Cool, I bought a Westy

"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa)
11/11/2019 at 13:40 • Filed to: None

1981 Rabbit L Diesel. 120k miles. Barn find, parked since 88. Only appreciable rust I found was the hood, which was covered in raccoon poop. Headliner is destroyed, the rest of the interior needs a deep, deep clean. And you know it doesn’t run.

DISCUSSION (27)

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 13:44

Broken quarterlight as well?

Nice find! Be prepared to be VERY slow. :P

The Ghost of Oppo > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 13:45

Nice find. Are you get it running or part it? Care to share how many pennies it set you back?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 13:46

Dang, it almost made it into the dumpster before you saved it

facw > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 13:47

Kinja'd!!!

ST80MND > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 13:47

Cool. What are the plans for it? Coal Rollin' quarter mile monster?

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/11/2019 at 13:47

Uh, yeah, 48 hp and 58 ft-lbs ? It better be slow!

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > The Ghost of Oppo
11/11/2019 at 13:48

Yeah, it popped up my Marketplace and 24 hours later I was loading it on a trailer for the price of 70,000 pennies. Not bad at all.

My plan is to get it running and clean the interior, then reevaluate from there.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > ST80MND
11/11/2019 at 13:50

Probably dump it on racelands, crank the fuel, and daily it honestly

lone_liberal > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 14:11

The slowest car I’ve ever ridden in, at least for any decent amount of highway miles . It just barely made it over Snoqualmie Pass in Washington and that’s back when it was new. I shudder to think what an old neglected one is like. Have fun!

Sovande > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 14:17

$700????? Wow, that seems like a lot.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Sovande
11/11/2019 at 14:23

Nah, shells with more rust go for a grand around here. A runner... maybe two grand.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > lone_liberal
11/11/2019 at 14:24

Oh it's gonna be slow, no question

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 14:30

Have any specific plans for it? :)

Sovande > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 14:33

Really? That’s crazy. Around here you can get a high mileage crapcan sedan from the early 2000's for under a grand running. I would think cars would be cheaper in Ohio than DC, but I suppose the shear numbers of used cars pushes the prices down.

Have fun!

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Sovande
11/11/2019 at 14:37

Yeah, you can do that here too, but this is a nearly rust free 1981 Rabbit. It’s not for that. It’s for being slow and looking cool. They’re expensive because they all got crashed, crushed, or riced in the early 2000s.

I'm gonna slam it on racelands and roll coal.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/11/2019 at 14:37

Well, the suspension is probably shot so I may as well drop it 3 inches on Raceland Ultimos....

Sovande > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 14:42

I never would have guessed that the solution to looking cool somehow involved a 1981 VW Rabbit.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Sovande
11/11/2019 at 15:06

It's not really "normal cool", it's "VW cool". Scene kids like em, and I guess I'm a scene kid.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 17:11

Neat! Are you planing an engine swap?

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
11/11/2019 at 17:16

Not really. After I get it running and well sorted I’ll have to decide what my plans are. If it’s not possible to get it running well enough to daily drive it, I will sell or swap it. A build ABA-based motor fits nicely...

superdave847 > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/11/2019 at 19:23

My dad had the same car in white! I’ll never forget the sounds of it starting and warming up. It was our family car all over the Colorado Rockies if you can believe it.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > superdave847
11/11/2019 at 21:26

Very cool! If the exhaust is rusted out, I'm gonna go straight pipes all the way back and make tractor noises.

oldmxer > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/15/2019 at 12:11

our family was held in torture by one of these when my father in law bought it new for a long commute, fast forward to ‘98, i had the inspiration to build a 4x8 trailer using the rear suspension from it, turned out to be best trailer ever and only good thing to come out of that evil car

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > oldmxer
11/15/2019 at 13:22

I wouldn’t dream of buying one of these as a daily driver, especially for a commute more than 15 minutes (20 minutes by Mk1 diesel). A trailer made with the rear torsion beam is actually really smart! And they’re like, $50 at a junkyard.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/25/2019 at 10:46

I owned a ‘79 and an ‘81 Rabbit Diesel and later, an ‘84 Jetta turbodiesel. Dependable cars, if smokey and underpowered. You’ll probably have to buy a rebuilt injector pump for yours.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
11/25/2019 at 12:10

Almost certainly. I already bought an entire engine's worth of accessories (everything sans block, crank, and pistons) so hopefully that pump will be servicable.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
11/25/2019 at 21:49

Lots of places for rubber seals to fail.