1984 Rabbit Project

[ZachRabbit]

i've got my camera back people!

i have pics of what i've got done and what i'm working on below!
please bare with me as i do not have a job right now, and i'm really just trying to sell my blue interior to help this project a long!
i should have enough to finish the interior if i sell all of what i have to sell + my original interior

this build is going to happen, slowly but surely. please stay tuned. it's worth following, you'll see

Modified by ZachRabbit at 11:26 PM 7-8-2009

[ZachRabbit]

well, i haven't been able to do a TON, because i'm trying to get rid of all my interior FIRST, i figure that's a smarter move than waiting on my tax check... who knows when that'll ever get here...

and i should be able to finish most of it with the cash i get from the parts i don't need.

so here we are....

just a picture of my car, since i thought it looked nice sitting in the driveway, even though there are a few things wrong with it
it's a nice car to start with, but it's going to be BEAUTIFUL when i get it all done

Modified by ZachRabbit at 9:23 PM 11-17-2009

[ZachRabbit]

here's what i found when i started taking up the carpet..... the wheel well... uuuuggghhhh.... luckily that's just a bunch of rust STAINS from the spare wheel... that thing was absolutely JUNK.

other than the paint chipping back here, everything is CHERRY, i'm going to bedline this part of the car anyway.... so it's waterproof.

here is a pic of what was under the back seat i was totally surprised, there is only a small spot of surface rust... which is easily fixable....

the fuel pump door looked absolutely brand new i can't wait to get the rest of the carpet out of here to see what's goin on.

[ZachRabbit]

here i'm trying to see what i have to do to get this overhead console to fit right on the headliner... honestly i may go look for a more 80's console... but i haven't decided.

this one's from a GMC Safari van. the dome light is in the PERFECT spot it's right where the old stock dome light was, and it works great i've already begun making a mounting system for it... but i need to fill in the holes where it doesn't match up to the headliner quite right. nothing a bit of donor plastic and some epoxy won't fix

here's my DIY door panel installed (and the trim piece half-installed... i have some issues with the door pin i gotta fix...), with my chrome door handles i recieved from dalba4. thanks man
i'm working on the other three, i'll get pics on here ASAP i promise
i'll even try to get the rest of the door accesories on there so you guys can see how nice they really look

found this lovely leather piece at a junk yard about an hour from here it's in very nice condition. this steering wheel cost me like $5

here's my new shift knob. it's going to be black & chrome like the rest of the interior... it needs some fabrication done to it to make it fit exactly... i bought it off of Ebay, and it was originally made for a Jeep Wrangler. probably going to go with an MK2 dash though, so this is just a mock-up.... of sorts...
and yes, it's a real grenade

Modified by ZachRabbit at 11:35 PM 7-8-2009

[ZachRabbit]

among other things, eventually i'm going to get to my wheels....
these are Motegi MR12's.... yes i know people have bad opinions about them, but i like the style, and they'll be better looking when i get them refinished.

i got all four with BRAND NEW Falken Z-rated tires for $100 at a swap meet i was stoked
one of them has some BAAAADDD curb rash but you can tell these things were on a car from a junk yard.... so i can't expect them to be too nice. they're fixable. that's all that matters.

[ZachRabbit]

updates soon! tax check comes soon! selling parts for cash!

[Road Boss]

I'm a fan of this white late westy...please tell me you are not going to change the NOS bumpers for euros?

[ZachRabbit]

Quote, originally posted by Road Boss »

I'm a fan of this white late westy...please tell me you are not going to change the NOS bumpers for euros?

they're not in NOS shape lol.
but i was thinking of changing those, yes :/

even if i keep that style, i'd wanna get brand new ones or as close to new as possible

[ZachRabbit]

picking up some interior goodies tomorrow!
gonna be sweet!

pics as i get things taken out and replaced!

[ZachRabbit]

so here's what i got folks!!!!

-cabby dash & knee bar, with cluster and heater controls
-cabby console
-hood release cable
-KAMEI HOOD SCOOP!
-a set of MINT cabby seats, just need a good cleaning!

so i started on my Kamei scoop yesterday, it's primered right now, so i'm waiting on it to dry.... figured this was a good time to post what i have!

by the way: I got this scoop for $60

this is what i had to work with (it was worse than this when i started, this is just knocked down with 150 grit) :

i coated it lightly with self-etching primer to see where i needed to sand most

sanded that off practically all the way, and it's SUPER smooth. rough sanded with 150 grit, smoothed it down with 320 grit sanding sponge. it's got some shine to it already:

***MORE TO COME! working on cleaning the seats while my primer dries! gonna go get some 1000 grit sandpaper for wet sanding! stay tuned ***

[ZachRabbit]

i know this build seems slow, but there isn't much metalwork to be done right now.

i won't have the means nor the money to paint it for a little while, maybe not even until winter

but i'm going to get the interior done.
and add a few extras as-is.

[ZachRabbit]

about to switch over my dash! updates soon!

[ZachRabbit]

PICS OF WHAT IVE BEEN DOING SO FAR!

pulled a lot of things from a Cabby! got the dash too, just needs to be installed. among other things i got these seats in GREAT condition:

doing another door panel... this is the front passenger side. about to do the rear passenger side

got my headliner almost done, there are a few things i need to do to it, then i'm retrofitting my overhead console!

START

CLEANED AND PREPPED:

INSTALLED, STILL SOME THINGS TO WORK ON THOUGH:

got my back decklid done Rabbits embroidered thanks to my mother

MORE TO COME! IM ABOUT TO GO OUTSIDE AND DO SOME MORE! STAY TUNED

[ZachRabbit]

yyyyyyyeaaaaaahhhhhhh......

so i was on lunch break on payday... went to the bank to deposit my check and withdraw a little $$ for lunch... annnnnd some dickwad in a Honda pulls out in front of me... and tries to turn... would have been his fault, cept i hit him square in the rear.

so much for saving up money.....
it's going to the body shop next week.
got a donor car, gonna get this damn mess straightened,
and on with the project.

[CanadianCabby]

ouch... rigth when it was starting to take shape too... good luck with the next one... and watch out for those crazy drivers next time

[SGLoki]

Damn man, that sucks!!!!

good thing it'll buff right out.

[maushaus]

so sorry about your rabbit...

hope you are okay.

[ZachRabbit]

Quote, originally posted by maushaus »

so sorry about your rabbit... hope you are okay.

thanks! yeah all i got was a cut lip, and a cut in the chin...
that leather steering wheel didn't feel too good. lol.
but i don't imagine airbags would have either.

[ZachRabbit]

Quote, originally posted by CanadianCabby »

ouch... rigth when it was starting to take shape too... good luck with the next one... and watch out for those crazy drivers next time

Oh this Rabbit's not dead yet! haha. i've got it at the body shop right now i'll be posting pics of the repairs when i visit the shop. i'll also be helping paint it....

this sucks, because i don't have anything to drive, but it's totally fine, because it gives me the perfect excuse not to drive it, give it a fresh paint job, and put in one of these:

my dad deals with people all over the world at his job....
and a man from Denmark offered to send me whatever i wanted to help fix it back up, for the price of shipping... because my dad has helped him save so much money haha.
anything, he says??? hmmmm.....


Modified by ZachRabbit at 2:49 PM 11-17-2009

[jedduh_]

IMD

[ZachRabbit]

well, taking parts off the donor car today, so i can take them over to the body shop, and the guy will probably get started on that this next week here... and probably finish up after Thanksgiving.

i have lots of parts for sale though, if anyone's interested, contact me.

[ds1919]

if I were you, I'd check the upper strut towers to make sure they're straight, not bent, buldging, or different from each other.

Then I would check the crash accordion part of the frame (inside the engine compartment, its where a front end crash takes the impact). Most body shops will not bother to straighten perfectly, which results in one side of the wheel base being shorter than the other. It may align properly, but will never drive or perform like it should....this takes careful examination and measurement also..

IMHO, I would get a new straight rabbit and transfer all the goodies now.

gl

[bugsy98nb]

Ouch that sucks man ! but good that it can be fixed

[ZachRabbit]

Quote, originally posted by ds1919 »

if I were you, I'd check the upper strut towers to make sure they're straight, not bent, buldging, or different from each other. Then I would check the crash accordion part of the frame (inside the engine compartment, its where a front end crash takes the impact). Most body shops will not bother to straighten perfectly, which results in one side of the wheel base being shorter than the other. It may align properly, but will never drive or perform like it should....this takes careful examination and measurement also.. IMHO, I would get a new straight rabbit and transfer all the goodies now. gl

the body guy i have working on it has been doing it since like... the beginning of time. haha. he used to work with my grandpa, so he's got like 30+ experience, if not more.

but i think i'm just going to cut off the front of a donor Rabbit i have. weld in place, and i'm done.

[ZachRabbit]

Quote, originally posted by bugsy98nb »

Ouch that sucks man ! but good that it can be fixed

stay tuned
all is not lost yet.

[ZachRabbit]

okay, new game plan:

-16v motor from a Scirocco (or whatever i can find it in, for cheap)

-should be recieving all kinds of euro goodies from a friend in Denmark

-euro bumps, ordering those in February (not going to have a whole lot of money til then.)

- trying to find the ACRYLIC ENAMEL EQUIVALENT CODE to this color.... is it Cinnabar Red?

ORRR this color, it's Dodge's Sunburst Orange Metallic:



Modified by ZachRabbit at 5:32 PM 2-19-2010

[watchxmexdie]

yeah your cars ****ed up big time. i hope it works out for you.

[ZachRabbit]

sooooooo i went to the body shop to check up on my car, it's looking pretty good, even though you can't really tell in the picture, John's done a HELL of a job. when i took these pics he still had some buttoning up to do, so whatever's left of the mangled metal should be squared up now.

the passenger side wasn't really hurt, and we took a measurement of the frame horns just to see, and across the strut towers. i even brought in a bumper for him so he could make sure it was right.

as you can see most of the damage was done to the driver's side...

a pic of the frame horn that got pulled back in place. it kinda looks cockeyed in the picture but it's back the way it's supposed to be by now. he wasn't all the way done with it when i was there anyway.

a picture of the inner fender, some of the undercoating is burnt off... but i'm going to be redoing it eventually anyway... so i'll take care of that...

i have a lot of work to do but i hope to have it at least driveable...not necessarily looking pretty... by beginning/mid summer. we'll see how everything goes.

i'm not sure whether the master cylinder is bent or not, but that canister is effed. i'm probably just going to get a new brake booster + master cylinder... or a nice used one.

[ZachRabbit]

i got a couple new parts in the mail by the way.
pics of that stuff up tomorrowww.

[ZachRabbit]

motor's out!!!!! wooo!!

got some sheet metal lapping to do:

Modified by ZachRabbit at 5:59 PM 4-6-2010

[ZachRabbit]

Got a ton of new stuff since i last posted!!! some Jetta fenders for my Jetta front swap.... along with new inner fender top aprons, gonna lap those in even though i don't really need to.... it was a gift, and it's new sheetmetal, so why not?!

new headlight assemblies and turn signals from yellowjet, thanks man!

new shoes, some BMW wheels... non BBS.... they are mismatched brands though, anyone have another Lemmers i could trade my Alu for?

BMW inspired door cards i made myself putting 6.5" Infinity speakers in each door, CD player/ipod hookup in the glovebox.

minty tan dash that i dyed black with SEM dye. looks nice, the interior theme is chrome and black, but i'm trying to decide whether i wanna go with a woodgrain dash bezel or not.

[lhcVdub]

sucks about the car.. But everything is going to work out

The interior is sick!! If you decide to sell that wood dash bezel LMK paypal ready

[ZachRabbit]

past couple days i've been getting this thing ready to start sanding all the rust off of it. stripped the carpet and all the rest of the interior:

found a lovely hole in each of the floor pans in roughly the same spot.... surface rust pretty much everywhere... nothing too horrible.

passenger side was actually the worst..... as you can see. but this is pretty much all surface rust.... and the front floor pans are all bent up inside from where i made the dumbass move of jacking the car up on that thing that looks like a reinforcement on the floor but we'll fix that soon enough.




Modified by ZachRabbit at 7:22 PM 4-6-2010

[ZachRabbit]

Quote, originally posted by lhcVdub »

sucks about the car.. But everything is going to work out The interior is sick!! If you decide to sell that wood dash bezel LMK paypal ready

hahaha i'll keep you in mind.... probably going with the black, as much as i'd like to do something "different".

[ZachRabbit]

got some parts i'll be picking up in the next couple days!
-cabby steering rack
-cabby brake master cylinder/booster assy
-cabby clipper kit rebar

-2.0 ABA OBD2 swap

gonna be busy, like i should be