I'm seriously considering the purchase of an '86 Golf Diesel.  I can't
believe I'm going to do this.  Our '75 Rabbit has been a great car for many
years, but is ready for the glue factory (Needs a head, major front end
work, brakes, electrical work, tranny seal, clutch slips when you thrash it,
and it's just a plain old noisy worn out car- but I digress).

I found the above mentioned car on the internet in my area for $1300.  I
answered the ad and here's what I've found out.  It's been sitting for about
10 months.  It belonged to the gentlemans ex-girlfriend who owes him money
and is selling the car for this reason.  Her father bought the car for her,
and she's not crazy about it.

First, the parts I'm already familiar with:

The body is perfect
The interior has one cigarette burn on the drivers seat.
It has (in no particular order)a factory stereo, rear wiper, cruise control,
5-speed, A/C, round black tires with valid tread.
I found that the right strut is shot.  I've done these on old bossy and plan
to use it to bargain.
Brakes are great, steers nice, e-brake works, lights all work, doors thump
like a new car.

Here's the diesel part:

It has 150,000 miles on the clock, supposedly 30,000 on a newer motor.  It
was stone cold when I got there.  It started easily, a tiny amount of dark
smoke (much less than the 6.9 liter Ford I used to drive).  Smooth even
pulses from the exhaust pipe.
The clutch is smooth, and it has more power than I expected (I'd been told
they were a complete dog).

The glaring defect:

The alternator is not located correctly, and is pulling the belt and idler
pulley at an angle.  This is one of those gems I've heard about that has the
A/C, alternator, and now a diesel injection pump all mixed into one big
naked pile on the corner of the engine.  In theory, the brackets are bent,
causing the problem.  I'm probably going to learn a few new choice German
swear words pulling it all apart.  He told me that his local shop suggested
getting rid of the A/C and getting the simpler bracket system from a
wrecking yard.  I called my local VW yard, and they don't have brackets for
cars WITH A/C, but could come up with the suggested style for $20.00.

Like a bone head, I didn't check to see if the A/C was functioning (I was
cold enough) but I would like to keep the system if it does.  I'm figuring
on taking it apart and hauling the brackets to work to straighten them, or
machine some replacements.

Question:

Am I losing it?  (I do understand diesels pretty well, and know all about
glow plugs, 1500 mile oil changes, cold weather, fuel filters, water
seperator, yadda, yadda.  The difference is that my Ford was rather fast,
especially in the hills...)

Any input is helpful.
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Alex Munro
amunro@amunro.seanet.com

My other Sig is a P220