Red Wabbit Build - Honda Forum / Acura Forum

RedWabbit · 02-24-2009, 09:29 PM

I posted this on vwvortex I figured I'd post it over incase anybody was interested. heres the original thread :
VWvortex Forums: Red Wabbit Build thread

Well I've been meaning for a while now to make one but never got around to it. I have some more pics somewhere of it in its earlier stages. but none before it was stripped. so heres the story

back when I was still in high school(I graduated in 01) my grand parents asked if I wanted their rabbit. they live in new jersey and you can't have cars just parked in your driveway that don't run, city ordinance or something. so I said yeah that would be great. so during the winter, christmas time we went up to pick it up and we brought it home. I let it sit for a couple months as I was a little busy with work and school. when I had time I started looking into why it didn't run. tried new spark plugs checked a few things but never could figure it out. so I let it sit till I could get some money for it well it sat for about a year and my brother some how claims it to be his. and start stripping it. I got tired of fighting with him and didn't have the money to deal with it so I let him go at it. he stripped the interior out completely and took off the fenders. threw out the dash and all. after sitting for quite sometime nothing was salvageable anyways. well then he gave up on it had other things going and let it sit. that was in 02 in 03 I gave him a chance to do something with it or I was taking it back well a year rolled around and nothing. finally in the summer of 03 I took it back and so get over it. I took it to my house and finished stripping it down. the engine/tranny was pulled and everything else in the engine bay. started cleaning it up then had to stop for work on another car I had. well I had to let it sit for a couple years. we moved out of florida and up to south carolina last year I got laid off in august of last year and finally after sitting on my ass for a bit I said since I have the free time why not start on it so in december it started. I started cutting out what little bit of rust I saw then started on the engine bay and fender area clean up. got all that glue **** off and bought an engine for it a couple weeks ago. I am still looking around for parts while I do the body work. this is my first restoration/build and it should be interesting as I've never done body work before only mechanical. so heres some pics I have to find the ones of what it look before I started taking off the glue and **** they're around here somewhere.

this side wasn't so bad I got a wire cup brush and it took me about an hour to get it all done

this side no so lucky I did it with a very sharp chisel took me quite some time

wondering why I can't get the year off the door area?

thats right its gone
for those wondering what color its gonna be painted

now this is the one that gets me I thought it was an 83but this says the emissions are good for an 81

now the same tag on the 84 convertible say the emissions are good for 84 so is this an 81? I don't know I'll have to start bothering the grand parents for the title again.

err thats right I got some rust here but not much thats all there was to it

I'm dreading cleaning up the inside so I have put it off

yeah the rain tray needed to go I did that when I took out the engine a while ago

so you wanna know why the old engine wouldn't start? I wonder how many of yall have seen this

some other pics of the engine. which the bottom end was in great shape I could still see the marks from the honing

^^whats this? whats up with the big H?

what are these numbers for?

so wondering what I'm putting in this?

I am really thinking about building it. if I get this job back in new orleans I'm probably gonna rebuild it for boost. if I don't I'm probably gonna replace the timing chain and tensioner and throw it in there. either way I'm gonna throw it on a mk3 subframe with power steering since the motor has a power steering pump. I'm also gonna figure out which brakes I'm supposed to use and throw them on there as well. I'll add more tomorrow

after I posted this I started looking at the engine pictures. thats the original engine from this car. I believe the numbers that I was asking about are date stamps. am I correct? if I am this means the car is an 81 and not an 83 like I thought.

Randomhero · 02-24-2009, 09:31 PM

the old rabbits are tits. the new ones.............arent.

RedWabbit · 02-24-2009, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randomhero

the old rabbits are tits. the new ones.............arent.

truth. I have 2 now

Randomhero · 02-24-2009, 09:46 PM

i still want an old GTI mark 1. did we ever get those in america?

RedWabbit · 02-24-2009, 09:48 PM

there are old gti's I even believe there are some 81-84 gti's I'll check I do know they started for sure in 85

Randomhero · 02-24-2009, 09:49 PM

yea i know we have the mark 2's, which is like the mark 1 but seems a bit fatter. the marks 1s are fuckin sex though.

RedWabbit · 02-25-2009, 04:12 PM

Update: got the core support of and started welding the seams. I got the old mounts cut out as well. the torch was so much faster than a cutting wheel. I'll do some touch up welds and smooth it all out after I get it all welded

gonna do some more welding tomorrow and cut off the final pieces of core support I left behind.

RedWabbit · 02-25-2009, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randomhero

i still want an old GTI mark 1. did we ever get those in america?

and yes there are 81-84 rabbit gti's in the us

ITRcrx1991 · 02-26-2009, 02:31 AM

I think GTIS are fkn sick. I want one so bad..................6 speed......

RedWabbit · 02-27-2009, 08:15 AM

So I got froggy and started removing some of the shit on the floor. and I found some rust that had been hiding under that stuff they use. I looked under the car and its everywhere someone had damaged it. like put a jack where they weren't supposed to.

so now question is if I don't find anymore rust on the driver side should I fix what little there is or replace the whole floor pan on the driver side. I will probably get the driver side cleaned off today and started on the passenger side as well.

and no i didn't finish welding the engine bay. Im ADD I'll go back to it later