tell me about vw cabrio's

[jex]

I'm going to look at an 89 vw cabrio karman tommorrow. What are some common probs with these cars. What should I pay special attention to? I know somebody here has to have some good advice. TIA!

[1985bmw325e]

shouldn't you be posting these questions in a more relevant forum?

[jex]

sorry, but I know this forum usually has answers to anything I can think of, and it is better than any other forum iI have been to , so I thought I would post it here.

[kansas-ix]

The answer to every question you would have about a VW Cabrio would end with:


"Those cars are for bitches only period."

[Jon325i]

Most girls find them to be 'cute' cars. Nothing can deflate a man's ego faster than telling him his car is cute.

Jon

[M-technik-3]

VW mk I cabrios:

Rule one change the timing belt also.

Make sure it doesn't have cowl rot under the windshield. Or you will be doing a fuse box replacement.

Best you can hope for withese engine NA is about 115 hp with a TT tuning exhaust and G grind cam.

Don't buy an auto they are horrible. Early are 3spds and late are 4spd units and still are miserable.

Check the front and rear suspension as they are prone to blowing out. Not bad on cost but spring for better Bilstein Sports or HD's for it.

You can tighten the car very easy by doing a 16v Lower subframe tie bar and an Upper unit stress bar.

Tops are expensive just like any convertiable so get the best unit. Early cars are prone to bad short to ground issues in the taillight areas. PIA to chase the wires.

Shifters: Rubber, replace all the linkage bushings, easy to do and makes them fun again.

Ebrake bakies fun and easy as with all FWD's

Good luck but not a very masculine car, an E30 Cabbie is more so. But they can be done up aggresively.

[MinkerVR6]

Make sure that it isn't rusting under the floor mats.
Check the hood - It could be about 400 for a new one, or if you find a used one on vwvortex it would be cheaper
check the paint - duh
check wires
tranny - duh again
The engine, assuming it's in good working condition, should be pretty strong.
Parts shouldn't be expensive. I almost bought an 81 rabbit convert. Stuff was cheap for it. Good luck with it. It does seem like a girls car though. Turbo it and smoke everyone....

[Werksmini]

Futrell autowerks made a cool mk3 cab.

[NC325iC]

Most girls find them to be 'cute' cars. Nothing can deflate a man's ego faster than telling him his car is cute.

Jon

they are soooo cute

[Rob]

there was a AWD turbocharged cabrio at our local exotic dealership a while back.

[e30sd]

every 80's hottie was issued one, i think.

[cramer]

they are heavy, flex a lot so the suggestion above for lower and upper front stress bars is a good one. It's got the common A1 chassis issues, watch out for poor repair jobs on the front ends. The later cabrios came with the cilpper body kit, gave it a wider look. Tops are common for becoming misaligned and not closing properly... and thus leaking. The trunks are next to worthless for storage..decent amount of room but no way to get things in and out easily.

The motor is your standard 8v, and while a timing belt is a good suggestion for maintenance, its a non interfence motor so if you snap a belt, no damage to the valves will occur (disclaimer: if your running a huge cam that is a different story).

The hot swap for these is either a 2.0 16v and later boost, or a 1.8t 20v.

[decay]

everyone else has covered VW knowledge, so i'll just contribute that my friend and i called them "bitch baskets" in high school.