Forgotten desert VW DIESEL. Will it run after sitting 15 years?

[@theetravisb]

Download the FREE Upside App at upside.app.link/travisb to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas! Thanks for watching guys

[@foxstrangler]

The Mk 1 Golf as it's called in Europe, was a very good car. Revolutionary for it's day. Small by US standards but has a huge following in Europe, now on it's 8th incarnation. You have the proper basic one.

[@theetravisb]

Interesting didn’t know there was such a following for these

[@gomiyaro]

@@theetravisb Same in South-America, also has a huge modding/tuning scene.

[@simes205]

@@theetravisbgoogle mark one golf

[@glmm2001]

@@theetravisb that one, properly restored, could fetch good money in Europe. The basic Golf Mk1 was in production in South Africa until a few years ago.

[@dandunlap8638]

Apparently the same guy that checked the oil tighten the valve cover 😂😂😂

[@special_dx]

"The first turbo-diesel production car was the Mercedes-Benz 300SD (W116) saloon, which was sold in the United States from mid-1978 and powered by the OM617 five-cylinder engine. A year later, the Peugeot 604 D Turbo became the first turbo-diesel car to be sold in Europe."

[@lefttea]

Correct, when i heard that i was thinking m-b had diesels back in the 70's, wondered if they were turbos. Checked wikipedia, yep turbos.

[@djhobin69]

As us brits call it a mk1 golf , love old vws

[@jiimaman]

1983 was the year that turbo diesel was available for VW Golf (Rabbit) in Europe. At 79hp/114fb-ft it was way better than the naturally aspirated version. I had 1989 VW Passat at one point with 1.6TD. I had hard time to kick it to take more than 5.5L/100km (approx. 43mpg) At that point car had over 250000 mails in odo. Excellent engine.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

Back in 1981, Had VW Rabbit four door. It was a diesel. If memory serves me correctly no issues with the car. Today I drive a 2022 VW Atlas. They come a long way.

[@mattsergison542]

Your dad cracks me up. Looked at you as if it were your fault he didn’t check the oil 😂 “shut it off!”

[@darinwink-ou4qk]

You're a good son for not tightening that valve cover so your dad could save some face for the "no-oil" moment

[@timmarchenko4182]

Compared to amc gremlin this thing is gorgeous! Still iconic to this day.

[@IrenESorius]

NOT UGLY, WAY COOL,,, ✨💖🥰💖✨

[@darrellwiley4288]

I loved the rabbits, I had 3 of them back in the day. I wish I had them back. The last one was a GTI and I loved it.

[@darrellwiley4288]

@@MaxGiganteum Well they just wore out and rotted out over time . I live in the north and there is a lot of salt on the roads. The 1977 model that my dad had ,, had almost 400,000 miles on it

[@alexe1563]

It's not ugly, it's iconic. It's called a VW Golf here in Europe, the Rabbit name is lame.

[@theetravisb]

Didn’t know there was such a following for these cars kinda interesting. Very neat in their own way

[@alexe1563]

@@theetravisb It was the most sold car in Europe for decades and was built in South Africa until the early 2010. It was also the predilection car for tuning. He he

[@johnellis3309]

Yeah I've seen golfs over here in the states to.. my brother had a GTI I think they called it it was a diesel.. it ran like it was being chased. We drove that thing from Portland Oregon to Boston one time.. and back.. 70 mph are all the way there all the way back

[@joseesparza2364]

I much prefer Rabbit vs gti.

[@simes205]

@@theetravisbthe Golf is a very important car in Europe……..like really important

[@fishypictures]

I like that you guys don’t swear. I need to learn to not swear even when I want to ,… it’s not becoming. Good job guys, you are original’s. Sounds lovely,.. we used to drive the heck out of gas rabbits in the eighties.

[@anashsingh4417]

Those Golf Mark 1s what it is called in South Africa is tops. Here we running 2L engines R32 engines. The two doors are sought after! They can be done up nicely. Pitty u cannot add a photo of mine i had. Top show....

[@mfc4591]

That little VW Golf diesel is like hens teeth....not many around.

[@Baystateboy125]

I owned a 1982 Volkswagen rabbit diesel. It was the most fuel efficient vehicle I’ve ever owned at 57 miles per gallon highway very easy to maintain very easy to fix.

[@SammyKurts-ku2ht]

Sweet cars that juts don’t die !!

[@Bill_9797]

The rear parcel shelf is complete. No holes cut for speakers. That shelf alone is prob worth more than whole car to Mk1 enthusiasts.

[@theetravisb]

Wow that’s crazy

[@staceyrenner5418]

A buddy of mine has one about the same year, the mileage he gets out of the old girl is astounding. If I could find one for a commuter I'd snag it in a heartbeat.

[@bladerunner6282]

my dad had the pickup version of this diesel. it even had factory air! while driving it one day, i had the only experience i've ever had with the phenomenon of a runaway diesel engine (i.e. the engine keeps accelerating even though you take your foot off the accelerator pedal). i managed to apply the brakes hard enough to stall it. i didn't know such things could happen.

[@theetravisb]

Yeah runaway diesels are scary

[@sfcbrick]

IMHO, good call passing on the truck. I love the old, "Oh yeah, I have the title. Just can't find it." Don't walk away, RUN! Your Dad is the greatest ❤️

[@stevelangston2359]

I owned several of these including Audi 1.6. Weakest points are headgasket and seal on the injector pump. Fun to drive but lacks power.

[@johnfitzpatrick2469]

G,day Travis and Rick from Sydney Australia. Fantastic video with great images of engine parts and accessories. * Cam shaft timing * Change out the starter motor/test * Identifying rad leak * Control air intake of carburettor to maintain combustion. Pre buy inspection of Dodge RAM * Supply adequate crack Amps to starter. * Detect regular piston firing * Overall body condition * Administration issues with ownership title. Thankyou for your educational channel.🌏🇦🇺

[@theetravisb]

Appreciate you watching!

[@newtronix]

Mark 1 Golfs go for big bucks in Europe. This is a classic.

[@bigmountain7561]

It’s Beautiful It’s Basic Transportation at its Finest. Make the A/C work and you have a great car. And I think we need to check Travis’s work!! Lol!! Great Video Thank You 🙏

[@Nzchimeran]

Fantastic first car for a student. Very well built engines and yours is the rarer two door like the VW Golf. Worth good money in the UK, very desirable. Don't knock this car, it's worth saving . They handle fantastic, Porsche technology throughout

[@RobertDickens2002]

Those cars have a certain sentimental value we had one just like that when i was a kid and both of my parents have now passed on.

[@braddokken9191]

Good call on the Cummins. Definite gallop sound when turning over.

[@williamkarenschrecengost8408]

Travis, another great video. Nice to see you and your father work together. Watching you I can see how you are taking right after him. Keep producing these videos

[@braxtonnelson5375]

I remember test-driving a new Rabbit diesel back in 1984. It did pretty good for a 1.6L with only 52(!) bhp! Later that year I bought a 1965 Mercedes 190D that had been sitting under a carport out in the country for a decade. That old girl just wanted to live again, as it started the first time I tried it (with the old fuel in the tank). It was a neat old car with an eye-watering 69 bhp! I paid $600 for it, cleaned it up and put a new set of whitewall tires on it, and went through the brakes (4 wheel discs way back then!) I wound up selling it to a young couple-- who just had to have it-- for $1500, which was a good chunk of the down payment on our first house! Love the content, love seeing you work with your old man!

[@jdnrotterdam2150]

Here in the Netherlands ( europe) In the 70s and 80s this vw Golf was the most sold car together with the opel Kadett and the Ford escort. Those 3 we’re the same compact middle class cars/rivals If you would time travel to the 1980’s and in the Netherlands and you watch the roads and the streets . You almost only saw this vw golf on every corner . Same with his rivals the escort the Kadett. This continued until the 2000’s With those 3 . But with more modern models . Nowadays the vw golf is still the best sold car here.

[@jdnrotterdam2150]

Not much is changed. Back than here most people had a 1.6 4 cylinder engine in their cars. It was fast enough for this small country with allot of traffic. while the states always had their big monsters with v8’s it was always like this and it’s still like that. Nowadays you guys in the states still drive big trucks and suv’s with v8’s. And here we driving with 3 cylinder turbo’s in our family cars or hybrid cars or EV’s. But… gas prices here are more than dubbel so expensive than what you guys paying . €2,00. For 1 liter gas

[@theetravisb]

Wow that’s crazy. Totally different here

[@billtodd6509]

Back in late 1978/early 1979, our company hauled a lot of the new equipment and machinery into the factory in America(New Stanton, Pa) when VW decided to build an American auto. (Interesting note), that same exact building they used was built by Chrysler to build one of their models, and after they completely finished the brand new factory, they had so many disputes with the Auto Union, that they shut it down before they ever built a car and it was later sold to VW. Keep on bringing the great content. Bill

[@aboundingpassions2430]

I have an 84 rabbit diesel that I need to replace the timing belt on. Thanks for recording the whole thing!

[@mauro_toro060]

Hello, I am writing to you from Argentina. Here that car is quite rare and really highly valued. They can ask you between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars for a restored one. Even in that state it is valuable. A very rare car in these parts.

[@iamrichrocker]

Travis: i usually ignore the commercials, but with your creative editing and scenic changes i watched with appreciation at how much effort you put into the sponsor app ad..

[@terryeustice5399]

Congratulations on the Rabbit start. That Dodge Truck was rough. I can see why you left it. Thanks Travis And Richard. 💯👍👊

[@jemtec1]

One good trick is to pressure test the cooling system for leaks. If you can see a visible leak, it might have a blown head gasket should you see it around the edges of the head. Otherwise, it’s internal. Could be hoses as well, but you should see them pretty clearly almost anywhere. Using a black light and uv dye is best for time reasons!

[@johnearly6131]

Love the history tidbit about the 12valve being the first turbo diesel!

[@paulmeinke9461]

It will start without glow plugs, use a squirt of starter fluid. I had 2 of them, loved then. One winter I found out one has 3 burned out glow plugs so I had to resort to starting it with help. Got parts and a day or two repaired it, all was fine. If I needed another vehicle, I'd be asking about it otherwise, they are great.

[@AllenPaulTrego]

They were good little cars in the early 80s. Thats a jewel. Good to see you two Travis From Sc

[@Robert-j6w5v]

That’s in pretty good shape

[@FransvandenBergeMuziekschuur]

Indestructable engines. As strong as a horse.

[@matta5534]

Love those cars.. well old vw's in general, just bc they're different, plus it's my birth year! Love your channel, Travis!✌️

[@theetravisb]

Thanks for tuning in !

[@johnnyh409]

We had a flat file that fit perfect for locking the cam in position.

[@Mariano.Bernacki]

That irregularity in the cranking sound you mention is called a "gallop" and it almost always means that one or more cylinders have very little or no compression.

[@EricB-somejibberish]

I wouldn't say "ugly", not when you compare the Rabbit/Golf to the Chevette/Escort(US Version) or the garbage that mopar was selling before Iaccoca got there (not that the K cars were pretty, but the Chrysler Cordoba (barf)). The Rabbit/Golf is a tidy little design, without too much ornamentation.

[@theetravisb]

America made some ugly cars at that time to no doubt.

[@tturtle1659]

What? Travis does one of OUR cars? A diesel Rabbit/Golf, the kind of car which taught a generation of Europeans about Zen (well, you will too learn it when you're only allowed one overtaking maneuver every two weeks). Had the Ford equivalent, a 92 Escort diesel with all of 59 hp, I once managed 90 MPH with it and it was coming back from Tirol on a long slope. But 45-50 MPG was nice, I was a poor student so food was more important than speed. Oh, once you get tired of life in the slow lane, the 2L Tdi with 90 hp fits with very little modification, and it can be tuned (yes) to 110 hp which is what the original Euro Golf Gti had:)

[@AaronBlair]

Enjoying the banter between you and your dad. Getting better at editing too I think.

[@robc2902]

Just finished watching this video and a bit of information the 1986 Isuzu Trooper II we had was a 2.3 liter turbo diesel. Had a Garrett Research turbo stamped made in USA sitting on that engine made in Japan.

[@WaddedBliss]

Are there *any* cars your dad hasn't worked on? You're so lucky to have someone with that amount of knowledge!

[@theetravisb]

My dad had lots of experience in the 80s working in dealerships and garages. So he saw it all.

[@quickvid6735]

I don’t typically comment much, but I felt the need to say this. The second part of the video where you gave up on that old Dodge was fantastic, solid advice. You should have made a video specific about that truck just for other people looking to buy an old 12valve. I know that’s not really what your channel is about, but it is a very real aspect of buying a project vehicle. You got to know when to say no. And you have to know what to look for.

[@theetravisb]

Yeah gotta make calls on your intuition sometimes!

[@michaelconverse5127]

I truly appreciate the “real time” and the lack of 2003 era guitar music that so many car videos have. The constant cranking is sort of like Chinese Water Torture but it’s certainly realistic!

[@steeliewheelies]

Good call on the truck...it had that "someone else's mess that I ain't gonna touch" look to it

[@theetravisb]

Yeah bad feeling about it.

[@TheBeardedDog]

I was hoping you would do one of the Volkswagens. My first car was an 81 diesel rabbit. That car was great, plenty of ground clearance, tough as nails and great gas mileage..

[@danswartwood4580]

Thank you for your APPRECIATION to your subscribers Travis😢

[@theetravisb]

Appreciate you tuning in !

[@danswartwood4580]

@@theetravisb I see

[@cool62chev]

My first car was a 1980 Rabbit diesel. Great mileage.

[@Pugs72]

Another great video! Cherish the time with your pops! I’d give anything to have my dad “remind” me because I forgot to do something…. lol

[@allenm00]

There was no need to initially tighten the valve cover since there was no oil to leak. 😂 you guys have too much fun. Thanks for sharing with us.

[@armandopatane5343]

I sure wish I had a dad to piss around with cars myself

[@lynnclark3495]

I had one of those. It had a diesel runaway. 😬 Be safe.

[@donaldhelgeson6769]

You guys crack me up!! Team work, I love it!

[@johnkendrick7304]

As usual great to see you and Dad working together, you made one heck of a good decision not getting that pick up. Looks extremely sketchy to me. Keep up the great work love your videos

[@theetravisb]

Yep gave me the creeps for sure. Thanks for watching

[@sjt4225]

My second car was a Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel. It wouldn't start on mornings where the temp dropped below 25 degrees (F). Also, sometimes it would just accelerate (as if someone had stomped the pedal to the floor) randomly.

[@alanrouse7285]

I had one but it rusted away (Michigan). It was dolly towed behind a motorhome. The original owner kept a detailed logbook on it. It had 27k driven miles on it and over 350k towed. It would only run properly on red diesel and it got 52mpg constantly. I tried regular diesel and it would not start worth a shit and ran terrible when it did start. When you do timing belts on them you need to put a 14mm dia pin in the fuel injector pump sprocket (there's a hole for it) to hold it in place along with the flat bar in the cam end.

[@harleyshihtzu5558]

Great video Travis your one sharp cookie. Makes so much sense when you explain it. I can tell you have done this for awhile. I’m betting your dad aka Sam Elliot lol taught you a bunch. What a great feather you are so lucky. Keep videos coming never miss one. Thanks. Love the Channel ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@davidkanipe1812]

Good call Travis

[@christopherharris6005]

Awesome video as always Travis.

[@d.sparkes346]

I had a 91’ golf diesel like that. Was so worn out that I had to zip tie in the dipstick because the blow by was so bad it pushed it out all the time lol.

[@tonyscherer8281]

You guys are king of getting lost cause engine running.

[@richardsgarage6697]

Hey Travis! Love the videos, I believe the Mercedes W116 300SD was the first Turbo diesel passenger car. These older diesels are so cool.

[@NickManCuso59]

My brother owned a VW rabbit diesel and I owned two VW rabbit gas versions. One of which was brand new the other VW was used.

[@shawnsullivan9547]

I worked for a man around '84 that owned an '82 blue diesel rabbit and convertible 2 door Mercedes. The rabbit had dismal acceleration and wonderful fuel mileage and the Mercedes hauled ass and had dismal mileage. Me being 19 at the time I definitely preferred to drive that little silver bullet Mercedes 😅

[@ayandasihle4156]

This car is an icon in South Africa...never say its ugly🤞😅

[@fire44x]

Thay have good compression but indirect injection which is a 1960 design direct injection was TDI engine in early 90s The 1.6 d has a cable timing cold start like a choke cable to help smooth running cold

[@smittysmat7826]

Believe it or not, those Rabbits were kinda hip/trendy rides in the early-mid 80s..especially for preps. I don’t think I was a prep(denial) but I had one(an 82 gas model) in silver. Mine was also automatic. I really loved that car except when I hated it. Fun to zip around in when everything worked but it ended up being an electrical nightmare. The wiring seemed possessed and had a mind of its own. I would love to have one now…if it worked like it should. Cool vid!

[@evancook4900]

He was worried about the glow plugs but never checked the oil! Haha

[@1956model1]

Tell Rick that if you're unloosening something, you're actually tightening it. LOL

[@johnlydon533]

Great video Travis. Enjoyed watching. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@MikeJustice-en1nh]

My dad had one in the 80s it was a good car 🚗 👌

[@rrnonya5472]

Facebook is drowning with cars with "no title" and instead of arguing with folks, I just pass. "Oh, Oh, Oh you can get a bonded title".. Nope, YOU can get a bonded title, not me, leave me out it, you made the right choice.

[@theetravisb]

Exactly getting titles isn’t like buying skittles

[@Alabastro.]

Alright, that's a cool car. Hope you have fun with it.

[@rodedamiguelez631]

In 1978, the OM617.950 was used in the Mercedes W116 to produce the North American market-only 300SD, the world's first production turbodiesel sedan. Power originally was 109 hp @ 4200 rpm, torque 228 N⋅m (168 lb⋅ft) @ 2400 rpm from a 5-cylinder 3L engine, and it was very reliable. Compare that to the 1978 Olds diesel, which was a 5.7L V8 with almost double the displacement and only made about the same power (120 hp and 300 N⋅m of torque).

[@Cam-sm1iz]

Good call on the Dodge with the Cummins. To be honest, I would have not even stopped and looked at that thing. The outside of it says enough...

[@j.b.a.124]

Great video as always. Couldn’t stop laughing when you & Dad were talking about checking the oil. Greetings from Florida.

[@thqp]

Hell yeah! Love that you made t5his into an episode!

[@apocolypse11]

"No matter the condition of the car it must have subwoofer" Moses mount sinai.

[@simes205]

Welcome to efficient European cars! It handles too!

[@Thomas63r2]

I once owned a beautiful Mohave Beige 1980 diesel Rabbit L 4 door sunroof 4 speed non turbo - never did get 50 mpg, and I definitely tried. It was however the cheapest car I have ever owned, it got down to 5 to 6 cents per mile including insurance, depreciation, registration, maintenance (virtually nothing), tires, oil changes. It was rated at 39 mpg highway and usually always got mid to high 30 mpg, I think I did a hyper mile a low 40 mpg once. I joked that it had turbo boost when I turned off the A/C when accelerating (made a difference) Lol!

[@thatslow4.6]

So cool to see someone in Arizona making these types of videos, Im out in northern arizona near pinetop! This is what my dad and I do aswell, Except we just don't record it (for a reason of course LOL) but one thing I wanted to point out since you guys are making vids (pop and son style) always be patient and listen, I know how it is when they dont want to listen to US either 😆 but sometimes they just cant spit out what they truly want to say in that moment so it can bring frustrations into the equation and when your working on cars thats the last thing you want to do is get upset, Work as a team and feel as a team if you get what I mean! Good luck to you and your dad and all your future projects!

[@wiesvandessel1366]

the first turbo diesel was the mercedes w123 300D turbo in introduced in 1979 in europe and in 1981 in North America

[@kruno49]

Daily Driving a 30 year old European Ford diesel, gets 58 mpg and love it! Don't get me wrong, I love American muscle cars, but big v8 engines just have no future imho.

[@TheCrackerBox]

Thanks for another , Brother !

[@mymail8503]

You guys are great and professional , but the heat over there will vaporize your oil and will loosen bolts , lol

[@1tojo]

Great little car got 30 to 40 mpg

[@armandopatane5343]

Dads a riot

[@magnuscato9770]

AC equipped huh, never seen that on a mk1

[@TT-qo9dv]

I worked on many of those years ago.

[@davidgriffin6724]

Vibration in that motor shook them valve cover bolts damned near out.

[@michaelweilmuenster5754]

Behold, the 1983 VW rabbit diesel. "If you think you don't like it now, just wait till you drive it"! That was way before VW got busted for "diesel-gate". Built in New Stanton PA.