Contemplating VW Rabbit Diesel purchase to restore--anyone have experience? Any feelings about the technical design, spare pars availability, general reliability of this 50 mpg vehicle? I saw one inPortland and I loved it for its 240D like quality

240D like QUALITY? Its all the plastic crap that is breaking on mine....

One nice thing is they are pretty light ( I just had my left foot run over by mine this morning- nothing broken- don't ask).

I have had mine for 12 years and 200k miles- (rebuilt the engine once). I have become attached to it. Get a pickup if you can find one - OR- find an old pre 93 Cabriolet and drop in a VW 1.6 NA or turbo d( they bolt right in).

They are easy to work on, but have some PITA features. You have to find "pucks" to adjust the valves. Then there is the timing belt and the alloy head to worry about.

That said, they are cheap to drive ( I get about 48-49mpg) and cheap to own. I used to see a lot of them in boneyards, but they are past their peak now.

Rick

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

I had three of these cars back in the day. I never paid more than about $250 for them and got 100,000 miles out of the last one. I think the odometer read 350,000 miles in the end. A tree falling on it was its end.
They are extremely reliable, efficient cars, but they are VERY slow. Best for around town driving.
While test driving one with the rather large owner in the passenger seat we started going up a big hill. He looked over and quite solemly said, "never, ever turn on the A/C while your going up a hill." I guess he had a bad experience with that...

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Pure Vermont Maple Syrup
http://www.squaredealfarm.org

1982 300D Turbo
1983 300D Turbo

I didn't have one that old, but I loved my 86 diesel golf. It was awesome. Simple and reliable. And 50 MPG.

Those older first-gen Golfs (Rabbits) are becoming more and more rare, so there price is a little outrageous all things considered. Search for a good deal or a good project.

A caddy (rabbit pickup) would be really cool.

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-justin

1987 300TD, 1987 300TD
2008 R32, 2000 Passat Wagon

As for cheap parts, how does $138 for a new oversize set of pistons strike you? ( I may need to rebuild mine again....)

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

American sales of the jetta diesel were restricted in the states I thought to some degree. The best of the best in my humble opinion where the 86 jetta turbo diesels.
More performance and slightly better milage than the N/A. First year of the hydralic valve lifters that never seem to go bad. Best build quality or at least better than anything that followed and not much plastic to fall off like the later versions of that body style. Pretty easy to repair and parts are cheap and used parts up here we just basically give away.
As a mercedes owner you will feel right at home as they are a detail failure car. The problem is try to get one with less than 200 K. Sure you can buy one with a lot more but not a good ideal in my opinion.
Certain death of the car up here is floor pan rust. It is also a very hard situation to rectify with their design. I have owned so many vaious examples that I have forgotten the number.
Another important difference. I do not think I have ever heard of an example of a failed odometer on this model. I also believe their heater design is the quickest on line of any car gas or diesel and is capable of really burning you after driving one mile from a cold start at 0 F . Never seen a heater like them. The newer tdi models have a marginal heater at best.
I would not quite expect to see 50 mpg on the american gallon. These diesels are 1600 cc. I usually expect about 50 mpg or slightly better on our imperial gallon. On really hot days they will get a far greater milage boost. I could find a good one for an american up here still pretty cheap but this is one of the few cars you cannot legally import. Are there any down there? Or was import totally banned? I had heard that there was a ten year volkswagon diesel ban but may be wrong.

you must be bored man... Take my 300D restore it and ill take the rabbit


Two friends of mine had rabbit caddy diesels(pick up) Both were being restored. Chris's was more or less solid so he had it painted and the interior redone. Bill's was a ground up with new everything and a TDI engine swap(man is it fast!). Bill also bought the last new tail gate in north america. Chris sold his on ebay for 5k (but I could have had it for 2500.. wish I could have gotten it)

I think that rust is the biggest thing to be aware of. I had a caddy for a short time. The strut mounts were close too failure, and I heard that this is fairly common.
bb

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For Sale: 1982 MB 300TD
1995 Chevrolet Suburban 6.5TD

Sold: 1980 IH Scout Traveler- Nissan SD33T Diesel

A/C??? My dad's didn't have A/C or a radio. Yours must have had those expensive upgrades.

I have endless stories about that thing. It was such a reliable car, but it had the typical VW electrical and hardware issues.

I still remember the day it left- it had three hubcaps on it. One was a Buick, one was from a Caddy, and the last was a genuine (rusted) VW hubcap.

It had those awful vinyl seats that made a suction noise when you got up. The fuzz VW called carpet on the ceiling was falling down until my dad got the idea to thumb tack it back up. The stuff could give your hair a significant charge on a cold winter day.

Speaking of cold winter days, I can't remember how many times some plastic part snapped off in the cold. That's not to say that they didn't snap off in the summer, but it was more prevalent in the cold. Only one of the seats flipped forward (the handle was snapped off on the other one). The highbeam knob and the choke nob snapped off, revealing a galvanized rod that would have provided a quick death in an accident. The seatbelts were something else- the car couldn't be started without the two of them plugged in.

In the winter he would start it up a while before he would leave for work so it would "warm up," though I would hardly call it warm. The best part was the cold made it rattle so much that the horn would pulse on and off, until the rattling got so bad that it just stuck on. The windshield wiper handle would rattle itself into the "on" position and those would be going too.

The windows were tricky to use. There were no knobs on the cranks (the knob loss was not limited to lights and the choke). You had to crank the windows down very slowly because, if you were really lucky, the glass would just fall off its track and drop down inside the door. That is what made toll booths such an adventure.

Another time we were bringing a trash can full of sand home for something or other (you know, one of those 30 gallon short ones). That much sand was enough weight to blow the head gasket about 200 feet out of the parking lot. We eeked it home at 30 MPH, stopping every mile to let it cool off. That was the 2nd head gasket we went through...

Speaking of speed, this thing was a record breaker. I'm sure its top speed was around 61, maybe 62 or 63 downhill with a tailwind. After about 55 it started to shake uncontrollably. That is when the hubcaps would fall off. The knobs were prone to dropping off at this point too. The funny thing was, we had a big cardboard box in the back seat that we put everything in that fell off (which was a lot). When it finally died with over 300K miles on it, it had amassed several knobs, switches, window cranks, thumbtacks, seat handles, and door handles (those were replaced monthly). Unfortunately, we never did find the hubcaps. The easiest way to replace those was to drive around on the highway, spot one that had been propped up against a sign (presumably by a DPW guy), pull over, and slap it on. The brand was immaterial. As long as it fit, it was all good.

With all that said, you couldn't beat the fuel economy and engine reliability. The transmission is what killed it. It started out as a five speed + reverse, and ended as a one speed (5th, in case it makes any difference) + reverse. The rotting body panels were unattractive, but it didn't compromise the car's ability to move.

Dang, I miss that car. What a piece of engineering.

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Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

I bought a NEW Dasher Diesel Wagon in '81. It was a '80 model that had the 1.5 na diesel. It was a bit underpowered but the mileage was 35+mpg. I wore out the 1.5 and bought a new 1.6 and that made a big difference. Got 37+mpg and more power. The biggest set back was it was only a 4spd. It was wound up at 70mph....Next came the 5 spd!! I had studied the issue of installing a 5 spd in the car. Since the engine mounted longitudaly a rabbit 5 spd was out. The only option was to check out the Audi's or the rare as hens teeth Quantum diesel. The Audi gasser 5 speeds were too high geared. After 7 years looking, I found an Audi 4000S diesel 5 spd with a broken engine. I had to modify the center hump in the Dasher to fit the 5 spd. MAN...What a difference!! My mileage jumped to 44mpg on a trip!
I drove that BELOVED car for 19 years.... It NEVER left me stranded, Brought both of my Daughters home from the hospital after being born, carried TWO ford 302 engines in it to a rebuilder in LA, and somehow got me home when I drank too much.
I sold it to a gal and told her to keep an eye on the oil. About 4 months later, I saw it parked on the freeway.....DEAD. She had run it out of oil and the motor launched.
I would buy another new one if they were for sale!

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My Truck.. 2007 DODGE, 5.9 Cummins, 6spd stick, 4X4. My car..1977 240D, OTHER WHEELS...1955 VW Oval window bug, European Delivery (Holland) with a 1700cc, 2 barrel, Porsche drum brakes. 1939 WILLYS Pick-up. 1967 Triumph 200cc Tiger Cub. 1976 Honda 550F 4cyl Motor Cycle.

In terms of the MkII body-style, all Jetta diesels were turbo'd and all Golfs were NA.

TDI heater bad? It has 3 GPs mounted in it to make sure the coolant gets hot due to these engines running so damn cold. In the 2 years driving my TDI, I never once had anything bad to say about my heater. It rocked just as any other water-cooled car I've driven.

Diesels in passenger rated vehicles have had some trouble since 2002 or so. Banned from CA and NY. I believe they will be back again in 2008. I know for a fact we will start seeing new VW TDIs (with the new 2.5 TDI) in 2008 here in Texas. Mercedes is selling CDIs and Bluetec CDIs no problem as we speak. There is no 10 year VW diesel ban.

Major misinformation in that post.

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-justin

1987 300TD, 1987 300TD
2008 R32, 2000 Passat Wagon

I bought a new one in "81" (5 spd of course), the clutch lasted about 40K and the car was just another tiny little "sardine can" car. Its kind of like my wife's little "64 VW bug, I spent a year or so restoring it and when I got done it was still a VW bug. Now when your done restoring a 123 you have something

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

Perhaps it's the difference in countries. Up till at least 1990 I know you could get n/a diesels in jettas in canada as well. You are right though as no turbos in older golfs here though either. You also got a manual transmission with poor gear ratios in combination with the n/a engined jetta in later years. . I still have one of them although not in use now. A 1990 I believe.
I was basing my experience of the poor heater on the new 2000tdi jetta we purchased. The heater was marginal at best and dealers only quote was they were all like that. Maybe they improved since that year. They really needed to. If it was a Canada only heater package it should have been stronger than yours.
Unfortunatly if I wanted to move into the the United States I would not be allowed to take my older diesel jetta with me as they are just not allowed enterance no matter what state I want to move to. Has to be a TDI.
I never read the exact information but was lead to understand some restriction applied to import by volkswagon for new diesel sales at some point. It was not exactly clarified up here. I do not mean the five state ban or whatever it is now.
Sales of volkswagon diesels were really brisk in canada during the mid 80s. Rust has gotten the bulk of them now.
New Tdi sales locally seem to be falling off pretty bad for the last couple of years. A moderatly loaded example is thirty thousand here plus 15 percent sales tax. Perhaps the re intrduced 2008s will bring the sales back up.
Dealers lots are really full of used examples with automatic transmissions now. Mostly lease returns I suspect. A year or so ago this was not so. Used prices have started to drop way back reciently here as well.
The high failure rate of the automatics here means we avoid them as well plus the automatics hurt overall milage. I usually have had at least one volkswagon product around since 1962.
The companies attitude towards it's customers just seemed to get worse and worse as time has gone by here. I rated customer service and backup as the poorest of any car make sold in canada on that 2000 jetta.
The arrival of the japanese diesels here will drive them from the north american market unless they change their ways pretty soon in my opinion. They might survive if they would introduce their diesel car here that gets high 80s-90s mpg on an imperial gallon that is sold in europe.

Didn't you rebuild a Volvo diesel a while back? I may be completely off-base, but I think there are many parts that are interchangeable b/w the early to mid '80s VW diesels and the VW/Audi diesel Volvo used in the 240/740 cars for a bit. I had to have 3 of the glow plugs replaced in my Volvo diesel about 5 years ago when I was driving thru Colorado (where it gets lots colder than it does in Austin). The Colorado Volvo dealership (after the usual "we haven't seen one of those in 10 years" comment) directed me to a local indy who had a VW specialty shop. I seem to remember the guy saying that the version VW licensed to Volvo was "just like the 4 cyl Rabbit diesel w/ 2 extra cylinders and a bigger vacuum pump." But I could be wrong....all I really remember is that it was cold!

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Christopher
'06 Mercedes E350 station wagon (silver/black)
'85 Mercedes 300D (black pearl/palomino)
'85 Mercedes 300SD (smoke silver/burgundy)
'79 Cadillac Sedan DeVille

'05 Toyota Camry (because always running is nice)

'85 Mercedes 300D sold back to orig. owner 8-1-06
'84 Volvo 264GL Diesel, owned 2000-2013

They are cheap miserable little things. My dads friend gave me a Jetta for free, see my sig. I don't know if I'm going to drive it, I may give it back... Feels like the penalty box. I don't know if I'd ever actualy pay for one, I'm crying about the $80 worth of stuff that it would need to be driveable.

Zip, flame suit on.

The only VW thats decent IMHO is the Phaeton, and the Passat.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200