I found a Cabrio for parts, what would you do?

[jason]

Ok, so here is the deal. I have an '82 rabbit with an automatic transmission, but I want to convert it to a manual. I have already pulled my engine and transmission to replace my overheated 1.6 NA mech with a '86 1.6 NA hydraulic. Now I have found a local VW fanatic (he owns 10 VW's and 2 Audi's) who has an '81 Cabrio which has an FF with the .71 5th gear.

The good things:
It has the FF tranny with the .71 5th.
It has all of the tranny linkage and clutch pedal.
He does not want a lot of money for it ($300)
It has ~80K miles on it (assuming the odometer works)
It has been parked in his garage for the past 4 or 5 years
The body is in fairly decent shape for being in Wisconsin.
The tranny case looked pretty clean.
It has clean drive shafts (at least good looking boots).
It has GTI like seats that looked pretty clean under all of the stuff in the car
It has a tach instead of the clock that mine has (I know I need to do a mod to get it to work on a diesel)
There is a floor mounted factory gauge cluster that would be nice for my Rabbit
It has the cool round headlights.
It's an A1.

The bad things:
It doesn't run so I cannot test the tranny.
It has lots of stuff packed in it (but he will remove).
The title was signed 4 or 5 years ago by the previous owner but this guy never changed it to his (he was going to use it as a parts car).
I would have to strip it of parts really quick so my landlords don't have a fit (they live right across the street).
I have to haul it to a junk yard ASAP or find somebody who wants a partially stripped Cabrio.


I am assuming that the linkage and all of the stuff that it is mounted to will swap over to my Rabbit, are there any drive train differences between a Cabrio and a Rabbit? (linkage mounting, pedals mounts, etc).

I guess I am just weighing the pros and cons in my head and would like to know what some of you would do.


Thanks,
Jason

[Fatmobile]

Get the senders for the extra gauges too.
The trany should be good, unless it's low on fluid.
With the price of steel, you shouldn't have a problem finding someone who will haul it away when you are done parting it.... even has the title.
You should be able to find someone who wants the old style fenders and grill too.

[jason]

Get the senders for the extra gauges too.
The trany should be good, unless it's low on fluid.
With the price of steel, you shouldn't have a problem finding someone who will haul it away when you are done parting it.... even has the title.
You should be able to find someone who wants the old style fenders and grill too.

Thanks Fatmobile,
I'll be able to tell if the tranny fluid is at the right level once he gets it out of his garage, barely enough room to slide a sheet of paper between the drivers side and an old bug he has next to it. I'll definitely get the senders for the gauges. Do think there will be any problem at the junk yard with an old signed title?, I'm not sure if it has a date on it (possibly 4 or 5 years old). I really appreciate all of the help you give everyone. If you are going to the MREA energy fair this year I will pull some parts for you if you need anything off of it, gratis of course.

Thanks Again,
Jason

[Fatmobile]

I'm not sure but I don't think they need an up-to-date title.
Not like they are goingto put it back on the road.
I'm guessing they just need something to prove it wasn't stolen.
I plan to make it to the energy fair.. the Fatmobile is getting pretty rough but it's the only one of my cars that's running on vegy so I'll probably have to give it a tune and drive it there.
I won't be exhibiting this year... wasn't sure what I'd be driving,... but I'll probably donate a light toy to Saturday's silent auction.
The trany fluid should be about half way up the gear on the speedo cable.
Be very careful pulling it out of the trany, the gear can come off the cable and drop inside.
I'll make a list but we are parting out 3 Rabbits right now so we have a pretty good stash of parts .
Oh, and I have to bragg about this (and jinx it ) a buddy of mine found 4 TDs on a farm... and a selling price has been arrainged.