'82 Rabbit ?

What is the viability of an '82 Rabbit diesel pickup... original engine?

I don't plan to do a swap, just use it as a truck.

Is this as easy as an ALH to maintain or am I going to be in a world of hurt?

How much$?

Can you do your own work? This is a mandatory requirement to owning this car or tons of money. What condition is it currently in? Anything below currently driveable and registered I would pass. What is your intention in the use of the vehicle? Any repairs will quickly exceed the vehicle worth more than likely so you need to be able to use it for work or other purposes to get some worth from it.

Lightflyer1 said:

Can you do your own work? This is a mandatory requirement to owning this car or tons of money. What condition is it currently in? Anything below currently driveable and registered I would pass. What is your intention in the use of the vehicle? Any repairs will quickly exceed the vehicle worth more than likely so you need to be able to use it for work or other purposes to get some worth from it.

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it's registered and driveable. asking $4k. i think that is high. body is in very good condition.

i'd want to use it as a pickup truck to haul things.

I currently maintain my ALH. Can do most things to that shy of major engine work.

it's "cool" but for a few thousand more I could get a later model base toyota that might be more stable.

Had one myself, back in the day.

It's a A1 (Rabbit) chassis in the front with a pickup back-end. Subject to all the usual issues A1 Rabbits face... most usually rusting out shock towers which can be expensive to have repaired, windshield, fenders, etc.

Also, because it's an A1 it will take a bit of work to swap a more recent engine in. It can certainly be done, but fabbing/welding is required as the motor mounts are different, exhaust and shifter will be in the way, stuff like that.

Some parts specific to the truck, like the tailgate and fuel tank, are NLA, but the front is all Rabbit. IIRC the rear suspension is also NLA, might be worth checking.

Speaking of the rear suspension... it's worth noting that it's not much of a truck, payload-wise. Much closer to a quarter ton than a half ton.

Mine had the original 52 hp diesel engine that only needed to be filled once a month and I happily drove it until the front end rusted out.

Thanks Vince!

If it's cheap, relatively rust free, and runs, I'd snatch it up.

At $4k I would just find a used truck for half that. I am on the search for one currently. Seem to be quite a few out there in decent shape. Unless you just have to have the VW truck.

$4grand is a lot for an older MK1, you have to juggle how much its worth and the work you want to do to it. mk1s are rare these days, and in good condition(??), not an easy find.
to put a 1.9 engine in isnt easy, you need the parts for the conversion. especially the engine mounts for the conversion/install. work may need to be done to make the turbo fit, and exhaust. find a spot for intercooler, and run pipes.
making a 1.9 radiator fit and mount, i dont know if you can reasonably use an old mk1 radiator. fit A/C components and a condenser.
other stuff like engine electronics, wiring harnesses.
thats just some of the things you must deal with for a 1.6 to AHU or ALH conversion. it can be a fun thing to do, for sure.

Yeah, for $4k it would have to be in immaculate condition to get me interested. I saw one Texas a few years back that had badly faded paint but was rust free, and thought about buying it.

They have very little payload capacity, but man they are economical to run if the original 1.6l non-turbo IDI engine.

Great as a two-seater runabout that occasionally brings home a big bag of dog food or a fridge off Kijiji.

As above body stuff is the big concern, particularly with specific parts being NLA, and of course a 37 year old diesel engine can require some investment to keep running, which is why many folks that have 'em end up doing an engine swap. That and the need to pass someone on the highway without a hill and a tailwind.

I still see them here for sale now and again but they are usually extensively bondoed/siliconed and then spraypainted to hide the shock tower rust etc.

If you go to look at it take a magnet.

My pickup was great, ate a couple of glow plugs apart from that so much fun. used it to haul vintage bikes, low bed made a loading ramp almost redundant. We all had these in SOCAL and would see who got the best mileage.Better to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow!

As the OP stated no engine swap intended, just truck use. An old Toyota or Nissan or just any old truck should do fine and for way less money. Find an old Ford with the legendary old inline six 300 ci manual and go to town. Parts still easy enough to find and relatively cheap and easy to work on. Especially the pre EFI ones. It will haul loads all day, tow fairly heavy trailers and pretty much run forever. About the only drawback is fuel economy. But for short or occasional use that shouldn't be much of an issue.

uuh, i misunderstood first post.
like i said its rather expensive for a mk1, yet they are rare. i take it its whats known as a 'caddy', actually can be a 'collector'.
i think the '82s may be the old 1.5 w/mech head. but in any case.
its not hard (normally) to be able to easily get over 45+mpg.
your ALH is quite a few years removed/advanced from this type of basic diesel. for one its a mechanical, the pump design i mean. they do keep on running.
if you get serious about it and/or want advice on it, check with the vwdiesel.net site. they do old IDIs there, and mk3s.

Well $4k is a bargain compared to this one:

https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/autotrader-find-pristine-1981-volkswagen-rabbit-pi-281474979853862

Well that one seems to be a collector and a piece of history for someone who wants it. Still $13k is quite a lot even for it. I wouldn't imagine anyone wanting to actually use something like that for any work as the OP seems to.

Aren't these the wabbits that got the crazy high fuel economy? If it's roadable I would keep it stock, maybe rebuild the motor if needed. Could be a sweet vehicle, likely expensive to maintain/repair.

They are much more of a hobby/collector car at this point. If you just want a pickup, you can find something MUCH newer and larger for the same money.

I have owned several, loved them all. One I sold became the down payment on my house (post restoration, I got nearly $6k for it).

1987 Ford F-150 with the inline 6. Asking $2k. Looking at it tonight. Much more useful as a truck and at least half the cost. Parts easier to come by and probably way cheaper. Registered as an antique in Texas is only $50 for 5 years and my insurance dirt cheap. Do you want a real truck to do stuff with or an old collector car to tinker with? A hitch on your current car and old trailer makes more sense than this car does.

Hey...I have an '87 f-250 300-6 with C-6...low miles....two-wheel drive. It ALWAYS gets exactly 14.5 mpg no matter unladen or pulling 5th wheel.

I had two of those VW pickups. One gas, one diesel. Had a nice expensive topper on the back.

Had a young long-legged girlfriend...we used to take it camping. Wore out the rear shocks even though we never left the campground...……………….life was GREAT...….

Yep they aren't an economy winner but if you aren't using it constantly as a daily driver it isn't as important. But they do work and work. Fuel tank/fuel pumps seem to be their drawback. Easy enough to work on though.

Here's mine:



I only gave $3k for it a few years ago... all original 1 owner, was in storage from 2000 to 2014. Had less than 100k miles on it, all highway, never driven in winter. You could not get it from me for twice that price now, though. It is a '96, last year for that body (in the half ton anyway). And mine has a lifetime transmission to boot! Still got the window sticker and everything.

Very, very nice truck and exactly what I am talking about. The rabbit has very little value as a truck and probably very little as a collector car. Its main advantage seems to be economy only. But if that is what you want go for it! A Toyota or Nissan would probably be more useful and cheaper and nearer economy.

we havent heard from OP since he started the topic.

^^but hey, dont talk down on ole mk1 caddys, there are kool, for some they are a hot item.
and too many american fords on our VW site. eye sore . jk, those above arent bad, look nice, rather nice. hey if you need it to do the work,,,only thing a v8 sucks up gas, even a 6, and that size of a 'truck'(a 6 wont work out, for more than one reason).

The 4.9-liter 6 cylinder engines are just the thing for light duty trucks!

I'm surprised that someone hasn't posted a pic of a Mack Truck.. We have no clue what the OP might be intending to haul in the Caddy.

Yes, in some circles the Caddy is a hot vehicle. I've seen them at most VW shows, GTGs, etc., that I've attended. There use to be one at a local junk yard.. it was beat to Hell and back and still going.

Here's my "barn find" and still in the barn... Gasser, hopefully to be a diesel some day soon, either IDI or TDI.

What a horrible idea. Just buy a truck.

FWIW, the A1 pickup (the couldn't call them Caddy here, like they did in Europe), has the same "size" bed as the shortbed compact pickups of the era. It is a wee bit narrower, but the space between the wheel arches is about the same. A little shallower, but not a whole lot. And they have a solid leaf sprung beam axle. This formula is actually pretty common in other markets, and with other makes.

If you can make do with a compact regular cab shortbed pickup, for light duty use, these work fine, and when lightly loaded, will use very little fuel. They DO have their use, but the issue here is, they were only sold here from 1980 through 1983, and with the exception of a very similar ChryCo (Omni based) pickup, they had no rivals, and have enjoyed a cult classic following. So, they are typically "worth" more from the hobby enthusiast side than they should be, which is pretty typical of any similar beloved sought after machine. Nobody bats an eye at a 1970 Beetle, restored, selling for $15k+.. yet for that same money you could go buy a NEW car that is FAR superior in every single way. Well, the Caddy kind of falls into this category. So holding it up to a standard of an F150, which are a dime a dozen here, isn't really valid. Nobody expects it to be.

If I could have afforded to keep any of mine, and I could still FIT in them, I'd still have them. I would enjoy them on nice days, and maybe if I had a minor errand to run that it could handle. I used mine to carry my dirt bike around in.... just enough room for me, my XR400, my gear, a gas can, a cooler, and a lawn chair. And since they have a freakishly large fuel tank, the diesel version meant some really good range, like 1000 miles if you were taking it easy.

flee said:

The 4.9-liter 6 cylinder engines are just the thing for light duty trucks!

Click to expand...

(i had to check a unit converter real quik)
a 4.9 is essentially about, or a 302, you might as well gas up like your driving a 'stang. even a small 8 like the small 265 is a 4.3L. yea a 6 with enough liter to bring it to an 8 size will pull quite a bit of what you want, where is fuel/gas mileage? i wonder, considering more things, if it has much/any economy over a 350? the 350/5.7 will haul more.

The 4.9L is an almost legendary 300 cubic inch engine, it is an extension of I think a 270 CID engine, dates back to the late '50s or early '60s, although the 300 version came about in the late 1960s. An actual TRUCK engine (no cars ever used these). Beastly huge thing. Low stress, low RPM, low HP, high TQ. They are virtually indestructible. They were used in a lot of step vans and stuff, too.

They are thirsty.... the later ones like mine, manual or automatic, were rated 15 cty 20 hwy, but in order to tag 20 you'd have to be moving pretty slow, like maybe 60. Otherwise, it is around 14 to 18 for me. They never were bolted to the passenger car OD automatics, either, just the big 3sp C6 or the later E4OD (which became the 4R100).

Low tech, but in this case, that is good. They got port EFI starting in '86 on models below 8500 GVWR, and I think '88 on all models (they sold these in 3/4 ton and 1-ton trucks, too, even dual rear wheeled versions).

I had an '85 F150 with one of these, too... it had a giant 1-barrel carburetor, and was bolted to a 3+OD 4sp manual. It had over 400k miles on it when I sold it. Rear main leaked oil like crazy, but it still ran well and was still strong.