Author |
Message |
Mike Sal Samba Member
Joined: May 28, 2014 Posts: 195 Location: Southern Illinois
|
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2016 6:46 pm Post subject: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
My wife's first car was a '78 with gas engine & automatic tranny. It eventually tried to rust in half at the A pillar & we sold it to a guy who was into rabbits (20 years ago). She still has a soft spot for these cars but I've never been able to find another one with an automatic (she hates a clutch). Did she own the only one ever made, or did they all just rust away? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
ps2375 Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2014 Posts: 2471 Location: Meridian,ID
|
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2016 7:24 pm Post subject: Re: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
They could possibly be slower than the diesels. I have a friend that just sold one (1980), it was completely stock, down to the radio. It had been parked in a garage for sometime. I doubt there were that many out there to begin with. But any that made it past the people that would've swapped out the auto tranny for a manual have prolly rusted away. My 80 Rabbit made it to about 2013 when it was rearended and killed. Was not an auto tranny car either. And when I was scrapping it, I found out where the cold air was coming from in the winters. Good thing it was hit in the rear. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
dub01 Samba Member
Joined: September 21, 2016 Posts: 29 Location: Wrightsville, Pa
|
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2016 7:38 am Post subject: Re: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
If you aren't averse to convertibles, I'd suggest adding Cabriolets to your search. Lots of them still out there with automatics in them. Plus they were built up until 1993. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12815 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2016 7:52 am Post subject: Re: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
dub01 wrote: |
If you aren't averse to convertibles, I'd suggest adding Cabriolets to your search. Lots of them still out there with automatics in them. Plus they were built up until 1993. |
Or you use a clapped out cabriolet to re-power an older rabbit. _________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12815 Location: North Carolina
|
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2016 7:54 am Post subject: Re: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
ps2375 wrote: |
They could possibly be slower than the diesels. I have a friend that just sold one (1980), it was completely stock, down to the radio. It had been parked in a garage for sometime. I doubt there were that many out there to begin with. But any that made it past the people that would've swapped out the auto tranny for a manual have prolly rusted away. My 80 Rabbit made it to about 2013 when it was rearended and killed. Was not an auto tranny car either. And when I was scrapping it, I found out where the cold air was coming from in the winters. Good thing it was hit in the rear. |
The worst was the rare automatic diesel. _________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Butcher Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2015 Posts: 1285 Location: Right Here
|
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2016 8:38 am Post subject: Re: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
ps2375 wrote: |
They could possibly be slower than the diesels. |
There is nothing on the planet that is slower than a VW Rabbit diesel except for a VW Vanagon diesel [where the 1/4 mile time was faster than the 0-60mph time].
In my area, there are Rabbits out there with autos and not rusted. Look in a rust free area. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Mike Sal Samba Member
Joined: May 28, 2014 Posts: 195 Location: Southern Illinois
|
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2016 11:17 am Post subject: Re: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
when we met I had just sold my '71 chevelle SS454 w/ 4speed cowl induction. Sonya's tiny little rabbit with that tiny little gas motor sure seemed to take a long time to get out of it's own way.
I'll continue to keep my eyes open for one. I'd have to find room for it if we did find one.....6 Studebakers, a Kaiser, a model t, & a reproduction Kubelwagen have got all the building full at the moment.... |
|
Back to top |
|
|
oprn Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016 Posts: 12632 Location: Western Canada
|
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2016 8:43 pm Post subject: Re: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
I cannot imagine wanting an automatic Rabbit but that's just me.
I bought a new Rabbit in '76 with a 1.6 liter gas engine and my buddy had purchased the very first '75 Rabbit diesel to come to Edmonton. It was the demo car for about 6 months before he bought it. He was always telling me that it was actually pretty good for power so one day we lined them up for a contest and sure enough my gas one could not keep up to him! He told me after that he had never lost a race with a gas Rabbit.
The real interesting thing was that years later when his diesel blew a rad hose and cooked the engine I bought it for parts and found out that it was actually a 1.4 liter engine!
I often have wondered since if there was something special they did to those first few demo diesels. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
60's Burnout Samba Member
Joined: December 10, 2006 Posts: 424 Location: SF Bay Area
|
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2016 10:41 pm Post subject: Re: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
My sister had a '77 Rabbit with an auto. In Kali, in the summer, the starter would overheat; it was mounted behind the bellhousing and the exhaust pipe ran right over it. She would park it, come back 10 minutes later and no crank. Had to sit there for half an hour until it cooled off enough to work. I put some aluminum flashing over it to deflect some of the heat until she sold it. Why they didn't use the same setup as the manual, with the starter at the front of the bellhousing, I don't know.
VW did some weird stuff.... |
|
Back to top |
|
|
volksworld Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2011 Posts: 2525 Location: formerly NY currently NC
|
Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 8:01 pm Post subject: Re: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
and they used that wonderful setup till the 90's....they kept adding more elaborate heat shields but problem persisted....usual fix was make sure all shields present, genuine bosch rebuilt starter ONLY , and a starter booster relay....thats what i love about vw....when they find something that doesn't work they stick with it |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Old wrench Samba Member
Joined: March 29, 2017 Posts: 2 Location: Montana
|
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 11:06 am Post subject: Re: Rabbits with automatic trannys |
|
|
A new one to this forum, wife s wheels 80 2 door rabbit Auto trans, still running just fixit steering clunk oil change and tune up next. What information on electronic ignition thanks for letting me post. Old wrench. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|