My 84 Wabbit build...(New to the forum)

[Damian Grihalva]

Hey folks. The name is Damian.

I just picked up a 1984 GTI for $600 and started searching, found this site so I thought I'd share. I've been into VWs and Porsches for a while (after high school, before marriage), but have taken a slight break and got into custom 4x4 building. Picked up this wabbit after deciding I wanted something more gas-friendly than my rigs.

Timing worked out perfect, I had left a message on this guys windshield a few years back, and he called asking if I was interested about a month ago.

This GTI is a mixed blessing/curse. Now I've got a nice rig that gets decent mileage that I actually like driving, but the down-side is that now I've got a ton of things I want to do to it.

Oh well. I'm going going to lie. You guys use some acronyms that I don't know ~ but I'll do my best to follow along. I'll document my build-up of the GTI here for historical sake I'm more than happy to hear what ya'll have to say, suggestions you can give, or leads on parts, but I'll be honest ~ I should be considered a NEWBIE so if you say one of those 'VW' slang I'm likely to give you a look.

Be patient. I'll update this as often as I can, with as much info as I can ~ hoping some of you guys can give me some insight on things.

Anyway, that is all.

D

[Damian Grihalva]

Oh, maybe I should post pictures of the rig.

When I picked it up is was in sorry shape. The wifey didn't like the thought of a beater in front of the house ~ already got a few of those. So I had to promise to wax it and try to get it loking good.

After 2 coats of 'cleaner/fine cut' wax the oxidized orange turned back to red. Then with a single coat of standard polishing wax, it started looking pretty decent. I think another 2 coats of wax are needed at least. Then I'll work on the sun-faded, now wax filled (child labor, its cheap, but messy), trim peices.

More updates soon.
D

[BeezelDub]

Arguably the biggest tires I've ever seen on a Rabbit. Congratulations, you've come to the right place.

[salvaterra]

from another red mk1 GTI owner, welcome

don't worry about the acronyms. i've been here for a while now, and still don't get half of them

and post more pics of the beast!

[Damian Grihalva]

Quote, originally posted by BeezelDub »

Arguably the biggest tires I've ever seen on a Rabbit. Congratulations, you've come to the right place.

Hheheheh ~ your telling me, my speedo reads 20% slower than what I'm actually doing! I was dissapointed that it didn't have the snowflake wheels on it, but whad'ya'gonna'do.

Quote, originally posted by salvaterra »

from another red mk1 GTI owner, welcome don't worry about the acronyms. i've been here for a while now, and still don't get half of them and post more pics of the beast!

Thanks guys. Around here there isn't very many Mk1 GTIs driving around. Couldn't find a single one on craigs list, but this one fell in the lap so I figured hey.

As for pictures. More coming. It took some cleaning ~ I just about waisted a full bottle of 409 and a roll of papertowels on the interior ~ but its cleaned up a bit. I'll get a few of that.

Should have took some pictures of it camping this weekend, I loaded it with 3 boys, myself, and all our camping gear Once we hit the dirt roads (rallye style) we hit the bumpstops a few times, but hey ~ It was fun.

More pics coming soon.

[a1freaKs]

Slam it, on 13's, call it a day

[Damian Grihalva]

Speaking of future mods. My immediate plan is to put a full tune on this rig. I called ND (New Dimensions) and have an order in the works for:
O2 Sensor
Cap w/ Rotor
8mm Plug Wires
Plugs
Injector Seals
Oil Filter(s)
Clutch Cable
Rear Wheel Bearings (already installed fronts)
Cooler Fan Switch
Cooler Thermostat
K&N Air Filter

I've already flushed the motor ~ will be doing that again. I also ran some concentrated injector cleaner through it as well (About 2 tank fulls worth)

Is there anything else I should be concerned about immediately.

The motor runs hot. It stays about middle through the temp gauge ~ which is normal for new cars, but I remember my last GTIs running on the lower 1/4 of the gauge.

What really concerns me is the oil-temp gauge. It runs at least 100* C on the gauge ~ not sure if that's normal but I suspect not. While camping and cruising uo/down the highway it topped at 120C and stayed about 110C. That seems way high and I'm not sure if the hotter engine operating temp is causing that or something else. Needless to say, I've got another can of engine flush, SeaFoam in the current oil (only been in there for about 200 miles) ~ and at the temps the motors pushing (assuming the gauges are correct) It probably won't last long (oil). After a couple more changes w/ flushing ~ I'm going to run Synthetic to protect against higher temps. But I'm hoping that the new t-stat and cooler fan switch will bring temps down to decent.

[Damian Grihalva]

Quote, originally posted by a1freaKs »

Slam it, on 13's, call it a day

What is it with 13s? I'm assuming your talking about 13" rims. I may like Mk1's but I'm not quite that

Actually I'm looking more along the lines of 16x7s w/ some 205/40R16 rubber on them. The stuff that came on it, will stay for winter.

As for suspension, and considering the weather here in Colorado, I'm looking at some H&R OEM Sport Springs. I hear they give about 1/2" drop max. Combine those with some Bilstien HD shocks and poly bushings all around and presto. I'm seen a few cars around that had larger rims/tires that kept ground clearance but the bigger rims filled the wells enough to give it a better over-all stance/look/

Of course, eventually, I'll get some 28mm swaybars and a strut tie bar or two, but that's the least of my concerns right now.

The goal is to get some decent handling, but keep the height for snow conditions ~ which can get deep some days.

[Damian Grihalva]

Speaking of which, I'm looking for some body add-ons. I'd like to run a mild side-skirt, rear valance. Nothing too crazy, but something that will compliment the stock front air dam and set it off a little. Just keeping my eyes open, if anyone has/knows of anything, please let me know.


Modified by Damian Grihalva at 9:42 AM 5-20-2008

[salvaterra]

you're off to a good start on the maintenance.

i'd recommend not going bigger than 15's with more rubber over the 16's. especially if you're concerned with the roads in CO. 16's can look too big (my opinion) and are probably heavier

your suspension choice sounds great for your application, but full poly bushings may get rough (again, considering your raods). make a few searches here for "poly" and see what others have said. good luck

[Damian Grihalva]

Quote, originally posted by salvaterra »

you're off to a good start on the maintenance.

Ya, I figure what's the point if the thing isn't running up to snuff. I mean, how many decent looking rabbits are there that can't be driven?

Quote »

i'd recommend not going bigger than 15's with more rubber over the 16's. especially if you're concerned with the roads in CO. 16's can look too big (my opinion) and are probably heavier

I hear ya there. I've considered that and going with a 205/50R15 but its one of those things I don't want to buy a smaller rim and wish I went bigger ~ or in that case, buy a larger rim and wish I went smaller.

I guess I should search for some pictures. Is there any good 'lets see your cars' post where everyone posts pictures of their ride?

Quote »

your suspension choice sounds great for your application, but full poly bushings may get rough (again, considering your raods). make a few searches here for "poly" and see what others have said. good luck

Will do. Poly is a standard in the 4x4 world. And considering the rigs I build ride pretty decent even with ~ I'm not too concerned, but you do bring up a valid point. I'll search 'poly' and see what people are saying.

Thanks for the input.

[salvaterra]

Quote, originally posted by Damian Grihalva »

I guess I should search for some pictures. Is there any good 'lets see your cars' post where everyone posts pictures of their ride?

try this:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2863033

[MattRabbit]

Quote, originally posted by a1freaKs »

Slam it, on 13's, call it a day

ummm... no. I think the plans that he has for the wheels/suspension are a bit more usable and realistic looking for the real world.

[Damian Grihalva]

Good thread! Thanks. any ideas on some rim/tire threads that'll actually show pictures? I check faq and didn't get a good idea of the difference between 15 and 16s.

As for rim size. there's a sang in the motorcycle arena that goes: "Its not what you ride, its THAT you ride." I won't knock anyone running 13's and slammed, after looking at a few in that thread they can look really nice. Its just not my style.

[salvaterra]

Quote, originally posted by Damian Grihalva »

I check faq and didn't get a good idea of the difference between 15 and 16s.

that might be because not too many people are running 16's on mk1s. there are a few that pull it off nicely, but....

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2187938

[Damian Grihalva]

Man, youre awesome. Thanks for the help.

[simon_C]

here try this thread:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1127465
(keep in mind, that thread started in 2003, so styles were much different. i suggest starting at the end and working backwards)

just remember, youre driving a piece of german engineering, not Japanese, so you need to take a whole new approach to modifying your car.


Modified by simon_C at 3:21 PM 5-20-2008

[Damian Grihalva]

Thanks!

Oh ~ and where did you get the idea I have Japanese stuff?

[Damian Grihalva]

Well, lets put a little update on things so far. The interior was/is pretty rough, for example, here's the front seat.

Comfy wires!

Not just that, but the flip-forward 'flipper' had broken off. Since the pass side doesnt' flip either, getting the boys in the back is a little difficult.

I searched and although I found some decent replacements on this and other boards, nobody wanted to ship anything that big So I got this.

I went with Corbeau's Baja RS seat. Its the reclining version of the Baja Ultras I've used on some of my rockcrawlers. They are extremely comfortable and with the flip-forward, makes it possible for people to get in the back seats.

The seats were cheaper than buying used Recaros/Siroccos/GTI seats (I'm a dealer ). The big thing is that they have the style I want. I'm going to be re-tinting the windows a very light gray and didn't want some really flashy seats in my GTI ~ attracks Dano and promotes theft you know. I just wanted a decent comfy non-aggressive/flashy seat that'd do the dirty in style...and flipped forward of course.

Back seat was fine. VERY fine shape.

As is the front passenger seat. I'll be replacing that one with another RS soon, but didn't need to.

Misc interior shot. Each time I look at the dash I want to have my water-jet guy cut a new plate for some Autometer gauges. I'd keep 3 1/8" Speedo and Tach, but instead of those LEDs in the middle, I'd run 2 1/16" Temp and Fuel Guages.

My big item is the carpet. I think the PO had a cup holder glued to the center consule and whenever he turned, it spilled whatever drink he had all over. The consule came clean with before-mentioned SOAKINGs of 409. Now I have a crappy shift boot and destroyed carpet.

Does anyone have any leads on where to get a new shift boot and carpet kit? I could do black or red carpet.

Thanks folks. I'll update more as I do it. I've noticed that you guys don't believe in documenting your buildups much ~ well, you take pictures, but nothing in fine detail ~ so I'm going to try and take some serious detailed pictures to document what I do and exactly how I do it.

EDIT: The board didn't keep a post I'd posted about what I know now is a 'clipper kit'. I posted something to the effect of, anyone know what bumpers are on this rabbit:

Modified by Damian Grihalva at 11:58 AM 5-27-2008

[salvaterra]

that's a clipper kit from a convertible...

[B4S]

Quote, originally posted by Damian Grihalva »

Speaking of future mods. My immediate plan is to put a full tune on this rig. I called ND (New Dimensions) and have an order in the works for: O2 Sensor Cap w/ Rotor 8mm Plug Wires Plugs Injector Seals Oil Filter(s) Clutch Cable Rear Wheel Bearings (already installed fronts) Cooler Fan Switch Cooler Thermostat K&N Air Filter I've already flushed the motor ~ will be doing that again. I also ran some concentrated injector cleaner through it as well (About 2 tank fulls worth) Is there anything else I should be concerned about immediately. The motor runs hot. It stays about middle through the temp gauge ~ which is normal for new cars, but I remember my last GTIs running on the lower 1/4 of the gauge. What really concerns me is the oil-temp gauge. It runs at least 100* C on the gauge ~ not sure if that's normal but I suspect not. While camping and cruising uo/down the highway it topped at 120C and stayed about 110C. That seems way high and I'm not sure if the hotter engine operating temp is causing that or something else. Needless to say, I've got another can of engine flush, SeaFoam in the current oil (only been in there for about 200 miles) ~ and at the temps the motors pushing (assuming the gauges are correct) It probably won't last long (oil). After a couple more changes w/ flushing ~ I'm going to run Synthetic to protect against higher temps. But I'm hoping that the new t-stat and cooler fan switch will bring temps down to decent.

To be honest, the oil temps seem fine to me. I remember a 16v I had used to run 110*C in warm temps, under cruise conditions. I wouldn't worry, but keep an eye on it.

[Jettaboy1884]

Hey, welcome to the world of VW's

So, I saw your post earlier about wanting to go with some lower body work, and I'm glad you posted up that last picture.

What you're looking at is called a "clipper kit" which are the stock bumpers, sideskirts, and fender flares that come on later model Cabriolets. (I believe they are found on '89 thru '92 Cabriolets)

I believe the Cabriolet stuff should bolt right up to your GTI. You would probably want to search the classifieds for a clipper kit, and try to get one that has all the mounting clips and screws.

Good luck, your car is looking very nice so-far!

As a side note: You mention your wife doesn't want a beater parked out front... So, pick up some Kiwi black leather shoe dye, (or the polish works fine also) and use it on your textured plastic arches and mouldings to make them look like new.

[Damian Grihalva]

Quote, originally posted by Jettaboy1884 »

Hey, welcome to the world of VW's

Hey thanks!

Quote »

What you're looking at is called a "clipper kit" which are the stock bumpers, sideskirts, and fender flares that come on later model Cabriolets. (I believe they are found on '89 thru '92 Cabriolets) I believe the Cabriolet stuff should bolt right up to your GTI. You would probably want to search the classifieds for a clipper kit, and try to get one that has all the mounting clips and screws.

Very nice. Thanks for the tip.

Quote »

As a side note: You mention your wife doesn't want a beater parked out front... So, pick up some Kiwi black leather shoe dye, (or the polish works fine also) and use it on your textured plastic arches and mouldings to make them look like new.

OH YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER! My wife even ok'd me painting the trim, but since I have shoe polish in the front closet, I'll go that route!

[B4S]

Ah, be careful...you want shoe DYE, not polish. It works better .

I'm liking that seat, reminds me of the stock highbacks on the lower-spec models.

[Damian Grihalva]

AH! I'll keep that in mind. I may have to stop by at Walmart.

[karl_1052]

Quote, originally posted by Damian Grihalva »

Will do. Poly is a standard in the 4x4 world. And considering the rigs I build ride pretty decent even with ~ I'm not too concerned, but you do bring up a valid point. I'll search 'poly' and see what people are saying.

4x4 have tall tires with lots of sidewall and long travel suspension to absorb bumps. These little cars don't and can transmit a lot of vibration.

[Rabbitoncrack]

for starters, call http://germanautoparts.com for parts...their prices can't be beaten and they know their stuff. Looks like a clean GTI, good starting point. First thing I always do when I get a MK1 is probably new control arms, ball joints, tie rods rack bushings and strut mounts, assuming the shocks are ok. All that stuff will run you less than $400 shipped from the guys I linked above.

Also wanted to echo doing a little more research on the poly bushings before you go that way, considering your concerns about the roads. They can be a bit much at times on a Mk1.

[Damian Grihalva]

Alright...alright...I'll reconsider the poly bushings.

Thanks for the link to Germanautoparts.com ~ I'll take a look and see how they stack up. Iv'e got some new pictures to post of the rig but will do that in a bit.

Thanks again guys.

[Damian Grihalva]

A little weekend update. Well, as noted before, my wife wouldn't let me buy the GTI unless I made it look presentable. So this past week I've been trying to make it look better than the powder orange thing it originally rolled up as. As you guy know, I put 2 coats of cleaner/fine-cut wax down and then one coat of standard gloss wax to bring the paint back to life. That worked well, but having the 3 boys help me wax did a number on the trim. Mostly, it turned whitish.

I was going to paint it, but you guys alerted me to something a little easier and a touch cheaper.

Now, you said use shoe dye, but this leather dye was all I could find ~ so after realizing shoes are leather, and this stuff is made for that ~ I got it at a whopping $2.50 @ wallyworld.

After a test run on the flares ~ with great results...

I decided it was time to try it on the trim.

So it looks like it'll work. I realize you guys don't break stuff down as detailed as this, but I'm going to document what I did, how I did it, and hope it helps some knuckle-head like myself when you get plagued with yet another DAN.

With that.... lets proceed.

Well, how I did it is some low-tack painters tape (the blue stuff) from Home Depot (or any home improvement store). Its cheap, and will keep the dye off your paint ~ mostly.

At first I worked on one panel at a time, and then just re-used the same tape, but quickly realized that even though the low-tack tape comes off and goes back on easily, I wanted to give everything a double coating of dye w/ drying time in between the coats. So I taped the remainder of the side and then did one panel, then the next, then the next. Then went back through the starting at the first...again.

Driver side taped up.

The spongy top of the dye bottle makes this stuff pretty easy to control, and with some caution, you can do it without the tape. But in my would, things don't go that easily and its normally easier if you have some safety built in. Combine that with the fact you need to get both the top and the bottom of the trim and you'll quickly realize that not getting anything on the paint is extremely difficult.

The 2" wide tape allowed me to do this.

Which sped the job along extremely fast. By being able to push the sponge to the top of the trim I was able to get a pretty good coat up there. Then I dragged dye across the outer edge of the trim like so...

[Damian Grihalva]

After everything was dry, I removed the tape and found my 'technique' worked....mostly. A few spots had dye on the paint...

To fix that, I made use of my working beverage.

By pulling off the opener..

And wrapping it in some paper towels...

I was able to use it as a finely tuned rubbing device.

(patent pending )

The dye came right off the freshly waxed surface with ease. I even noticed where my child labor didn't get all the wax off...

And quickly fixed that using the same 'instrument'

[Damian Grihalva]

Here the before:

And the after:

Here's a little 360* of it. ~ This is a large file, sorry. I normally keep things small for ease of viewing.

Oh, as you can see, I stripped the crappy purple window tint off the windows. If I replace it, I'll use 35% (a.k.a. Very light) true gray tint. But when I did that, I used a scraper from Lowes and it was a PAIN to get all the glue off the windows with normal household cleaners ~ My wife found me some rubbing alcohol that worked tons better than the kitchen cleaner I was using ~ but while I was out getting some Mobil1 synthetic for another oil change, I picked up some Acetone. HOLY CRAP DOES THAT STUFF WORK!

It stings in cuts, but it made extremely short work of the crap on the windows. I even decided to use it on the well-worn-in grease on the glovebox and forward ash tray (where there was a soaked in spill residue that 409 and Mothers interior protectant couldn't clean up).

The result was the Acetone started EATING the plastic and quikly ate through the messy crap left from the PO. I was careful to apply the Acetone to the papertowel and then rub only what I needed ~ evenly of course.

The end result was the ashtray and glovebox door came out extremely nice. Afterwards I put some Mother's interior protectant on them to make them as shiny and nice as everything else. Worked pretty good ~ even a day later.

Hey look, you can see the next stage of this build on the floor. The part store had some Zymol wax so I picked it up. Its my favorite kinda wax and has always done a great job for me.

That reminds me. Although the shoe dye seems to have worked very well. I'm giving it a day to dry and then I'm going to wash the GTI again. My hope is that the dye doesn't start running. I know, it shouldn't but if it does, I want to be prepared. If it does start to run, I'll clean it up, and use ultra-flat-black paint on the stuff ~ but I hope it doesn't. The Zymol will go on after that to give the paint another coat of wax, then the paint/trim stuff will be done and more than sufficient to keep the wifey off my back for buying the beater in the first place.

Future upgrades are coming fast. I'm in negociations for a couple prized peices that will keep my goal, but spice the GTI up a bit.


Modified by Damian Grihalva at 8:03 PM 5-25-2008

[Martinus]

Spray paint the moldings and flares with some krylon semi-flat black .

Moght have to wash that shoe polish off or spray some brake cleaner on there first ...

.
.
.

[Damian Grihalva]

Quote, originally posted by Martinus »

Moght have to wash that shoe polish off or spray some brake cleaner on there first ...

ya, we'll see. If it threatens to come off, then I'll use some Acetone to get the majority off, then paint it. But as of now, its holding...but its only been a day +/-

[Damian Grihalva]

Quote, originally posted by Martinus »

Moght have to wash that shoe polish off or spray some brake cleaner on there first ...

Well, just bathed the GTI again and put on some Zymol for the next week or so. The black leather dye IS NOT going anywhere. Even rubbed it pretty hard with a damp towell and nothing ~ not a trace of black coming off.

Very happy with that.

[Road Boss]

Quote, originally posted by Martinus »

Spray paint the moldings and flares with some krylon semi-flat black . Moght have to wash that shoe polish off or spray some brake cleaner on there first ... . . .

I used epoxy applaince paint and it worked pretty well.