'76 VW Rabbit

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

Hey everybody, 

I started building this vintage VW Rabbit by AMT. It's going to be unrestored with rusty paint but lowered on nice Zender wheels. Here's what the 1.6 litre 4 cylinder engine looks like so far. I took a pic next to a Ford Cobra 5.8 litre V8 so you guys can see how little the VW engine is

[iamsuperdan]

Watching this one! Engine looks good so far.

 

I have the Revell reissue on the bench. Doing a 16V swap and adding some wheels from Clearly Scale. Then at some point I have the Cabrio and an old ESCI GTI to do as well.

Yes, I like water cooled VW!

 

[Can-Con]

One of my favourite kits. I've built a couple and have a couple more unbuilt. 

Watch out for that engine bay, there's no mounting points for anything. Quite tricky to get together right. 

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

Thanks guys

Those models are very impressive

[iamsuperdan]

Agreed. That green one is especially sharp!

 

[Chuck Most]

I'll be keeping an eye on this one- this is a kit I'd love to see AMT reissue sometime soon! 

One of my favourite kits. I've built a couple and have a couple more unbuilt. 

The yellow one of yours is my all-time favorite finished example of this kit. After seeing that one I set aside a set of those wheels for a Scirocco I may get around to building some day.  

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

Agreed, a re-release of that kit would be awesome. And how cool would be a decal sheet with a couple of these typical 70s stripes!

[vwdave92]

great car!!!

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

Calling the engine done

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

Stance I'm going for

Edited September 2, 2017 by Mr. Horsepower 78

[Foxer]

Love Rabbits ... my wife had a '77 and now I have a '16 GTI 

This is looking good

[TarheelRick]

Also love the Rabbit.  Owned a 69 in the late 80's, it was a blast to drive.  I bought it used and it had a problem of shutting off at some of the most inopportune times, like going down the main drag on the way to work.  I took it into a couple of VW specialty shops and they could not find a problem, it never shut off with them.  The last one called and said to come get it.  When I got there the car was not there, the mechanic told me they had sent a wrecker out to get it.  The shop owner had taken it out for one last test drive and it died on him.  They finally discovered a phenolic disc in the steering column had a crack in it, the ignition wires were attached to that disc, occasionally the crack would open and of course that would shut off the engine.  Problem solved, loved that car.

The Revell Street Wheels (?) version is still available, I picked one up at Michael's a couple months ago.  

Can-Con do you have any other pictures of that turbo set-up in the yellow one?

Mr Horsepower 78 I like what you are doing to this one.  Keep those updates coming.

[Andrew D the Jolly Roger]

Oh, wow, neat one! I remember the short craze of those things...along with "Le Car"....

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

The hood painted and weathered

Edited September 2, 2017 by Mr. Horsepower 78

[espo]

That hood is nasty dirty looking, looks just right.

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

Thanks

The rest of the body is going to be less rusted. Basically rusty but the original paint will still be visible.

[Foxer]

Immaculate hood, so to speak!

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

Thanks 

Here's the body painted and weathered. 

I'm not sure if I like it, I think I might went a little to crazy with my weathering.

What do you guys think?

[iamsuperdan]

I think the patina looks about perfect! In fact, I'd redo the hood and hatch to match the rest of the body.

 

Still, I like it.

 

[Andrew D the Jolly Roger]

Dang....I think you absolutely nailed it!!

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

I tried some more techniques and ended up stripping the paint after messing it all up.

Here she is in new paint, I'm happy now:)

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

Seats ready for primer 

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

Done with the seats

[Slotto]

Looks great. Nice color and Love the seats

[Mr. Horsepower 78]

Added BMF and clearcoat.

I'm not going to polish it out because I want the paint to look a bit faded and aged