1979 Rabbit Diesel - I'm prolly in over my head.

[afxjzs]

Hey all. This is my first post here, although im pretty active in other forums, namely audiworld.com and s4forum.com (both as afxjzs).

I recently acquired a 1979 rabbit diesel from a friend that was moving and couldn't keep it. It's in pretty rough shape (rust is a factor), and needs some work, but seemed like it would be a fun 2nd car to work on. It is very yellow.

I live in Dorchester (part of Boston), MA and work for a large chain of autodealerships doing web design and other nerd stuff.

My main ride is a 2001.5 Audi S4 and the Rabbit is going to be a project car of sorts. I plan on eventually converting it into a greaser, but for now, i just want to get it drivable.

Current (known) Issues:
-----------------------
- The fuel line was cracked when the car got jacked up, so i replaced it with a new line, which seems to work, but now i need to bleed the fuel system (i think) to get it to run.
- The coolant reservoir was completely empty with about a 1/2 inch of sludge in the bottom.
- The brakes have a leak....somewhere. the reservoir was bone dry. I top it off and i could hear a distinct sucking and squirt sound near the front right when i pumped the brake.

Those are the main engine engine related ones. It has the rear suspension of a Fox (according to the guy i got it from) so it sits at top lock even with stuff in the trunk.

Here are some photos:






And 2 vids:
YouTube - 1979 Rabbit Diesel Engine Bay

YouTube - Rabbit Revs
(that's me in the car)

One more thing...

What the hell is this?



It wasn't connected to anything... It comes from the pass. side firewall.

Anyways... that's my situation. thanks in advance for all the help.

--
afxjzs