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Dan Pendleton

@danjpendleton

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VW/Audi specialist

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Picked up this ’82 Rabbit diesel from Ohio last July. Originally an Alabama car, it has sun-faded Burnished Gold paint but no body rot or major rust—the perfect patina bomber.

Since then I’ve done typical maintenance and a few modifications, including a short-tail conversion because I didn’t love the aesthetic of the factory long tails on this particular car. I found a rough set of 4x114 BBS RS2s on eBay and had @greggscustoms powdercoat the faces Porsche Silver, then brush and clear-coat the lips. I rebuilt the barrels and faces with stainless hardware, and wrapped them in 195/40R16s (waterfall tires lol). Custom wheel hardware, adapters, rolled fenders, and suspension tweaking got it sitting just right.

Today was its longest trip since I bought it—Candia, NH to Turners Falls, MA for Northeast Unity. Despite the rain and clouds, the turnout was great, and the Rabbit even took home the “Nugget” award. 😂 Thank you Nick, Rachel, and everyone else who helped organize the show! @northeast_unity

The modified 1.6 diesel chugged along with no issues thankfully. It could definitely use a little more power, but for now I’m enjoying the hell out of it—and watching the fuel gauge barely move.

Slow, simple, and full of character. Long live the VW Rabbit 🐇 by @danjpendleton

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14 days ago

90 seconds doesn’t quite do it justice.

Italy & Austria, 2026 🇮🇹🇦🇹 by @danjpendleton

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a month ago

Had the pleasure of running into my old shop foreman, Ken, at Cars on the Capitol yesterday in Concord, NH. I hadn’t seen him since he retired several years ago, so it was great catching up.

After retiring, Ken finally finished the restoration of his beautiful 1965 Ford Mustang and recently sold it to a proud new owner, who happened to be there with him at the show.

I have an incredible amount of respect for this man. He started with Volkswagen back in 1975, working on both air-cooled and water-cooled cars. Along the way he also worked for Audi and Porsche, before eventually returning to Volkswagen, where I had the privilege of working alongside him for a number of years.

One of my favorite memories was rebuilding a 1968 Beetle engine with him in the shop. It was one of those experiences where you quickly realize you’re working beside someone with a lifetime of knowledge. Over the course of his career, he’s worked on everything from air-cooled Volkswagens and 911s to Porsche 928 V8s, Volkswagen Phaeton W12s, and today’s modern turbocharged Volkswagens. There aren’t many technicians left with that kind of range and firsthand experience. He’s lived through nearly every era of Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche evolution, adapting alongside the technology while never losing an appreciation for where it all started.

Every once in a while, you meet someone who’s incredibly humble, but truly knows his stuff. The depth of his knowledge of these cars—the very cars so many of us have grown to admire and obsess over—is remarkable. He was happy to hear that a lot of my friends have been getting into older Volkswagens, and we both agreed that while the new cars are incredibly capable, the older ones just have a character that can’t be replicated.

I’m grateful I finally got to catch up with him and even more grateful to have his phone number now. There are some questions that only someone with over 50 years of experience can answer, and he’s one of the few people I’d trust for them.

At 73 years old, he’s still every bit the legend I remembered. Thanks for taking the time to catch up, Ken. It was great seeing you again.

#happymotoring #vwmechanics #vwlegend by @danjpendleton

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3 months ago

Picked up a set of S4 Recaros for our A4 last year and finally decided to install them on Saturday. What should have been a quick seat swap quickly turned into a much larger project.

Unfortunately, the driver’s seat we purchased appears to have been removed from the donor car with little regard for preserving it. Multiple bolts were missing, one of the seat rail adjusters was stripped, cables had been cut, and the bottom of the seat rails had several deep gouges. In hindsight, I should have inspected the seats more thoroughly before buying them, but I honestly would have expected damage of that extent to be disclosed.

My first thought was to swap the entire seat base frame from the A4 seat onto the S4 Recaro. After completely disassembling both seats, I discovered the seat pans are slightly different due to the additional bolstering on the S4 seat, so that plan was out.

At that point I was already too invested to turn back. Instead, I decided to transfer the rails, motors, wiring harnesses, and associated hardware from the A4 seat pan onto the S4 seat pan. Several hours of disassembly, parts swapping, and reassembly later, I dropped the seat back into the car, crossed my fingers, and tested it.

Success. Everything worked exactly as it should.

Did I plan on spending half a day rebuilding a seat? Absolutely not. But the alternative was likely spending another $500 or more on another set of Recaros, since nobody ever seems to sell just one seat.

In the end, I’m happy with the outcome. It wasn’t the Saturday into Monday project I expected, but it wasn’t the worst automotive science experiment I’ve ever taken on either. It’s disappointing when parts are sold as functional only to discover major issues later. Maybe the seller genuinely didn’t know, but I’d still expect a little more transparency from someone who parts out Audis on a regular basis.

At least the Recaros are finally in the car—and they’re worth every bit of the effort.

#Audi #Recaro #audib7 by @danjpendleton

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3 months ago

Cars are just cars—until you remember how far they took you, where you went, and who you went with. Then letting them go feels heavier than it should.

That’s pretty much where I’m at with this one.

This Passat 3.6 4Motion has been more than just a daily. It’s handled everything from boring commutes to the drives you don’t really think about at the time, but end up remembering later. Comfortable, confident in all weather, and that VR6 3.6 just does its thing without drama. It’s one of those cars that quietly becomes part of your routine until you realize it’s been there for a lot of life in between.

It’s not perfect, and I’m not going to write it up like it’s some showroom piece. It’s a real car that’s been used the way cars are meant to be used. But it’s been cared for, and it shows in how it drives.

If you know these, you already know what they are: smooth, solid, a little underrated, and way more capable than most people give them credit for—especially in the snow with 4Motion.

Friends are giving me a hard time for being too attached to it… they might be right.

But it’s time to pass it on to someone who’ll actually use it the way it should be used. I have a few bits and bobs to fit before it’s suitable for a hand shake, but it should be ready for its next owner soon. If you are interested I’m asking less than $5k. I’ve replaced the timing chains and everything else under the sun. Get in and go. I have oem votex side skirts I’ll throw in on the deal as well. Again this car isn’t perfect. It has a bit of rust and it’s been a reliable New England winter car for years. This car will easily do another 100k miles without a sweat. Come get it before I change my mind #passatsftw #passat4mo #b6passat #vwpassat #passatworld by @danjpendleton

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4 months ago

Quick project this morning on Adams Berg cup rabbit VRT. Needed a panel to block off the heater box in the cowl. Figured why not use the actual box assembly. Even retained the factory part number #rabbit #mk1 #vr6 #vr6turbo by @danjpendleton

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4 months ago

It’s become a tradition for us to buy a car, fix it up, and then immediately trust it enough to drive it thousands of miles on vacation with the dogs. Somehow, that always sounds like a good idea to us.

This year was a little different though. We were one dog short. RIP Lucas Bear.

Even with that heaviness hanging over us, we kept the tradition alive and made the best of it as a family of three.

Over the last few weeks, this Golf has taken us from NH to Philadelphia for sightseeing and a music festival, back home again, then down to Baltimore to visit family and hit the aquarium, through Asheville, NC, over to Helen, GA for Alpine Volks Fair, and finally all the way back to New Hampshire. That’s not even counting the NH-to-NC trip for Luftgekühlt last October.

In just the last three weeks alone, we put nearly 3,500 miles on this car and honestly gave it the ultimate stress test.

It wasn’t completely drama-free either. We picked up a nail in a tire in Philly the morning we were supposed to leave, and then in Helen the intake camshaft spool valve failed. Fortunately, I was able to track down tools and parts, fix it within two days, and get us back on the road.

Despite a few hiccups, this car has been excellent, and I take a lot of pride in that. The reason I had the opportunity to buy it in the first place came from a heartbreaking situation, and from day one I promised the family I bought it from that I’d do everything I could to give it a proper second life.

The goal was never to stick a stock replacement engine in it to get it running. It was to hand-build a forged engine on a budget, do all the work in-house, and bring the car back to the glory it deserved.

So far, I’d say it’s doing exactly what it was meant to do. #keepitmoving by @danjpendleton

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4 months ago

This is a compilation of about 75% of the photos I took at the Alpine Volks Fair in Helen, GA. Driving home in regular traffic afterward was honestly depressing. The amount of work, creativity, and passion people put into their vehicles is truly inspiring. It’s amazing how so many people from so many different places can pour their hearts into the same thing and become like family. We’re incredibly grateful to be a part of this community. Thank you to the Alpine Volks Fair team and everyone in attendance ❤️ #AVF2026 #alpinevolksfair by @danjpendleton

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4 months ago

4/19/24
@restorations @deepcutsrocks taken in Deep Cuts by @danjpendleton

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6 months ago

More than 5 years since his first surgery on January 27, 2021, we will forever be grateful for every extra day we had with Luke. More than 5 years of laughs and love from our sweet boy. Knowing his cardiac condition, we tried to prepare ourselves throughout his life for the inevitable. But we have realized that no amount of preparation can make a difference when you lose something you love so much. Sometimes we’d talk about how or why he beat the odds when they were always against him. As Kelsey said, ‘He knew how loved he was, and always pushed and fought to make sure he could make it back home with the two people who loved him the most.’ We also think the love he got from the world helped him to stay with us so long. The Foster’s team, his cardiology angel, Kelsey, our friends and family, and the Quirk VW team were a big part of that. Lukey, the space you created in our hearts is immense, and we are struggling to process how different our lives are without you here. We will be missing you forever Lucas Bear.❤️

“How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” by @danjpendleton

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7 months ago

Never trade your authenticity for approval. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

📸 @idrivecoolcars by @danjpendleton

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9 months ago

Winter sunrise this morning in New Hampshire. by @danjpendleton

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10 months ago