Project Installments: Introduction Light, nimble and cheap to build, the Rabbit GTI is an excellent basis for a thorough rebuild. The fact that this one looks like it came from a barnyard just makes things that much more interesting. Full Story...Part I: Paint & Body After a long hiatus, Project Rabbit finally returns. No project goes exactly to plan, but our Golf I is back on track and has returned with in a beautiful new hue. Full Story...Part II: Restart Long after it began, Project Rabbit GTI returns from the paint shop and gets back on track.Full Story...Click here for our complete photo gallery of Project Rabbit GTI.
Base Car:
1983 Rabbit GTI
Engine:
1.8-liter 4-cylinder
Transmission:
5-speed Manual
Color:
Indigo Blue
Modifications
Engine:
Stock (not running)
Transmission:
Stock
Exhaust:
Stock
Wheels:
Three Stock, 1 Spare
Tires:
Dunlop D60 A2 (3)
Suspension:
Stock
Brakes:
Stock
Exterior:
Cabriolet Front Fenders, Cabriolet Radiator Core Support, Replacement Hood
Lighting:
Stock
Interior:
Fully Removed
Stereo:
None
For many hardcore VW enthusiasts the Rabbit (a.k.a. Golf 1) GTI is what started the "hot hatch" craze that brought affordable performance to thousands of owners on a budget. The combination of low cost, bullet proof mechanicals and cheap parts kept many a teenager up at night figuring out just how many appendages they had to sell to get one. As a teen, my first introduction to VW's came from behind the wheel of a 1984 Rabbit GTI set up for Autocrossing. Once I experienced a couple drives in this car I knew that one day I had to own one.Selecting the "Right" RabbitAs these cars have gotten older the number of decent, sound (read no rust) A1 GTI's has become somewhat difficult. This is hard to believe for some considering so many were built between 1983 and 1984. Rust, accidents and old age has led to the demise of many a Rabbit to the extent that the actual search for a car to base this car upon was becoming rather difficult. Originally I had low expectations of what I was going to find. Thinking the best I could do was a car with extreme rust and semi-straight bodywork, I set out on my search for "The" GTI. My search did not last long as it turns out. Putting the word out to a few key contacts, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a call out of the blue telling me of a black '83 GTI that was for sale through New German Performance (www.ngpracing.com) of Aberdeen, MD. The price was too good to be true, at only $250. After making some phone calls to Dave Graf at NGP it turned out that he knew of someone selling one for $250 with 115,000 miles on it. The car wasn't running, but it was fairly rust free. After some discussion, and on the advice of Dave, I took the plunge and bought the car. As it turns out, this was a wise decision. While the car didn't run, the bodywork was straight. The paint, typical of early VW's, was faded, but there were no major dings or dents.
The interior on the other hand was a complete and total loss. Water leakage from the rear hatch had gathered in the spare tire area in the hatch, forming a nice hot tub for anyone willing to take a dip. Nothing inside this car was able to be salvaged bar some gauges and trim pieces. Most of the components, oozing a pungent odor, will be promptly dumped in the garbage bin behind New German Performance. This doesn't present a problem based on the fact there are plans in the works to retrofit a black Cabriolet dash and "racing" type bucket seats sometime down the road.Project DirectionThe original intent of this car revolved around a harebrained idea that arose over beers the night before Waterfest this past summer. Sitting in a hotel room, listening to the burnouts going on outside, my friends and I began talking about TDI's, diesels, and engine swaps. Previously I had undertaken a turbo diesel swap into my 1975 Peugeot 504 GLD; not exactly a car that you see on the road everyday. The concept of a Rabbit TDI came up, and the potential for VR6 performance and possibly 60mpg plus made it very intriguing. After coming back to reality and doing some research on what it would take both financially and mechanically, it was decided to take another direction with the engine. This will be covered in later articles as the project progresses. To reach my performance goal something supercharged or turbocharged may be in the cards. Though diesel has not been ruled out, the expected cost of entry seems just too high to justify.The beauty of basing a project on a car of this age is the extremely low cost of entry and the relative affordability of parts and accessories. The drawback is that virtually everything save the chassis and body shell will have to be replaced. This will require a strong stomach, but thankfully not an overly liberal bill fold.Staying true to form, this car is not going to be equipped with ground effects, wings, and other bodywork add-ons. What I have found so endearing about the Rabbit through the years was the "one-box" look of the car. This theme will be continued around the body in terms of trim, wheels, tires, etc. so that they will all highlight the simplicity of the car in various ways. These cars were meant to be simple looking and this one is going to stay that way with few exceptions. The main overall goal for the car was to be able to beat a stock VR6 and definitely stay with or beat chipped newer 1.8T's. While not the highest expectation, this car is also going to be a daily driver so I also don't want it to buck and ride like a go-kart and maintain real world drivability. Handling is a big concern of mine so we are investigating various options to optimize the handling and ride of the Rabbit.
SummaryProject Rabbit GTI should have the performance, looks and handling that will bring it more in line with current trends. The "old" Rabbit setup will definitely provide a solid platform to work from so that I can achieve my overall goals for the car and have a decent everyday driver.The car will next be headed for the paint shop for the removal of the old oxidized black paint and its replacement with a more modern color. Some body changes will be incorporated into the car at that time, so stay tuned.
When VWVortex started Project Rabbit, the plan seemed simple enough. Take one waterlogged A1 chassis car, strip it down to the bare essentials and build it back up to what might be viewed as the "ideal", A1 restoration. At the same time, maintaining a low cost was a major goal of this project and in keeping with what original item was all about; a pocket-rocket for budget- minded buyers.As many may have noticed, in the span of 18 months, there hasn't been a single update to this project. For that we apologize. Without going in to too much detail, let's just say we hit a snag, but Project Rabbit is back on track and ready to begin again.As can be seen in the photos, a different color was chosent for our Rabbit. A modern color from the Volkswagen palette known as Indigo Blue, this color is currently offered on current 2003 GTIs, Golfs and Jetta stationwagons. But, what only the biggest Mark I aficionados may be aware of is that this color is also offered in South Africa on a model called the Citigolf. Volkswagen of South Africa has long produced some unique models for its home market, and today's Citigolf is none other than a modern day version of the Mark I Golf. More information on that car can be found at the Volkswagen of South Africa Citigolf website.When originally planning out Project Rabbit what seems like an eternity ago, we got to considering what color would look good on the car. At the same time, we wanted to bring the whole concept up to date with something that could be pulled from the current lineup of GTI's. At that time we knew Indigo Blue was going to come out on the GTI, but had yet to make an appearance. As you can see from the results our bodyshop, Annapolis Collision did an exceptional job of incorporating the new color and transforming what used to be an oxidized black GTI into a much more attractive package.While at the bodyshop a Cabriolet radiator core support and accompanying fenders were installed on the car so that we could eventually install single round headlights. Additionally we wanted to shave the rear side markers, the rear hatch lock and fill the holes left behind when we elected to have the side mouldings removed. The groove for the mouldings, as you can see in the pictures, is still there and was sanded and filled where needed to create a weight line down the side of the car.
A difficult item to find, but one that we needed nonetheless was a straight Mark I hood. One would think that something as common as a the front lid for a Rabbit would be readily available. However, this was not to be the case. Finding a clean, dent-free used example proved to be difficult these days with most examples found in boneyards riddled with dents or pocketed with rust. We brought down no less than 3 hoods to the shop and were rejected 3 times by our perfectionist body guy. All of the hoods we managed to find had too many issues that would require numerous hours of sanding and filling to be worth the added cost. While fitting the hood and fenders it was pointed out that these early cars came from the factory with their fair share of ripples in the metal. This was something that might not be noticed to the untrained eye, but again, our shop in its dedication to perfection showed all these areas to us. More sanding and filling became necessary before being ready for paint. In the end, what initially looked like a relatively inexpensive and clean Rabbit shell to start with required a prodigious amount of prep work before it even reached the paint process.During the car's long stay at the paint shop, we've had a chance to finally decide on a motor choice and begin building that up. We considered trying to retrofit a modern TDI into this car. While originally the direction we were headed in, after pricing out the engine, installation costs, and dealing with the issue of having to convert a gas powered car to a diesel one, the plan was unfortunately shelved. To give you an idea, a drive-by-wire TDI engine costs roughly $2,600 and that did not even include the ECU. Also take into consideration that the car would have to be effectively rewired to operate properly, and our project would then begin to deviate from the original set of goals, namely the one emphasizing an affordable budget.Our next step for this car is to attack the interior while the engine/transmission work is completed. If you recall, the interior was a complete disaster area when we purchased it. Many of the side and back hatch window seals had disintegrated, with their remains coming to rest in pools of water found in nooks and crannys - such as the spare wheel well. Of course , I found this out the hard way when pulling out the carpet and fell backside first into the waiting "bong water" pool. Another important lesson learned in our trials and travails is that when restoring an older car and the need to pull the engine becomes apparent, taking the easier route and simply slicing the wiring harness is not a smart move. Obviously now, one of the next steps in our Rabbit restoration is to install an entirely new wiring harness. We sourced a unit from our VWvortex Classifieds (Ed. Thanks Bill for the harness!!). While probably not the brightest thing I could have done, the original wiring harness in the car had seen better days. The previous owner spliced the harness in numerous places to install what seemed to be various types of alarm systems and an aftermarket horn. Needless to say it was going to require a good deal of attention to restore the original harness to some form of factory condition. The new wiring harness will be going in next as soon as we have pulled the dash and fully prepped the interior.
http://www.bestpricecarparts.com/ - Your best stop for auto parts
http://www.marksbugbarn.com/ - For all your vintage VW needs
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