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My...Uh..Not really a build thread.

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#1 · (Edited)
So about a year ago, I decided to liquidate all of my VW bits. After so many, and a lack of time because of work and family I figured it was time to be done tinkering.

This car sat on a local classifieds for about 6 months just taunting me, many a times I simply passed over it when friends suggested I buy it. The car was brought to Utah, tinkered on, and driven casually by the previous owner, but not much was changed.

After reading aeffertz's build thread a dozen times, reviewing every detail and going over it in my head I decided it had to be mine to "finish"

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5630936-Alex-s-Rabbit-Project-Take-Two

--

So here it is, almost exactly as it was left....

The Good



  • Almost exactly as Alex left it
  • Running and driving



The Bad



  • Paint issues (chips, dings, polishing burn, deep scratch on the hatch, etc.)
  • Oil Leak (Valve Cover)
  • Cool bits were sold (moroso, scientific rabbit manifold, etc)
  • Excessive Head Tick (likely lifters, or valve stems)
  • Dash is degrading (repairs falling apart)



Not much else to say, other than I plan on finalizing a few of the unfinished things. Improving things that I'm not a big fan of. And really just driving and enjoying it. The good news is that it's in amazing shape and doesn't "need" anything at all.


Current condition









 
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#11 · (Edited)
So I've been trying to decide what to do about the freeway cruising aspect of this car. Problem being that it's just not fun to drive this thing any distance on a highway/freeway.

Here in Utah the speed limit is 70mph with "normal" drivers casually cruising at 80. This is a great thing for most cars, not so great for keeping up :(

020-GC 3.45 1.94 1.29 0.97 / 3.89

With the 175/50/13s with a total diameter of 19.9 inches, I'm screaming along at 4464 RPM at 70MPH (no tach, but that's what the calculators say)

So I'm debating what to do about it, do I go a size up on the tire to help bring things down? (55 would look bubbly)

Do I try and find a higher final gear?, and keep the 4spd

Do I find a new 5spd FF/FN with a .71

In need to do a little more research, but from what I can find the FF/FN might be the right option for me.

I used the data from - http://www.scirocco.org/gears/
 
#12 ·
Thanks for this. I just solidified a choice to go with my FF trans collecting dust in the back of my shop. I wanted to put the 4sp back in the pickup for nostalgia reasons but didnt know how well it would do on the highway. Now I see that our normal 70mph around Spokane would be irritating to deal with. Because I had my 5sp given to me, what cars did the FF/FN come out of? I pluck random stuff from the yards around me and can keep an eye out for more :thumbup:
 
#18 · (Edited)
Small evening project for me today.

Got some hood lifts...

The paint on the car is pretty soft, soft enough that the small scratches have formed where the stock hood prop goes.

These were a semi cheap option and look good and add functionality, so i figured why not...





Ran into a small issue, the hood release has always been super soft and loose feeling. When I closed the hood after installation it was stuck closed. I opened it with a screwdriver, but I need to adjust the cable or move to an early latch setup.





I am pleased with the outcome, and it was a good little project to keep me busy while the important bits are en route on fedex trucks.
 
G
#118 · (Edited)
Small evening project for me today.

Got some hood lifts...

The paint on the car is pretty soft, soft enough that the small scratches have formed where the stock hood prop goes.

These were a semi cheap option and look good and add functionality, so i figured why not...



.
I know I'm going back to the first page here but where did you get those hood struts, they look great!
EDIT: was it just these ones? https://www.ebay.com/i/183442000351?chn=ps
 
#23 · (Edited)
New wheels arrived, got them mounted on some 195/45s. Too beefy for my tastes....





Initial test fit went well...

Tried all figment possibilities, but couldn’t find any way for the 195s to work. Gave in and decided o couldn’t run them.

165/45s ordered, and should be here soon.




Now to find some oddly sized caps (78.3mm)
 
#24 · (Edited)
Got another delivery today, and tore right into it.





Looks like they are both 12pin. Worst case I have to move some wires around.

All the diagrams I can find here on vortex are moving from 12 pin to 14 pin. So it looks like I’m on my own.

Anyone have a diagram or input?





And after getting it all swapped over.

 
#25 · (Edited)
And nvm looks like I found some help. Good thing I didn’t just plug it in...



*edit *edit

nvm again, my wiring doesn’t match the above. Now to spend some time tracing and following wires.

Current / Original (Clock & Speedo)
Pin 1 - Blue (red stripe)
Pin 2 - Blue (white stripe)
Pin 3 - Red
Pin 4 - Brown
Pin 5 - Gray (blue stripe)
Pin 6 - Black
Pin 7 - Purple (black stripe)
Pin 8 - Blue ( yellow stripe)
Pin 9 - Blue
Pin 10 - White (black stripe)
Pin 11 - Empty
Pin 12 - Blue (green stripe)

 
#26 ·
Figured out the wiring, re-wire of pin 3 and a swap on 2 and 5.

Tracing the lines on these old ribbons is a pain, but I figured it out.

Now to throw it back together :)

Modified (Tach & Speedo)
Pin 1 - Blue (red stripe): Turn signal light
Pin 2 - Gray (blue stripe): Inst. cluster light
Pin 3 - Red (rewired - terminal 1 coil): Tach
Pin 4 - Brown: Ground
Pin 5 - Blue (white stripe): High beam warn light
Pin 6 - Black: Positive 12V constant
Pin 7 - Purple (black stripe): Fuel gauge feed
Pin 8 - Blue (yellow stripe): Temp gauge feed
Pin 9 - Blue: Alt warning light
Pin 10 - White (black stripe): Oil pressure light
Pin 11 - Empty
Pin 12 - Blue (green stripe): EGR control
 
#27 · (Edited)
Got everything all worked in and tested, everything works, minus the speedometer.

Has a scary moment where the contacts on the cluster side folded over and nearly broke. Folded them back and used a strip of electrical tape over the first few mm to hold them in place. Kinda a hack job but options are quite limited.

Now to troubleshoot the speedo, it never worked with the old cluster. And the seller showed me that this cluster works, so I must have a cable issue.

 
#28 ·
The 195s are gone and I got the 165s mounted... much better :)

Just need to dial the height in and get it sitting right.





Center caps are NLA. So some buddies are testing some 3D printing with ABS.





Just need to find some stickers/logos or a larger bbs cap to inlay in the design.

And bye bye classics, I doubt the car will ever sit on them again. Anyone need some wheels?

 
#39 ·
I did,

The cable is good, and the cluster is good. But one of the previous owners had stripped the threading for the bolt on the trans side, so the cable isn’t held in with pressure, it’s just sitting in there.

I need to either replace the transmission (I’ve been debating a 5spd swap anyway) or I need to drill and tap the hole to a larger diameter.

Simple stuff that I just didn’t pay attention too.
 
#40 ·
Oh and....

On the issues side of the house, the car didn’t make it home without issue from the shoot.

Something isn’t right with the cluster wiring, half way up the canyon the fuel and temp gauges stopped working. And then when I’m the middle of nowhere the car almost didn’t have enough juice to start.

Somehow, as it was still daylight the car made it down 30ish miles of canyon driving before the battery was drained... seems the alt trigger to charge the battery was also affected by the cluster swap.

Driving home at 10pm with no headlights so the car doesn’t die = fun time!!
 
#43 ·
Still working on cap options. Not sure flat caps are the best, but so far my only option with the bore I’m dealing with.

I want to score some OG steel raised caps.. but they are all a smaller bore that won’t work for these wheels.

Thoughts???











 
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