madkaw

See pic. Just need the valve on the end(plastic with two nipples)

Parts are still coming off, and still amazes me how these west cars clean up. Got the rear brakes done. The brakes had been done recently( mileage wise) , the only thing bad was the brake hoses and wheel cylinder . The car sat so long , moisture finally pitted the wheel cylinder bore , but just barely . No reason to try and save USA made wheel cylinders . The front brakes were the same way. Brake hoses cracked , brake lines had old fluid, the calipers had minor pitting and the dust seals were all crusty. The rotors might have cleaned up by just driving it around , but when it comes to brakes , I don’t skimp . So new calipers, rotors, hoses . The car sat square on all its corners , so I’ll be interested to see how the shocks feel. The springs and shocks look so clean and the rubber boots ( I guess that’s what you call them)are all in tact . I’m Doing the front steering as I’m doing the brakes . The boots were gone on the tie rod and ball joint, but fortunetly the PO greased the hell out of everything . There was a huge protective layer of grease that kept the elements out. Bearings cleaned up as new . All the zinc is still shining really well. The sway bar bushing were shot front and back, but I had extra urethane ones sitting around. I was actually able to salvage the original end links , the nuts just came loose! Got lucky on the steering rack boots and half shaft boots , no tears or cracking.

Cliff- be aware that the inline filter at your fuel rail could cause issues of internal failure. There are sections that can come loose and actually inhibit flow

Speaking from experience with Megasquirt, he could install it as easy as trying to get the stock induction/ emission/ EFI going- IF- he gets help from someone like Softopz to get him a head start . Yes , a factory FSM helps going back stock , but less components and newer technology offsets that. I think all these options/ opinions will help the OP make a better decision

Just bought some on flea bay last week. Come with connector and about 6” of wire. The newer connectors have a better retaining clip that just snaps in place

If it’s just connectors replace them . 25$ would get you a whole set. Learn to solder and call it a day . Or pay 1000$ for a new harness if you could find one . All these cars have bad FI connectors by now

And also , a fast EFI would be 1500$ plus all the other stuff you mentioned. He might be able to have a harness made up with his ECU for less than 500$ and not swap out anything

Not sure who ‘you guys ‘ are, but simplifying one BIG part of this project would go a long way to shortening the list ??. It would be a plug and play as most people picture it, but it would a perfect fit for someone who has an empty engine compartment when it comes to wiring . I spent a lot of time searching to wire just the power of the ecu and fuel pumps, etc.. so they worked together properly . This is all done for you and it mounts in the stock place. Yes it’s a shortcut , but this list is so long and the builder will still have to have the knowledge to pull it off

I understand that the coolant does not flow thru the AAR, but warms the plate the AAR sits on- that I didn’t know. I though the AAR was purely signal based from the ECU , but I am still learning .

I knew I would learn a lot on this thread. The only thing broke that I found was the TVV valve which MSA had. I figured it was worth the 35$ and some new hoses to and see if the whole system works besides deleting everything . I don’t want to pull , plug , delete the EGR piping unless i can get nothing to work. I’ve been studying the FSM, , but didn’t read about how the TVV warmed the AAR, interesting .

If you decide to jump right in doing the Megasquirt I would HIGHLY recommend you send that unit off to an experienced guy to have it checked. I would be very cautious of a unit that has had several hands in assembling . If you go to Hybridz in the vendors section and look up Softopz , he would be the guy to get with. I would send the unit to him and have it checked. He could also get you miles ahead by putting you a harness together using your unit. This will save you months of studying and frustration . He would also load you a tune so you don’t have to figure that out either. I have a thread over there in the Megasquirt section on an install I did. You need to save yourself frustration somewhere or you will be wanting to give up early . The Megasquirt system does simplify the whole system, but the learning curve is steep if your not up in your EFI. It allows cheaper , more modern sensors . Since your starting from ground zero with the wiring I would go with the premade harness from Softopz. It’s very resonabily priced. It sounds like you got some positive responses to your questions from the PO.

First off , might need to see what you have . Compression test , look under the valve cover , sniff the oil- if there’s any in there. Get a cheap borescope and look at the pistons . Maybe even pull the oil pan . It could have a blown HG for all you know. As far as running that combo NA- it would be doggie at best and discouraging on power at most. Yes you could use it, but a smaller chamber head would make it much better. Yes more work . Or find a cheap NA motor that’s already running and drop it in there. There’s folks v8 swapping these all the time and selling good running motors for 500$

Any s30 trans will work. The odd ball is the T-5 used on the turbo engine . It has unique yokes for bolting up the driveshaft . It still bolts the same to the L engine. There’s a ton of info and pics showing the different transmissions.

I might have to agree with the captain. You bought someone else’s nightmare and it will be hard to start with that. Then top it off with the turbo motor and programmable ECU :-0 And this is just the engine - there’s a whole bunch more to deal with . You probably didn’t get hurt at that price, but you’ll spend 10 times that getting it to drive - conservatively speaking

It’s funny you ask that. The 77 I’m doing still has everything there , so I plan on making it work, though I just found a broken piece on my thermal valve . Earlier models 9/76 the two tits were plastic instead of metal like yours. But other than that and all the rubber hoses being shot, I think I’ll try and make it work. It would be more work to eliminate everything at this point. Everything is pretty much tied together , so I don’t know what you can get away with as far as eliminating . My buddy has a 77 with all emissions in tact and it runs well. I think you would want to keep the AAR for sure . The other point with mine is the 30k original miles motivates me to keep it stock

Stuck in Philly with no room! My daughter and her husband just bought a house in Ardmore. I swore I’d never live on the east coast again and my daughter ends up there - lol.

Are going to delete the EGR, or put another on?

I think it’s just neglect. The car sat outside in the elements for decades in the hot Nevada sun. Being under the car you realize that it has seen only 30k miles. The struts had/ has some kind of assembly markings( stickers)for left and right. The zinc is still pretty on the brake line brackets and hardware . I think the maintenance was done by hacks . Remember years ago when no one cared about these cars except they were a cheap import ? Ill investigate the paint

After days of trying white vinegar , agitation , SS cable to unclog the return lines I have the tank clean. I went ahead and did the POR -15 tank seal kit. This was battle but hopefully the worst I’ll see on the 77 . I still have a lot of the fuel system to go thru, but the nasty tank job is done . I bought rebuilt injectors and now need to change every piece of hose in the engine and fuel system. I told the owner that this is where the car nickel and dimes you broke. I can’t even use the original fuel clamps because of the difference in size of the braided hose diameter . There goes another 25$ ! So far I’ve bought over 1500$ worth of parts and materials to get this beast going again. And I have no idea of the true shape of the motor? By appearances and inspection I think it’s okay. There’s so much to go thru with the EFI set up that you can’t just try and start it.

Mine are bleach blonde

Or just cut it in half and slide it off - cut off wheel!

BFH time! PB blaster needs to get to the threads somehow. Maybe wirebrush and some tapping with a hammer will loosen enough to get some penetrant in there

You have the rear bumper rubber ends? Looking for the drivers side rear.

So this set was from a Passat 6 cylinder I’m guessing ? Taking notes ? I have to do the same thing

Just went thru the same thing , but my 77 wasn’t as narley . The bore was pristine and the seals were very pliable - I’m going to run it. The calipers and wheel cylinders will get changed .