My dad drove the Rabbit today in its first autocross. He placed second in class and was beat by a new civic. Here is a video I shot of the car (watch the inside rear).
My dad drove the Rabbit today in its first autocross. He placed second in class and was beat by a new civic. Here is a video I shot of the car (watch the inside rear).
typical VW cornering attitude. They are known for picking up the inside rear wheel
Look'd like a clean run. Did you do a pass?
I didn't get to do a pass but I want to next time.
My '83 would lift the inside rear, too. 
Yep. typical FWD cornering trait. The flipside is that rear/mid-engined cars will lift the inside front.
Nice looking car—I guess that makes me old, as I'm too am getting nostalgic for a Rabbit. Ahhh...... High School. I want to break out a NOS "Rabbit Injection" emblem I have.
Per Schroeder wrote: I guess that makes me old, as I'm too am getting nostalgic for a Rabbit.
Me too, I guess. I get nostalgic about A1 chassis VWs as well - particularly A1 Jettas for some reason.
ratghia wrote: My dad drove the Rabbit today in its first autocross. He placed second in class and was beat by a new civic. Here is a video I shot of the car (watch the inside rear). video
Love it. My first autocross at age 17 was with a Rabbit GTI. Many other autocrosses with that car followed.
What a hoot guys! It was my first autocross in anything front wheel drive and I loved it. I am still getting used to the change in feel, Im used to a lose car not a pushy one. I do love the way it will pull through a corner when I do get it right. I expected her to lift the tire, was kinda looking forward to it. :-) Per, I can see why you love these things. I guess We need to decide if we are going to put the coil overs on it and change classes ( we wouldnt be able to trophy at the end of the year) or stick it out in H stock and upgrade the car after. We have until the end of the month to figure it out.
sanyarcosean wrote: I guess We need to decide if we are going to put the coil overs on it and change classes ( we wouldnt be able to trophy at the end of the year) or stick it out in H stock and upgrade the car after. We have until the end of the month to figure it out.
You can do a lot with Rabbits. But honestly, my Rabbit was not as fast -- but probably more fun -- in near-stock form. My "high school" set-up included some Boge Turbo Gas shocks and struts, as much negative camber as I could get out of the front (and 1/16 in. or so toe out) and some Yokohoma A-509s.
Another thing to consider: these cars are getting so hard to find unmolested these days. That made it especially refreshing to watch the video of your car out on course.
Then again, they're great cars to mod if done wisely!
My dad and I have taken a break from our own projects and spent the past 2 weeks working on the Rabbit to get it ready for inspection. I have also been fixing little random things that were starting to bother me. I bought a 1977 parts car that was totaled in 1978 with only 22,000 original miles on it for $50. I pulled the badges to replace the broken ones on my car along with all the side trim mine was missing. I also got a dual down pipe exhaust set up for my car. The cam in the car is also slightly more aggressive then the eco-friendly GTI cam in my car so I pulled it to. I got the gauge lights on the GTI gauge panel in my car working and fixed the center consol in it. My dad helped me weld in a patch panel for the license plate light area that was rusted out on my car. Today I re-did the pinstripe on my grill with red paint instead of pinstripe tape and blacked out the vw emblem like it should be. The only thing I have left to do is buy a new set of coilovers for it (my other set got sold to get money to buy my 1952 Beetle). I haven’t driven a slammed car for almost a year and am starting to miss the occasional getting stuck on a speed bump so I plan on slamming the Rabbit for now and when I get tired of it raising it up to lowered. I also want to make a headliner and maybe even paint it sometime soon.
Looking good!
When I got into autocross I started (one event) with an automatic VW squareback. That one event hooked me and that week I went out and bought a used GTI that looked alot like yours. It was a great car.
I thought you might like this video of my GTI. They're pretty darn similiar in appearance. Mine's modestly prepped for ST class, using Azenis 615s like yours, but mine are 3+ years old and very hard 205/50/15s. Video is from a slippery, sandy lot. Ignore the weird commentary from the announcer. It was the last run of the heat...
http://picasaweb.google.com/OneEyeMedia/101809FWRSeasonEnder#5394869365323369154
That is a sweet video. What kind of wheels are your running they almost looked like they could be minilites. All this talk about autocrossing has gotten me excited about being able to run next season after I get my license next month.
Today I had nothing to do and was tiered of not having a headliner in the GTI. I had all the material and a tv box to use as a back board. I think it came out okay for it being my first time but there are a few things I would do differently if I did it again. This week I have a lot of parts coming for the GTI so hopefully I can gets pics of that stuff up when it all gets here.
In reply to ratghia:
Looks pretty good in the pic. I need to do the one in my A2..
In reply to ratghia:
Sorry, I forgot you were asking about my wheels. They're 15x7 Falken Hanabis that I got bundled w/tires from Edge Racing. The wheels are ugly, but light, cheap and fit well w/¼" spacers I already had. I also run studs and the proper conical seat lug nuts on them, and my 13x9 Reals, while saving the ball seat nuts for the snowflakes.
Your headliner looks better than mine, but I redid mine back when pleather was still called vinyl. 
Yesterday I got a chance to put in my new shift boot. My original was held together by glue and staples so it was time to replace it. I had this one done in dark blue with red piping to match the door panels.
Edit: mounting the clock is next on my list
Aaron, the interior looks amazing. You did such a great job! I am so very proud of you!!
Last weekend my dad and I went down to the VW farm to pull some more parts of my 1977 parts Rabbit. I pulled the manifold and downpipe with the dual outlet. I also pulled the head to store my cam in and the intake/throttle body so I have an intake to open up and fit an A2 8v throttle body on.
The clutch in my car was weak when I bought it and I then learned to drive a stick with it. It is still ok but it is adjusted all of the way and we aren’t sure how much longer it will last. I ordered a new clutch kit and a lightened flywheel. The clutch is a sport material and the pressure plate is for a 16v so it is a little heavier duty. I also order a 8.75lbs. Eurospec flywheel.
Please ignore how bad the welds are on the one exhaust piece. It had been awhile since I welded.
For Christmas I got some parts for the GTI. I got a USRT shift kit, and a short shift lever. The USRT kit replaces all of the rods with the plastic ends with thicker steel rods and heim joints. It also replaces some of the factory bushings with derlin ones. My grandfather also got me an oil cooler kit for the car.
Today I replaced the front 3" speakers with better ones. I also repaired all the hacked wiring done by the po. I then added a pair of 5x7 speakers in the rear. The system isn't insanely loud but it does have a much better sound quality. I also think replacing the wiring helped a lot.
you know what makes me happy? seeing a kid taking a logical approach to repairs and upgrades. i know your dad is proud to claim you as his. don't bum him out by showing him the DNA test results. 
AngryCorvair wrote: you know what makes me happy? seeing a kid taking a logical approach to repairs and upgrades. i know your dad is proud to claim you as his.
Agreed. You're on fire, kid. I'd love to see my son show me this kind of talent and determination someday.
Keep it up.
that's very old model car. buy a Ferrari
dupontregistry
Nice GTI! Please do not put round headlights on the car. Do you see all the guy's in this post talking about owning a GTI. At some point unmolested GTI's are going to be worth some coin to guy's that owned them in the past.
As for Mk1's, here's the last one to leave my garage. Truthfully, it is a buddies and he did most of the work.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2495/4197852877_32ae2599f5_b.jpg
My caddy with some old school performance parts:
http://homepages.gac.edu/~rheidcam/Carma/IMG_4308.jpg
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