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My two diesels

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MattRabbit:
Hello all,

I still have my same two cars.  Between the two of them, they have over a half million miles.  Quite a bit of driving, I'd say!

My first car was a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel.  My parents purchased it new in May of 1981 with 32 miles on it.  When I turned 17, I bought the car from my dad for $800 (long story).  It had 180K-ish miles in it.  I drove it all through college.  I kept the car running for the most part, but it sure broke a lot.  At 240K, one of the rings broke.  I did a 'fake' rebuild and kept it on the road for around $250.  After driving it for 5 years, I sold it back to my father and bought another car.  After 3 more years, he told me he was going to junk it, so I took it back.  I've had it since 1999 this round.  I haven't worked on it for the last couple of years, but I still have it.

Things I've done: 

replaced the rings and rod bearings
new struts/springs
new brakes
new cooling system
new head gasket (had to do it a second time - a learning experience)
all new seals on the engine
new front end (wheel bearings/bushings/etc)
one new control arm
re-seal of the injection pump
new wheels
new headliner
cleaned the hell out of that thing (eew!)

It still needs a lot more.  I just don't have the time/money to work on it currently.  Hopefully someday I can get back to it and finish restoring it.

some pics:

This is when my dad brought it to me right when he was going to junk it.  It's fairly straight, and it's a CO car.  No rust to speak of!

After cleaning it up some

The interior needs some TLC for sure

After redoing all the seals and head gasket for the 2nd time

new headliner

new suspension and wheels

All in all, I've gotten a good start on it.  The interior and body need some work.  Especially paint and this:



Someone thought I went at a stop sign.  I hadn't.  I never got it fixed, as I was a poor kid and used the insurance money elsewhere.  Hopefully I can get this repaired and the car painted at some point.

MattRabbit:
Diesel number two is my Golf TDI.  It's a 2001 GLS with sunroof, alloys, and heated seats.  I've put 249K miles on it.  It's tornado red, and it's my daily.  I love that car.  I can't justify replacing it, even if I did have the money right now.  I purchased it new 11 years ago.  It has been really good to me.



I don't have quite the story with it.  I bought it and drove it.  It's been all over the country.  And it still looks good.  It's lasting a lot better than the Rabbit did, though I'm sure I'm taking better care of it this go round. 

MattRabbit:
Last October, I rented a truck and emptied a storage unit in Colorado and brought the Rabbit with me to Florida.  I figured I'd post some pictures of the journey :)


Backed out of the storage unit.  I was sure happy to see it!


Tossed in a new battery, and BANG!  Started right up!


On the trailer


Dragging it home!


In it's new cave...

Hopefully I can scrape some funds together to spend on the Rabbit over the course of the next couple of years.  We came out of the move and recession in a pretty bad spot financially, but at least I still have the car!!

rs899:
Your Rabbit will feel much friskier here in FL than in CO, until you flip the A/C on.  Wait- you don't have A/C.

HAHA- neither do I....anymore

ORCoaster:
Crank open the roof and open the vent windows.  Go fast and you have all the A/C you need.  Just drink plenty of water.  Need an air cushion too.

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