'80 Passat GLD

[76Passat]

Hi All, Someone gave me an '80 GLD which seems to run fine, has some bog in it but looks tidy, but it failed the QLD Safety Cert when I tried to register it due to it being "too rusty". There's no holes in it, no visible rust, just some minor surface rust (as you'd expect) on the underbody. I think it was doomed to fail, the inspector said to me (on the phone when I booked) "A VW! That will be FULL of rust!"

I get the feeling I asked the wrong crowd about this - any ideas what I should do? I don't want to spend a lot of money on this thing, but on the other hand it really seems like a decent car and too good to go to the scrap heap. Anyone have any thoughts, recommendations for garages (in Bris) which might specialise in older VWs regarding safety certificates? Note I'm not suggesting getting a dodgy cert, just a fair hearing!!

[phaeton]

Its not the one that has been on ebay (white 1980 GLD) is it ?

Congrats on onwership on the rare GLD ;)

[76Passat]

.. nope, it's a red wagon. Not sure congrats are in order until I've solved the safety cert problem!! Still I'm sure I'll have plenty of fun in the process...

[Golf Loon]

I wouldn`t book in, just drive round a few garages, till you find one who can do it straight away.

If not, onto the next one.

If its a borderline car, I usually take it somewhere that sells tyres with one bald tyre. If they know they are selling you something, it is more likely to pass :D

[Lukev85]

Not alot of them on the rd anymore. Dont give up on her just yet

If you do decide that enough is enough, keep it for parts

[Lukev85]

BTW Good to see another old skool passat owner

[Nick_80]

congrats on the new passat, like luke said, nice to see another old classic on the roads, depends on how handy you are at painting and how much ur wanting to spend, get sum 2 pac primer for round $80 bucks rub it back and give the car a full spray with a grey primer, will be enough to make it pass and the primer is water proof and you can paint it at a later stage... i donno, thats just my suggestion.. all depends if you've got all the right gear!

[BlackVr6ix]

if it appears to be rusty underneath go to your local parts store and get a 4l pot of underbody deadener and go to town on it.

Its worked for me before :P

[Lukev85]

If the rust is bad i can get my hands on a special rust killer. My old man gets it from the railways so its not available for retail.

Ive used heaps on my beetles in the past and just used the rest of it rustproofing the undercarrage of my 62.

Ill see if i can get more, ill let you know. Only prob is waiting till my dad gets his hands on it.

BTW Post some pics of your passats

[76Passat]

Thanks everyone - I won't give up yet then. :D

I'll see if I can find time to take some decent photos this weekend and post.

[76Passat]

Ok, here's a photo of it. The paint isn't really quite this glossy, I just washed it for the photo and it's still wet. And yes, I used rain water from my tank, just in case the Brisbane City Council water patrol reads this...

[Water Boy]

Mate there will be no probs getting that to look the goods... Some lowering, ol skool euto wheels and som webbers to help her breath...

Keep it up mate....

Cheers James :)

[Lukev85]

She looks good. Definatly do something with it. Ur guarenteed to stand out in dub land

[Nick_80]

congrats on the passat, and also for been a part of an elite group, be proud! :D

[mollins]

nice one mate.. i also own a 1980 GLD but its not as pretty as yours... all you need is some nice wheels and you'll look sweet..

they are an awesome old car and should keep you happy for ages...

if you ever want to pass it on then please let me know!

cheers

mike

ps.. please don't convert it to petrol!!

[phaeton]

Ohhh WOW :o I want it :D