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  #1  
Old 09-18-2001, 10:55 AM
MarkTDI
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Thumbs up 1985 300td

I brought home an '85 300TD yesterday! 144,000 miles young.

I had looked at the car about 1 month ago, but didn't have the funds available. The former owner called and left a message on my machine last week that if I was still interested in the car he still had it and he would drop his asking price by half!!!

So far I'm very impressed with the car. With it I got the chassis manuals, the engine manual, a haynes manual (useful for looking up some things, like oil capacities), the owners manual, and the warranty booklet.

It was sold by Pepe motors in NY and the purchaser was xxxx Pepe (can't remember the first name). The marranty book is stamped all the way up to about 87,000 miles.

It has some surface rust on the doors, and the paint on the hood and roof is very sun faded (the clearcoat has flaked off).

The last owner has all of the rotors and brake pads and one caliper replaced within the last year, he also gave me some new front suspension parts (balljoints, and bushings).

I'm hopefull the rear suspension will continue working well. When I went to pick the car up he hadn't driven it since the last time I looked at it and the battery had gone flat. The rear end didn't seem to be sagging at all after sitting a month. I changed the filter, but I still need to change the oil (very gross).

The HVAC system seems to be all functional. On automatic I can tell when it's changing the fan speed and opening and closing the ducts. Someone put a plumbing ball valve into the heater line under the hood so maybe there were troubles in the past.

I yanked out the dead hatch struts and I going to look for replacements.

That's all for now... I'm sooo excited!

Mark

'85 300TD
'96 Passat TDI wagon

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  #2  
Old 09-18-2001, 12:05 PM
LarryBible
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Congratulations. If this car has been taken care of properly, you will get many, many good and fun miles out of it.

Enjoy,
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  #3  
Old 09-18-2001, 01:41 PM
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,373
Me Too

Way to go! I got my 85 TD about 3 months ago and love it. Still tweeking it for speed, but its as solid as a rock and makes the DT feel like a go-cart. Weighs 1600 lbs more than its sedan counterpart if memory serves me correctly.

I hope you have a great time bringing it up to snuff.

Don
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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed
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  #4  
Old 09-19-2001, 03:17 AM
turbodiesel
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1600lbs MORE? I think not. I dont know exact numbers but I belive they differ by only 1 or 200 pounds. I owned a 84 300TD and it was just as "fast" as my 83 300D.

John
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  #5  
Old 09-19-2001, 04:59 PM
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,373
I didn't believe it at first but check out these numbers:

85 300TD - 4916 lbs
84 300DT - 3360 lbs

net difference of 1556 lbs.

my friend's 300TD is as fast as my DT so I know my problem is unique. Perhaps its because my TD is a grey market machine. Would that make a difference?
__________________
DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed
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  #6  
Old 09-25-2001, 10:49 PM
MarkTDI
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Runs better

When I bought the car it was slow... I think my old diesel rabbit pickup truck would have beat it in a drag race.

I had checked the boost lines earlier and found them to be clear, but tonight I investigated a little further and found the overboost protection valve was never opening (therefore blocking the boost from the ALDA). I replaced the valve with a short length of rubber hose. Holy crap what a difference fuel enrichment makes!!!

It's got some glacial turbo lag, but once it comes up to boil, look out! Before the change it would take forever to shift if you held it to the wood -- sounded like the engine was going to blow up. Now it hits second at about 3500rpm, third at about 4500, and fourth at about 4500 again (about 70mph) and it pulls strong up to each shift point. The transmission seems to be shifting better (less harsh) now that the engine is running stronger.

It's not quite the TDI, but at least close now. Now if only I can get it to stop leaving soot trails in and out of the driveway!!! ;-)

Mark
'96 TDI Passat Wagon
'85 300TD-T
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  #7  
Old 09-26-2001, 10:10 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Plano, TX
Posts: 2,574
Don -

I think you're comparing apples & oranges. The 3360lb figure is the empty weight of the car. The 4916 is the GVW - Gross Vehicle Weight rating. It includes the car itself, its maximum cargo load, a full tank of fuel, etc.

I think the wagons typically weigh ~200-300lbs more than an equivalent sedan. They also have a greater load carrying capacity. I have a 124 wagon which is rated to carry 1100lbs, if memory serves.

The GVW figures are on the build plate on the driver's door jam. Empty weight figures are usually found on the registration and/or title.

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