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Date:         Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:48:24 -0700
Reply-To:     Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject:      Re: Frydae NVC:  Diesel Rabbits
Comments: To: Anthony Egeln <regnsuzanne@YAHOO.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
              reply-type=original

There are a few factory 1.6 TD Rabbits. The vast majority of them are 1.6 naturally aspirated.

the early ones have a more weakly built engine with 11mm head bolts. 'real' 1.6 NA vw diesels have 12mm head bolts, like the engine in 82 diesel vangaons.

personally ..I hate working on sideways engine front wheel drive cars. Everything is harder. I can't give one very high points for 'safety' - somewhat of a tin can.

they come in round headlight ones, and the more common rectangular headlight ones...t those were made in Pennsyvania. if you find a diesel rabbit pick-up ... people are nutty about those ....always grab a good one . They were promoted at true 50mpg cars when new.

trouble free....... they are mostly .. they can suffer from all the normal vw diesel things.. leaking injection pumps , for example.

for me personally, it's not enough vehicle under me. I like safer slightly larger cars , and vanagons. My 88 turbo volvo sedan has safety and performance in spades. Got it for only $ 300 too.. a good european car like that one or a mercedes ... solid n' safe , good handling etc. A Rabbit is a 'people's car' in comparison ..built to be inexpensive to buy and operate. a lot of them are dead now. I can honestly say I see more rabbit diesel pick-ups than regular old early A1 chassis Rabbits.

it's not only how fast you drive .. it's also the size of the thing that runs you over,. or into you.

The common car in Medford OR here, is a giant pick-up truck .. some of them wouldn't even notice running into or over a VW Rabbit.

sure people put in 1.9 TD's . the biggest thing that might need some fabrication or creativity is the right inner fender engine mount. Now there's a part of early rabbits that just sucks to work on. In the diesel ....they have the rubber mount as part of the injection pump bracket. If you are putting in a later 'real' 1.9 TD it has a cast iron inj pump bracket there .. so not a pure bolt-in right there, but not insurmountable either.

btw .. I bought an 89 diesel jetta once ...that's either 2nd or 3rd generation FWD vw small rabbit type car. It was about 3 times more sophisticated a vehicle than an early A1 chassis Rabbit ..

it's also historical ...those early rabbits.. VW's first ..or nearly first, water-cooled car.

There's even a version of the Idiot's Guide for Rabbits. A great book, as good as the original Idiots Guide for air-cooled VW's.

scott www.turbovans.com

----- Original Message ----- From: "Anthony Egeln" <regnsuzanne@YAHOO.COM> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Friday, June 17, 2011 2:04 PM Subject: Frydae NVC: Diesel Rabbits

Today I was thinking about the old diesel rabbits from the early '80's. Does anyone recall which engine came stock in the car; was it a 1.6 NA or 1.6 TD? Would it be difficult to convert to a 1.9 TD? Are they a headache to maintain? My gut reaction is it would be a trouble free vehicle, IF set-up properly at the start. I had a couple of gas rabbits back in the day, that I enjoyed very much, and thought a well maintained diesel version might be an economical car for teenagers to drive, with little means of driving too fast or otherwise dangerously. Appreciate any opinions and experiences rendered. Cheers, Anthony'89 Syncro GL (Hidalgo)


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