Love my 81 coupe, got it slammed on 15x7 rota bbs style wheels… all white with black rabbit decals on the bottom of the doors… it will never get old to me

I had a 1981 Jetta Diesel which is mechanically the same as your Rabbit. I found a 1983 Rabbit GTI in a pick&pull yard and stripped it of it's struts, springs, shocks, sway bars fender flares. Even the seats, center console and gauges, shifty knob, steering wheel. All I could get. I installed all of that in my Jetta. Then I had great handling and great MPG as well. Love the A1 Rabbits. Even the 4 doors which, for my generation anyway, would not be cool. Great ride and thanks for the vid.

My first car was an 81 Rabbit diesel, canary yellow. Was an awesome little car and I miss it terribly. Mine was just so worn out that after 4 years she was just too tired to keep on the road.

@tman9281

2 жыл бұрын

That’s awesome. So many people have great memories with these!!

Always loved the Rabbit

Very cool rabbit! Love it! Thanks for sharing 👍👍

Congrats on the MK1. I just picked up one of these as well. i'm keeping the 1.6d and am primarily going the non-mod route (except for mild lowering susp) and lots of oem rehab needed otherwise.

@tman9281

6 жыл бұрын

I haven't fully decided what I would like to do as far as long term. Have you had any luck with suspension yet? Do you know which brand you are going with?

Beautiful car. My first car was a 1984 VW Rabbit diesel, 4 speed. Brings back great memories. Thanks for sharing! :)

@tman9281

3 жыл бұрын

That’s awesome! I need to make an update video on the progress I have my made to it. Thanks for watching

@possibleproblem479

3 жыл бұрын

hopefully thats about to be my first car. probably buying one tomarrow

Love the car man! I have an 81 as well! 1.6 diesel as well I love the car!

westy vw rabbit with made in usa stickers, very nice condition

Awesome!

Grew up with an 84 turbo diesel. Many great memories with the car and several cross country road trips. Incredible cheap on fuel and now I think anything under 50 mpg is terrible!

Congratulations! Great ride. I personally would keep it Stock. Leave the engine as is. Give it a good cleaning, especially the paint.

Normally those snow flake mags were only for the GTI model...nice find.

I know this video is old but an Audi 1.8 would rock in that car. It would be a little monster.

@tman9281

5 жыл бұрын

I've thought about that. It would be really cool.

@tman9281

5 жыл бұрын

I'm leaning more and more towards the 1.8t.

Look at that wood grain dash tho!

I miss my 84 Rabbit best car ever

Had a 80 mk1 rabbit diesel & a 84 rabbit gti. Cheers.

My first car was the 1981 VW Diesel L (for luxury) with the padded dash, long tail lights, vinyl seats, remote mirrors, and color silver. It was in really nice shape. Bought it when I was 16 from my Dad fro 1200 dollars. It got 45 mpg and took forever to pass!

@timothygotzman8605

6 ай бұрын

What do you mean “forever to pass”?

@ZackaryMac

2 ай бұрын

​@@timothygotzman860552hp is what they mean. Acceleration is not their forté.

Love it man! ok.... sweet wheels... Lucky devil, you got the black snowflakes. I had to laugh at the upside-down steering wheel. Sweet Westie! I hope its the 5 speed!

@tman9281

6 жыл бұрын

4 speed unfortunately.. ha

@chrisp5710

4 жыл бұрын

Did you watch the video? Lol Steering wheel is not upside down btw.

Very similar to mine a 4 door LS as well but 5 speed. Same interior but vinyl seats. The funny thing was it didn't have the speakers in the dash it had dash foam inserts so unfortunately they cut the door cards for speakers.

@tman9281

3 жыл бұрын

Nice! yeah I would love to get the speakers all sorted out. Thats low on the list until I finish the 1.8t swap. Yeah I'm a huge fan of the 4 door. the square lights are my favorite too. I used to want the circle lights, but the square look is definitely my style.

I'd go for a m-TDI swap. Plumb a svo tank for use as an auxiliary tank. And clean the mold out of the interior. Never understand how vw interiors stink of mold so bad

Noooo!! Please don’t switch it out!😢

Love it! I can't wait to have my own! How's she driving today?

@happydays454

4 жыл бұрын

I'm selling mine I'm in nm kzread.info/dash/bejne/X659r7ptqcmegto.html

@tman9281

3 жыл бұрын

It drove pretty great actually. The engine seemed strong. I'm doing an engine swap currently so right now she's not driving so well :)

LS Swap

My current commuter is an 81 volkswagen rabbit diesel pickup, and it ran like crap when I got it too!. After modification to the awful air cleaner, modification of the crankcase vent, and slightly advancing the timing from what is called for, it's running great, and getting 43+mpg. That being said, it would do better with a turbo, but I'm waiting on that lol. My current project is a 79 Wolfsburg hatchback, and it's getting a later model 1.6L turbo diesel, so I'm hoping to see 55mpg, if not better with it over the much heavier pickup. Keep that 1.6L, as they can easily be turbocharged, and cheaply repaired!

@tman9281

5 жыл бұрын

I will try some of these options then maybe. Atleast for the time being. It has been sitting for some time, but I now have time where I can start working on it again :)

@sethwertz1168

5 жыл бұрын

@@tman9281 at 360,000 miles on the original engine, mine has at least proven to me that it can handle these years well. They can definitely be doggy if the pump timing is whacked, but as slow as they like to go, they still have a tendency to outlast most everything else if they are well maintained!. Glad to hear you have some time to devote towards it, as they are fun to work on, and extremely simple, unless you are trying to get a quarter panel off lol. Mine has required little, and been far more reliable than most of my previous vehicles. Once you figure out how to repair the old 1.6D, you can almost do it in your sleep

@sethwertz1168

5 жыл бұрын

@@tman9281 Also, a heads up on the transmissions...... The first gen 4 and 5 speeds had the same final gear, so it only gave you a better choice of gearing for city driving. I cannot remember what year they started making them with the higher ratio highway gears, but you can directly swap them if you can find one that someone doesn't want a kidney for haha. You would need to swap your shift housing and linkage arms for a 5 speed too, but it's thankfully bolt in, not cut and weld!

Rabbit 81 1,6

Great video. Personally I would keep the car original,just give it a good clean. Is that interior original?

@tman9281

5 жыл бұрын

It is the original interior. It's in pretty good condition.

Where can you find oem parts?

@tman9281

5 жыл бұрын

That's a good question man. eBay is your best friend. And some of the forums. I haven't ordered many parts yet. The project was put on hold for a bit, but I'm hoping to be able to get to it soon now.

Do you sell the grill? :)

@tman9281

5 жыл бұрын

I just recently replaced the grill actually. It was all busted up.

Just out of curiosity, what did you pay for it?

@tman9281

5 жыл бұрын

I paid about $1900 if memory serves me right

Bro, I ve had 3 rabbits all MK1. Diesel is so much better. I wouldn't change it to gas...ever... personally...Diesel can be stored longer, and gets better MPG...like 53+ MpG.

only issue is it's a 4 door.

@tman9281

5 жыл бұрын

I love me a 4 door :)