Yes. I have had a 76 Scirocco, 79 Scirocco, 77 rabbit, 85 golf gti, etc.
The 86 vanagon I have is most similar to the late 70's early 80's VWs. A
lot of the parts on the Vanagon seem to be the same or just slightly
different versions of the same thing that I remember on the earlier cars.
Good luck!
Edward

On Wed, Jan 9, 2019, 2:21 PM Eric Caron <eric.caron@icloud.com wrote:

> Hi folks,
>
> I have a 85 Westfalia.  I am aware of a garaged VW 1980 rabbit gass
> convertible.  Not run in a few years as the man of the house died.
>
>         My question is, If I were to take on this cabriolet as a long term
> project would I find the mechanics similar to my VW vanagon or would it be
> a completely different learning curve?
>
> As I do most of my work hands on with eyes closed I’d be interested in
> knowing if at least some of what I’ve learned about Vanagon care and
> maintenance, and general systems is going to carry over to a 1980 Rabbit
> gas engine convertible.
>
> Eric Caron
> Always ready for a project!