Old GTL class Rabbit rehab

I had a Boxster that I could not sell. I saw this on Craig’s list and we made a trade.

I’m pretty excited, I’ve never owned a non road legal race car. I got it running right, bled the breaks and went auto crossing last weekend. Super fun car, not the best autocrosser, but I just wanted to drive it.

I haven’t done any wheel to wheel racing for a while so I’m pretty stoked. My plan is to get my license and DFL for a while. 

It seems like most of the issues are cosmetic. A new paint job is in the order, but I might wait until I’ve got a season of racing in before I paint it. 

Any tips on getting old stickers off? Got a few to come off but others are being a real pain. 

Old rabbits are sweet. This one looks familiar. Are you in Washington state?

Pick yourself up some pin stripe erasing wheels, they are kind of salty, but they do the job very well.

In reply to de80q :

This

MOAR race rabbit pics!  What year, what motor, and what suspension?

I want your trailer for my Gti! 

Try a heat gun for the stickers.

In reply to Badtz :

Yep, I’m in Seattle. The car has not been raced for awhile, but when it was the last person that drove it was Ron Johnson. It’s got “bunny on steroids” written on the back.

More pictures and some info. The car is a 84’.

It’s got bilstein shocks, but I don’t know what the sways are. The shock towers have been modified. It came with a few sway bars and some other springs. 

The engine is a 1.8 with Webber carbs. I’m not sure what the cam is. It’s pretty lumpy. There’s a sync sheet that shows it made 130 ish hp at the wheels.  

What oil do you all think would be best to run? How about gas? It runs on race gas. It came with a jerry can of gas but no info on what it was. 

In reply to FormulaReed :

In reply to FormulaReed :

Try to figure out what kind of knuckles the car is running?

The Mk I hubs and wheel bearings are not up to racing use for more then a couple of races at most.

Then you replace them with new ones.

Some racers will upgrade with Mk II parts if legal for the class.

GTL is pretty liberal on mods plus running slicks means that the PO had to have done something to keep the wheels on the car.

FYI I race a 1988 Scriocco 16V in IT.

   I would suggest RED LINE oil.   Depending on the compression, you will need 100 + octane fuel.    Check the GTL rules, you might have to set up a SIR, singe intake restricter.

      GTL is a class for being creative, not many actual rules.  Other than weight, should be able to use any brakes, any suspension and whatever you need for hubs.

         You can find the Rule book on the SCCA web site.   I think there is a GTL facebook page as well.

     Have you ever race a front drive ?   It's a little different....    DO all the braking in a straight line, as soon as you turn in, start feeding it gas.   Basically only stable while giving it gas, never, never lift in a turn, it will rotate rapidly.  You will have a advantage in the rain. 

The Rabbit has an IRDC sticker on the side, and this means it probably ran in Conference. There may be someone on the Conference forum at ICSCC.com who can help with details on the car.

Those Mk1 one hubs weren't even up to daily driving, I must have replaced them 3 times in my old rabbit pick-up. But I was running 'big' 205 wide tires.