1983 VW Santana 1.8LX?
Discussion
Forced retirement means that I have a bit more time to poke around the buildings on the farm I own. For some reason I had banished my daily driver from 2008 -2012 to the back of my mind. It's a 1983 VW Santana 1.8 LX manual with approximately 70,000 miles and I remembered getting the timing belt changed before putting in the back of a warm, dry shed. There's no rust and the tyres are still full of air. With a bit more time on my hands I'm thinking of putting it back on the road. Is there a ready checklist of what I need to do get it going and get back to summer use. I know that they are not very valuable but it's been a long time since I met another one! BTW the Santana was replaced by a new Ford C-Max.
Had one of those some time in the late 80s. In a fetching metallic red. I think 84 onwards they became Passat saloons?
Great car, loved mine, but it really needed power steering (which mine at least lacked). Wife was pregnant at the time and money was short so I stupidly traded it for the worst car I have ever had - a beige Ford Fiesta 1.0 popular. Not even the "Popular Plus". No radio, no rear wiper, rusted for Britain and actually, to rub salt into the other wounds, it actually was no more economical than the Santana.
Great car, loved mine, but it really needed power steering (which mine at least lacked). Wife was pregnant at the time and money was short so I stupidly traded it for the worst car I have ever had - a beige Ford Fiesta 1.0 popular. Not even the "Popular Plus". No radio, no rear wiper, rusted for Britain and actually, to rub salt into the other wounds, it actually was no more economical than the Santana.
If its been lucky enough to have been stored in the dry outside of direct sunlight then it should be a prime candidate to get back on the road. I'd expect to replace the majority of the fuel system and rubber perishables but with minimal to no rust to deal with you are onto an winner.
Shame it's not one of the really rare 1.9L 5 cylinder models, that would be a treat, not the most powerful but good for rally car sounds.
Shame it's not one of the really rare 1.9L 5 cylinder models, that would be a treat, not the most powerful but good for rally car sounds.
Like the manual windows!
As for a checklist, I think all new filters and fluids are needed across the board, maybe drain the fuel tank as it might have become stale or worse still, gone a bit icky. 12 years in dry storage you may be ok with just draining it.
Get it in the air and check mice haven't eaten the wiring or chewed through something important, at the same time have a look at the bushes for signs of cracking and splitting etc.Also check you didn't leave a prawn sandwich in the glovebox (happened to someone I know).
Hope the clutch hasn't seized and the brakes work ok, if so then you're half way there.
A nice bit of barge from the 80's is that.It would be great to see it put back on the road.
As for a checklist, I think all new filters and fluids are needed across the board, maybe drain the fuel tank as it might have become stale or worse still, gone a bit icky. 12 years in dry storage you may be ok with just draining it.
Get it in the air and check mice haven't eaten the wiring or chewed through something important, at the same time have a look at the bushes for signs of cracking and splitting etc.Also check you didn't leave a prawn sandwich in the glovebox (happened to someone I know).
Hope the clutch hasn't seized and the brakes work ok, if so then you're half way there.
A nice bit of barge from the 80's is that.It would be great to see it put back on the road.
oldmanbm said:
Following Johnny Smith's advice on getting a 'barnfind' to run.
A-ha! So, teasing us for an unnecessarily long time before revealing what the car is, plugging your sponsors, spending ages explaining each step, engaging the owner's farm tractor to extract it, asking for likes and subscribes, drinking tea and eventually getting some old banger running amid a cloud of smoke and achieving your target recording time.I quite like his videos, but always want to play them at 2x speed to get to the point.
texaxile said:
....and the brakes work ok, .....
How will you know? I've driven half a dozen 80's VWs and the middle peddle was largely ornamental! One memorable jaunt out on the Yeovil by pass in my mum's Polo - brand new tarmac, no traffic, teenage driving skills and attitude to risk....by the second chicane (sorry roundabout) the pedal went to the floor and I straight lined the obstacle getting air as the car clipped the inside kerb. No lasting damage apart from my undies, but it taught me a salutary lesson about 1980's VW brakes!
Dapster said:
How will you know? I've driven half a dozen 80's VWs and the middle peddle was largely ornamental!
One memorable jaunt out on the Yeovil by pass in my mum's Polo - brand new tarmac, no traffic, teenage driving skills and attitude to risk....by the second chicane (sorry roundabout) the pedal went to the floor and I straight lined the obstacle getting air as the car clipped the inside kerb. No lasting damage apart from my undies, but it taught me a salutary lesson about 1980's VW brakes!
Wasn't it something to do with the way they converted to RHD? 'Twas thus on Golf MkI GTIs, anyway, I seem to recall: the pedal was on the right and the servo on the left, connected by a torsion war with a bit too much flex in it.One memorable jaunt out on the Yeovil by pass in my mum's Polo - brand new tarmac, no traffic, teenage driving skills and attitude to risk....by the second chicane (sorry roundabout) the pedal went to the floor and I straight lined the obstacle getting air as the car clipped the inside kerb. No lasting damage apart from my undies, but it taught me a salutary lesson about 1980's VW brakes!
That said, I once sold a Polo Breadvan to a friend's mum and scared myself silly when I went to put fuel in it - no servo.
Turbobanana said:
Wasn't it something to do with the way they converted to RHD? 'Twas thus on Golf MkI GTIs, anyway, I seem to recall: the pedal was on the right and the servo on the left, connected by a torsion war with a bit too much flex in it.
That said, I once sold a Polo Breadvan to a friend's mum and scared myself silly when I went to put fuel in it - no servo.
Exactly, the RHD conversion was the culprit. I had a mk 2 GTI and that was much better (disks all round) but the 80's disk/drum cooking ones like the Polo were a menace...That said, I once sold a Polo Breadvan to a friend's mum and scared myself silly when I went to put fuel in it - no servo.
My dad had metallic light green Santana GX5 purchased new from Dovercourt VW in London. It was quite a cool car and given that it was top spec had alloy wheels, sunroof, green tinted glass and plush interior in granny beige.
I had just passed my test and must admit it went like stink in comparison to the Volvo 740GLE that replaced it.
I had just passed my test and must admit it went like stink in comparison to the Volvo 740GLE that replaced it.
No just SAY in the plate. I put a new battery in today and added £20 of super unleaded. Clutch and brakes are fine but the accelerator pedal does not seem to be connected and lies on the floor. Strange. I have a Haynes manual for the Santana (actually have 2!) so some bed-time reading tonight. Will keep you posted!
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