In the process of building a mk1 81 pick up. Got fenders for 50 bucks. Floor pans and firewall to front grill for 150 dollars from a shell. Grafted that onto the pick up that was bought for 1000 bucks. With coil overs and consumables the build is still under 2k. If your patient and take your time looking for deals it can be done fairly cheap.
This info is exactly what I needed, thank you so much. Planing on buying a 1.6 diesel and restoring it. I live in Serbia, and you can find old rabbits that "run" from $400. So I thought, why not, would be great to have a lovely classic car, fully restored. This video sure saved me some grief :)
cinilaknedalm thanks for watching! glad these videos can help even if it’s just a few people! they’re definitely worth putting money into as long as there isn’t any bad rust. good luck with your search and keep me posted with how that goes.
two top tips I'd add, check the b pillar by the lower corner of the rear window on the 2 door cars for cracks in the door jamb. Huge stress area on the car from flex, and I've seen a few with a small crack in the metal there, and always add a lower stress bar between the control arms. Keep them from flexing there, I've seen a few cars with torn metal in the floor from getting driven hard and flexing down low.
@@PedrosGarage I know eurosport still sells the lower stress bar, but the one to have is the four point "k" bar. Those you have to find used from a scirocco 16v car.
My father bought a diesel rabbit new in 79. I bought it from him in 1987 ,and I drove it for about 5K more miles. I liked that it had lots of room,enough power for me to stay up with traffic. And 50 mpg was nice. I then stored it in the mid 90's. Im now 70 yo and down sizing. Just got rid of most everything,even downsized my home, but kept 4 of the cars Ive had since they were new. three have less than 70 k.The rabbit has 25 k on it and I ve got it in the shop having a mechanic start it up for me and get it servicable to drive since its been stored 24 yrs. Interior needs replaced though .Anyone know the names of a couple places to get all or most interior pieces,? No rust on it,but Ill check it as you pointed out the areas to check. Never been in snow and Im down here in the socal desert the las 25 yrs. I havent seen any rust at this point. Good video . Ill check all the stuff you mentioned. Oh by the way,my hood had a pair of rabbit ears on the hood that was attached with a sprung chain of some type. That preventee=d it from getting broken if someone or thing struck it. Looks like someone finally did steal it though. I havent seen many rabbits and none with that hood ornament. Anyone know about these?
I had a '79 Rabbit, and it had zero rust under the hood or in the fenderwells, but the entire underside rotted away. I literally had the front subframe rails fall off from rust
Great Video!! I'm looking forward to the upcoming videos on tools and engine swaps. I'm currently documenting my resurrection of a 1980 Rabbit Convertible on my channel. I had to replace the rockers and patch up the floors. I haven't started on the mechanics yet but I'm new o Rabbits and the more info the better 😁
thanks for the support and feedback! yeah i definitely wish i had some sort of list of tools that are must haves so i could’ve bought them when i had cash to spare rather than forced to buy them when i was broke but needed a working car. figured if it helps at least one person then it’ll be worth the effort of documenting. i don’t plan on going too technical with the engine swap stuff but i’m trying to more or less replace what we used to have on vwvortex; gather and maintain a list of the different companies offering swap parts and services. at the end of the day if you have the money to spare, you can pay your way to a rather easy and straight forward swap.
The car has '79 front grill, "L" dash and 1981 interior. Two vital areas to check. 1. The fuse box. None left the factory with enough winshield sealant and they leaked especially behind the fuse box. 2. The head or head gasket, especially diesels.
Wow brother flashback when you opened the hood i’ve owned a75 Rabbit (Carbueratored ) a 81 Rabbit and in the early 80s drove a 79 Deisel Rabbit for a company i worked for delivering and picking up for a Printing Shop who bought that car for deliveries that was awesome on fuel but i had to turn off the AirConditioning for enough power to get on the highway or pass anyone in Florida too where AC is a necessity and my best freind had several Rabbits and Scirrocos due to having a Uncle who worked at VW /Porsche as a mechanic for years so he had first dibs on Trade ins that came into the Dealerships
Craig Monteforte wow that’s awesome, thanks for sharing the stories. always great to hear from those who had the chance to drive these when they were new. must’ve been a lot less stressful on the road back then with these because everyone had similarly “fast” cars. you almost have to swap the engine on them nowadays if you wanna merge safely since everyone and their mom has 250-400hp cars.
Neighbor had a 1983 2 door rabbit in his yard, gave him a call and he just let me have it for free (I saw no reason to charge me since he’s old). I’m not mechanic but I believe this is a good start (and my dad is one so I’ll b fine) The speedometer says 50k miles but still waiting on the title. Thank you for this video will be checking on the car!
@@mk1rabbithole Yeah, the car runs in drives but it doesn’t have brakes, come to find out that the previous owner cut the brake hoses in half for some reason. I’m now having trouble getting the brake hose separated from the brake lines. I’ve tried doing the whole torch thing and no dice, I’m just tearing the nut. The car also doesn’t go in reverse :) . So gonna take this car to a guy fixes old cars for the brakes. But I’ll work on the shifter myself.
Awesome channel. Grew up in MK1's. Though, it was a maintenance monster. 1979 with fuel injection and automatic transmission...built in Pennsylvania. Wonder if we'd gotten a German made one if it would have been more reliable?
gbriank1 thanks for the support man! pa built but 79? one of the first! my favorite style honestly. who knows, luck of the draw with reliability it seems with these cars sometimes. the german built ones are definitely less complicated so might’ve helped.
@@mk1rabbithole Yeah, 1979 MY bought in Dec 1978. Had minor rust. If it had been more reliable, I probably would have gotten it as my car. Dumb question, have you replaced the door gaskets on your Rabbit? I don't here tell tale door vibration in your video.
Hey man I just brought home a very nice 84 diesel. I think that’s the 1.6 4 speed if I’m not mistaken. It’s knocking like crazy so I’m gonna rebuild it. Where would be a good spot to get a rebuild kit? Thanks for the videos. Thanks to you I knew what to look for when I went to look at it today!
The Body is only the beginning.....Mechanical issues are huge also wiring. these are super hard to restore. and will cost you a fortune in upgrades. ORIGINAL is BAD....for a lot of things. They require upgrades.
i can't agree with you. engines and transmissions are a dime a dozen. the things i think are important are the wearables no longer available like interior, and paint that's only original once. rust is the biggest hidden expense to repair hence my overall opinion in this video.
it’s hit or miss lately. a lot of stuff is no longer available and half the places i talk about in my parts video are no longer around or worth going to. rabbitparts.com and techtonics are my go to before resorting to rockauto and/or facebook for used 2nd hand parts.
Craig Monteforte welcome and thanks for watching! the one in the door i bought off someone on facebook, the big volkswagen one off the ceiling was gifted to me by a friend. you should be able to buy them off ebay and amazon though.
awesome glad to hear because that’s exactly what this mini series is going to be about; not everyone is as fortunate to have one or more people to come lend a hand and set of eyes on these turds. i think we all remember the overwhelming feelings when first buying one, not to mention the empty stomach feeling when finding negative things after you already got the car paid for and home. got a bunch of messages about the headlight and valve adjustment videos, was surprised to see people speaking so quickly saying it helped them.
@Aiden Schultz we had few versions in Europe seatbelts that when they are stationary they are hanged on that hook, when you are tied you are tied, there is no mechanism like common 3 point seatbelts
Angelo Mikulandra i don’t know, but as mentioned above it makes sense it’s a hook for the seatbelt as i was always having to reach down for the buckle! wish i knew sooner haha.
He can't even tell you the proper name of the parts that he wants you to stay away from. Plus tell people that do have money and can restore any car in the world. If you want to put time and effort in to it .because he does not have the means to fix vehicles.
everyone has different resources, these used to be 500$ cars. not everyone has all the time and money in the world to fully restore a car they shouldn’t have bought in the first place. half the rabbits for sale are dangerously rotted and half the kids trying to buy them don’t know any better. thanks for your oh so valuable input anyways.
hey, i've been feelin really guilty about this lately.... i know this is probly the last time we talk but i need to get this off my chest... anyways last week me and your boyfriend were alone... it was just casual at first.. i swear. well anyways some how one thing led to the nxt, and i am so so so so sorry but i slept wiht him... if u can ever forgive me pls pls pls let me no... god i feel so awful
john a. sorry you feel that way, but this an informational video not a showcase one. if you’d like to see a video solely about this car in particular, i’d suggest this one th-cam.com/video/Hd_VNS0EqIY/w-d-xo.html which is a full walk around followed by a long drive.
good luck finding an intact and complete swallowtail or early rabbit interior for sale, including the headliner. late westy’s this doesn’t apply to as heavily.
Beginners guide tip #1, if you like money don't buy a MK1 VW lol.
😂😂😂
@@mk1rabbithole Dude Like Your Your TH-cam 📹
Nonsense!!!,I LOVE VW's
Ahh foooooook off😂😂
In the process of building a mk1 81 pick up. Got fenders for 50 bucks. Floor pans and firewall to front grill for 150 dollars from a shell. Grafted that onto the pick up that was bought for 1000 bucks. With coil overs and consumables the build is still under 2k. If your patient and take your time looking for deals it can be done fairly cheap.
This info is exactly what I needed, thank you so much. Planing on buying a 1.6 diesel and restoring it. I live in Serbia, and you can find old rabbits that "run" from $400. So I thought, why not, would be great to have a lovely classic car, fully restored.
This video sure saved me some grief :)
cinilaknedalm thanks for watching! glad these videos can help even if it’s just a few people! they’re definitely worth putting money into as long as there isn’t any bad rust. good luck with your search and keep me posted with how that goes.
two top tips I'd add, check the b pillar by the lower corner of the rear window on the 2 door cars for cracks in the door jamb. Huge stress area on the car from flex, and I've seen a few with a small crack in the metal there, and always add a lower stress bar between the control arms. Keep them from flexing there, I've seen a few cars with torn metal in the floor from getting driven hard and flexing down low.
Where can I buy that lower stress bar?
@@PedrosGarage I know eurosport still sells the lower stress bar, but the one to have is the four point "k" bar. Those you have to find used from a scirocco 16v car.
@@ThrottleGrotto thank you!
My father bought a diesel rabbit new in 79. I bought it from him in 1987 ,and I drove it for about 5K more miles. I liked that it had lots of room,enough power for me to stay up with traffic. And 50 mpg was nice. I then stored it in the mid 90's. Im now 70 yo and down sizing. Just got rid of most everything,even downsized my home, but kept 4 of the cars Ive had since they were new. three have less than 70 k.The rabbit has 25 k on it and I ve got it in the shop having a mechanic start it up for me and get it servicable to drive since its been stored 24 yrs. Interior needs replaced though .Anyone know the names of a couple places to get all or most interior pieces,? No rust on it,but Ill check it as you pointed out the areas to check. Never been in snow and Im down here in the socal desert the las 25 yrs. I havent seen any rust at this point. Good video . Ill check all the stuff you mentioned. Oh by the way,my hood had a pair of rabbit ears on the hood that was attached with a sprung chain of some type. That preventee=d it from getting broken if someone or thing struck it. Looks like someone finally did steal it though. I havent seen many rabbits and none with that hood ornament. Anyone know about these?
How cool you have lower mileage survivor. I had a 80 rabbit diesel 50 miles to the gallon was amazing.
Put in a Tdi and get 70mpg ;p
I had a '79 Rabbit, and it had zero rust under the hood or in the fenderwells, but the entire underside rotted away. I literally had the front subframe rails fall off from rust
Great Video!! I'm looking forward to the upcoming videos on tools and engine swaps. I'm currently documenting my resurrection of a 1980 Rabbit Convertible on my channel. I had to replace the rockers and patch up the floors. I haven't started on the mechanics yet but I'm new o Rabbits and the more info the better 😁
thanks for the support and feedback! yeah i definitely wish i had some sort of list of tools that are must haves so i could’ve bought them when i had cash to spare rather than forced to buy them when i was broke but needed a working car. figured if it helps at least one person then it’ll be worth the effort of documenting. i don’t plan on going too technical with the engine swap stuff but i’m trying to more or less replace what we used to have on vwvortex; gather and maintain a list of the different companies offering swap parts and services. at the end of the day if you have the money to spare, you can pay your way to a rather easy and straight forward swap.
The car has '79 front grill, "L" dash and 1981 interior.
Two vital areas to check. 1. The fuse box. None left the factory with enough winshield sealant and they leaked especially behind the fuse box.
2. The head or head gasket, especially diesels.
this car has early 78-80 rabbit interior.
Wow brother flashback when you opened the hood i’ve owned a75 Rabbit (Carbueratored ) a 81 Rabbit and in the early 80s drove a 79 Deisel Rabbit for a company i worked for delivering and picking up for a Printing Shop who bought that car for deliveries that was awesome on fuel but i had to turn off the AirConditioning for enough power to get on the highway or pass anyone in Florida too where AC is a necessity and my best freind had several Rabbits and Scirrocos due to having a Uncle who worked at VW /Porsche as a mechanic for years so he had first dibs on Trade ins that came into the Dealerships
Craig Monteforte wow that’s awesome, thanks for sharing the stories. always great to hear from those who had the chance to drive these when they were new. must’ve been a lot less stressful on the road back then with these because everyone had similarly “fast” cars. you almost have to swap the engine on them nowadays if you wanna merge safely since everyone and their mom has 250-400hp cars.
checking out a MK1 GTD this weekend. This is exactly the video I needed.
oh wow awesome, glad to hear it helped. sorry for the delayed response, but how did it go?
Step #1: ship it from the west coast.
don't steal our beauties!
Yeah get your own on the east coast
You can’t have my 84 4 door… it’s mine and it stays here in cali
Neighbor had a 1983 2 door rabbit in his yard, gave him a call and he just let me have it for free (I saw no reason to charge me since he’s old). I’m not mechanic but I believe this is a good start (and my dad is one so I’ll b fine) The speedometer says 50k miles but still waiting on the title. Thank you for this video will be checking on the car!
sorry for the delay in responding, but that’s such an awesome thing to hear! do you have any updates about it??
@@mk1rabbithole Yeah, the car runs in drives but it doesn’t have brakes, come to find out that the previous owner cut the brake hoses in half for some reason. I’m now having trouble getting the brake hose separated from the brake lines. I’ve tried doing the whole torch thing and no dice, I’m just tearing the nut. The car also doesn’t go in reverse :) . So gonna take this car to a guy fixes old cars for the brakes. But I’ll work on the shifter myself.
Gotta get my floor pans welded in!!! Just been so busy
That was my first love haven't seen one let alone GTI rims as well they crush them in the junkyard that's a gem
William Fullman always a damn shame! i was getting ready to switch to steelies and wire hubcaps on her but she just sold last week.
Awesome channel. Grew up in MK1's. Though, it was a maintenance monster. 1979 with fuel injection and automatic transmission...built in Pennsylvania. Wonder if we'd gotten a German made one if it would have been more reliable?
gbriank1 thanks for the support man! pa built but 79? one of the first! my favorite style honestly. who knows, luck of the draw with reliability it seems with these cars sometimes. the german built ones are definitely less complicated so might’ve helped.
@@mk1rabbithole Yeah, 1979 MY bought in Dec 1978. Had minor rust. If it had been more reliable, I probably would have gotten it as my car. Dumb question, have you replaced the door gaskets on your Rabbit? I don't here tell tale door vibration in your video.
Just back here again on this video because it's the one that made me pull the trigger on my first rabbit last summer.
hell yeah! how is it doing? sorry for the super delayed response.
#1 tip: Don't buy a car in the salt belt.
I didn't see this till I bought mine and all I can say is I think I got pretty lucky. 1980 2dr 4spd diesel.
awesome! what color?
@@mk1rabbithole same as yours
I finally bought my diesel rabbit pickup thanks to this entire guide. Very recommended!
wow really?? that’s awesome and really cool to hear man. congrats!
Had a 80 Diesel Rabbit and a 84 GTI. The strut Tower rusted completely through. Shame I missmygo kart cars.
Hey man I just brought home a very nice 84 diesel. I think that’s the 1.6 4 speed if I’m not mistaken. It’s knocking like crazy so I’m gonna rebuild it. Where would be a good spot to get a rebuild kit? Thanks for the videos. Thanks to you I knew what to look for when I went to look at it today!
very good video
thanks luke!
The Body is only the beginning.....Mechanical issues are huge also wiring. these are super hard to restore. and will cost you a fortune in upgrades. ORIGINAL is BAD....for a lot of things. They require upgrades.
i can't agree with you. engines and transmissions are a dime a dozen. the things i think are important are the wearables no longer available like interior, and paint that's only original once. rust is the biggest hidden expense to repair hence my overall opinion in this video.
I have 22 Rabbits and 21 Rabbit Trucks. I'm in NC if you need parts.
hhhmmm wonder if anyones swapped in the 2.0ltr common rail tdi's with 6 speed trans? anyone know?
Hey Man, i want to delete the ac & heat out of my 82 rabbit diesel. Would the bently help me do that ?
Very cool video I have a question or parts for these cars easy to find and are they fairly priced?
it’s hit or miss lately. a lot of stuff is no longer available and half the places i talk about in my parts video are no longer around or worth going to. rabbitparts.com and techtonics are my go to before resorting to rockauto and/or facebook for used 2nd hand parts.
Brand new to your channel where did you find your VW banner hanging inthe garage ?thats really cool !
Craig Monteforte welcome and thanks for watching! the one in the door i bought off someone on facebook, the big volkswagen one off the ceiling was gifted to me by a friend. you should be able to buy them off ebay and amazon though.
I liked it! Definitely would have helped me if I didn't already have a friend to help me out.
awesome glad to hear because that’s exactly what this mini series is going to be about; not everyone is as fortunate to have one or more people to come lend a hand and set of eyes on these turds. i think we all remember the overwhelming feelings when first buying one, not to mention the empty stomach feeling when finding negative things after you already got the car paid for and home. got a bunch of messages about the headlight and valve adjustment videos, was surprised to see people speaking so quickly saying it helped them.
You can't reapolster the seats ?
of course you can, but if you’re a stickler for matching patterns and color ways, it’s easier to just find a survivor with good interior.
My recommendation is make sure it’s not a diesel.
at 9:04 do you know what is that above your seatebelts? i mean do you know what is it for?
@Aiden Schultz we had few versions in Europe seatbelts that when they are stationary they are hanged on that hook, when you are tied you are tied, there is no mechanism like common 3 point seatbelts
Angelo Mikulandra i don’t know, but as mentioned above it makes sense it’s a hook for the seatbelt as i was always having to reach down for the buckle! wish i knew sooner haha.
thank you.
He can't even tell you the proper name of the parts that he wants you to stay away from. Plus tell people that do have money and can restore any car in the world. If you want to put time and effort in to it .because he does not have the means to fix vehicles.
everyone has different resources, these used to be 500$ cars. not everyone has all the time and money in the world to fully restore a car they shouldn’t have bought in the first place. half the rabbits for sale are dangerously rotted and half the kids trying to buy them don’t know any better. thanks for your oh so valuable input anyways.
hey, i've been feelin really guilty about this lately.... i know this is probly the last time we talk but i need to get this off my chest... anyways last week me and your boyfriend were alone... it was just casual at first.. i swear. well anyways some how one thing led to the nxt, and i am so so so so sorry but i slept wiht him... if u can ever forgive me pls pls pls let me no... god i feel so awful
It’s ok. Get tested. Drip drip
Too much camera time focussed on the host and not the car. Fail!
john a. sorry you feel that way, but this an informational video not a showcase one. if you’d like to see a video solely about this car in particular, i’d suggest this one th-cam.com/video/Hd_VNS0EqIY/w-d-xo.html which is a full walk around followed by a long drive.
I agree with you about the rust. The interior? Not at all.
good luck finding an intact and complete swallowtail or early rabbit interior for sale, including the headliner. late westy’s this doesn’t apply to as heavily.