1987 VW Cabriolet Restoration. Still Own & Drive!
In February 2004, my neighbors were selling their 1987 VW Cabriolet for a great price. I couldn't help but to jump at the opportunity to rid them of this little bugger of a scoot. I needed a new project! My neighbor had driven the car everyday for the past 10 years; their children didn't want to have anything to do with it, which I found to be shocking. I would have killed to have a car like this when I was a teenager.
I was told that the engine probably had 300,000 miles on it (odometer stopped at 130,000), the engine mount was broken and that the car jumped into reverse on its own. My neighbor told me that he made sure to keep up on the oil changes. A good sign!
I brought along my friend, Erik, on the test drive and we both determined the car was worth buying even though it was barely idling, the suspension was barely holding up the car, the windshield was severely cracked in two places, the front tires were bald, the interior looked like it had been through a war, and the paint was visibly faded. In spite of these flaws, the car had never been in a wreck, there were no dents, only minor dings and the convertible top was in perfect condition. Another good sign!
The first line of order was to give the car a basic tune up. I was off to our local auto parts store. I purchased a new distributor cap, spark plugs, air filter, oil filter, oil, and Prolong Engine treatment.
Once the car was tuned up, the engine idled at a perfect 1000 rpm. The spark plugs and air filter were so worn that the car was running horribly. I would guess from how well the engine runs that it had fewer than 200k on it. All this little engine needed was a little TLC.
With the car running good, Erik and I began our suspension inspection.
Before getting knee deep into the work, we took it to our local car wash and steam cleaned the engine. We determined that the transmission problem was due to the broken engine mount. After replacing the part for $18.00, the problem was cured! Two replaced shocks and one front strut totaling $80.00 cured the suspension problem.
While the cost was fairly low and the process was fairly easy to fix, we encountered some hair raising experiences. The shocks and struts are both wrapped with spring coils under pressure. The back shocks weren't a problem, but when we got to the front strut, we found that while it was easy to remove the spring, it would prove otherwise to put it back on. This process is usually done with a special tool. However, since Erik and I are your typical garage mechanics with very basic tools, it was our ability to improvise that got us through this feat. We used four motorcycle tie downs to compress the springs. I'm not sure how much pressure these springs are under, but my guess is about 400 lbs. Erik is still applauding me for figuring this out.
With the car running in perfect order it was time to get it smogged and have the car registered in my name. Unfortunately, the car wouldn't pass the visual inspection, because the OXS (oxygen sensor) light was on. Luckily, I wasn't charged for the inspection. I purchased a new OXS for $21.00. Erik and I figured it would only take a few minutes to install this part. Wrong, this little bugger of a part was practically seized on the manifold. Because it was in a rather awkward position with barely any room to move around, it took us two hours and a hand full of bruised knuckles and a few newly discovered vocabulary words to complete this job. All was well and this little scoot passed smog!
Erik and I fell in love with this car and were having a blast scooting it around town. However, it looked horrible. It was time to address the paint. While Erik applied a coat of McGuire's wax, I cleaned up the vinyl top. We were both amazed how well the paint looked. If we didn't know any better, we might think it was new paint!
The interior of the car was the next challenge. After receiving three quotes averaging $900.00 to reupholster the seats, I decided to do it myself. Luckily, my father owned an upholstery shop for years and I was able to have him give me some tips and tricks of the trade. Plus, it helped that I own an industrial sewing machine.
