OT: fun with caddys - wtb parts (some non-caddy)

[amalventano at sc.rr.com (Allyn)]

so i do some initial prep-work on the caddy today. throw on a freshly 
rebuilt set of half shafts (i took 3 sets to the local drive shaft rebuilder 
place, they are so good at it, and i'm about to move away...). do some final 
cleaning of the slung grease from the old shafts. fire it up and let 'er 
idle for a few minutes. fire up the a/c (yay, a/c = good). 5 minutes pass, 
the compressor belt lets out a few miner squeaks (its loose), and about a 
minute later a fantastic eruption of freon occurs under the hood. i couldnt 
tell where it was from by the time i got the hood open to check, but it 
appeared to be the high side flexible hose. luckily the caddy has the later 
style compressor (same as our roccos), so the hoses should also be the same 
(not that i have a spare - ugh).

i then realize the radiator fan isnt running (it ought to be, especially 
with a/c switch on). also, the relief on the reservoir is burping coolant. 
the temp was about 5/8 on the meter. it was odd that the fan was off. i kill 
the engine, and about 15 seconds later the fan kicks on (odd). the fan runs 
for a few minutes and cuts back off. i go for a drive later on and the fan 
runs past shutdown a second time. there is no issue with the fan running 
after cut-off, the issue is that at a constant idle, the fan was not being 
told to turn on. could this be the same issue that i had on the rieger, 
where the idle was too low and the water was cooling below the threshold 
before it made it to the fan temperature switch? it seems to idle at a 
normal diesel type speed.

-------------------

anyhoo, i'd like to pose some questions along with my parts requests, 
hopefully some of the rabbit / caddy veterans can chime in.

wtb:
- windshield (mines cracked)
- ignition switch (possibly replaced by an item below)

wtu/s (want to upgrade/swap):
- grille/lights (i'm open for suggestions, i'd like to go double or quad 
round, possibly cibie)
- dash/console (i've heard of swapping in gti dasboards, but i'm not sure 
how good of a fit these are. the stock caddy dash seems to have the same 
layout as a2 gti, but do these things bolt straight up?)
- seats (possibly the same as above - a2 gti seats, perhaps those that are 
black with red stripes)
- power steering (i have a1 power racks, lines, pumps, so thats not needed, 
though what i dont think i have is the linkage. i know on roccos the 
rack-to-column coupling shaft is an odd-ball size, especially when people 
try to switch a rocco to manual steering. is this the same for 
caddys/rabbits? i only currently have rocco power linkages. also would it be 
different if i was swapping to an a2 dash/column instead?)
- carpet (someone posted a while back about not being too happy with an 
aftermarket carpet kit. anyone remember who that was so i can avoid them? 
also, can anyone recommend any good suppliers?)
- rear bumper (there is some cheezy rusty thing back there, its gotta go. 
i'm open for ideas, chrome to match the front, or possibly get rid of the 
chrome front and convert back to a roll-pan+hidden hitch, or something along 
those lines)

anyhow, thats enough babbling for now.
thanks in advance for any input you caddy/rabbit/gti folks can throw at me.
Al

Allyn Malventano, ETC(SS), USN
87 Rieger Scirocco GTO 2.0 16v (daily driver, 200k, rocco #6)
86 Kamei Twin 16V Turbo Scirocco GTX (30% complete, rocco #7)
86.5 Occo 16v Trailer (rocco #8)
82 Caddy Diesel (soon-to-be daily)
90 Passat GL 16V (the wifes new daily, 200k)