A "Cathy-esq" Saturday tale

[scirocco at vintagewatercooleds.com (Eric S)]

So one of my VW friends in the area, kinda down on his luck a bit, has
been having some transmission issues (he blew out first on a miss shift
from 5th to 3rd).  He's never done a trans swap before, and lives in an
apartment, so he bribed me with beer and pizza to bring the car up to my
lovely air tool equipped 4 car garage. (Scirocco content: have room to
work in said garage because its still down at the body shop).

Now, plan was for him to arrive here 9am yesterday morning and we'd tear
that thing out as fast as possible.  Last Thursday, he called me
concerned, cause his clutch was slipping and had some odd knocking sounds
from the bell housing.  He assured me that he could make the drive for
Saturday.

*Queue menacing music*

10 am rolls around, no buddy, I'm waiting and getting a little worried, he
lives about a 35-40 minute drive away.

10:15 am:

He calls, clutch starting slipping bad, knocking sounds, then engine died.
 He's stuck on the side of the road, on a major highway about 15 minutes
away, on an OVERPASS.

10:30 I depart with my trusty Toyota Pickup and about 4 tie down straps to
use as tow ropes

10:50 Holy crap is he in a dangerous spot, semis going by at 65-70 mph
with maybe a foot to spare...I climb out the passenger side and quickly
hook up to the Rabbit (damn american rabbits) and pull him the mile or so
to the next exit and into a quiet, shaded parking lot.

11am - 12:30 pm:

Start to investigate no start condition.  Motor turns over well, but
produced a horrendous racket from the bellhousing area...he is loosing a
lot of oil out of what I thought at the time was the rear main.  Wish I
had figured it out then, but it was too late anyway.  So, we've got spark
and fuel...lets check timing...oooh, wouldn't ya know, timing belt is
shredded in multiple spots.  Fortunately the main Napa warehouse for the
Denver area is about 3 blocks from our location.  Zip up there, get a
timing belt and oil and zip back.  Timing belt swap goes quite smoothly
and car fires right up with no adjustments to ignition timing or anything.
 Bellhousing racket not as bad, we decide to take back roads at slow
speeds back.  About a mile from my house, he looses all gears...back to
the tie down straps that were never intended to tow anything.  Make it to
my house without further incident.  Note that engine was running really
hot near end of the drive...interesting, we lost a good 3 quarts of oil in
20 minutes of driving.

12:30 till time of death, 4 pm:

Typical tranny swap stuff...no surprises, having him doing most of the
work in a logical fashion so he can learn (he asked to do this).  So I
mainly relaxed with a beer, helped here and there and just gave him an
order to remove stuff and handed him tools.  He's making good time and
around 2:30 or so everything is off except the last two mounts, passenger
engine and tranny mount.  Moment of truth time.  I hook up the engine
hoist to the engine, we undo the tranny mount and start to tilt the motor
down....hmmz, nots of crunchy noises, lets investigate.  Interesting! 
Tranny already sliding off the engine, wow, this could be a nice easy
swap!  I get in the drivers wheel well and start some minor tugging
manuvering.....

CRASH

75 lb tranny crashes into Erics (now very sore and scabbed) arm and onto
the floor...ENTIRE PRESSURE PLATE AND FLYWHEEL ASSEMBLY COMES OFF THE
CRANK WITH IT.

Yep, if you haven't guessed it by now, his pressure plate bolts had backed
themselves out and thats what all that racket was, it flailing around
inside the bell housing.

I pronouce crappy 1.7 liter motor a boat anchor at the instant I see the
crank shaft.  I bolt snapped off clean, all other bolt holes threads are
TRASHED.

Time of death for 1981 Rabbit S: 2:52 pm Mountain Daylight Time

And you think you had a bad day.

I really feel sorry for my bud, he tried re-threading those crank holes,
but folks, this is a hardened crank...its fubar.  He is in a really bad
financial situation, so I offered him my Fox Wagon on a payment
plan...he's kinda attached to said dead Rabbit so waffles a bit.

4pm, done hanging the engine from a 2x4 across the engine bay, car back on
the ground and promptly rolled into the spot in my garage known as the
graveyard (since my scirocco shell had occupied that spot for the last 5
years or so).

Took buddy home, arrived back at 5:30 pm just in time to have my parents
arrive for dinner.  I am bloody, greasy and pissed off, just how they love
to find their off spring I am sure :)

Oh well, it was a nice dinner and a funny movie afterwards.

Fast forward to this morning:

I have a dead Rabbit in my garage I have no idea when will be leaving...I
am over joyed to get this email from my buddy:

"Found a free, complete, good running 1.7 about a mile or two from your
house."

Looks like Eric gets to do an engine swap now too :)

Oh well...its good to be able to help when someone REALLY needs it like he
does, makes ya feel good.  Felt that VW brotherhood love that I only tend
to get when at Cincy...good stuff...but FUCK does my arm hurt.

END OF LINE

-- 
Eric
www.vintagewatercooleds.com

1981 Scirocco S (TDI swap project)
1990 Fox Wagon 1.6 Heron Head 8v
1991 Cabriolet (2.0 crossflow 8v project)