For years I have wanted a small truck to aid in moving furniture, appliances, or yard debris. I am particularly fond of unibody trucks of which there are only a few to chose from including:
- Subaru’s Brat and Baja
- Volkswagen’s Rabbit Pickup
- Ford’s Ranchero and New Maverick
- Dodge’s Rampage
- Chevy’s El Camino
- Hyundai’s New Santa Cruz
I wanted something cheap, small, and fun which really only left two options, the Brat or the Rabbit. Both are hard to find but as luck would have it I had seen a Rabbit parked in someones backyard only a few blocks from my house. After a few visits with the owner I was able to purchase my new project car.
The Rabbit is a diesel and will be my first diesel engine. I have always been interested in diesel engines and how they differ from gasoline engines. Also being from Oregon I have always wanted to get one to run completely on used vegetable oil and now I might have the change to make it happen.
Like many of my project cars it needs plenty of work. It doesn’t run and has been sitting for over 30 year. After cleaning it out and seeing what was missing I put it back together enough to attempt to start it. Unfortunately I quickly discovered that every hose and seal had perished and would need replacing before I can truly try to start it.
In part two I’ll replace the old hoses and seals and see if it will run or not.
To be continued…