Starting a new thread, because this one is going to take me a looooooong time. Recently paid $150 for this gem, and it's worth every rusty penny, since I've already had 4 people offer to give me double/triple for it. They're pretty uncommon, and I've been looking for a basket case project for a few weeks now. The colt has been sold, and I've got a decent starting budget to buy replacement panels for every part of the truck. The tailgate is undented, which is worth $400-500 on the VW used market alone, so I think I got a good deal.
Yes...I'm certifiably insane, and yes, I'm cool with that :). I'll be bringing it home on the 26th of July, since next weekend is the Syracuse Nationals. It's safe at a buddy's junkyard for now, but I still brought the rear sliding window and tailgate home with me just in case ;).
That's cool! Haven't seen one of those for quite some time. Always liked them along with the Dodge Rampage & Subaru Brat....guess I qualify as insane too!
What drivetrain will you be running?
I haven't set my mind on anything as of yet. It's currently a 1.5L non-turbo diesel, but part of the deal is that my junkyard buddy gets the engine/transmission. I am probably going to start with a simple single-carbed gas 1.8 or 2.0 and some electronic ignition I've got here from previous projects. I figure I'll be welding for a year or so before it's at that point though, it's really bad underneath. I'll be making a rig to flip it on it's side, which'll give me a better surface to work on. I figure I'll need to brace the 'cab' area first though...just in case, haha.
It's FWD, but I'll probably convert it at some point. For now, getting it welded back to a safe point is priority #1.
I actually want to keep it useful as a 'truck', so no bed-mounted engine setups...unless Pete wants to come do the work, lol.
Nice score Chad. I'm guessing your beige Rabbit is long gone? I've recently decided to get a VW to make my commute a little more fun. Mk1/Mk2 GTI, Beetle or Type3.
There's a house in Richmond that has one parked on the side of the house, along with 2 Corrados. Have never seen it move. Also found a another for sale in Sherbrooke if you need another parts truck. It's on Kijiji I believe.
I couldn't find it on Kijiji Quebec, but it's all good. No budget for parts trucks right now, got a vacation coming up in a couple weeks :). I may snag a donor Mk1 GTI from my buddy's junkyard and chop off the front end to use if the truck is as bad as it looks.
I started stripping it down, and it smells nasty, lol. EVERYTHING is waterlogged, but it should be done by sunday and I can see what I need to do.
These trucks were known to have strut tower issues due to improper sealing from the factory, and it's normal for a rough one to require at least one replacement. BOTH of mine need replacing, and 3/4 of the floor pan. I have to figure out where to start, because there's no way I'm giving up on it. They're far too uncommon, and the decent ones go for silly money. I should have the engine out this weekend, which will give me a bit more room to investigate. I'm going to power wash the ufck out of it too, since there's no way it's going to get rustier, lol. The bay is full of diesel crud, bleck.
Another one just popped up in Drummondville for $2500. Apparently from Yukon and the guy drove it cross country. I'm often in Drummondville so may check it out next time I'm there.
It's really easy to tear something down if you don't have to save the parts, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I'm going to check out an 83 Rabbit GTI at a local scrappers this weekend. If it isn't completely fried, I may try cutting the front end off. It's 49.99 for whatever you can carry out, and without the engine...it might be do-able, lol.
Progress stalled until mid-sept. Had to blow $500 on tires for the daily, which sucked my budget dry. Friggin AWD cars, cause I could have gotten away with two new tires, but the center diff wasn't happy :(.
That sucks, especially since you've got a lot of work ahead of you. It also makes me sad to know there's an 83 Rabbit sitting in a junk yard. I've been trying to find an mk1/mk2 rabbit/golf/gti.
I was just going to chop off the front end and try to figure out a way to get the engine out of it. Then I was going to rig up something to help me carry it across their 10' section on my own...that's how they determine the 'all-for-$50' rule.
Eff that. I re-read their rules, complete ripoff. Core charge for engines and transmissions ($50), and no straps or carrying devices (bags, etc) allowed. You can only get what you can carry out with your hands, and no teamwork allowed. You're not even allowed to pile stuff on an old hood or tarp!
Standard Auto Wreckers gets a thumbdown from me, for their stupid rules. There's no way I can get a front clip from there now, and the only other thing I really need is a dash-to-headlight harness...and it isn't worth $50.
Did a bit of pointless busy work today. Fixed the busted clutch tube bracket (a usual repair for these years of VW):
Tacked the mounting studs on the steering column/pedal cluster bracket. No way I want to deal with these once they're under the dash.
Played with my $60 Harbour Freight sandblaster. Worked pretty well (for what it is), and I'm just using sandbox sand.
Put a coat of paint on the pedals and column/pedal bracket. I also blasted and painted the rear mount and front roll stopper, but I figured that would be too exciting to post pics of :laugh:.
Mid-sept is the soonest a donor vehicle can be acquired, so it's going to be slowwwwwwwwwwww going. Sigh :(.
-- Edited by Broke4speed on Saturday 16th of August 2014 02:30:00 PM
I'm on a vacation-break right now, so no updates. Enjoying my time away in beautiful Shediac, NB. After fall Barrie, I'm going to get cracking on a donor car...and then the real fun begins.
Well...it's dead. I'm stopping now before I get too involved. A good hard look at it, and the realization that welding in a half-cut is a criminal offense in Ontario, has changed my mind for me. I may make a trailer out of the bed, since it's the only good part, but I won't be continuing this project :(.
I've just grabbed an 87 Golf GTI twin cam, which is a decent base to build myself a 'tribute' car to my very first VW ever (an 87 GTI twin cam). It's not really a LOSER-esque project, but it'll be built with the same philosophy. It comes with a TON of parts, and a lot of them will be sold to fund the project. The seller spared no expense on the parts collecting, so they're all top-notch stuff. I sold him a set of Dellorto sidedraft carbs years back, and all my jets/tubes/etc, so it'll be nice to get them back. I've already got a buyer for the wheels/tires/adapters, which cuts the price of the whole shebang to $500...and I expect to make a bit more than that by selling the rest of the spare parts :).
For now...the hunt for a future project will continue, and I'll get to be that guy that everyone tolerates until then, lol.
Thanks man. I'm kinda happy about it, since it was my very first 'real' car, and I've been looking for one on and off for a few years. It had to have the 1800cc engine, which most folks tossed in the dumpster to upgrade to the 2000cc version, and it had to be emissions exempt (87 and older), so when this one popped up local...I jumped on it. It's not gonna be a spotless showcar, and it will probably be painted with a few cans of the good tremclad, but it'll keep me smilin' for a while :).
