1982 Volkswagen Rabbit

Pickup Pickup truck

1.6L 4 Cylinder Diesel Fuel

Manual

1V1LG0174CV034733

Clear

Biodiesel

2dr Pickup

I bought this awesome little truck a year ago in Santa Cruz. I've been running it on biodiesel, occasionally mixed with regular diesel. Since I bought it I have had the front brakes done, both front axle boots replaced, the rear passenger side wheel bearing replaced, the glow plugs replaced and all of the fuel lines switched to biodiesel-compatible viton. No major problems and a very excellent daily driver. I have driven it down to Southern California with no problems. I am going off to join the Peace Corps, and I'd hate to leave this car idle for two years, so I am reluctantly letting it go. When I bought this truck the owner was very good about telling its full story: "My friend bought this truck in mid-2005 from Old Volks Home in Santa Cruz with 158k miles on it. He spent $300 on the flushing the fuel system and having the fuel tank boiled clean, and spent $3,000 installing a new 1.9L (Canadian--I guess you can still buy them new up there, eh) VW diesel engine and upgrading the manual transmission to a 5-speed, and drove it on B100 biodiesel." So even though it says 1.6L engine above, that's wrong. Ebay just won't let me change that. The actual engine is a 1.9L VW diesel engine from 2005! The good:- Only 30k miles on the new engine!- Clean title- New engine and used 5-speed transmission replaced in summer 2005. Engine is larger than old stock so fuel economy isn't as good.- Run almost exclusively on Biodiesel (or mix of biodiesel and regular diesel) since engine replacement.- In 2006, the injector pump was completely rebuilt.- Optima gel battery, a few years old but still cranks great- Tool box in back- Spray-on bedliner- Sheepskin seatcovers are fantastic- Baby blue exterior is priceless- 30-35 mpg, could probably be improved with some good tuning- I have hauled 800 lbs and it felt fine- Like most indirect injection VW diesels, runs great once warm- Viton tubes- Front breaks done late 2010- Both CV boots replaced in 2010 The not so good:- Unfortunately the stereo was stolen several of days ago :(- Shift linkage was not replaced with transmission, so it is for a 4-speed. Works fine, but finding 5th takes a little practice- Both triangle mirrors are sealed shut- Tires are pretty good, 2 new ones put on three years ago.- Gas gauge is not perfect; it is getting close to empty when it says about 1/4 tank. The former owner learned this the hard way when we ran out of gas.- Heater/fan turns on maximum speed only. Also, the temperature control wire is slightly bent, I leave it on 'warm' so I don't push it. It still will change to cold but it feels strained so I don't mess with it.- A few small dents and dings, a few rust spots. Far from perfect but not bad for 28 years old.- There is a short in the right rear tail light. All lights work fine with headlights off. Headlights on, the taillight is on but looks dim, and when you touch the breaks the light it goes dark.- Like most indirect injection VW diesels, it is cold-blooded: smokes a bit when it starts and idles roughly when warming up.- The right-hand side-view mirror does not stick in one place so it is basically useless.- The tailgate is a mystery to me as far as how to open it. - The e-brake handle doesn't stay up. I use a bar between the seats to hold it up. - The key doesn't work in the passenger side door handle; you have to open it from the inside. My mechanic (who I can hook you up with if you are in the Bay Area, he specializes in diesels and is quite affordable) says the non-urgent work to be done includes: replace timing belt, replace transmission fluid, replace fuel filter, flush brake fluid. Can be shown locally.