D24 in the desert

[kevcmc]

i inherited a 1980 264 with a D24/M46 from my friend who recently passed. when he brought it home last year, it ran, but had low power and blew out some smoke (fuel). he was a bosch IP tech, so he resealed the leaky pump at work. he reinstalled it, and the project was put on the back burner.

although the car is originally from chicagoland, it has resided in tucson, AZ, USA for quite some time judging by the body of no rust. i am going to get it this morning.

i think my plan of attack should be as follows:
*check compression. if it tests out, i will proceed.
*install new belts all the way around
*set cam timing and IP timing
*check and adjust valves
*if all works, general maintenance all the way around. tires, brakes, etc.

i'm fairly mechanical, but the initial work may be over my skill level alone. i have a friend who once owned a shop that specialized in diesels. he has experience working on some diesel oddities, such as citroen, peugeot, mazda, etc., and has worked on many VW diesels. he also has a good set of tools. i already talked to volvo of tucson, and they are going to loan me the specialty tools! how cool is that?

anyway, im excited to get this thing on the road. i will keep it stock, drive it little (i much prefer motorcycles, mopeds, and bicycles for around-town commuting), read, tinker, and learn. i've had several diesels in the past (mercedes, toyota), and it's true that once you go diesel, it's hard to go back (while my girlfriend was shopping for a new car, i influenced her to get a VW jetta wagon w/ a TDI and a manual trans. she loves the car!).

thanks in advance for all the good info.