To make sure which engine you have, look on the side of the engine block below the exhaust, behind the right side motor mount. It's cast into the engine. It would say "B230" for instance if it were a later model engine.

For the North American market, we received the B23 only in 1983 and 1984; the B230 began in 1985 and continued to the end of production. I assume your availability was similar.

For the fuel gauge, pull up the cover panel inside the cargo area floor and have a look at the top of the tank. You may find a very rusty mess or you may find simply a broken wire or earth (ground) connection.

Taking the sending unit out of the tank requires either a special tool (bung nut tool) or a bit of work with a hammer and chisel, and then usually the nut needs to be replaced because you've chewed the hell out of it.

In any case, parts should swap between the engine blocks. You may find different accessory brackets depending on what each engine came with originally- a car with A/C and power steering will have different mounts from a car with only one of those options, for instance.

Other parts like front end, fuel tank, etc should be able to swap over. If the 79 has good struts, you could swap the whole unit. One thing to note- the "dual-triangular" brake system means that there are two lines out to each front caliper. These lines run THROUGH welded brackets on the front strut body. It's really not fun bleeding brakes on old cars, especially the 240 which can be notoriously difficult. You can avoid the problem by cutting the bracket very carefully using a cutoff wheel or grinder- make a cut in towards the brake line fittings and then bend one bit of the bracket up, the other down, and sneak the lines out of the bracket. Unbolt the caliper and hang it, untwisting the metal lines from around the strut until it's free. They're flexible, it'll work. Now the whole strut can be disconnected from the control arm, body bolts, and steering rods.

Good luck with the thing!
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::: Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244 M47 212K ::: 90 745GL M47 275K ::: 90 745T AW71 213K ::: 90 745T Parts Car ::: 88 245DL SOLD! ::: 84 242DL Project ::: 70 VW Bus ::: 70 VW Pickup Project ::: 71 VW Notchback :::