Volkswagen of America began selling the Mk1 Golf (badged because the Rabbit here) in america as a 1975 model, which was good timing so soon after the 1973 OPEC oil embargo. The VW plant in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, began constructing Rabbits in 1978, and the Mk1 generation stayed on sale here through the 1984 model 12 months. Here’s one in all those final-year Mk1s, a four-door present in a Phoenix automotive graveyard.
The Rabbit Convertible stayed on the Mk1 Golf chassis here all through 1993, though its name modified to the Golf Cabriolet for the 1985 model 12 months. South Africa was the ultimate place that the Mk1 was available latest, with sales continuing all through 2009.
This one is a gasoline-burner with the base-grade L trim level.Â
The engine is a 1.7-liter SOHC straight-four with fuel injection, rated at 74 horsepower and 90 pound-feet. A 65-horse carbureted version of this engine was available outside of California, paired with a four-speed manual transmission. Rabbit shoppers could also get a 52-horse diesel engine for 1984.
The fuel-injected 1984 Rabbit L four-door got here with a five-speed manual as standard equipment, and it had an MSRP of $7,075 versus the carbureted four-speed automotive’s list price of $6,740 (that is about $21,370 and $20,358 in 2023 dollars). Today’s Junkyard Gem has the optional three-speed automatic, which tacked on one other 200 bucks to the worth tag ($604 of today’s bucks).
This automotive’s odometer showed just 118,634 miles at the tip. Remember to make use of the handbrake!
The driving force’s seat was patched with upholstery tape.
There is a sealed head gasket set sitting on the passenger seat, so we are able to assume that this automotive got here to this place since the blown head gasket never got replaced. Which is a shame, because it is not a very difficult job for these cars (as such things go). Possibly the block or head was cracked, anyway.
This being an Arizona automotive, it has air-con. That was a $650 option ($1,963 in today’s money).
For 1985, this automotive’s successor finally adopted the Golf name in america. The Rabbit name got here back for 2006-2009, then got the axe again. Meanwhile, it took until 1990 for the Passat name to take over; first there was the Dasher, followed by the Quantum.
Those brutes in Westmoreland let some Rabbits die, in order that yours can live longer.
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This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
