North American Turbocoupe Organization



Intro post
greenehoosier Offline
Junior Member
#1
New member here, although not new to turbo 2.3's. About ten years ago I built a Pro-Street Gremlin that I put a turbo 2.3 in. Fun car. I am a 40 yo social studies teacher in southern IN married with three kids. I currently do a lot of air cooled VW's and I am building a diesel powered Class 11 Style Beetle. I was looking for a commuter car- since my daughter is getting my Turbo Passat- when a craigslist ad for a 1987 TC caught my eye. I checked it out and it was SOLID rust free (?)with a gorgeous unmolested interior the stereo/equalizer even worked... The brakes were bad and the alternator was not charging and there was no boost. I spent a lot of time on here and fixed the brakes (relay), I also put a Gillis valve on it-still no boost. I then plumbed in an aftermarket vacuum/boost gauge. I checked all the hoses and they were fine. The car pulled almost 20lbs of vacuum at idle- but no boost. I pulled the end off the turbo and found the small vanes were locked up tight. I then started to pull out all the turbo stuff and got down in there and to my horror I found the strut tower COMPLETELY rusted out. Wow. I never saw that coming. It is too far gone to fix. It is all the way down into the frame rails. What a disappointment. I have however found a one owner 107k mile car in similar condition (hopefully sans rusty tower) in a nearby town. It is not for sale but the elderly owner says it needs brakes and the turbo is not working like it once did. I am hoping she is willing to sell, so I may be back in the saddle again. I am pulling the engine/tranny/radiator/computer and wiring out of this one and I am going to scrap/part out the rest. Such a shame. It was nice to drive even without the boost-and it looks so good. Who would have thought? Thanks for the site it has been a lot of help.
Southern Indiana
1987 TC/ Parts Car for Sale
1987 Toyota 4-Runner
1970 Mercedes 220d
1966 Beetle
1970 Diesel Class 11 Beetle
1999 Turbo Tiptronic Passat
1974 Super Beetle
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gtrag94 Offline
Member
#2
can't believe the seller didn't tell you! hopefully it wasn't too much! was it black? I saw a very nice looking one a while ago in indy that the seller was selling whole for parts with rusted towers. good luck, and welcome.

Craig
1986 TC 5-spd (Red/Red cloth)
K&N Cone on VAM; front suspension by KYB, Moog, Energy Suspension.
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greenehoosier Offline
Junior Member
#3
Hey! Good to see another Hoosier on here! I am sure the seller did not know. Older guy, never turned a wrench in his life. I did not see it after a good inspection until I got all that stuff out of the way and got to digging with a screw driver. It is pretty ugly. The body is gorgeous, though. It is dark blue with a NICE blue cloth interior. I am loathe to part it out, but it would make someone a nice parts car. It does not have the 16's on it though. Someone put the 86 15" mustang style wheels on it. I am sure I can get about 3-400 out of the car at a scrap place if I strip the wheels first. I may see if anyone on here is interested in it after I pull the engine/tranny/computer/wiring etc. The problem is there is no one around here that messes with these so I am pretty sure the scrap yard will be it's destiny. A shame. Dang towers...
Thanks for the welcome!
Southern Indiana
1987 TC/ Parts Car for Sale
1987 Toyota 4-Runner
1970 Mercedes 220d
1966 Beetle
1970 Diesel Class 11 Beetle
1999 Turbo Tiptronic Passat
1974 Super Beetle
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greenehoosier Offline
Junior Member
#4
Oh, it is medium/dark blue BTW.
Southern Indiana
1987 TC/ Parts Car for Sale
1987 Toyota 4-Runner
1970 Mercedes 220d
1966 Beetle
1970 Diesel Class 11 Beetle
1999 Turbo Tiptronic Passat
1974 Super Beetle
Reply

Blue Oval Bird Offline
Member
#5
Welcome Greenehoosier, sorry for your troubles with the 'Bird. Check your PM's.
1988 Turbo Coupe: 5-speed, 75k original one owner garage kept miles.

MODS: K&N filter on the VAM, Gillis Boost Valve @ 16 PSI, Walbro 255 lph pump, Kirban AFPR, Full STINGER 3" turbo back exhaust with Magnaflow muffler, Motorsports 140 MPH Speedometer.
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#6
Welcome to the board. Sorry to hear about the rust. Unfortunatly that is a common area for that problem on TCs. You are not the first to get bit. It would be a shame to have to crush a car with a good body. I hope somebody can do something with it.
Pete Dunham


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greenehoosier Offline
Junior Member
#7
It is certainly a shame. This car has no rust anywhere. The paint is excellent except for the nose from where the PO hit a trailer hitch- when the brakes went out. The OTHER TC I was talking about is still in limbo. The original owner is not sure she wants to sell it. Her husband says they will never be able to afford to fix it up and he would rather see it go to me instead of some kid who will just abuse it until it is dead. I am thinking I have a chance on this one, I will be checking the strut towers carefully on this one before I stroke another expensive check...One of the board members here has said he wants the carcass for a parts car so it will help keep another one alive...Later!
Southern Indiana
1987 TC/ Parts Car for Sale
1987 Toyota 4-Runner
1970 Mercedes 220d
1966 Beetle
1970 Diesel Class 11 Beetle
1999 Turbo Tiptronic Passat
1974 Super Beetle
Reply

greenehoosier Offline
Junior Member
#8
The engine is out of the bird and the carcass is now for sale. Here is a pic of the bird and one of the tower. UGLY...Ewww. I will be putting it in the for sale forum today.

[Image: Turbocoupe002.jpg]

[Image: Turbocoupe009.jpg]
Southern Indiana
1987 TC/ Parts Car for Sale
1987 Toyota 4-Runner
1970 Mercedes 220d
1966 Beetle
1970 Diesel Class 11 Beetle
1999 Turbo Tiptronic Passat
1974 Super Beetle
Reply

Pete D Offline
Administrator
#9
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx19/...upe002.jpg

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx19/...upe009.jpg
Pete Dunham


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greenehoosier Offline
Junior Member
#10
Thanks! I though that would insert the pics into the post. Here is a link to the album:
http://s737.photobucket.com/albums/xx19/blueturbocoupe/
Southern Indiana
1987 TC/ Parts Car for Sale
1987 Toyota 4-Runner
1970 Mercedes 220d
1966 Beetle
1970 Diesel Class 11 Beetle
1999 Turbo Tiptronic Passat
1974 Super Beetle
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