1981 Rabbit with 8,000 miles for sale, $8000

[Kghias]

Selling our 1981 VW Rabbit. It is an L model with the only option of a cloth interior. It was a step up from the base model with the vinyl interior. The L model was all about transportation with minimal frills. The vent windows don't even open and there is not a radio. The factory radio block off plate is still in place.

I have all of the records since new that back up the mileage of the car. It even comes with the original window sticker. On my photo gallery I also posted some of the carfax pages that document the miles are correct.

The car is very original and not altered. The headliners tend to sag on old VWs and this one was replaced. I found some NOS trim rings to brighten up the rims but didn't paint the rims so that they have that original patina look. The car was driven a few miles each year. You can see how nice the underside is on the car if you view the photo book on my web site. The car shows well and people just love it when we drive it. The paint shines very nice and all paint is original. There are two stains on the lower back fender where tar was left on the paint for a long time and stained it lighter than the paint. The location is not very noticeable. I have also detailed the engine a little from the photos.

The gas motor runs great. I had to change several of the fuel injected components to get it to run great. One item was a new Bosch fuel pump. The transmission is a 4 speed which shifts fine. I picked up a NOS Abarth muffler for it and that really made it sound nice drive even better.

The pictures on my photo album describe the car well. If you have any other questions just ask.

If this posting is up the Rabbit is still for sale. I would be interested in trades for older pre-66 air cooled VWs, convertible Ghias, Things or Westy's. $8,000

http://karmannghias.org/Rabbit/

[maoc]

wtf i would die to own this car. i seriously wish i didnt see this. that is beautiful with only 8k on it.

[razorride]

Mother of gawd... I do want.. Id gladly give you $8K if youll give me my $20K http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...r-Manual-Clean

[Maggiolone]

This car is no stranger to Vortex....what's the story with it? Did some old man drive it and then went into a nursing home?

[Kghias]

Did I list it here before? I might have asked for NOS parts when I first found it? Interior parts are the hardest to find. I had a friend restore one several years ago and finding NOS parts is really hard. I was glad to just find the trim rings.

I bought the car in Philadelphia basically from the second owner. The old lady that was the owner passed away and her grandson sold it to the person I bought it from. He realized it was pretty rare with 8000 miles on it but didn't know anything about VWs. He had the headliner installed but didn't do much with the car because the clutch slipped.


The grandson said it was the typical old grandmother story with a twist. I guess grandma only drove it on Saturday to go to the state store. She stocked up with a bottle where she was not able to drive for the rest of the week, thus the low miles! He didn't mention anything about going to church?

I like old VWs and cars with original paint and low miles. To me, liking vintage cars, this is the best way to find them. This was my daughters first car where I taught her to drive a stick after I replaced the clutch. VWs are so forgiving she learned it in an afternoon. Soon I bought her a 92 Jeep Wrangler with 75K miles from California and so the Rabbit sits. I'd like someone that had one as their first car or a nice collection to end up with it.

The other car in the pictures is a 1974 Sonett we picked up with 35K miles which now has 42K miles on it, I bought it for my son as his first car. He wanted the 1962 Mini I bought for a summer but that has to be the "least safe" car we had so I sold it (original paint and interior, no rust but it was not a cooper) We had an all original 1991 Miata with 102K miles but because it was an automatic it went. The very front car just showing the corner of the fender is a 1956 Ghia, great car as it only had 65K miles on it when I bought it and tore it down for a long....... restoration.

I have the car stored in a heated garage. Removing the catalytic converter and putting on the NOS Abart was worth the investment. It drives 10 times better with power. I've taken it to several shows and people just love it.

I'd like to get back into brass era cars, pre 1915, so I am looking to sell it. I also like 56-59 Karmann Ghias which I run a registry for, I'd think of trading for one of equal value.

For a PA built Rabbit this is a fine one. You can see I tracked everything down and have lots of service records to prove the mileage. It might be the lowest mileage Rabbit in the US.

[Maggiolone]

Did I list it here before? I might have asked for NOS parts when I first found it? Interior parts are the hardest to find. I had a friend restore one several years ago and finding NOS parts is really hard. I was glad to just find the trim rings.

It's been posted on here by other users more than a few times due to the ad on TheSamba, moreso out of curiosity. Unless you're looking at strictly NOS interior pieces, you can find interior bits for this car all over VWvortex and TheSamba. This Rabbit is in a popular color combination, and there's several identical ones in the parts classifieds being parted-out.

I bought the car in Philadelphia basically from the second owner. The old lady that was the owner passed away and her grandson sold it to the person I bought it from. He realized it was pretty rare with 8000 miles on it but didn't know anything about VWs. He had the headliner installed but didn't do much with the car because the clutch slipped.

The grandson said it was the typical old grandmother story with a twist. I guess grandma only drove it on Saturday to go to the state store. She stocked up with a bottle where she was not able to drive for the rest of the week, thus the low miles! He didn't mention anything about going to church?

So being drunk prevented her from driving for the other six days of the week?

Also, was your daughter driving this regularly, or just to learn manual on?

[Kghias]

It's been posted on here by other users more than a few times due to the ad on TheSamba, moreso out of curiosity. Unless you're looking at strictly NOS interior pieces, you can find interior bits for this car all over VWvortex and TheSamba. This Rabbit is in a popular color combination, and there's several identical ones in the parts classifieds being parted-out.



So being drunk prevented her from driving for the other six days of the week?

Also, was your daughter driving this regularly, or just to learn manual on?

OK, I didn't know it was discussed. I have not visited the site much. When I had my 2000 EV, I spent a little time here. We put 180K miles on it and bought it new. I've had about 50 VWs of all types, great cars. Another user emailed me and suggested I post the car here.

I was looking for NOS items like winder knobs and such that get some wear.

The story was from the grandson "second hand" on his grandmother. I thought it was a cute twist on the normal grandmother story so I'm keeping it as a "fact" with the car. She certainly didn't drive it at all.

I think my daughter has driven the car 6 times. She likes the Jeep much better, stick too. I was going to keep it for her but she said to keep the Jeep always for her. I think we've put a little over 1,000 miles on it since I bought it.

I grew up in PA and always wanted a PA built Rabbit.

[Kghias]

I was sifting through my old VW records and I found two color and trim books. One is from 1980 and the other 1981. The show all of the exterior paint colors and there are clear vinyls of the cars that you slip the color behind. Cool approach. It also shows swatches of all the interior fabrics.

It even has some vinyls of the VW caddy. The 1980 book has all the spec sheets for all of the cars. I'll put this with the Rabbit.

[Thirsty4H20]

Thanks for the pictures of the Miata and the Jeep...

[Kghias]

Sure you are welcome.

[Maggiolone]

Sure you are welcome.

I was going to say earlier you might not want to include long-winded stories with photos about cars other than the Rabbit. This is a pretty high-end sale on your part for $8k.

[absentee]

not sure if i missed something but where is this located?