looking for diesel VW Rabbit

[Jim Rosenthal]

OK, don't laugh. During medical school, I drove the most decrepit VW Beetle you could imagine, a gift from a family friend. In my senior year, about to graduate and have a (poorly) paid job, and needing a better car, I bought a diesel VW Rabbit, new. This would have been in 1982. I bought the car in Springfield, IL, and when I moved to Norfolk, VA, for internship, the car came along.

It's a lot hotter in Tidewater, VA, than it is in central Illinois, and the VW didn't have AC (some did, mine did not) I sold it to a fellow who owned a construction company and was most interested in the fact that it would run on diesel (dirt cheap at the time) and let him drive around to all his construction sites cheaply. It was a great little car- reliable, comfortable and cheap to run. He didn't care about not having AC.

I've been looking for a similar car. Preferably with AC, but not essential. Not a project; no one is going to restore a VW Rabbit. I've missed a couple on BaT, but I'm still looking.

If anyone knows of a nice diesel Rabbit which is manual shift, not rusty, clean, etc, please let me know. East Coast would be nice- I missed one because between the price and the shipping, and not being able to check it out in person, it was too far away. But maybe one is out there.

 

[Harv]

Should have jumped on this one.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1981-volkswagen-rabbit-diesel-ls/

I know it was across the country, but these are getting rare enough now its going to be tough to find a nice one. Most were abused and thrown away back in the 90s. Just keep an eye out on BaT or maybe check the VW Vortex forums.

 

[Alphasud40]

Jim I will keep an eye out. You want a 82-84 diesel Rabbit because the 80-81 engines have issues with blocks cracking. 82 went to larger head bolts and hydraulic lifters. I cut my teeth on these so if you have any other questions you can PM me. Another popular modification was to install the early TDI engine into the Rabbit. These are wonderful and very robust units.

 

[w124fanMI]

First car I had was an ‘83 240d when I was in high school. (Bought used in ‘91 with 120k on it.) Its body did not survive the road salt in the Midwest winters. About 10 years ago scored another ‘83 from the original owner with 45k miles. Yearning for those youthful days? For sure. Good luck with your quest!