[T3] 2 week update

[Jim Adney]

On 20 Jan 2012 at 0:13, John Lai wrote:

> Unfortunately, instead of focusing my attention on getting that fixed
> first, I've killed time during my lunch breaks by buying stuff online.

I'll bet lots of us are guilty of the same thing.  ;-)

> Bought the following: 
> 
> - Goodyear Assurance TripleTreds 195/65/15 - I know its wider than
> stock but hopefully it won't rub since I will keep stock height. I put
> them next to the stock tires today when I got home. Wow, its a lot
> wider. Which I intended, but hoping I didn't make a bad decision. 

The widest tires I'd want to mount on stock 4.5" rims would be 185s. 
It's certainly true that you can force wider tires onto those rims, 
but performance and reliability declines. As the profile decreases, 
your ability to mount wide tires on narrow rims goes down.

You might be able to call a dealer for recommendations for proper rim 
widths. I tried the Goodyear web site but didn't find it there. I 
have a very nice, but very old, booklet from Michelin that covers 
this well, but it doesn't have modern tires in it. When it was 
printed, 75 series tires were considered low profile.   ;-)

If you found 185/75s they should be just about the same diameter as 
stock, so it wouldn't change the speedometer, odometer, or ride 
height. 

> - NGK B5HS spark plugs
> - Bosch 09004 spark plug wires 

I find that Bosch W8AC work perfectly. If you want an upgrade try the 
Bosch W8AP.

Look at your old wireset carefully. If it's the original, it has some 
wonderful and irreplaceable parts. Don't throw them away; damaged 
parts can be replaced indifidually. I even stock the wire itself.

> Next steps are to:
> - Take out gas tank and have it boiled.
> - Take off calipers and send to Jim for rebuild
> - Try to see if I can get the ignition lock as well as all the handles
> taken off to send to Jim or Gabe to be rekeyed to all match. 

The gas tank may well be okay. Remove the gas sender and inspect it 
from above.

> The PO gave me four keys. 1 of 1, and 3 of another. Unfortunately, the
> 1 of 1 broke the other day when I just barely tried to turn it in the
> ignition. Took the two pieces to a local locksmith to see if he can
> make a key out of it and he did. But it didn't turn the ignition. Is
> it possible to take off the ignition lock without a key? If so, any
> links that would walk me through how to do it and the door and hatch
> locks as well?  

You don't need a key to get the '69 ign cylinder out, but it's 
difficult to rekey that lock. The best thing to do would probably be 
to key the other locks to match it. OTOH, the rear door is also hard 
to rekey, but I think it can be slightly easier than the ignition 
lock. This sounds like a good job for Gabe.

> - Carpet is super stiff. Like for the fronts, they have curled inward
> off the sides. Need to look into softening them up and try to reshape
> them back into place. 

They may respond to a good shampooing.

-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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