[squaretaper]

Hi SC board folk-

Been thinking about a 99 for a few years, and then the right one popped up nearby and I pulled the trigger. 1979 (like me) orange GL... 30K on the odo, one owner (literal little old lady) who had it stashed in the garage.

Very clean and well-found as one might expect but the usual to go through. Fuel pump is half-dead but 2.0 runs well enough when the pump is working. Ordered a new pump and fuel filter and will be doing the usual fluids and new-to-me car inspection / adjustment / lubrication regiment.

Looking forward to sharing and learning from the board and would love to hear any tips & tricks re: late 70's 99 checkover / common issues / things to keep an eye for...

Thanks in advance! Josh

 

[nutcase]

Welcome

That looks amazing condition!

 

[Mimmi]

Hi and welcome.
Congratulations for beauty. That 99 looks fine also ;ol;

 

[squaretaper]

Thanks all!

I found a pfd of a workshop manual but it is only for the 75-77 model years- anyone know of a spot to find the workshop manual that applies to the '79? Also is there a repository somewhere of part numbers for the 99s? Gonna be doing fluids/filters ASAP and want to make sure I've got a line on parts.

This one also has the optional AC compressor installed- nonoperative- and looking into doing a delete- has anyone undertaken that and know what the belt spec is without the AC? I think I saw something about using a 900 cabin filter to fill the space in the bulkhead where the evap goes...

 

[Nordic-Machine]

Nice. It looks well maintained.

 

[squaretaper]

I'm wondering if anyone on the board has experience with 99s that have been sitting a while... got the '79 towed to my workshop, and while it starts up OK, any throttle causes stumbling and backfires. Seems to be running rich at idle. Vac lines are dry and I will start there... put in new fuel filter and pump but no change there. The guy I got the car from was fiddling with the 3mm screw on the air valve over the air filter box... it's my understanding that one may need a CO2 meter to adjust that properly?

Would love to get some info on where to start and tips on what to look for... I'm a pretty decent diesel engine mechanic but this is my first gasser...

THANKS!

 

[squaretaper]

I ended up pulling, dissembling, and cleaning the air meter on top of the air cleaner housing. I pulled the fuel distributor off and noticed the metering pin was stuck- gummed up with old fuel. Some soaking in WD40 overnight and I was able to gently pull it out and clean it with gasoline.

I replaced all the vac lines with silicone, cleaned and re-gapped the plugs, and it's running fairly well now... I'm still adjusting the CO2 3mm in tiny increments- it runns a touch rich but if I back it off it backfires occasionally upon acceleration and is a bit hesitant still... WUR maybe?

Now that I'm able to get it out onto the street, I have found that many if not all the bushes are shot, especially up front. Does anyone sell a complete bush kit? I don't have a press in my workshop but should be able to rig something up with a bottle jack or vice.

Thanks!