed to the injectors. Jumper in place of the fuel pump relay, pushing the control plate up and down. I don't get continuous fuel spray from any injector. Cylinder one gets a short spray when plunger is depressed.

Fuel pump is new, most likely fine. Going to order fittings / CIS kit to check pressure since I can't say if it's low fuel pressure or blocked injectors that is causing the lack of fuel.

 
#64 ·
How exactly are you moving the sensor plate?
This ran before you swapped the engine?
I don’t think it’s possible, but is the fuel filter facing the correct direction?
Not that it should matter, but you mentioned cis basic... I’d think 81 would be cis lambda, unless it was converted.

I’d pull the injectors and try again.

-Todd
 
#65 ·
Yeah, will try with injectors off next. It did run before I swapped it, but it didn't feel anywhere close to 74hp...

Fuel filter is facing correct direction but always worth checking.

Not 100% on the terminology but there isn't a frequency valve or O2 sensor, so CIS basic, right? Maybe it was converted at some point?
 
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