got my first vw

[jenkinskg]

Its an 88 cabriolet Karmen addition
Has many miles, 1.8 cis auto

I think it is first have of 87 prodution date from its hardware.
It has 4 headlights, if that helps

1. Project 1 was suspension, especially after the left front shock locked up.
ordered set of coil overs for it for $267 free shipping, brand new
Went on very well, only minor file work and grinding needed

2. Project 2, oil pressure when hot was very very low, measured with mechanical guage on the head
New oil pan gasket and new oil pump, heavy oil.
Pressure seems better , definitely not high unless it is in the first 5 minutes
Any way to know if pressure is critically low?

3. Project 3 Odometer stuck, speedo working OK
Was able to get odo working ok, when it went back together speedo needle did not go back in, not sure how it is held in
or put back in. Ordered a speedo cluster off ebay, not exactly same one, was able to use speedo part in mine, but the circuit board in speedo does not fit in this on, it is kind of external now.

4. Changed voltage regulator, brushes badly worn. Then no charge, was due to broken foil in speedo cluster, ra jumper wire, then seems like tach, gas gauge etc all came to life!!
4b solder foil jumper to resolve problem 4

Well that is it for now, any suggestions or advice?

FYI the car is for mostly spare car and my daughter to use, so just putting around is ok for now.

[Briano1234]

1. shouldn;t have been any grinding, but alas, some kits aren't the same.
2. Replace the sensors on the oil filter flange.
3. It is a pin fit that is the needle coming out of the middle of the gauge sticks on the center of the needle.
4. Replace your ground cables battery to frame and frame to engine/tranny.

Posting Pictures is a good thing to do also.

[CalAltaDubber]

Hello and welcome to TRF.

Sounds like you found a nice little gem of a car.

There are a couple of things you can do to determine the year of the car.

First, you can determine the year by decoding the VIN. Not sure about US models, but Canadian models have the month and year of manufacture on the label inside the drivers door sill.

A good place to look is on http://www.cabby-info.com. Kamy, the sight owner has lots of great information on determining this and lots of good technical info too.

The 1987 MY was the last year without the "clipper kit" . Generally '87s have two headlights. Cars like mine that have the driving lights in the grille have them installed after buying the car.

Finally there is no such thing as a "Karmann edition". All MK 1 Cabriolets were built by Karmann GmbH under license from VW. Hence all Cabriolets were delivered with Karmann badges on the fender. Again Kamy has a very good description of all variants of these cars on Cabby-info.

It would be great to see a picture of your car. I have both an '87 (stock) and an '88 (custom).