1983 VW Rabbit GTI "Daily Driver"

With gas prices going up, I wanted something that was good on gas, yet fun the drive.  Technically, I have never owned a Rabbit GTI.  My white 1984 Rabbit L was the first daily driver turned hillclimb car followed by the green 1984 Rabbit that may or may not have been a GTI.  Enter a $500 Rabbit GTI that I purchased from someone locally since she had too many projects of her own.

Make sure to check out the engine build section for images of what was done under the hood. Thus far, I have installed a performance camshaft, 2" Techtonic Tuning exhaust, 10:1 compression, decked head and valve job, 1.5" lowering HOR Sport springs and Bilstein Sport shocks/stuts all around.  It handles nicely and has some torque, but it would never win a race.  Sooner or later I will address the interior. I am still trying to decide if I want a completely stock look (stock bumpers and rims) or go for the 'old school' performance modifications that would include Euro bumpers and a nice set of 15" rims with low profile tires. I'm unsure if a 15" with a low aspect ratio would looke good with only a 1.5" drop. On the other hand, I don't want to put money into lower the car any more. Flip a coin.

My long term goal really is to install a 1.8T 20-V engine, single round headlights, paint the car, and put on some nice rims and tires and call it a day.  I'm not looking for a show car, but a nice running car with 180 HP with new paint would be excellent.

2007: Well change of plans.... car has been sold to purchase a 1980 Rabbit (Bill Rutan's old Rabbit).  New owner tracked the car shortly after purchase, and unfortunely, he rolled it as he entered the front straight of Lime Rock.  Driver and instructor are fine, but the Rabbit is RIP.