1981 Volkswagen Rabbit

DIESEL Hatchback

4 - Cyl.

Manual

1vwcg9171bv181492

Diesel

This is my 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel. This is the second one I've had for sale recently, and by far the best. In fact I would venture to say this is the finest condition Diesel Rabbit for sale in the country. These iconic cars are getting more and more difficult to find, and I strongly believe this is the nicest one that you will find for sale anywhere. This car has only 78,968 original miles since new. I am a specialty car dealer- I searched and searched, and found this car in the hands of a private Volkswagen collector. He had this in climate-controlled storage for over 20 years, hence the low mileage. It was put away back when George Bush, Sr was president! Once I had it brought out of storage, I went over the car carefully to bring it up to speed mechanically. Since it was brought out of storage, I have had the timing belt and tensioner replaced, plus done a flush of all fluids, replaced all filters including the fuel and oil filters, replaced the front wheel bearings, replaced the shift linkage bushings, plus serviced the brakes. The oil was changed with Rotella Diesel oil. All of this work has been done in the last 50 miles. To my knowledge the car needs nothing mechanically. This is the "luxury" LS edition, which includes an upgraded interior with leatherette (vinyl) seats, larger wheels/tires with stainless full wheel covers, plus cruise control and air conditioning. This car has been gone over carefully and it runs and drives like a dream. The engine starts up perfectly and it runs very smoothly. The transmission shifts perfectly and the clutch is tight. The car runs, drives and handles great. I would trust this Rabbit to drive to California and back- no worries. It is peppy and fun to drive- anyone who says these cars are slow must have been driving an automatic. The car has the 1.6 naturally aspirated 4-cylinder diesel engine and 4-speed manual transmission. It has a plug-in block heater for winter. It has a great radio, a Panasonic AM/FM cassette that really was the cat's meow back in the 80s! The tires are older, but have good serviceable tread. This car turns heads everywhere it goes, because of its outstanding condition and also because most people haven't seen one of these in a generation! The interior is excellent. The seats are in superb condition and they look sort of like real leather even though they are vinyl. The foam is still in great shape and the seats are supportive and comfortable. The carpets are VERY good and have been covered with original "Rabbit" logo floormats since new. The body is absolutely straight, solid and super clean. I cannot imagine you will find the body of a Rabbit in better condition. The paint appears to be all original, and there is no evidence of any accidents or damage, ever. There is basically NO RUST of any consequence, save maybe some tiny surface rust on a paint nick. There is absolutely NO ROT or body rust of any significance, at all. The body, paint and underside are SUPREMELY PRISTINE for the age of this car. The strut towers are perfect- all the welds are like new with absolutely no rot or rust. If you have the opportunity, come out and see this car- it is in amazing condition. All of the guages work, including temp, fuel, clock, speedo and odometer/trip odometer. The headliner is slightly sagging, and is pinned up with pushpins to keep it taut. It looks fine this way. Keep in mind that this car is 30 years old and as such it isn't perfect. Here is the list of what is wrong- the shifter boot is slightly torn; there is a tiny nick in the windshield (not a crack); the driver's door hinge sags just a tiny bit; the cruise control doesn't appear to work; the crankcase breather hose has been routed to under the car rather than back in the intake (common for diesels); the passenger side "vent window" glass is missing in the photos but has since been replaced; there is a tiny split in the vinyl on the driver's seat; and there is typical 4-cylinder diesel vibration at idle- upgraded engine mounts would fix this. Most significantly, the air conditioning does not blow cold. It is the original R12 system, and to make it work you will have to have a mechanic convert the fittings and O-rings over to R134a and charge the system. The compressor, belt and all the A/C equipment is intact. The compressor pulley turns and the hoses all appear to be in good condition. I'm not messing with a 30-year old A/C system since it is beyond my skill level- I will leave this to the new owner. This car is stored in my building in Willoughby, OH. If you'd like to see it, or if you have questions, email me or call/text me at 440 339 4341. On Aug-14-11 at 12:17:45 PDT, seller added the following information: MAJOR UPGRADE! The following photos show that I have just installed 15" BBS wheels from a 1992 GTI on this car. The wheels are in excellent condition and the tires are brand new Yokohama S-Drive performance tires. This setup is included with the bid price of the car, however if the high bidder does not want the BBS wheels, I am willing to deduct $400 from the final price of the car. In that case the car would come on the original steel wheels shown in the previous set of photos. These wheels are outstanding and give the car a fun, sporty but VW-original look!On Aug-14-11 at 12:19:01 PDT, seller added the following information:On Aug-14-11 at 12:19:43 PDT, seller added the following information:On Aug-14-11 at 12:20:20 PDT, seller added the following information:On Aug-14-11 at 12:20:56 PDT, seller added the following information:On Aug-14-11 at 12:21:32 PDT, seller added the following information:On Aug-14-11 at 12:22:20 PDT, seller added the following information:On Aug-14-11 at 12:22:58 PDT, seller added the following information: