1984 Cabriolet

[JamieR]

Hi there, so in this forum is the 1984 Cabriolet in the Rabbit forum or the cabrio? I just bought this little lady and I am really happy with her, runs great and been well taken care of. 1.8ltr 8 Valve Gasoline engine. Can anyone give me any information on the engine and this model? Links are appreciated as the paperwork on the vehicle itself is a bit "grey" as the cabriolet was built and assembled in Germany not America. I am looking for an original owners manual if at all possible and I do have the Bentley manual for the 1985-1992 Golf, Jetta, GTI gasoline and diesel engine with 16Valve included. Would the 1.8ltr Gas engine in this manual be the one I have?

Thanks

[denisond3]

The engine itself would be the same I believe, but the electronics to supply the fuel & the ignition advance signals, & how the cold running air bypass was handled, and even whether it is carbureted or uses fuel injection might well have changed, from the 84 to the models covered by an 85-92 Bentley manual.....Otherwise the manual would have included the 84's in its table of contents.

Good Luck finding the VW manuals for your car. Those have always been kind of scarce; and pricey when they do appear. You might want to go to the web site www.bishkobooks.com. He sells auto manuals, and for ones old enough that they arent available from the publishers anymore, he has had photocopies for sale. If you click on his 'policies' button, it gives the 800 number. They are located (mostly) in Piqua Ohio.

I see a Bentley manual for the Rabbits & Jettas from 1980 - 1984 in his listings. I would expect whats under the hood of a cabriolet to be essentially the same as what a regular Rabbit had in it.

VW had factories in several countries. I know that Jettas were made in Mexico and Canada for the American market, as well as being made in Mexico for the Mexican market, in Brazil for the south American market, in Germany for the European market. And while the Rabbits were made in the USA for a number of years, they were also made in a couple of south American countries; in different versions for the markets in the different countries. I had a vague impression that the convertible rabbits, i.e.the Cabriolets, of the 1980's were only made in Germany - since their production quantities didnt justify setting up plants in the US or Central America. And its likely they would have been made in different versions for the American/Canadian markets. Ceftainly the California emissions requirements made air pumps necessary on the rabbit engines before they were needed in the rest of the USA.
I have the Bentley book covering the Jettas for the years mine were built. (I have two Mk-ii Jettas, both made in Mexico, in the same plant and in the same month of 1990, & both for the US/Canadian market). And as luck would have it - none of the wiring diagrams in the Bentley manual are exactly the same as the array of relays and fuses that my cars have under the dashboards.