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Ratty Rescue: Brown Bunny

What can brown do for you? In the case of our latest Ratty Rescue, quite a bit. If you’re in the market for a new project, this 1979 Rabbit could be just the car you’re looking for.

When searching for rust-free older Volkswagens, it’s tough to beat the Pacific Northwest. The mild climate doesn’t see much snow, and therefore, not any salt. Cars there last quite a bit longer than others in the upper region of the country. And Seattle and Portland people seem to love VWs; there are over 972 on Craigslist today and that’s just the “for sale by owner” ones. Impressive.

Despite some dents and dings, it looks pretty darn good for its age. There’s a touch of rust on the passenger rear panel thanks to a dent in the metal. Another dent is on the driver’s front fender. The seller says there’s some surface rust in the usual places, but the metallic brown paint still shines nicely. The interior looks pretty good as well. The two spoke steering wheel is pure late-70s design. The dash might be a little faded, but the swanky woodgrain panels are all intact.

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

If you look a little deeper, this little bun-bun is hiding some secrets. There’s a set of slim Euro bumpers in place of the clunky (and heavy) chrome ones. The “snowflake” alloy wheels give the car some GTI-vibes. And you can just make out two black leather front seats with some chunky bolsters. The owner definitely was on the right track with some upgrades.

Mechanically the car is sound, at least according to the ad. In fact, the seller commutes over 200 miles a week in the car. Those sport-seats must come in handy for those long drives to work. The engine is a 1.8L 8-valve unit, an upgrade from the original 1.5L motor. It’s bolted to a manual transmission, but it’s unclear if it’s a four or a five-speed.

So what can brown do for you? In the case of this ’79 Rabbit, get you back and forth to work with even the longest of commutes. This bunny is located in Seattle Washington and the asking price is a solid $2000. Check out the Craigslist ad for more information.

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