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Mon Nov 28, 2005 12:36 pm

Everyone knows about the legendary ability to swap parts between T-series VWs; like I said, it's rather legendary.

But what about their watercooled cars? Do they run in similar lines? Is a Rabbit front end the same as a Dasher front end? And similar questions.

Reason I ask is I keep looking at the Dasher and almost drooling; I'm a station-wagon fan, deep in the fandom. But I'm a little deterred by the apparent lack of readily available spare parts and replacements, and so far I can't tell if they ever made a five speed Dasher transaxle. Since I do a lot of highway driving, I'd really prefer a five speed, and I know they make a Rabbit 5spd transaxle... see where I am?

Is there a semblance of parts interchangeability between watercooleds, or am I just SOL?

Fri Dec 02, 2005 10:21 am

Yes there is interchangability between water cooled VWs, I have seen MKIV Jetta and Golf front end swaps; MKIV engines in MKIII to MKI. Earlier models, it depends, there was both in-line (Quantum) and tranverse (Rabbit) mount engines.
What exactly are you trying to do, and what are you working with?

Fri Dec 02, 2005 9:59 pm

Rabbit and Dasher are completely different vehicles; nothing is the same between the 2 drivelines.

Sun Dec 04, 2005 10:29 am

if you are set upon a dasher many things can be a lil tough to find. as for the driveline the Fox is the most similar animal VW made.. have a look for a 5 speed from a 90 and up fox.

Sun Dec 04, 2005 6:26 pm

Ahh, I see.

The Fox was... front wheel? Rear wheel? drive?

I guess what you're all saying is that yes parts will swap, but it's not like the old school aircooled swappage, right?

Sun Dec 04, 2005 8:50 pm

The Dasher was VW's first watercooled car - the motor is the same as the other watercooled models, but it mounted "conventionally" - that is, inline front to back, with the transmission sitting between the driver and passenger's feet. It is a front wheel drive. (the only rear wheel drive waterpumper VW models were the rear engine Vanagons) The Dasher layout lived a long life though - the Quantum was a similar setup, and the Audi 4000/5000 (and I believe 80/90) were too. The 5 cylinder motor was shoehorned into this layout as well. The VW Fox was the last gasp for this layout, and as mentioned, you can bolt up a 1975 Dasher tranny to a 1993 VW Fox.

The Rabbit/Scirocco/Jetta models with their transverse (sideways mounted) drivetrain were entirely different. Lots of easy swapping to do from the 75-84 models, but in 85 they revised the tranny mounting so tranny swapping between those can require modifications. Of course, the Cabriolet was holdout though 1993 - it was basically a pre-85 Rabbit up til then. The engine itself, VW scattered various mounting points all over the engine block and these remained the same for the 4-banger motors through the years, this means there is a huge range of bolt-up-ability for the basic engine. This is just a very basic and simplified overview though!!!!

-Andy

Sun Dec 04, 2005 9:24 pm

glutamodo wrote: The Dasher was VW's first watercooled car - the motor is the same as the other watercooled models, but it mounted "conventionally" - that is, inline front to back, with the transmission sitting between the driver and passenger's feet. It is a front wheel drive. (the only rear wheel drive waterpumper VW models were the rear engine Vanagons) The Dasher layout lived a long life though - the Quantum was a similar setup, and the Audi 4000/5000 (and I believe 80/90) were too. The 5 cylinder motor was shoehorned into this layout as well. The VW Fox was the last gasp for this layout, and as mentioned, you can bolt up a 1975 Dasher tranny to a 1993 VW Fox.
<snip>

So... it's like the rear engine, rear wheel drive setup, but reversed so it could be put in the front? Engine and transmission with a differential in between them?

Seems... odd.

Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:47 am

Yeah, the Dasher-type tranny looks like a lot like an IRS bug or bus tranny, just a bit longer and a bigger bell-housing.

In the mid 70's when automakers started mounting the inline motor sideways in the front of cars, that was odd, actually. Up until then, American cars always had their V and straight motors with their crankshafts running front to rear.

andy

Mon Dec 12, 2005 12:07 am

The Dasher set up was also used on the early Audi 100LS, been there had one. I think it was a 1971. Dodge had a front wheel drive that used the same exact motor and trany as the dasher/audi 100.