Welcome back! Today we’re back to our normal routine of inexpensive cars in questionable condition with a couple of hatchbacks that used to be everywhere but are getting pretty rare now. Which one is worth fixing up? That will be up to you.
Yesterday, we spent quite a bit more imaginary money than usual, looking at a couple of Fords with historic ties to the late great Parnelli Jones. Both of them were six cylinders with three-speed sticks, so there was nothing for you to do but choose a body style.
The Mustang won by quite a good margin, probably because it was considerably cheaper. Even when it comes to fake money, sometimes it’s hard to open up the purse strings. I’d take the Mustang as well. I really like those early Broncos, but so does everyone, and at this point owning one would be more like stewardship than enjoyment. I’d rather have the more common Mustang.
All right. Let’s come back down to Earth a bit, and look at two economy-minded cars from the Reagan years. We’ve got one captive import, built in Japan but sold under a US nameplate, and one car built in America by a German company. Let’s see which one has stood the test of time.
1981 Dodge Colt – $3,800
Engine/drivetrain: 1.4 liter overhead cam inline 4, dual-range four-speed manual, FWD
Location: Sacramento, CA
Odometer reading: 90,000 miles
Operational status: Starts and runs but won’t idle
Chrysler got into the captive import game in the US early on, with a two-pronged attack in 1971. Plymouth dealers sold the Cricket, a rebadged version of the British-built Hillman Avenger, while Dodge received the Colt, based on the Mitsubishi Colt Galant. The Colt sold well, the Cricket didn’t, and Chrysler went on to offer captive import Mitsubishis for decades.
In 1979, Mitsubishi succumbed to the inevitable and joined Fiat, Volkswagen, and others in making its new Mirage small car front-wheel-drive. The Colt nameplate was moved over to the Mirage, where it would remain until being discontinued in 1995. This generation of Colt is powered by a 1.4 liter four, backed by a very strange transmission: Mitsubishi’s “Super Shift” transmission, colloquially known as the Twin Stick. It’s a typical four-speed manual, but with a two-speed final drive. It has two shift levers: One standard H-pattern four-speed lever, and one for the final drive which only moves backward and forward.
The two ranges are labeled “P” and “E,” for Power and Economy. I briefly owned a twin-stick Colt, and I can tell you from experience that you never used the Economy range around town because if you did, the thing couldn’t get out of its own way. I just left it in Power until I got to the freeway. This arrangement did have another party trick up its sleeve: Two reverse gears. And I bet there isn’t a single owner of one of these who didn’t try backing up and shifting ranges while in reverse. I know I did.
The downfall of my Colt was its Mikuni electronic feedback carburetor, and it sounds like this one suffers from similar maladies. The carb is new, the seller says, but something isn’t right; it won’t stay idling unless you keep your foot on the gas. These carbs have about a mile of vacuum lines and a whole mess of sensors, any one of which could cause problems. The best solution might be to take this car out of California, ditch the Mikuni, and install a nice simple Weber carb.
The fact that it’s in California, however, probably accounts for its remarkably clean condition. It has only 90,000 miles on its odometer, and although it hasn’t been photographed very well, what we can see of it looks really clean and straight. My own Colt, which I owned in Minneapolis in the mid-1990s, didn’t have a single panel left on it without a rust hole. This one is a time capsule, and the novel transmission makes it worth sorting out the carb issues.
1984 Volkswagen Rabbit Wolfsburg Edition – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: 1.7-liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Odometer reading: 151,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives, but needs some work
Volkswagen’s Golf Mk1 needs no introduction. This crisp-looking Giugiaro-designed city car picked up where the Beetle left off, and started a whole new era of “People’s Cars.” Here in the US, of course, the first Golf was sold under the friendly moniker “Rabbit.” Starting in the late 1970s, the Rabbit for North America was built in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania. US-built Rabbits are easily distinguishable from their European counterparts by square headlights and much larger taillights, a design decision that I know at least one writer here absolutely despises.
The Rabbit is powered by a 1.7-liter version of VW’s ubiquitous overhead cam four, in this case powering the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox. It’s a stout drivetrain mechanically, but there are some characteristic problems that can arise, namely oil leaks, hard cold-starting, and exhaust noise, which is often caused by a cracked exhaust manifold. The seller says this one leaks oil, sometimes starts hard when cold, and has a noisy exhaust. It also has a worn-out second-gear synchro, making shifting difficult, and an occasional sticky clutch. The seller says the clutch issue is the splines on the input shaft, but I seem to recall having a sticky clutch release cable in one of my early water-cooled VWs, so I’d replace the cable first.
Inside, it’s a decent but somewhat scruffy and not entirely stock Rabbit. The seats are covered, and the seller isn’t clear about their condition underneath. It has an aftermarket tach installed, with the typical Volkswagen “big-ass clock” installed where a factory tach would go. The radio is missing, and the headliner is toast, so clearly there is some work to be done. But for a forty-year-old economy car, it isn’t bad.
Outside, it’s a little crispy around the edges; not even a California Rabbit can entirely escape rust. But it has nice snowflake-style wheels, and it’s straight – except for two telltale dents, one on each rocker panel, that are almost certainly the result of the car falling off a set of ramps. Be careful out there when lifting a car up for service, no matter how you do it.
These two cars represent one of my favorite categories of automobiles: simple, humble little hatchbacks that just get the job done, and offer a little bit of driving fun along the way. Either one would get you a barrage of “wow, I haven’t seen one of those in forever” comments at a car gathering, even if they’re not perfect. And they both do need a little love. Which one is more worthy?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Colt because it’s in better condition, rarer, and cooler. And it will go with my friend’s ’84 Colt Turbo.
Colt because it’s in better condition, rarer, and cooler. And it will go with my friend’s ’84 Colt Turbo.
As a former owner of a 1977 Rabbit who pushed it and towed it farther than I drove it, I’ll take the Dodge.
As a former owner of a 1977 Rabbit who pushed it and towed it farther than I drove it, I’ll take the Dodge.
The Colt deserves to win, it’s complete, very impressive condition, minus a figuring out of the carb or replace with a better carburetor.
The VW already seems to have all the possible faults the engine could develop, and it’s NOT a GTI, just the continuation of VWoA ‘Americanized’, American built Rabbits that declined VW’s sales in America by 50% in the early 80’s. It’s fairly rough interior and xtra big sporty tachometer leads one to believe it’s been rode hard and put away wet.
The Colt deserves to win, it’s complete, very impressive condition, minus a figuring out of the carb or replace with a better carburetor.
The VW already seems to have all the possible faults the engine could develop, and it’s NOT a GTI, just the continuation of VWoA ‘Americanized’, American built Rabbits that declined VW’s sales in America by 50% in the early 80’s. It’s fairly rough interior and xtra big sporty tachometer leads one to believe it’s been rode hard and put away wet.
My vote is for the Colt. I suspect it needs less work and I like the novelty of the twin stick.
My vote is for the Colt. I suspect it needs less work and I like the novelty of the twin stick.
Oddly enough I’ve owned variations of both of these. One of my early cars was a 1983 VW Rabbit diesel pickup built in Westmoreland of course. My dad loved it. I didn’t quite share his affection. It was brutal getting on the freeway and trying to get up to a reasonable speed. The 1989 Dodge Colt sedan with auto transmission I owned was purchased from an ex-girlfriend when she bought a brand new Civic. Yes, she was an ex at a the time but we still worked together so when I saw her new car I asked what she did with the old one. I paid her $300 for it and the only real problem with it was the radiator needed to be replaced, which cost me $200. So for $500 I had a Colt with ice cold A/C that sipped gas. When my Mercedes 190e broke down I drove the Colt for months.
It left the stable when my ex-father in law got pulled over while borrowing it- his license was suspended due to a DUI (which I didn’t know about) and he didn’t tell me it had been impounded. By the time I found out it was headed to auction and the impound fees were far more than the car was worth. I had to let it go- and there was a nice tennis racquet in the trunk too. Bummer.
Which would I choose between these two? Maybe the VW for nostalgia’s sake- we had a bunch of these rabbits growing up. But the Colt looks like fun too.
Oddly enough I’ve owned variations of both of these. One of my early cars was a 1983 VW Rabbit diesel pickup built in Westmoreland of course. My dad loved it. I didn’t quite share his affection. It was brutal getting on the freeway and trying to get up to a reasonable speed. The 1989 Dodge Colt sedan with auto transmission I owned was purchased from an ex-girlfriend when she bought a brand new Civic. Yes, she was an ex at a the time but we still worked together so when I saw her new car I asked what she did with the old one. I paid her $300 for it and the only real problem with it was the radiator needed to be replaced, which cost me $200. So for $500 I had a Colt with ice cold A/C that sipped gas. When my Mercedes 190e broke down I drove the Colt for months.
It left the stable when my ex-father in law got pulled over while borrowing it- his license was suspended due to a DUI (which I didn’t know about) and he didn’t tell me it had been impounded. By the time I found out it was headed to auction and the impound fees were far more than the car was worth. I had to let it go- and there was a nice tennis racquet in the trunk too. Bummer.
Which would I choose between these two? Maybe the VW for nostalgia’s sake- we had a bunch of these rabbits growing up. But the Colt looks like fun too.
I would take the Colt , ditch the finicky carb and get a less finicky Weber. Or go old school JDM and do a dual Mikuni carb setup to open the horses and fabricate a free flowing exhaust . Historic tags for the win in Maryland
I would take the Colt , ditch the finicky carb and get a less finicky Weber. Or go old school JDM and do a dual Mikuni carb setup to open the horses and fabricate a free flowing exhaust . Historic tags for the win in Maryland
If I’m being honest the Colt is in better shape and would require less time and money to be back on the road.
But the Rabbit is more appealing to me, might be worth more with time, has the better aftermarket support and you’ll be able to tackle the oil leak, sticky clutch and headliner relatively easy.
I’m not fan of having the synchros replaced as I’ve been through it and requires tearing down the transmission, but I drove a truck that way for almost a year. I guess it would be the last thing to do once I get it with my “what if” money
If I’m being honest the Colt is in better shape and would require less time and money to be back on the road.
But the Rabbit is more appealing to me, might be worth more with time, has the better aftermarket support and you’ll be able to tackle the oil leak, sticky clutch and headliner relatively easy.
I’m not fan of having the synchros replaced as I’ve been through it and requires tearing down the transmission, but I drove a truck that way for almost a year. I guess it would be the last thing to do once I get it with my “what if” money
We had a Dodge colt like that for a hot minute in the mid to late 1980s. It was totaled due to an accident involving my father making a bad decision while teaching my older brother to drive. As I am the youngest, I didn’t get a chance to drive it. My family liked it a lot, but they needed it replaced sooner rather than later so they grabbed a 1981 Honda CVCC when the insurance money came in. Anyway, voted Dodge.
We had a Dodge colt like that for a hot minute in the mid to late 1980s. It was totaled due to an accident involving my father making a bad decision while teaching my older brother to drive. As I am the youngest, I didn’t get a chance to drive it. My family liked it a lot, but they needed it replaced sooner rather than later so they grabbed a 1981 Honda CVCC when the insurance money came in. Anyway, voted Dodge.
Easy…I want another Rabbit again…used to have a black GTI that was fun to drive…I love the blue seats covers…I’d fix this car up good and paint it blue
Easy…I want another Rabbit again…used to have a black GTI that was fun to drive…I love the blue seats covers…I’d fix this car up good and paint it blue
You need to take into account the power/performance of the day. That clock in the Rabbit did not replace the tach. It was the tach.
I generally rail against the idea of the place or people who screw a car together mattering that much. The underlying engineering and materials and component decisions are far more important. Workers are not less capable in one country or another, but manufacturers make design and engineering decisions that effect the credibility of the product. Case in point: Toyotas and Hondas (and other ‘Japanese quality’ brands) make very well built products in the US with so called lazy American workers. That said, those Westmorland VWs were absolute shit.
Colt for the vote.
You need to take into account the power/performance of the day. That clock in the Rabbit did not replace the tach. It was the tach.
I generally rail against the idea of the place or people who screw a car together mattering that much. The underlying engineering and materials and component decisions are far more important. Workers are not less capable in one country or another, but manufacturers make design and engineering decisions that effect the credibility of the product. Case in point: Toyotas and Hondas (and other ‘Japanese quality’ brands) make very well built products in the US with so called lazy American workers. That said, those Westmorland VWs were absolute shit.
Colt for the vote.
If it has been a couple of years earlier, you would have had an easier time finding the replacements.
…rimshot…
Picked the Colt, because I was fascinated by the Twin-Stick when I saw it positively reviewed in magazines when I was a kid. Supposedly the US-built Rabbits were a little softer-riding and felt more domestic as well.
If it has been a couple of years earlier, you would have had an easier time finding the replacements.
…rimshot…
Picked the Colt, because I was fascinated by the Twin-Stick when I saw it positively reviewed in magazines when I was a kid. Supposedly the US-built Rabbits were a little softer-riding and felt more domestic as well.
I have an irrational love for the design of the Colt, and that one looks to be in good shape, so that’s where my fake money goes. I also suspect I’d get along with the seller, because if you look at the first picture you can see a Pinto behind the Colt.
This person has a stable of tiny horse cars!
I have an irrational love for the design of the Colt, and that one looks to be in good shape, so that’s where my fake money goes. I also suspect I’d get along with the seller, because if you look at the first picture you can see a Pinto behind the Colt.
This person has a stable of tiny horse cars!
The rabbit is the quick choice, 20 footer, runs, not salvage title. somewhat desirable to certain groups. but man that fork truck damage opening up rust issues really makes me think twice. I guess I feel like the Colt is more attractive, so I would likely go that route if forced. Neither are worth that coin to me though.