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Glory's Mk1 Rabbit

G

glory

Ready to race!
I have been looking for a project car to work on for awhile now and was having a hard time finding something I liked and enjoyed the looks of for my price range until just a few days ago. A good friend of mine messaged me a few days ago asking if I wanted to buy his Mk1 1984 Rabbit. He had bought the car a last fall with plans to get it running and dailying it during the winter while he worked on his project car (1995 Nissan President). He had also bought a mk3 jetta diesel in good condition to swap the engine over into the Mk1 but once he drove the mk3 he realized it was too nice to tear apart. So he didn't need the mk1 anymore and knew I was looking. Long story short I went to his place and took a look.

The bad:
-Needs a whole paint job
-Driver's door latch is not working properly
-Rear wheel arches have a touch of rust
-Hatch latch is broken and hatch has rust on it
-Small rust hole in middle of trunk
-Needs new injection pump
-Sunroof leaks
-Carpet & headliner needs replacing
-Rain tray in missing (this will be remade with metal)
-Missing bumpers

The Good:
-Have good hatch to swap over (badges all on & no rust)
-Have euro headlights (not installed)
-New Grill (not installed)
-New suspension components (not installed)
-Door cards have no cracks
-Dash has no cracks
-Engine in running condition (once injection pump works)
-Engine bay has no rust
-Has rear disks for disk conversion
-13" wheels in good condition with new tires
-Has new leather shifter boot
-New hood in good condition
-Bunch of other parts I am forgetting


Anyways here she is. Needs lots of love but I think it's a good starter.


2014-02-22 17.30.35 by glory10299, on Flickr


2014-02-22 17.30.25 by glory10299, on Flickr


2014-02-22 17.30.10 by glory10299, on Flickr


2014-02-22 17.30.06 by glory10299, on Flickr

This is my first build thread so I'll try to keep it updated and it will be a slow build as I have to build it from the ground up.

TL;DR - Bought a buddy's old mk1, some good some bad stuff. 1st build thread which will be slow.
 
WAP

WAP

Go Kart Champion
Following with interest. Good luck!
 
G

glory

Ready to race!
Plan at this stage:
Strip interior and drop motor/transmission. Patch up what needs patching. Remove paint and make suitable for painting.

Thanks for the interest!

Sent from the White north with magic
 
G

glory

Ready to race!
Quick update.

Spent time in the garage stripping the car. Got engine loosened off mounts, need another night to drop it with trans. Got interior stripped minus the dash (any tips on this?), the carpet under the dash, and the drivers side door card because of the side mirror chrome trim ring. I can't turn it to get it off anyone have tips?

Next step is to clean off the crap that was holding down the floor and holding up the headliner. Then remove the wiring throughout the car.



Sent from the White north with magic
 
nakenyon

nakenyon

Go Kart Champion
Sub'd for progress. Friend of mine had a project mk1 Jetta that became way to much work. Hope you're goes way smoother.
 
G

glory

Ready to race!
I hope this doesn't become too much of a headache but it won't be a cake walk that's for sure.

One decision I am working on while this thing is do I do round headlight conversion (which everyone and their dog does) or keep the square headlights.

Sent from the White north with magic
 
D Griff

D Griff

Go Kart Champion
Very cool man. Are you just sticking with the original engine and trans or planning a cool swap, FI or anything like that?

My dad had a MK1 diesel when I was growing up, same year even I think, so it's always cool to see them.
 
G

glory

Ready to race!
Thanks! Plan is going to be to swap in a vr6 to keep it simple yet fun. Either going to be a 2.8/9L or a 3.2L. Gotta love the wookie sound xD.

Nice on the Mk1 in the family, my dad had a Mk1 gti before I was born. Wish I could have seen it.

Sent from the White north with magic
 
WAP

WAP

Go Kart Champion
glory said:
Thanks! Plan is going to be to swap in a vr6 to keep it simple yet fun. Either going to be a 2.8/9L or a 3.2L. Gotta love the wookie sound xD.

Nice on the Mk1 in the family, my dad had a Mk1 gti before I was born. Wish I could have seen it.

Sent from the White north with magic
Click to expand...

My mom had a Mk1 GTI, too. Damn that was a fun little car! Good luck with this. Please post up progress pics when convenient.

Side note: So you "drop" the engine and trans, like an air-cooled Beetle, and not hoist it up and out of the engine bay? Interesting.
 
G

glory

Ready to race!
WAP said:
My mom had a Mk1 GTI, too. Damn that was a fun little car! Good luck with this. Please post up progress pics when convenient.

Side note: So you "drop" the engine and trans, like an air-cooled Beetle, and not hoist it up and out of the engine bay? Interesting.
Click to expand...

Oh cool! Seems there are some Mk1 families on this forum which is cool.

Ya, supposedly you take it out from the bottom not the top.

Does anyone have tips of removing the dash and the side mirror chrome ring on the door card?

Sent from the White north with magic
 
G

glory

Ready to race!
Project update.

Got a few hours to work on the mk1 today and got a bit more done. Front fenders are off, going to do round headlight conversion. Interior is 90-95% stripped, steering wheel and some old black sound deadening are still in and needs a wash/vacuum inside. And rear hatch is off with all wiring pulled to the front.

Floors look good inside, seems the passenger side floor pan was replaced as some point and looks relatively new. Still need to drop the engine, maybe that will happen next time when I have a bit more time.

I know thread is worthless without pics so here are a few.


2014-03-02 17.48.53 by glory10299, on Flickr


2014-03-02 15.23.14 by glory10299, on Flickr


2014-03-02 17.48.45 by glory10299, on Flickr
 
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