Just picked up a new beater car :]

[Arrfrazier]

A wreckless impulse buy for $900 has landed my little cousin an '84 Rabbit GL. It has 175k on it. I love my MKV Gti, and am totally hooked. The car is in decent condition, but we're gonna need full paint and some body work. The motor runs strong, but deff needs a valve cover gasket. I'm pretty handing cars and have built from the ground up, but I don't know much about this car. I've done some googling, but have been told by the MKV guys that this is the best place to go.

What I need to know:
-What are some mechanical issues with this car that I need to address before I get comfortable driving this car around?
-What are my limits with this little carbed motor? How much power can I pull out of this thing without decreasing considerable reliability.
-If this motor sucks, what is my most frugal, yet rewarding swap out.

Thanks

[wantacad]

[Res Dog]

Lol, you created a new username to post in the mk1 forums?

[wilm13]

The MKV is the beater.

[vento86]

so you bought a mk1 to beat so you dont get your mk5 all messed up? GTFO NOW!!!

[Mk1Madness]

so you bought a mk1 to beat so you dont get your mk5 all messed up? Gtfo now!!!

exactly. F off

[lhcVdub]

welcome to the mk1 forums

people dont fck around here lol
now to answer your ?s..

-check compression, leaks, do FULL maintance on it, and check what you are working on. These cars can be somewhat reliable if you treat them good. Most are very tired after years of service and will require lots of time and/or money to get to daily status. GET yourself a bentley and read it and keep reading it until you can figure most of the stuff yourself . There are thousands of great helping threads here in vortex. SEARCH my friend
-how many benjamins are you willing to spend on it?? how good are your mech skills? you can make it go as fast as you wallet/skills can but dont expect a 30year old carbed 8valve to do 400 whp (unless your Tigninja's cousin). You do not need much to make these cars very enjoyable rides. These are light, cheap econoboxes that will make you smile even if they dont have 200 hp under the hood.
-VR6TT


enjoy your mk1 and dont **** it up on purpose

[crewsr]

In case you haven't noticed, some folks here are a little sensitive. I'm hoping you use the term 'beater' as one of endearment and not in a literal sense myself. Since I'm willing to give you the benefit of doubt:

Look for rust around the windshield, which can allow water to leak into the cabin and all over the fusebox. This is a headache.
Go ahead and change the timing belt now; they're cheap and will be a good intro to your motor if you're not already familiar with it.
Do yourself a favor and get a G60 VC gasket KIT, which will come with some new VC gasket studs. It's re-usable and far less likely to leak.
And, most important, get a Bentley service manual and use it!

Have fun and if you want to kill a car, sell this one to someone who won't and get a Mk4...

[Digital K.]

exactly. F off

seriously? someone shows interest in these cars and your first instinct is to tell them to **** off? All he said is he loves his mkV. So? I loved mine too when I had it....Most of these cars ARE beaters. Face it, they are 30 year old econoboxes, and most don't warrant any kind of restoration these days, nor can most people that have them afford to do so.

What I need to know:
-What are some mechanical issues with this car that I need to address before I get comfortable driving this car around?
-What are my limits with this little carbed motor? How much power can I pull out of this thing without decreasing considerable reliability.
-If this motor sucks, what is my most frugal, yet rewarding swap out.

Thanks

Are you sure its carb'd and not CIS? Really not much out there for power either way, but you could probably do some work to make it handle and brake really nice The most rewarding swap is going to be a 16v swap, or an ABA swap, the prior being faster but a bit its getting a bit harder to find 16v stuff in great shape these days.

Dont let the morons in this forum dissuade you. As long as you do you due diligence and dont wear out your welcome with dumb questions constantly, you'll do just fine. Welcome to the mk1 world

and get a bentley.
and get a bentley.
and get a bentley.
and get a bentley.

[RogueRabbit83]

I have a MKV GLI as my daily, and every day I wish more and more for my project MK1 to be finished! This week alone, both HID headlight ballasts took a ****. I think you may want to redefine "beater"........I consider my MKV the "beater"!

[TM87]

I bought a TT to use as a winter car,but lets face it its old car.Only 15% of current living are worth being showcars.
I drive mine everyday,and love it.

[Mk1Madness]

Yes I'm serious, someone calls these cars beaters I have the right to say F off. If he used the word "daily" it would have been a different reaction altogether.

Funny as you go after me for saying it but not the vento86 that I quoted.

Save the cars don't make beaters.

[1.8TBEOUT]

a beater to me is something you dont fix and drive into the ground. not swap engines and paint and do body work to rabbits prefer the term "project car" they take offense to "beater". damn beaters.
anyway:
http://www.rabbitgtipage.com/Swaps/engineswaps.html

[Digital K.]

Yes I'm serious, someone calls these cars beaters I have the right to say F off.

okay.

[joshbucolo]

Before you go throwing money at it I would spend a good amount of time polishing the paint you've got, doing some maintenance, and cleaning the interior. You might just fall in love with it as is.

I dig it, you should take some more pictures. Your pinstriping combo reminds me of these wheels I just saw for sale. definitely would look killer on this car.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ghlight=centra

[16v_HOR]

I hate threads like this, but none the less I'll keep my rant constructive:
1. We take a lot of pride and pour our hearts and souls into these old cars. I would suggest refraining from calling your mk1 a beater, especially if a emkaygaybar is your garage slut.
2. SEARCH. We are more than willing to help around here, but all the same we do not like spoon feeding. It clutters up the forum with duplicate threads and teaches you nothing. The best way to learn is to read up as much as you can before heading out into the trenches and working on your car. If you're still lost after that, then come back to the computer and ask for help; we'll be more than glad to lend a hand.
3. Get a Bentley and keep it in the car at ALL TIMES.

Now that I got that off my chest, here is my advice.
-These cars made from paper thin sheetmetal. I suggest inspecting all common rot areas for rust so that you can prevent or stop any rot from spreading. Floors, rockers, inner fenders and strut towers are a good place to start.
-If this car will be driven through the winter, clean up the floors and put a good coat of quality undercoating or POR-15 on them. I've seen salt eat away perfect floors in a single winter due to bad undercoating.
-A basic tune up will go miles with these engines. They are quite simple to work on and parts are cheap, so preventative maintenance is definitely feasable and will keep you out of the breakdown lane. Also replace the fuel filter; you have an almost 30 year old car and who knows when it's last been changed.
-Check out the DIY/FAQ thread at the top of the forum page, there is lots of good info in there. The 8v technical forums might not be a bad read either.

I wish you lots of luck on your journey, these are rediculously fun cars that can be enjoyed for pennies if kept up properly. Hopefully over time we can convince you to roll the Mk1 into the garage and you'll start leaving the mk5 in the driveway to face the elements instead.

[hinshu]

If you want to redo the interior or need any other resto pieces try this website:

http://www.mtmfg.com/

If you don't mind spending a lil more money and waiting for shipping you can get a lot of parts here, but you might be better going thru another company:

http://www.typ-17.de


And like everyone said.. its not a beater! its a way of life

[vento86]

Before you go throwing money at it I would spend a good amount of time polishing the paint you've got, doing some maintenance, and cleaning the interior. You might just fall in love with it as is.

I dig it, you should take some more pictures. Your pinstriping combo reminds me of these wheels I just saw for sale. definitely would look killer on this car.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...ghlight=centra

god dam i hate quoting pics but... ps im drunk

[ixmeltxfaces]

Well it is no longer referred to as the "beater." It currently resides in the spot where my 2011 nissan sentra used to be, and the sentra is now parked on the street. It has just had a full suspension swap and I threw some Enkei 92's on it. I have picked up a 16v and have had a friend come over and we have been working on it. It is 80% ready to go in. I also have picked up an abd short shifter, and full borla exhaust for this bad boy. The head has been shaven on the motor, and every seal/hose has or is going to be replaced. Its safe to say that this little car has become my favorite. Makes me miss my old 5 series bmw a lot less:]

putting a new gti lip and fixing the ebrake cable this afternoon after I get off of work.



16v before most of the work.

[Chrom0sexual]

on the west coast these are throw away beaters.

rust belt kids love these cars.

we all want what we cant have.

if you want to enjoy a beater, please sell this and buy a reliable japanese car

[Road Boss]

Damn, he changed usernames again?

[16v_HOR]

That last update made me happy

[vento86]

I retract my earlier statement. The rabbit looks killer with the enkies 15x7 and 15x8 right?

[ixmeltxfaces]

The OP is my cousin, I am the actual owner of the car. As far was going Japanese, Im keepin the nissan as my daily until the mk1 is done. Its my first VW but Im hooked.

[ixmeltxfaces]

They are 15x8 all the way around. Had to roll the fenders 3 separate times... hah It was insane the wheel kept hitting the coil over. Unfortunately I had to go to spacers... 20mm.

[Road Boss]

What size tires you have on there?

[ixmeltxfaces]

Toyo 195/50/R15

[Digital K.]

if you want to enjoy a beater, please sell this and buy a reliable japanese car

easy to say for someone who just writes a check for whatever he wants all the time. Your perspective is whacked out.

keep up the effort man, its good to see you working on something and trying to learn. Looks great on the new wheels.

[ixmeltxfaces]

Thanks man, Im gonna keep up with the post from now on. More pics/updates soon.

[SGLoki]

Looking good man

Kris Vs. Paul.... lets get ready to rumble....

Kris posts pics of Paul in his scrubs looking very feminine, Paul writes a check to steal some stainless window louvres out from under Kris...

[Digital K.]

torque wrenches hit harder than checkbooks. although he could anesthetize me without my knowing I imagine.

[Vegeta Gti]

a good alignment can solve rub on a coil over getting spacers

[Mk1Madness]

torque wrenches hit harder than checkbooks. although he could anesthetize me without my knowing I imagine.

TBH I don't see anything being swung.

Another TBH, I'd rather someone throw a checkbook at a slew of Mk1's then anything else.

[Chrom0sexual]

The OP is my cousin, I am the actual owner of the car. As far was going Japanese, Im keepin the nissan as my daily until the mk1 is done. Its my first VW but Im hooked.

I am confoozed now.




The thread title threw me off.

[Digital K.]

I'd rather someone throw a checkbook at a slew of Mk1's then anything else.

tough to argue with that!