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Hello everyone. Creating this post in the hopes of receiving assistance as I enter my journey into the Wonderful World of Aircooled. Back in 2015 I purchased a “Barn Find” 964 and it’s been sitting ever since. Now I’m ready to get her back on the road. I am frankly unsure of whether or not the car has much hope (as a “survivor” driver condition car). The first thing I noticed is the undercarriage is spotless yet the engine bay looks quite dirty. Unsure if it’s even complete in terms of necessary equipment. The frunk is missing the liner which is a nasty sight to see. Interior has no cover under the dash, exposing all those innards. First question: what could explain the photos below? What’s that shiny part - and does the upper portion look like there’s some hope left in this old C4?!
All joking aside I think that red dust is from a possible repaint and sitting , get the fluids changed where possible , change filters primarily oil , get a battery , before cranking
change plugs if possible and put some wd40 or mystery oil in the cylinders and attempt to turn over by hand or with out coils to get some oil pressure .
Once your comfortable with it turning over drain gas put some new fuel and crank it up , I suspect you’ll be ok ..
if not then contact me I’ll get it removed no cost to you , haha Bert
All joking aside I think that red dust is from a possible repaint and sitting , get the fluids changed where possible , change filters primarily oil , get a battery , before cranking
change plugs if possible and put some wd40 or mystery oil in the cylinders and attempt to turn over by hand or with out coils to get some oil pressure .
Once your comfortable with it turning over drain gas put some new fuel and crank it up , I suspect you’ll be ok ..
if not then contact me I’ll get it removed no cost to you , haha Bert
Thanks for the pointers! I’ll keep that as a last-case option!
The worthiness of the AWD system is my other concern. My love of early AWD systems is a major reason why I got this car.
Last edited by Abe Froman; 05-15-2024 at 10:11 PM.
As a groupe here, there is knowledge to revive *much* worse.
In your pictures, nothing seens amiss. A little tidying, an oil, plug, fuel, battery and belt change, you should be good.
Once it has started, plug it up to a hammer, clear the codes, drive it and assess.
As a groupe here, there is knowledge to revive *much* worse.
In your pictures, nothing seens amiss. A little tidying, an oil, plug, fuel, battery and belt change, you should be good.
Once it has started, plug it up to a hammer, clear the codes, drive it and assess.
When I first opened the engine cover my first assumption was “the thing was all pulled apart and left half-assembled!”
These things really did bare everything from the factory. I’ve been scouring the internet for photos to compare and it’s surprisingly complete. Perhaps a good steam cleaning will reveal the true condition…?
Now to see what lurks under the frunk insert…
Last edited by Abe Froman; 05-16-2024 at 11:10 AM.
Car looks pretty good IMHO. Follow all points of advice above and you should be good. The dust in the engine bay looks like left overs from some repaint or body work. I don't see anything missing in the engine bay except perhaps the vacuum hose to vent the distributor drive belt - difficult to see from the pics. The front trunk also looks complete even with jack and toolkit. The carpet there is always a mess but a good vacuum and refit should see that right. Exterior looks very good from the pics shown and the engine is remarkably clean.
When I first opened the engine cover I thought the thing was all pulled apart! These things really did bare everything from the factory. I’ve been scouring the internet for photos to compare and it’s surprisingly complete. Perhaps a good steam cleaning will reveal the true condition…?
Now to see what lurks under the frunk insert…
Looks great but yes, you are missing the distrib vent hose - that was an add on for this model year anyway. Whats the interior like..?
Don‘t crank the car with only the coils disconnected.
Rather, pull the fuse for the fuel pump (or the DME relay) - this way you don‘t flood the cylinders with fuel that could wash the oil film off the cylinder walls.
Your story sure brings back some memories for me. My C4 was also a barn find. Well, actually it was a warehouse find but same idea. It had sat for 15 years. It was a lot of work to bring her back to life but the effort and cost is definitely worth it.
Advice provided here has been great. What I would add is that more than likely you will need to rebuild or buy new diff lock slave cylinders. A Rennlist member (username Goughary) has had new diff lock seals manufactured and has them for sale.
Looks like a solid car that doesn't need much to get running. I don't run a vent on the distributor either. I just change the belts. The conti belts are supposed to be good for handling the ozone and the vent seems like a silly afterthought.
All great advice. There is a ton of great information on this forum to get the car running. From the pictures the engine appears to be bone try - a really good sign.
Before you go for a drive, you will need new tires. The ones that are on the car won't be safe to drive any more. So in general:
- Give the car a good cleaning inside and outside, including engine bay and frunk.
- Assess and catalog any findings. Get familiar with the car and its history.
- Change the obvious as mentioned: Engine and gearbox oil change, plugs, belts, battery, brake flush, power steering flush, new air filter. There is great detail on this forum on how to do the startup.
- once you have power, are there any warning lights that need to be addressed?
- Gently drive it once you have it running and assess again. How does it handle and take it from there.
Break down the work into manageable projects and prioritize. Otherwise it will become overwhelming. Learn as much as you can about these cars and ask lots of questions. These cars can be quirky but they are so worth it.
Btw, how many miles on the car?
05-15-2024, 07:06 PM
1989 “Barn Find”
