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VW Rabbits, the people of Bangshift's car

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  • VW Rabbits, the people of Bangshift's car

    Lohnes and I both - on opposite coasts, cut our teeth racing Rabbits. I'd personally be a millionaire if I had just put all the Rabbits I killed in a barn in 1990.... but no, we didn't... that said, it seems Lohnes was mixing it up with a celebrity back in the day - Randy Probst - seriously, we're not worthy

    Doing it all wrong since 1966

  • #2
    and part of me wonders if Randy is the reason Brian went into announcing rather then a racing career?..... we may never know. What I do know is I'm glad Lohnes has no idea what I look like.
    Doing it all wrong since 1966

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    • #3
      Never hopped around in a Bunny. What I do know is that in Michigan they would rot thru the cowl and basically break in half. I worked for a short time at a friend's shop and more than once we'd put one up on the hoist and have to tell the owner "you don't have a car anymore" when it would sag. Eventually we learned to look before hoisting them and if you knew where to look you could tell if they were "gone" or not.

      But it sounds like you guys had fun racing them so that's cool.

      Dan

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      • #4
        In Germany the Rabbit is badged as a 'Golf'. They are much higher performance cars than their American cousins. They live in the left lane on the autobahn with the BMWs and Mercedes, flashing their high-beams for the right of way................we called them 'attack Rabbits'. Man, they could fly.
        Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
        HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


        Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

        The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

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        • #5
          Originally posted by DanStokes View Post
          Never hopped around in a Bunny. What I do know is that in Michigan they would rot thru the cowl and basically break in half. I worked for a short time at a friend's shop and more than once we'd put one up on the hoist and have to tell the owner "you don't have a car anymore" when it would sag. Eventually we learned to look before hoisting them and if you knew where to look you could tell if they were "gone" or not.

          But it sounds like you guys had fun racing them so that's cool.

          Dan
          they were the cheapest thing available.... mostly because they'd die due to a blown 'fuse' (which cost like $300 to replace) - the best part (for me anyway) was you could bypass the relay with a piece of wire and run the snot out of them.....
          Last edited by SuperBuickGuy; September 2, 2021, 04:40 PM.
          Doing it all wrong since 1966

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          • #6
            Never really cared for them till a brother in law bought a new 85 cabriolet with a 5 speed. I think it was a wolfbourgh edition .Loved driving that car .I wouldn't mind restoring one someday .
            Previously HoosierL98GTA

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Dan Barlow View Post
              Never really cared for them till a brother in law bought a new 85 cabriolet with a 5 speed. I think it was a wolfbourgh edition .Loved driving that car .I wouldn't mind restoring one someday .
              My best friend in middle school/high school, his family had a plain Jane Rabbit and that was the most dependable car in their fleet. They had stuff that wouldn't run for more than a week or two at a time. Rabbit, MG Midget, Jeep Wagoneer, Toronado. That Toronado was a hoot, it would smoke the front tires until it went back in the repair shop again. My friend got his own VW squareback later on. It was hard trying to be cool in it but it would get there and back. They even had a VW Thing for a little while but his dad didn't like it so he traded it for something else that stayed in the shop, can't remember.
              Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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              • #8
                Originally posted by pdub View Post

                My best friend in middle school/high school, his family had a plain Jane Rabbit and that was the most dependable car in their fleet. They had stuff that wouldn't run for more than a week or two at a time. Rabbit, MG Midget, Jeep Wagoneer, Toronado. That Toronado was a hoot, it would smoke the front tires until it went back in the repair shop again. My friend got his own VW squareback later on. It was hard trying to be cool in it but it would get there and back. They even had a VW Thing for a little while but his dad didn't like it so he traded it for something else that stayed in the shop, can't remember.
                Surprised the Toro was unreliable. I had a '73 and '75 and both were excellent, tough, and reliable. The '73 was a bit of a stripper (didn't even have cruise control) but the '75 was loaded, luxurious, and everything worked perfectly. I pulled the horse trailer with the '75 and it did that easily.

                Dan

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by DanStokes View Post

                  Surprised the Toro was unreliable
                  My friend liked to get it rolling backward and then floor it in D to do the front wheel burnouts. I think I remember the tranny didn't care for that too much. His dad would tell people not to get a Toro because the transmission sucks, and that front wheel drive eats the tires off of it.
                  Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by pdub View Post

                    My friend liked to get it rolling backward and then floor it in D to do the front wheel burnouts. I think I remember the tranny didn't care for that too much. His dad would tell people not to get a Toro because the transmission sucks, and that front wheel drive eats the tires off of it.
                    JUNK!
                    Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by pdub View Post

                      My friend liked to get it rolling backward and then floor it in D to do the front wheel burnouts. I think I remember the tranny didn't care for that too much. His dad would tell people not to get a Toro because the transmission sucks, and that front wheel drive eats the tires off of it.
                      That is basically a TH400 modified for front wheel drive. No transmission could have been tougher. Sounds like your buddy was an idiot. I mean, I towed 5,000ish lb with mine on a fairly regular basis w/o trans cooler and had no issues. Can't fix stupid......

                      Dan

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by DanStokes View Post
                        ... Can't fix stupid......
                        I keep looking for a self-help book!

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                        • #13
                          Got a 500 in an Eldorado.
                          would smoke the tires to shreds.
                          tranny held up fine.
                          no r-d shifts tho.
                          sit on pavement with e brake on and floor it.
                          motor later went in a 65 Skylark for awhile
                          plan to put it in a pickup.

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