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A boy and his dream

29K views 132 replies 65 participants last post by  -teknien- 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey everyone so my kid has a dream but due to mother nature we have some set backs, my son wants to build a MK1 so follow as i explain his story.
Meet James as of this year he is 12.

James likes the rabbits, and is also not afraid to tear into them. These were taken when he was 10, with a little guidance from me he tore in to the GTI with a vengeance.









Even taking on the task of striping the undercoating out.





Next he cleaned the interior up








Now some of you are like........So? Well he has done all this with very little help from me, sure i was there and if he needed an answer for a question i gave it, with a body shop background it is all easy for me. Let's just say in this age of gimme, gimme. He's done a good job.
Enter the parts car......Picked up another Non running GTI for parts one with a real bad floor, at least that's what i was told.
Turns out to be in better shape than the white one. So we switched gears. Now James is going to build that one. Turns out it was parked in 01 after a timing belt install...........they just couldn't get it running.
Well we pulled the distributor and gave her a little turn.........180 off. So it now runs (with the help of carb cleaner) New fuel pump this month. Here is the car.






So here is the bible that James will be using

And we now have the new support thanks Fatmobile.

Looks like James now has a steering wheel I showed him the photo and got the approval so to speak.

Not bad huh.........
We ran into a couple snags that stopped us dead in the water.
Well enter disaster



SRC="http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb38/iadubber/cad2/IMG_2430.jpg" BORDER="0">
Ok so as you can see the pocket book is going to take a hit, Our house ended up in around 5 FT. of water. The floors Heaved warped beams cracked walls, etc.
Good news both GTI's were saved got them out before the water got there
, but I have told James we have to put off any work for awhile.
Then James had an idea, You see he has a very concrete plan on how he wants the car to look and i have to say I'm impressed with it.
He wants to daily drive it and take it to the big shows. So he asked if i could find sponsors..........well I'm not a begger or a free loader but i told him I'd try. He nailed my friend down for a full stereo install and tint so he has his first one. He has called his project" Bunny Bomb"
So for the long and the short of it, I'm posting to see if there are any vendors, shops, or People who would like to sponsor James build.
I can pay shipping on anything.
The Plan(if we get sponsors)
The Plan
Gut/strip the car this fall (to just body)
Start the body work. Shave the rain tray, poss. Handles or switch them out for something different
Por15 the inside.
Get Misc. parts powder coated and refinished while doing body work
Also rebuild the motor.
Get interior done
Assemble by spring/early summer
To give you an idea he has picked the whole color scheme himself inside and out plus some other things done inside that i have not seen done yet.
It will have factory striping with factory rubs
he would like some Euro Bumpers
Full disc setup
And new wheels undecided what kind(i got him a set but he did not like them so I'll refinish them and off they go)

Exterior
Parts needed (that we know of for body)
both rockers
left inner wheel well rear
grill
hood
hatch
seals
Front window
Rub strips
Euro Bumpers
rear panel below the hatch


Interior
Maybe front seats (if any thing interesting comes up)
Maybe steering wheel
Color swatches have been picked
Drive Train
keep the 1.8 and g60 charge it or swap in a 1.8t
Coils or cupkit
Any and all bushings (poss. Poly)
I will fab the tower braces and sub frame connectors maybe a cage(i design things for a living)
Rear disc set up and proportioning valve
sways
Exhaust
header or down pipe
So as of know we are getting a smoked piece of plexi glass (donated)
and it will be a sponsor board for shows. The plan is to have the car done by spring and hit up at least 4 big shows if not more. We will have a detailed build book with photos.
I think i have a sponsor for a 1.8t and the interior and i have a local shop that has sponsored us by giving us a place to work on it lift tools and all.
So many thanks for reading James story and if you would like to partake in this little fiasco feel free to pm me.
I will up date this post with any work or sponsors info i get.
Thanks for your time.

The Sponsor List
Grimes Automotive Use of the shop http://grimesautomotive.com/
Fatmobile-Rad. Support
R & T performance Glass-Stereo & Tint
Haught Design-Plexi sign and any vinyl
Apex Tuning- Euro Bumpers Pending , we keep missing each other
Porsche Stearing Wheel- Fein1 Still have not heard back from him.
Modified by cadwiz at 9:57 PM 8-27-2008

Modified by cadwiz at 9:00 PM 8-28-2008

Modified by cadwiz at 8:23 AM 9-2-2008

Modified by cadwiz at 8:24 AM 9-2-2008

Modified by cadwiz at 10:43 AM 9-7-2008

Modified by cadwiz at 10:57 AM 9-7-2008

Modified by cadwiz at 8:13 AM 9-8-2008


Modified by cadwiz at 8:55 AM 10-6-2008
 
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#105 ·
Ok so things for James have changed dramatically. He was just given a GTI that was raced for a good portion of it's life. So when we got it it was pretty striped down. So the new plan is to gut James old car and stash the parts, this saves us from putting new floors in. The new car needs a new rad support, and a door from the old car. Oh and a small hole fixed in the rocker and a hole patched where the fuel cell was.
James also saved all summer for some parts mowing lawns. He just ordered a USRT linkage kit and bought a 10 to 1 comp 8 valve that is pretty fresh, so it should do him just fine for a while.

So here is the gutting of the race equipment. James is now 14 and is in the red shirt, He will be signing up soon so he can update his build.

















 
#110 ·
OK so I am posting these while James is at school. So far he has everything he needs to complete the exterior of the car except the Euro Bumpers, but like i told him you can rock the stock ones for a bit and then switch them out. He also has three simple D.I.Y's in mind so check those out when he gets them up. And a big thanks goes out to Steve and James friend Tim for just hanging and lending a hand. And to Mike in the first set of photos.
So here is the work from this weekend.
First James jacked up the car and then James removed the tires, it was his first time using an impact.






His rear disc set up.

Then we finished taking parts off the back.





Keegan wanted to help

striker removal


Hatch was next.(gonna do a D.I.Y on this)


What Bolt's?

Oh never mind.


Then it was lower rocker molding



Then it was the front wheel arches and inner fender wells. And look what we found.


Then it was the air dam


And what is this in the corner?

Oh that's what it is!

And next to it James new motor, A higher compression 8v from a GLI. I think we are going to play with the head a bit add a new valve train and it should do him just fine till he get's a couple years driving under his belt. And the blue, it's going away.
 
#111 ·
Your son's love for the cars must run deep. It seems rare that a kid that young stays focused on one thing for that many years, haha. Good job dad, it looks like you guys are having an awesome time together. I think a lot of us here wish we could have done these projects as a kid too. :thumbup:
 
#115 ·
You, sir, are so awesome. I wasn't able to get my own VW until I was 18.....im 19 now :eek: But I've thought to myself that when the time comes, I want my kids to start early on their own cars, with my help of course, so that when they reach the age of driving, they will have something I know is reliable and that they will care a lot about because they know the work that went into it and will appreciate it. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: to you man
 
#118 ·
Ok so it has been awhile, I travel all the time for work so no time to work on anything.
So just an update, James was getting closer to 16 and the GTI needed paint and re assembly the only part left to buy was the rear roll pan. Well as a teen he was looking for immediate satisfaction.
So he found a 1990 Audi V8 Quattro and sold all of his collected rabbit parts and motors etc.
Enter the Audi

Well not being patient at 15 he decided to take a ride at 3 am. The result





Yep a totaled Audi!
So he now has learned from this.
He has added up all of his casts etc. and the fact that most of his friends are driving. And knows it sucks.
He also regrets selling the GTI and was on the hunt for a new rabbit!
Enter Bob ( our local Forums Rabbit Whore, I mean the car when I say this)
It has been through a lot of hands in our local forum.
Funny thing is when James got it, Some how his motor from his old GTI would up in this car.







I guess stay tuned, and yes everyone in the accident was fine.
 
#120 ·
So funny thing, James changes cars like no other. Really nothing we can't fix on the Rabbit but for some reason he wants my old Jetta. So the rabbit may be gone soon but first the new throttle body and USRT linkage kit goes in!
By the way it has a full 84 GTI 8 v in it lightly massaged of course.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
 
#121 ·
This is James and until I start my own account I wanted to say thanks for all the help and support with all the rabbits and that I'm back at again. I now have a 76 rabbit and this one I'm sticking with. So far ive only done minor things to keep it running, but I'm doing new coil overs soon. I plan to have it look a lot like the last picture with a 1.8T.



Sent from outer space using the strength of mental telepathy!
 
#123 ·
TOTALLY AGREE!!

I know that its your car and you can do what you want, but respect the vehicle, its history, and the pristine shape it is in. Coils and a few oem+ mods are ok but don't do what you posted :facepalm:

Do that to a rabbit that actually has rusted flares and a body that needs some work. That is coming from a 19yr old whose daily is an 84 rabbit 'vert. I am no purist either, the last car I had was a diesel swapped 92 cabby but it sadly got totaled (not my fault)
 
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