Long winded introduction and my B3 thread are here.
After my foray into the B3 chassis went past the point of no return, I found myself researching the Passat marque as far into the ends of the Internet as I could. Information on older Passats is scarce, and modified B1 and B2 chassis Passats are very few and far between. The B1 Passat is called a "Dasher" in North America and was available from 1974-1977. There is a facelift version from 1978-1981 that borrows from MK1 Scirocco styling. From 1979-1981 there was also a diesel model (barely) powered by the early 1.5/1.6L VW diesel motors.
Could I possibly find a Dasher diesel variant in good condition 34+ years from the time they were on the market? Seemed like a unicorn combination, and highly unlikely. True to my nature of somehow always falling for the seemingly unobtainable, I threw a Hail Mary Craigslist alert for "dasher diesel" and went about toiling away on the B3.
Months of CL spam later, this popped up:
Despite the concise ad that I would normally pass on, I immediately contacted the seller. I had a feeling. After some tense hours in wait I finally got him on the phone. I asked him if it was a wagon, and it was a wrap from there:

I picked her up from my new friend Robert the next night and had the most terrifying drive home (broken brake booster and no exhaust), but couldn't be more excited. Now I am officially that guy with the obscure Passat wagons.
After my foray into the B3 chassis went past the point of no return, I found myself researching the Passat marque as far into the ends of the Internet as I could. Information on older Passats is scarce, and modified B1 and B2 chassis Passats are very few and far between. The B1 Passat is called a "Dasher" in North America and was available from 1974-1977. There is a facelift version from 1978-1981 that borrows from MK1 Scirocco styling. From 1979-1981 there was also a diesel model (barely) powered by the early 1.5/1.6L VW diesel motors.
Could I possibly find a Dasher diesel variant in good condition 34+ years from the time they were on the market? Seemed like a unicorn combination, and highly unlikely. True to my nature of somehow always falling for the seemingly unobtainable, I threw a Hail Mary Craigslist alert for "dasher diesel" and went about toiling away on the B3.
Months of CL spam later, this popped up:
Despite the concise ad that I would normally pass on, I immediately contacted the seller. I had a feeling. After some tense hours in wait I finally got him on the phone. I asked him if it was a wagon, and it was a wrap from there:

I picked her up from my new friend Robert the next night and had the most terrifying drive home (broken brake booster and no exhaust), but couldn't be more excited. Now I am officially that guy with the obscure Passat wagons.
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