1978 VW Rabbit

[idrivemyself]

I just bit the bullet and bought my MJLJ setup so this seemed like the next thing to do...

It's a 1978 VW Rabbit GL. Diesel chassis. I've had the chassis for roughly 7 months now and I still have a long way to go. I picked up the project from the previous owner who was building it for ICSCC Club Rabbit racing. http://www.tillier.net/fab/rabbit/intro.shtml I bought it as a rolling chassis only. Specifically for the 6-point cage in a '78 Diesel chassis and it is rust free! It'll make for a good club racer...

So far I have in it:

- 9A 2.0L bottom end
- 11:1 Izumi pistons
- JH 8v cylinder head w/ oversized swirl polished valves & porting
- DCOE 45 carbs
- TT 306* camshaft
- TT valve springs & retainers
- Autotech aluminum oil pan
- Volvo turbo oil cooler
- Custom header w/ 2.5" collector
- Custom 2.5" exhaust w/ a Edelbrock RPM series muffler & a SuperTrapp
- FK close-ratio transmission
- Eurospec flywheel
- Mk III starter
- Custom shortened axles
- Delrin rear trans mount
- Polyurethane engine / trans mounts
- Fully boxed A-arms with raised ball joints
- H&H front brace w/ BFB
- Custom front strut brace
- SRS Camber plates
- 10.1" front brakes
- Mk III rear disk brakes

What it still needs:

- MJLJ installation
- Suspension
- Front wheel bearings
- Ball joints
- Tie in the cage at the A & B pillars
- Glass
- Wiring
- Seats
- Dash & etc.
- Wheels & tires

Here it currently sits:

[Broke4speed]

Very cool! I'm running MJLJ in my 82 VW Rabbit 8v, dual Dell 40s, so I can definitely say you're going to enjoy it!

[idrivemyself]

I hope so! I've been following your thread on the Vortex which is where I found out about this. I'll thank you once it's up and running.

The reluctor wheel was aligned and mounted today... I'll have pictures up in a bit after the paint dries.

[brentp]

Thanks for sharing- and hello from Washington State! When you get your racer on the track let us know, we can talk about sponsorship.

In the meantime, keep us posted on your progress!

[idrivemyself]

No kidding, I'm glad to be supporting a local business!

So the paint dried and here it is:




Nothing fancy but it'll work. I ended up using that aluminum reluctor wheel I had. I bought some 100mm M8x1.25 bolts, tack welded them into the back of the crank pulley, lopped the bolt heads off, put on the accessory pulley, mounted the reluctor wheel and cut the remaining studs down to size. IMO it fits pretty well and with some Essna nuts the wheel shouldn't be going anywhere. The red dot is for the sensor alignment. Tomorrow I'll make the sensor bracket and figure out where I want to mount the coil.

I also picked up a seat from a buddy of mine. It's a MOMO Mirage VTR that has been sitting for a few years. Unfortunately the FIA dating has passed but should work for now. It cleaned up really well and is very light weight!

[idrivemyself]

I didn't get the sensor bracket and coil mounted today but I was able to strip down and re-paint the front strut brace. It was something quick and easy before I went to watch my neighbors burn their money.



The paint looks like crap in person but it's a race car so who cares! On to tomorrow....

[idrivemyself]

I just received my MJLJ package today... Woohoo! Thanks again Brent.

It should be together Friday afternoon and definitely running by this time next week.

As far as other updates go... I wasn't 100% happy with a few things and sent the head off to the machine shop last Tuesday to be cleaned up. Picked it up yesterday and started doing a little more porting. Just a few small things here and there, nothing major. I now need to lap in the valves and reassemble the valve train to be finished... For now.

[idrivemyself]

I got a few things taken care of this past weekend... Assembled my MJLJ kit, fabbed up a VR sensor mount and made a temporary dash. No joke about the kit assembly being "not for beginners".

Here's the dash:





I made it out of some scrap 3/16" square bar I had and a sheet of 0.093" Lexan from the Ho Depot. It weighs all of 2 lbs w/o gauges and is surprisingly sturdy. It'll get redone down the road but for $7 and two hours time it works.

[brentp]

I kind of like that clear look! Did you get your MJLJ to communicate with the PC on the test bench?

[idrivemyself]

Thanks. I'm thinking about blacking out the front panel if glare coming in from the windscreen is too harsh.

No, I just assembled as much of the kit as I could and left it at that point for now. The other system tests went well though.

[idrivemyself]

It's been a while since this has been done....

Not much has happened since the last post. I've been busy etc. etc... I did press in new valve guides this past Monday. Spent the extra few dollars for the tapered guides too. After pressing in all 8 I found out that the head had squeezed the guides down just tight enough to where the valves didn't fit. So either there went 8 new guides and I try another set or I get to make another trip to the machinist's...

[TwoSheds]

It's been a while since this has been done....

Not much has happened since the last post. I've been busy etc. etc... I did press in new valve guides this past Monday. Spent the extra few dollars for the tapered guides too. After pressing in all 8 I found out that the head had squeezed the guides down just tight enough to where the valves didn't fit. So either there went 8 new guides and I try another set or I get to make another trip to the machinist's...

Can't you ream them?

Love the dash BTW - hope you can leave it clear,. It will look great if you can keep all of the wiring neat - it would look awful with my rat's nest of wires though!

[idrivemyself]

I'm going to try to figure something out on my own and leave the machinist as the last resort. If nothing else new guides are $1.50 each...

I did a bit of wiring tonight. Made a bracket for the fuse box and started to run some of the wires around the car. Tomorrow I'll start wiring and testing. Luckily the kit has each individual wire clearly labeled every 12" which makes it very easy. The best part is it was fairly inexpensive ($120) and the 12-circuit harness will suit my needs much better than the bulky old stock unit.

If you don't know what these are I highly recommend looking them up and getting a kit. Thread-Certs are my friend.





Thank God the kit I bought is long enough to wire a '72 T-Bird and boy do I need it! Lol

[mjFoDoorRabbit]

I really like that dash! Would you be able to send me dimensions so that I can have some sort of starting point for making my own dash? I hate to copy somebody but when I see something I like I don't mind asking about it.

[idrivemyself]

Thanks! I wouldn't worry about the dimensions as I didn't use any when i threw it together. I just grabbed a piece of steel, cut it to whatever rough length I thought would work and then tacked it in place.

I removed some of the dash clips that hold the factory dash onto the firewall, bent a piece of flat bar to a rough curvature of the firewall, and welded the clips to the bar. The rest of the dash was built off of that. Again, no measurements. Just rough it out to the dimensions you think are appropriate for your application and go from there. Try not to over think it.

I'll take a few pictures of it a bit closer up the next time I'm in the garage.

Btw, the engine is finally assembled (woohoo!). All that's left is running lines for my new fuel cell and finishing up the wiring / MJLJ install. I don't think this engine will stay for much longer than through the summer. I have an itch for something with 2 liters of displacement and 16 valves... It probably isn't what many of you are thinking.