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Build thread, Thumper: the 77 rabbit bred to live again.
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House-of-Rabbit
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Joined: October 27, 2015
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Location: TN
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 9:36 pm    Post subject: Build thread, Thumper: the 77 rabbit bred to live again. Reply with quote

Alrighty ladies and gents. You've stumbled into my humble abode, so please, take a seat and enjoy the show! I'm John, aka: House-of-Rabbit on here, and new to the samba. This is the story/picture show/build thread for my 77 two door hardtop rabbit, that I've named Thumper. It began with an 81 VW rabbit convertible...totally different car right? More on that some other time. Anyway While in a conversation about my 81 vert., it was brought to my attention of a 77 hard top diesel for sale to the right person. With my interests peaked I went and looked (who wouldn't?) Unfortunately I didn't take pics of him in the barn, but Thumper was in a rundown half barn half lean-to, rotting away...I had to have it....so I managed to acquire it for pretty cheap. NOW, the real story...I bought the car from the original owner..whom bought it new (obviously)...and also who claims it was the second ever VW diesel to be sold in the state of TN....yes, claimed to be the second VW diesel sold in the state of TN....interested yet? So I am located in TN,(go figure) and when I was told this story I thought it made it even better/cooler, as if I didn't love the car enough already. SO, I drug this gem home, with the help of some family members. And this is the day after I brought it home,
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Pretty beautiful right? Anyways I proceeded to give this little guy his first washing in over 30 years....and the result was,
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..SO, you may have caught that tid bit at the end about the 30 years...yes...this guy sat...in the same spot....since the early 1980s...i believe around 82/83.....yes....the car was only around 5 years old when parked until I drug it home.... Why? you might ask...well...because this,
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The motor jumped time and snapped the cam in 5 places....I still have the chunks laying around here somewhere as a reminder....but yea, fried the cam and bent a few valves...he purchased a new VW reman head to replace it but never got around to it...left it sitting with no head and no cover...pretty much destroying the original engine, so at some point he bought an early 80s 1.6 diesel engine "with around 40k miles" on it, and it as well as the reman head came with the car. So, after 30+ years of neglect, I intervened. Pics of the "new" engine, complete with injection pump an all...
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Looks pretty clean eh? you should see it in person, when I pulled the valve cover my jaw dropped, its' beautiful. On to other things, so the car actually has not alot of rust. Mainly around the rockers of the doors, and the passenger door bottom edge is slightly rough, and the worst is the drivers rear fender flare at the bottom from where the rear of the car sat outside for 30 years...but no fear, I had plans for that before I even bought the car! SO, pics of the lower portions of the doors.
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and after a quick scuff down to metal and primer to prevent more rusting issues.
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You can see my 81 vert in the background, She needs some more fuel system diagnostics. Now, the interior is as expected...rough rough rough....the dash is toast the cloth is all toast the carpet is toast, the headliner is buttered toast...but no fear...nothing that can't be fixed in good time. And cue the control guy to insert photos of the interior here >
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These are the goodies I found in the back hatch Very Happy , 6 chunks of camshaft, 2 new front strut inserts, an intake and exhaust mani for the 1.5 and misc bolts. Now after a decent clean out, I changed the rims for my verts' which had tires...oh yea...I had to sledge hammer the rims off of the hubs in the front because they had rusted onto them Mad but oh well, forward. I rolled him into my shop, where the "fun" begins muahahahahaha...
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Also, before I forget, If any reader has a nice, nice early dash for my rabbit, any leads would be sweet, otherwise I'm gonna have to custom fab one, which I have no problem doing, just alot more time and of course, headaches. So once I had him in the shop, I removed his crusty rusty distrusty 1.5 diesel engine and 4 speed tranny as one,
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Also take note of the slightly rust rain tray, thankfully the rust didn't penetrate the firewall, and yes, I'm cutting the rain tray out, because rust isn't fun, rust sucks. Anyways, I began somewhat cleaning up the engine compartment and applied a thin coat of POR15 in some places just to see what it would look like, not too shabby if I don't say so myself,
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Now keep in mind this has all taken place over a few weeks of time, and not in the 10 minutes you've been reading. But yes, this seems like a good ending place for this post at least, lots more to come folks. Lots of parts sitting waiting to be installed and lots and lots of work to be done. There was also some rust around the front windshield but that will be welded up and taken care of. Currently my plans are basically a full resto...and boosting the 1.6 to an eco-diesel status until a built 1.6 or 1.9 or tdi becomes an option. So, please feel free to criticize my handy work or voice your opinion, just no trash talk please. I'm open to suggestions and advice, and both are appreciated. With allllll of this being said, I like TheSamba and hope to stay, and stay tuned guys an gals, theirs more where this came from!
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Square73
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 7:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just picked up an 82 Wabbit myself (4 door). I'm going to watch your thread to see what fun you're having.

I had the brakes reworked by a local shop, mainly to save time. Started replacing the struts on the 4 corners, everything is rust-welded together, so slow going. Not doing a total rebuild, going over the surface rust with clear Por-15, getting everything mechanical up to snuff.

Keep posting pics. Looks like fun.

Cheers
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RDIRTY2
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 7:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i love these builds... subscribed to see how this progresses
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House-of-Rabbit
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 9:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Much appreciated! Working on them (water cooled and air cooled) is pretty fun indeed. I'm also a Jeep guy so there's always a wrench being turned somewhere! While this build isn't going as fast as I wanted, I knew when I purchased the car that it would be done in good time and done the way I wanted. That being said, with winter coming I'll have more time to work on it Very Happy OK. So, for the record as stated above, I'm a Jeep/VW/anything cool and/or old vehicle kinda guy. A quick background on the pace of this build: while I would really love to just work on my stuff everyday (2 VW's, 2 Jeeps), I unfortunately cannot. I'm currently a full time student so I mainly wrench on the fun stuff on the weekends when I'm home, for now at least. With winter coming I hope to work more often on Thumper and finish cleaning him up and getting the bodywork started, Although there are no dents just rust to fix Cool So with the car came a new, re-manufactured VW head for the 1.5 diesel engine. Unfortunately it, along with the rest of the car and parts, was left outside in a run-down shed. So it had some good rust on the cam and the center of the valves and studs etc etc. It was good but needed to be rebuilt...even though it was new...so I sold it, seeing as I'm putting in a 1.6 and I can't rebuild the 1.5, why not. So, pictures or it didn't happen right? Wink
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I believe I got a fair price for it on E-bay, and hopefully it is of better use to somebody out there than it really was to me..except help a tiny cash flow for new parts haha. Also, while I don't have a ton of pics of it, I also sold the 1.5 injection pump for the same reasons as the head, no 1.5 to put it on, and I'm not gonna build a 1.5, so I sent it on its' way for a really fair price...also via E-bay. Picture here.
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I think it was referred to as a yellow marked pump or something along those lines? Somebody feel free to correct me. But it had the yellow paint pen marks on it from the VW factory. Now, as stated earlier I (and possibly you) don't have enough time to spend working on my stuff as I'd like, and as a result I have a fair amount of parts sitting, just waiting for attention. While I don't have near everything I'm going to need, I have enough to keep me busy for a bit. My plans are to boost the 1.6, nothing crazy by any means, around the 10-12 psi peak boost range is the goal, and I don't plan to race it, just want a higher smile factor. So, in a perfect world the internet says " go find a 1.6TD and swap it in instead" or go find a tdi....that's the eventual plan for the far future, a tdi or better built engine, but for now I have a 1.6, and that's what I shall use. Besides, 1.6 TD's are pretty scarce for the pickens here in West Tenn. So far I have a set of ARP head studs, Fel-Pro head gasket (I know, not German but I've never had issues with Fel-Pro's stuff) , 36mm oil pump to help with the turbo, all new gaskets, new timing belt tensioner pulley, some POR15 engine paint (we'll see how it holds up) , new glow plugs and 7 second relay instead of the 2 minute one, vacuum pump rebuild kit, 190mm clutch kit, of course I'll put on/in a new oil filter and fresh oil, new engine mounts, new block heater, new front control arm bushings, and new steering boots. While this isn't everything that I'm going to need, it, combined with the sanding and rust repair will keep me busy for a little bit at the least. Pictures or it didn't happen right? Very Happy
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Excuse the background mess in the last two pics. I plan on running a tdi intake and exhaust manifold...the exhaust depending on the turbo I can find/want to run. If anybody has suggestions for a turbo size/model feel free to chime in, I was considering a Ko3 or along that line...nothing huge as I'm not truck pulling with the car, just enjoying the drive even more. All stock the original owner said he would pull 45-50 mpg all day at 55 cruising, I would like at least that or close to that...if not more ...but beggers can't be choosers right? Anyways I'll try to get some bodywork pics up here by the end of the week or so, time pending. In the meantime feel free to chime in any suggestions or opinions on the build thus far, constructional criticism is cool in my book. Very Happy
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60's Burnout
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 9:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That might be a California White Rabbit. In '77 VW was advertising white rabbits in California. The lack of rust would indicate it spent a lot of time out of the rust belt. I had a '75 Rabbit, and VW didn't sell a white one until 77.
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House-of-Rabbit
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

60's Burnout, A California White Rabbit? Is that similar to the triple white option in the convertibles? I would say its' a possibility however the original owner purchased it locally, in the Jackson or Memphis TN area. I think he lived in North Dakota for awhile with it but not completely sure on that. He said it was Dakota Beige in color but it could be called tan I suppose. There is rust, however most rabbits I've seen around me are badly rusted out, mainly floor pans and rocker panels. My rocker panels are 95% solid, with only a little on the passenger side and even that is not super serious yet. I think its' in the condition its' in because it was 3/4 the way parked under a ran down barn. The roof of the barn didn't leak too bad so my guess would be just because it was mainly somewhat covered for all the years it sat. I'll research on the California White Rabbits though, very interesting info!
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House-of-Rabbit
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 4:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread, Thumper: the 77 rabbit bred to live again. Reply with quote

Haven't updated in a bit, so I'll spread on the progress. I scored some sweet wheels off of an Omni in a pull a part, pretty sure they'll fit and their in great condition so i'm pretty stoked on that. What do they look like? Oh, well, like this
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I know their not snowflakes but I like them and that's what counts right? For some reason my phone was screwy and that is the only pic for the moment, however that's not all that's been done. I've cut most of the rain tray out due to rust, and man it makes the engine bay look bigger. I found a little bit of rust through around where the blower motor/fan mount but i'll weld that up eventually. I also cleaned up some more around the engine bay with a flap wheel, removing some surface rust from areas to be painted. Another biggie in my eyes, is I scored two turbos for the engine. Long story short they both need to be rebuilt if possible, one spins freely the other doesn't, however I think they both will be rebuildable. They are Garrett GT2052 turbos, and they came off of diesel generators I was told, I lucked out and managed to do some trading with a family member for them. Before that, I was thinking of salvaging one off of a volvo, however I like these way more. So with the turbo's somewhat marked off the list I'm slowly acquiring everything I will need Very Happy . Shortly I should have the good diesel engine on the stand and I can start messing with it, as well as get most of the engine bay cleaned and painted. I'll try to update the thread sooner than I did this time as things should roll a little faster now that it's December. When I get my phone working right I'll post up the pics of the turbos and of the mostly cut rain tray and cleaned areas.
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House-of-Rabbit
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread, Thumper: the 77 rabbit bred to live again. Reply with quote

So, this thread hasn't been updated in a few months due to being busy with life and other projects, however I have a few small tid bits to share. First, I finally got the good diesel engine on the stand, picture to prove right here:
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Once on the stand I started to disassemble the engine, working on taking the injection pump, vacuum pump, head, and water pump off so I can clean and paint the engine block. I found some rank diesel in the injectors still, however the injectors seemed clean, I guess we'll see how they turn out. I did find a chunk of soot (?) wedged in the #4 exhaust valve so I cleaned that out and started cleaning the head.
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So at this point the engine sides are pretty much degreased and primed for paint, Which I will try to do shortly. I will also probably paint the front face of the block as well while I'm at it. Once the block is painted and the head is cleaned, I will flip the engine upside down and remove the oil pan and clean/paint it separate from the block. I will also install the new oil pump, and drill an install an oil return line into the pan. Then button it up with a new oil pan gasket. So this is a short update but better than a poke in the eye right? As soon as I get it painted or make any other progress I'll update it here, with pictures of course. Wink In the meantime I will be hunting up a rebuild kit for a turbo.
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noneed
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 8:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread, Thumper: the 77 rabbit bred to live again. Reply with quote

I had several diesel rabbits over the years. Cool
Mostly back in the early 90s when they could be had for $500 because they needed a head gasket or something else easily repaired.
They were great cars, and this thread brings back memories Very Happy

Three of mine were German dash rabbits ( two 78's and an 80 ) but I don't remember any of mine having a speaker grill like that in the dash...
I could be wrong, but that looks different then what I remember.

Oh...and yes.
Dodge Omni / Plymouth Horizon wheels do fit as well as any aftermarket wheels on older 4 lug Honda Civics / CRX's you may find in your travels...although you may have to open up the center bores a little on those depending on the manufacturer. ( Most machine shops can do it, and fairly cheap )
Older BMW 4 lug rims will fit too ( 320, 318, 325, etc )
Even Mk II and Mk III Jetta / Golf 4 lug wheels will fit
They are all 4x100mm lug pattern.

Scirocco 4 wheel disc brakes would be a nice upgrade with that turbo...but you will need at least 14 inch rims to clear them.
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stewardc
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 3:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Build thread, Thumper: the 77 rabbit bred to live again. Reply with quote

Subscribed to this thread for sure. you're doing it right, right down to the wheels. I looked for a nice set of Omni wheels but had to satisfy myself with Mk 2 steelies. Keep up the great work.
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crsmp5
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 8:56 am    Post subject: Re: Build thread, Thumper: the 77 rabbit bred to live again. Reply with quote

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that head looks scrap to me.. looks like the exhaust valve seat is burnt from a oil runaway
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