Re: Some questions

["Wm. Josiah Erikson" <josiah@gsinet.net>]

Michael Ravnitzky wrote:

> After my beloved and well-cared for 1987 Toyota MR2 was crushed from the
> rear by a Suburban last week (with me in it just sitting at a stop
> light) I purchased a 1986 Scirocco 8V in decent condition for $1175, and
> joined this list.  I hope you can tolerate a few questions...
>

That sucks that you got rear-ended. I've always wanted an MR2! Questions?
That's what this list is for, man!

> FIRST:  The Scirocco is reluctant to allow a shift into first gear.  The
> best way to shift it, said the previous owner, is to put it into second
> gear, and then encourage it into first gear.  While this may be an
> endearing idiosyncracy to some, I want to fix it.  The previous owner
> thought that it was an out of adjustment gear linkage or something.  He
> thought that it was either a 100 dollar adjustment or it could require a
> much larger repair.  Does anyone have any experience with something like
> this?
>

$100 adjustment? That's a bit expensive! : ) To fix this, you can get a bushing
kit to tighten up your linkage, if it has a bunch of slop in it like most of
them do, and then adjust it correctly. All this requires is a 13mm wrench and
some time. If you want the procedure, if somebody else hasn't already given it
to you, email me and I'll tell ya how to do it.

> SECOND:  Also, what are the best non-exotic tires to throw onto the
> front rims?
>

That's all a matter of opinion. Do you have 13 inch rims or 14 inch rims? If
you have 13's, get a good set of 14's and you'll notice a big handling
improvement. Then you can get yourself some nice tires in a 185/60HR14 size. I
only say to go with 14's and not 15's because you can pick up a set of stock VW
14" rims for quite cheap (from me, for instance.. hehe). I like Dunlop D60A2's,
and I also like BF Goodrich Comp T/A's. Both stick well and last awhile. Comp
T/A's don't last quite as long, but are better in the snow and I think they
stick a little better. If you must stick with your 13" rims (if you have 'em),
hmmm... I dunno. I don't do 13" rims (laugh).

> THIRD:  Also, if one front spring is cracked, but it still drives okay,
> should I replace the one, should I replace the both, or should I use the
> opportunity to get lowering springs?  If I get lowering springs, do I
> need to change other parts at the same time, or can I leave everything
> else alone?
>

This is all a matter of what you want to do. If the spring really is cracked
(which I doubt, they usually just break), then you could just replace that one
with a used stock spring, or, if you felt like it, you could spend the $180
plus installation (if you're not doing your own work) for a set of H&R's. If
you were going to get a new stock spring, you should probably replace both. If
you don't, you might get one side of your car riding a little higher than the
other.

> FOURTH: How tough is it to install a new radio antenna?
>
> FIFTH:  As time and funds permit, what should be my priorities in
> upgrading this car?  Is it worthwhile, or should I just run this one
> into the ground and save for a 16V?
>

I personally like 8v's. 16v's are nice, too, but 8v's can be tuned to be pretty
powerful (we have one guy on the list who claims 140bhp from a normally
aspirated 8v, but he had it all rebuilt with performance stuff). I'd say you
could get 120-130bhp from an 8v if you did some extensive work to it. I mean,
the euro 1.8 8v's had 120bhp stock, so it can't be THAT hard to do. Shaving the
head gives you a bunch more power (somebody did this to my Rabbit- makes a big
difference, but I have to run 89 octane). There's a whole long list of things
you can do to these cars to make 'em handle better and have more power. What's
your priority? Handling or power? Start doing whatever's more important to you
first. And if you're planning to drive an 8v into the ground, good luck. You
might have to do a bunch of maintenance, but they're hard to kill. I had an '83
Scirocco with well over 300K miles on it, and I finally junked it just because
I could feel the body flexing when I drove down dirt roads, and there were
visible stress fractures all over it.

> Mike Ravnitzky
> mikerav@ix.netcom.com
> St. Paul, Minnesota
>

Have fun with your car!    -Josiah


- --
 '83 Scirocco (not for long!)
 '84 Rabbit GTi (running again!)
 '86 Scirocco
 '87 QSW
 http://www.gsinet.net/~josiah
 I have lots of VW (especially A1) stuff for sale at:
 http://www.gsinet.net/~josiah/forsale/forsale.html


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