Skip to main content

Find of the Day: 1978 Volkswagen Rabbit 2dr

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

It was an estate sale, but we’ve all had the dream. You’re driving down a country lane when a flash of color from inside a barn catches your eye. Or walking down the street when the old widow three doors down opens the garage. We all want to find the perfect car that no one’s thought about in years. Well, forum user “floridabmx” found it.

“Just two weeks back I was tipped off to an estate sale,” starts his post. An enthusiast and connoisseur of all things Mk1, floridabmx knew that a road trip to Tennessee from his native Florida was in order to take a look at a “very clean Bali Green 78 Rabbit.”

“I think I was the only bidder,” says Mr. bmx. “Long story short I was the new owner of this gorgeous base model.” The car hadn’t been registered or driven in two years, so floridabmx was prepared to have it hauled. Still, though, he and his friends checked the fluids, started it up.

Sadly, it died going up a hill and floridabmx was about to call for that tow. Something prevented him from doing it, though, and after successfully starting the car again, he headed for a parts store. There he bought some injector cleaner and an alternator belt and hit the road. Before he knew it he was in Asheville, NC. Then in Savannah, GA, and finally back home in Florida.

According to floridabmx, the car “operated beautifully, and drives like brand new. No squeaks, no rattles.” Everything is 100% original, and more than that, is in beautiful condition. Even the floor mats, which were bought at the same time as the car, show little sign of wear. The odometer reads 1,967 miles, though floridabmx admits that admits that it actually has 101,967 miles on it.

And for all this originality, floridabmx is asking $9,000 (but he’ll entertain offers). He says that the price is high to dissuade buyers who would modify the car from buying it. “This survivor needs to be preserved,” he explains.

And we agree. Please, someone who keeps brushes for dusting in their car buy this. The car deserves to be protected from the dirty, dirty world.

The post Find of the Day: 1978 Volkswagen Rabbit 2dr appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1S6VwA5
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...