TheSamba.com :: View topic - PLEASE HELP... i need advice on my poor 80 rabbit

Wed Jan 04, 2006 6:19 pm

i have (or should i say had) a 1980 black 4 door rabbit until the suspension rusted and went out on the front of the car...[ i found this out by seeing my driver front wheel almost sideways when it should have been facing forward]... i've been told the car is unable to be salvaged, but i may be able to sell the whole thing for parts for like $200 or so...

since i have put thousands into this thing, i really hate to think that this is my only option...

does anyone have advice on what to do? i need to make a decision (or have it towed) very soon, and i don't want to lose out if there is a better option out there.

ps... i live in portland, oregon
pps... i don't know a whole lot about cars...and am not dating a mechanic...
ppps... it has a brand new set of 4 tires that cost about 150 bucks...

thank you very much!

Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:07 pm

freetobe wrote: i have (or should i say had) a 1980 black 4 door rabbit until the suspension rusted and went out on the front of the car...[ i found this out by seeing my driver front wheel almost sideways when it should have been facing forward]... i've been told the car is unable to be salvaged, but i may be able to sell the whole thing for parts for like $200 or so...

since i have put thousands into this thing, i really hate to think that this is my only option...

does anyone have advice on what to do? i need to make a decision (or have it towed) very soon, and i don't want to lose out if there is a better option out there.

ps... i live in portland, oregon
pps... i don't know a whole lot about cars...and am not dating a mechanic...
ppps... it has a brand new set of 4 tires that cost about 150 bucks...

thank you very much!

find a doner car, rabbits are cheap, check the classifieds.

Tue Jan 10, 2006 10:31 pm

As the owner of an 80 Rabbit, you have my sympathy...sorry, thats the best I can do...Hate 'em. VW's biggest mistake. I know, I owned three. 75, 78 & a 79...
Seriously, partin' it out will get some of your money back...
Good luck wit it!

Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:42 am

Yep, had one too....big pile of shat. All i can say is get rid of it you will be better off in the long run.

Wed Jan 11, 2006 11:56 am

shucks, maybe I can help. It's hard without seeing the car, but I have seen the arm rust off the strut which would let the wheel go sideways-if this is the case the strut can be replaced. I have some, but would have to talk to your mech.--but first call my friend steve @ Averes-longmont, wash. 800458-5852-he should have the part and know mech in portland. Then read"the largest vw graveyard in the west' under forum. Tom

Wed Jan 11, 2006 12:40 pm

You can buy a sledgehammer and charge $1 a hit to people.Those cars suck so bad you'd have a mile long row of people eager to beat the $h!t out of it!

Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:21 am

1980 and older Rabbits rusted much worse than the 81-84 cars. If you end up buying another car to swap your good parts to, seriously consider this.

I've had numerous Rabbits, and loved them.

Fri Jan 13, 2006 2:49 pm

you have lots of options. depends on whether you're willing to learn and do the work yourself or not. could be spendy if you're not...

you're better off posting in the www.vwvortex.com forums - they have a rabbit specific forum - you're unlikely to get a lot of love from the aircooled crowd on this site, as seen above.

briefly, if the damage is in the strut towers (ie: rusted out), you're better off getting another car and keeping the good stuff off yours. if the damage is to the the front end, and not the body itself (unlikely as you mentioned rust), you can probably get a decent front end out of a yard and repair yours. i'm guessing it's the former. there are still a lot of rabbits in junkyards.

a1 diesels are the some of the best cars vw ever made imo.

Sat Jan 14, 2006 11:21 pm

I've owned several Rabbits, they are great cars. I had an '81 Rabbit pickup that had the whole strut tower replaced- a donor piece was bolted and then welded in. It passed inspection fine, and I had a few autobody pros check it out and they deemed it safe. I had a friend with an '80 Scirocco, and I think he repaired the same problem you have. It may be fixable, it just depends on how nice the rest of the car is, and if it's worth fixing as opposed to starting with a new shell. Definitely check out the MK1 forums on VWvortex.com, take pictures if you can, and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

If you do end up parting it, parts are worth something. An un-cracked dash with fetch a decent sum on '80 and older models. '79-80 grilles are hard to find unbroken. Fenders, lights, nice interior parts, and diesel engines are usually in demand. Good luck!

My old truck a few years ago:

Sun Jan 15, 2006 9:16 pm

Well, we few Rabbit enthusiasts seem to be in the minority here. Fortunately, my 81 Pickup doesn't have the same issue so I'm not much help. But instead of listening to a bunch of people bash the car's name, I'd talk to some profesionals and decide if your affection for the car is worth the cost of fixing it. If it were my P/U, I would fix it. I love my little diesel truck almost as much as my Ghia. I am a mechanic by trade and I HATE working on my own vehicles. But I plan to re-ring my motor (280,000 miles) this spring and I'll do it without complaint.

Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:44 pm

www.wascalywabbit.com