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Detroit, 4:03 AM
Mon Nov 9
7 posts in the last 24 hours

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    1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of 87CapriceEstate 87CapriceEstate
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    Mom's 76 gasser Rabbit rusted to death in about 10 years. Bright yellow and was quite good looking.
     Reply
    discontinuuity is happy that everything has been set right in the Jalopverse. Now all we need is more of engineerd's Brefas Scotch! promoted this comment 87CapriceEstate was starred 87CapriceEstate was unstarred
    Image of discontinuuity has left the Jalop until further notice discontinuuity has left the Jalop until further notice
    10/04/09

    @87CapriceEstate: I imagine you don't mean this type of gasser. That would be awesome.
     Reply
    discontinuuity has left the Jalop until further notice was starred discontinuuity has left the Jalop until further notice was unstarred
    Image of IN THE FACE! IN THE FACE!
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    I had a friend a few years ago that had one of these with an SVO conversion on it. Whole 9-yards too, dual tank, heater coil in the oil tank, combo filter/pump so he could tank up direct from grease-vats...

    And it smelled like fresh french-fries whenever he was burning the SVO...

    I think it had somewhere around 250k mi when he bought it and did the SVO conversion, and he had put on another 100k last I heard...

    Good stuff.
     Reply
    IN THE FACE! was starred IN THE FACE! was unstarred
    Image of 1991Brougham 1991Brougham
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    I am going to guess diesel was 50 cents a gallon in 1981. That means you would pay a penny a mile to go on a road trip at 50 MPG. 1000 mile round trip = $10.00. Drive across America 3000 miles = $30.00.

    Go up a bit if diesel was higher and you still wnd up with some incredibly low costs for road tripping! Will we ever have it so good again?
     Reply
    discontinuuity is happy that everything has been set right in the Jalopverse. Now all we need is more of engineerd's Brefas Scotch! promoted this comment 1991Brougham was starred 1991Brougham was unstarred
    Image of K5ING K5ING
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    You can't go wrong with a VW diesel. They get 50mpg and last forever! As for range, look at the trip odometer (reset at last fillup) and the fuel gauge.

    The first ones, like Murilee's find, are even better. Not as quick but even more durable with better mileage.

    Another brilliant find, Murilee!
     Reply
    Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets promoted this comment Edited by K5ING at 10/03/09 1:11 PM K5ING was starred K5ING was unstarred
    Image of Mad_Science Mad_Science
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    My dad had a brown diesel rabbit.

    Got it b/c they were supposed to be cheap to deal with and get great mileage.

    According to him, it's the only car he's ever hated. And he once drove a car with the hood held down by a rope.

    It didn't get the mileage it was supposed to and it kept breaking.
     Reply
    Mad_Science was starred Mad_Science was unstarred
    Image of tonyola tonyola
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    In 1980, I was working for a major Florida environmental firm who had projects all over the country. A couple of the roaming geologists bought diesel Rabbits figuring they could make tidy money on the per-mile travel reimbursements. Things went fine for a while, but the inevitable major repairs did away with dreams of profit. These folks also failed to include insurance costs, etc. in their starry-eyed calculations. After a year, the geologists went back to driving the company trucks to jobsites, which the company encouraged anyway (the trucks were pretty much a fixed cost and no reimbursements paid to employees for mileage).

    I for one didn't mind the US-only styling touches such as the wraparound front parking lights, rectangular headlights, and oversize taillights. They imparted a "deluxe" look to an otherwise plain if tidy car. The interiors, however, were a bit much, with everything color-coordinated down to the steering wheel and window cranks - more Oldsmobile than Volkswagen in flavor.
     Reply
    tonyola was starred tonyola was unstarred
    Image of Flathead Smith Flathead Smith
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    These are great cars. I had a friend that had one for his short commute to work. Because of the incredible fuel economy he would forget to look at the fuel gage and once or twice a year he would run out of fuel.
     Reply
    Flathead Smith was starred Flathead Smith was unstarred
    Image of IN THE FACE! IN THE FACE!
    10/05/09

    @Flathead Smith: I've done that a couple of times on my scooter, I've had it almost two years w/ ~1k mi on the odo and have yet to burn 10gal of gas!
     Reply
    IN THE FACE! was starred IN THE FACE! was unstarred
    Image of djsyndrome djsyndrome
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    My high school sweetheart taught me to drive stick on a VW Rabiit.

    Diesel.

    '81.

    Four door.

    Blue.

    In the Bay Area (Pleasanton, to be exact).

    I wonder if this is her old car? If so, to the current owner: I'm really sorry about that weird stain on the back seat. I tried to get it out. Really, I did!
     Reply
    skitter promoted this comment Edited by djsyndrome at 10/03/09 10:51 AM djsyndrome was starred djsyndrome was unstarred
    Image of Elhigh Elhigh
    10/03/09

    @djsyndrome: That's gotta be COTD. It's one thing to be familiar with the model. How often is there a finite, real possibility that you're familiar with the actual example on the screen?
     Reply
    Elhigh was starred Elhigh was unstarred
    Image of IN THE FACE! IN THE FACE!
    10/05/09

    @Elhigh: well, there's familiar; and then there's...
     Reply
    IN THE FACE! was starred IN THE FACE! was unstarred
    Image of I was drivin' that Model A I was drivin' that Model A
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    The VW diesel pickup. Proof not all diesels are suitable tow vehicles.
     Reply
    I was drivin' that Model A was starred I was drivin' that Model A was unstarred
    Image of camp6ell camp6ell
    10/03/09


    @Glenfiddich is good: au contraire... i drove this rig cross-country, over the rockies at 11k feet and all. 1.6na diesel.
     Reply
    Glenfiddich is good promoted this comment camp6ell was starred camp6ell was unstarred
    Image of I was drivin' that Model A I was drivin' that Model A
    10/03/09

    @camp6ell: I can believe it, depending on where you crossed, but if you went through the Eisenhower tunnel...your top speed after leaving Golden couldn't have been more than 20 MPH...

    Heart-clicky for being both insane and insanely brave.
     Reply
    Edited by I was drivin' that Model A at 10/03/09 9:14 PM I was drivin' that Model A was starred I was drivin' that Model A was unstarred
    Image of camp6ell camp6ell
    10/06/09

    @brake booster by Lucas...I'd better get religion!: i don't remember where we crossed exactly, but i recall an 11k ft sign and 1st gear! that was the only time in 3300 miles i had to drop to first though, right at the summit. :-)
     Reply
    camp6ell was starred camp6ell was unstarred
    Image of skaycog skaycog
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    A VW Rabbit stretch limo...this shows that guys will stretch anything. Photo was taken in Northern California 20 to 30 years ago.
     Reply
    skaycog was starred skaycog was unstarred
    Image of Elhigh Elhigh
    10/03/09

    @skaycog: Bigger, longer, and it takes more time to get there. Yeah, baby.
     Reply
    Elhigh was starred Elhigh was unstarred
    Image of Mad_Science Mad_Science
    10/03/09

    @skaycog: There was a PCH or something on Jalopnik about a stretched Rabbit.

    I have to wonder how many of those are out there...
     Reply
    Mad_Science was starred Mad_Science was unstarred
    Image of stoke stoke
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    How does 48/1750 work out to a better power-to-weight than 53/1724?

    37 pounds per horsepower for the diesel versus 33 for the petrol version.
     Reply
    Mike the Dog promoted this comment stoke was starred stoke was unstarred
    Image of Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
    10/03/09

    @stoke: I'm glad somebody else stepped up to be the math police, because I noticed that too. I was trying to come up with a tactful way of putting it when I read your post.
     Reply
    Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was starred Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was unstarred
    Image of stoke stoke
    10/03/09

    @Mike the Dog: I suppose it doesn't really matter. Slow is slow regardless of what the numbers say.
     Reply
    stoke was starred stoke was unstarred
    Image of Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets: I miss Deartháir II Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets: I miss Deartháir II
    10/03/09

    @stoke: Wasn't the Beetle motor a flat four running on Petrol?
     Reply
    Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets: I miss Deartháir II was starred Prawo Jazdy and The Velocity Trumpets: I miss Deartháir II was unstarred
    Image of Josh Poage Josh Poage
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    A friend of mine had an 81 Dasher diesel - it was one of the most awesome cars ever. Compared to the 80 Celica with a 3-speed and clogged carburetor I had at the time, it didn't seem that slow. Unfortunately the rubber timing belt did him in - while I was riding with him one day it slipped a few teeth, there was a spectacular boom, and we drove home at 25 mph billowing smoke. Broken valve, pierced piston cracked in half, and it still ran, sort of.
     Reply
    MushyHeirloom promoted this comment Josh Poage was starred Josh Poage was unstarred
    Image of oldgraygeek oldgraygeek
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    I used to love drag-racing those in my '69 Saab 96 V4.
    Sometimes, I'd even win.
     Reply
    MushyHeirloom promoted this comment oldgraygeek was starred oldgraygeek was unstarred
    Image of 87CapriceEstate 87CapriceEstate
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    Very good looking considering my mom's 76 gasser Rabbit turned to rust dust in the late 80s.
    Too bad the Rabbit name never caught on. I see that somebody drove there (I think) Hyundai from Texas.
     Reply
    Mike the Dog promoted this comment 87CapriceEstate was starred 87CapriceEstate was unstarred
    Image of Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
    10/03/09

    @87CapriceEstate: It's a Kia Sephia.

    My older sister had a gas Rabbit that looked just like this one, it died of rust sometime in the mid-eighties.
     Reply
    Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was starred Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was unstarred
    Image of Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car! Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car!
    10/03/09

    @87CapriceEstate: Gasser Rabbit... The image that put in my head is a Rabbit with a lifted straight axle front end, DOT slicks and zoomies sticking out from under the doors.
     Reply
    Mad_Science promoted this comment Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car! was starred Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car! was unstarred
    Image of Novaload Novaload
    10/03/09

    In reply to 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit LS Diesel
    Amazingly good shape, nice color for a Stink Rabbit.
    Plus it's missing the horrible tell-tale diesel skid-marks on the bumper and paint above the exhaust. Well tended!
     Reply
    Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred
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