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81 Caddy parked in 89

27K views 200 replies 23 participants last post by  Butcher 
#1 · (Edited)
Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
Goal
I want to end up with a street car that reminds me of my old 84 GTI, but with a pickup bed

Back story:
Finally brought home a Caddy. Had an 84 GTI white/blue sunroof no A/C from 2010 to 2015, when I lost it in a garage fire that my Alfa Milano started. Prices on those went up quite a bit since then, and a friend sent me an ad for this 81 Caddy on Facebook Marketplace, which I don't use since I'm not on Facebook. 30min after the ad went up we had a deal. Seller thought he underpriced the car based on how much interest he had.

The car:
  • 1981 Rabbit pickup
  • 1.7L gas, 4-speed
  • I think it's the base model?
  • Aftermarket vinyl tonneau bed cover
The condition as purchased:
  • 66k miles
  • Sitting in a barn since 1989 - 31 years!
  • Rear drums in-op, so no parking brake
  • Ooold tires
  • Leaking exhaust
  • Leaking radiator
  • Loose engine / trans mounts
  • Cracked windshield
  • Crusty suspension
Rust?
  • Relatively clean!
  • One bubble on each side of the windshield seal
  • No rust at base of windshield
  • One spot on driver door where it was hit on something
  • Pinch welds are mostly clean
  • Jack points clean
  • Floor pans are very sold, small surface rust at driver rear corner
  • Clean strut towers
  • Edges of hood support stamping starting to flake
  • Very clean bed, one spot of surface rust
  • Clean rear window seal
  • Spare tire carrier is crusty
  • Shocks, rear springs not looking good
Plans
  • Address rust
  • New windshield
  • Clean up underbody surface rust and undercoat
  • 4k trans from 84 GTI
  • JH swap or JH/3A swap with mild cam
  • New rear leaf springs, new coils up front
  • All new suspension components
  • New exhaust
  • Headlinder repair

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by
leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
 
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7
#86 · (Edited)
Finally got the Caddy registered. Steering column bearing plastic bushing feel out and cracked, so I'll be going through that system sometime soon. And, I've been putting off an alignment, as the shops I call never seem interested in doing something not in the computer. Thinking I'll align it in the garage at this rate.

Drove 5 Alfa Romeo transaxles (the rear-mounted ones from the Alfetta / GTV-6 / Milano) 30 miles for a buddy. Truck rides great with some weight in the bed. As much as I prefer the look of a lowered pickup, I do like the monster height on mine when it comes to practicality.

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#155 ·
Adjustments made and the pedal feel is much better. I left .02” of play to make sure the brakes won’t drag.

Initial test drive was disappointing because I didn’t have any vacuum assist. Thought about it and figured out that I had blocked the atmospheric port with the new (closed cell) foam I installed around the booster input shaft. Doh. Was able to remove that fairly easily from inside the cabin.

No more long travel before braking, and I added the rubber boot between the booster and the firewall as well. Also was able to drill out old ground screw on the rack and install a new one, so my horn works as well. Success
 
#82 ·
Little update, some photos, and a question.

The question: anyone have a link to a good resource on Motometer odometer adjustment? I want to swap an 84 GTI speedo into my truck but would like to keep the miles the same. Just looking for a good link, not an endorsement, haha.

The update: haven't driven the truck too far since I work from home now, but I get it out every week or so. Some new stuff:
  • I swapped on a MK2 throttle body. Feels a little bit better at WOT, worth it since I got it for free. I bought a NOS Neuspeed TB from someone here because I wanted one on the shelf, but definitely not worth the money in terms of performance. I'll save that for a cleaner project.
  • Replaced the throttle cable / bushing. The cable was a real improvement over the sticky one with the broken bushing I had before. Old cable was also from a 1.7, so it was sort of rigged to work with the 1.8 valve cover. This just works better
  • Realized that front sway bar is going to require some thinking since I have fuel lines and brake lines running on the wrong side compared to a GTI or any later car possibly. I was thinking of relocating the mounting position on the rear LCA bracket. Have to think about how I want to handle this
  • Have the console gauges wired in using the unused connector on the dash harness
  • Camber bolts weren't tightened properly by alignment shop...going to take it somewhere else and ask them to torque them more / supply nylock. Truck lost alignment almost immediately
  • Shifter is adjusted nicely now. Definitely a fan of the ratios for my use (in town)
Some photos:

Loaded with workbench supplies:
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The MK2 throttle body compared to the old:
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Lumber yard at Menards getting cedar for raised bed project:
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Parked with my new GTI. I'm a fan of the GTI so far for family duty, but I'll be keeping the Abarth (hadn't planned to...) since the GTI isn't really as fun to drive.
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Plants for the raised bed picked up from Detroit. Also got some Supino's pizza!
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Chilling with the Alltrack:
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Loaded up with lawncare stuff to take care of the old house:
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#106 · (Edited)
Moved some flooring from the garage to the walkout basement. Beats going down the stairs

Wheel Tire Land vehicle Vehicle Plant


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Also got my Pocatello flag hung up and hung up the Gurreri Motors sign from a family member’s old shop from PA. I’ll need to build a light box for that this year.

I could really use some mud flaps…
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Some garage shots I never shared. Little shot of the GTI at the bottom
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#2 ·
#7 ·
Some updates as I crack into it and wait on some tools to arrive. Boring, but this helps me get ideas down!

Parts:

Found some parts from the nice folks in the MK1 community:
  • JH from running GTI
  • 020 4Y from same running GTI
  • Sachs clutch kit for 16V 210mm
  • Front sway bar
  • Bracing between front A-arm brackets

Near term items I need to source:
  • Shifter linkage parts to convert from 4-speed to 5-speed
  • Driver trans mount bracket for the new trans (2 bolts through side instead of 4 on top)
  • GTI snowflakes and some tires
  • Flywheel to accept 210mm clutch kit
  • Exhaust system


And a few of the less important bits I'll be ordering / sourcing
  • Peloquin 80% kit
  • Street sport camshaft with a nice idle, thinking G-grind to start

Progress

Engine bay:
  • Pulled everything but the axles (had to order triple square sockets) and the speedo cable. Speedo cable is sticking a bit

Engine:
  • Going to install JH in as-is and get a feel for it
  • I have dual outlet manifold on my 1.7, and I'd like to run a front sway bar, so I think I'm going to order a TT dual outlet downpipe. If the later style dual outlet manifolds are a significant improvement on durability, I might pick one from a junkyard instead
  • Will probably save cam and porting for a little bit later to get a good baseline


Trans:
  • Read up on the issues with 80% kit on the 90mm flange 020, but I'll be ordering one to take a look myself. I imagine that there is a way to keep the bolt retained.
  • Will be installing this 4Y as-is. I have a 4K with diesel 5th (.79 or something) coming to me later this summer but I don't want the car to wait while I build a trans so I'll do one on the bench while the car is driving, I think
  • Need to figure out what to order to have a rebuilt 5-speed shift linkage system - read up a little on this


Rear brakes:
  • Took apart the rear drums, which were seized up
  • Drums seem like they will clean up - I like fresh brakes, but I think I might just clean these up and refinish them since they are VW OEM. Mk3 200mm from VW if available seem like good backup plan
  • Backing plates are pretty rusty but again I'm thinking I might blast them and refinish since they aren't trashed
  • Wheel cylinders same story - these are cheap to replace but if I can rebuild them I avoid throwing parts in the trash
  • Seller cut the brake lines coming out of the master (so that he could make a bypass loop for the rear circuit), so I'll be bending and flaring some new lines for those

Pulled in next to the Verde:


Rear brakes off


Bay progress:
Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
 
#12 ·
Got my triple square sockets in and was able to remove the axles and then pull the engine. Dropped through the bottom onto some dollies. Wanted to try it, but I'd probably just use an engine hoist next time.

Ordered some parts from TT and looking forward to installing those.

I've got a pile of parts to sandblast this weekend in preparation for plating and paint. Trying very hard not to turn this into a nut and bolt deal like I usually do - would be happy to just do the brakes and suspension and drop in the 1.8 / 5-speed to drive around this summer, then pull it out this winter to clean up the engine bay and really clean up the underside of the truck.

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr

Untitled by leetlebeeg, on Flickr
 
#75 ·
Some photos from my camera from when I got the car driving again. Some to-dos:
  • Adjust the shift linkage to make first easier to engage. I've read the Bentley manual adjustment procedure a couple of times and have attempted but it's still kind of rough
  • Fix passenger window (just need to swap in a new slotted bracket / carrier for window. Welded the rusty one but it's only a temporary fix
  • Install rear bumper? PO must have bondo'd the bolt holes. I don't like the idea of ruining a decent tailgate, so I'll probably redrill the holes and add the OEM bumper I found locally
  • Longer wheel bolts - won't be going far on these. Steel wheel bolts don't have enough engagement on the snowflakes. I got 3/4 of a set from a Cabby in the local yard
  • Adjustable CPR - have a spare to convert to adjustable
  • Add tachometer cluster. Have one from an 84 GTI with the 115mph speedo. Need to swap speedo gear in the trans as wheel, I think
  • Wire up gauges - added a tan gauge cluster with a tan accordion boot. That was a great find - huge thank you to slats for sending me one!
I do want to recover a set of GTI seats in a tan cloth similar to what I've seen on some tan cloth Recaros. Will have to think about that. The original seats in the truck aren't quite perfect, though they are pretty nice. I just prefer cloth in a vehicle that I'll actually be driving a lot.

Some photos below, enjoy

Parked with the Milano and the AssPat:

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The Caddy lives behind the double doors on the left. Not ideal, but I can't build any bigger of garage in my city.

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The Techtonics 2.25" system looks pretty good in this one:

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Good shot with the Abarth. That Abarth has been a great DD, especially with snow tires for the winter. The older cars don't see salt

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And here's a grainy shot of the tan accordion shift boot with the tan gauges. Such a minor detail, but I really dig it. A special gauge package was available on the non-Sportruck pickups and this, along with a GTI tach cluster, was assembled to emulate that.

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And the new sibling, an 83 GTI that hasn't run in a number of years:

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Tight fit!

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-Graham
 
#79 ·
Some photos from my camera from when I got the car driving again. Some to-dos:
  • Adjust the shift linkage to make first easier to engage. I've read the Bentley manual adjustment procedure a couple of times and have attempted but it's still kind of rough
  • Fix passenger window (just need to swap in a new slotted bracket / carrier for window. Welded the rusty one but it's only a temporary fix
  • Install rear bumper? PO must have bondo'd the bolt holes. I don't like the idea of ruining a decent tailgate, so I'll probably redrill the holes and add the OEM bumper I found locally
  • Longer wheel bolts - won't be going far on these. Steel wheel bolts don't have enough engagement on the snowflakes. I got 3/4 of a set from a Cabby in the local yard
  • Adjustable CPR - have a spare to convert to adjustable
  • Add tachometer cluster. Have one from an 84 GTI with the 115mph speedo. Need to swap speedo gear in the trans as wheel, I think
  • Wire up gauges - added a tan gauge cluster with a tan accordion boot. That was a great find - huge thank you to slats for sending me one!
I do want to recover a set of GTI seats in a tan cloth similar to what I've seen on some tan cloth Recaros. Will have to think about that. The original seats in the truck aren't quite perfect, though they are pretty nice. I just prefer cloth in a vehicle that I'll actually be driving a lot.

Some photos below, enjoy

Parked with the Milano and the AssPat:

View attachment 61499

The Caddy lives behind the double doors on the left. Not ideal, but I can't build any bigger of garage in my city.

View attachment 61501

The Techtonics 2.25" system looks pretty good in this one:

View attachment 61502

Good shot with the Abarth. That Abarth has been a great DD, especially with snow tires for the winter. The older cars don't see salt

View attachment 61503

And here's a grainy shot of the tan accordion shift boot with the tan gauges. Such a minor detail, but I really dig it. A special gauge package was available on the non-Sportruck pickups and this, along with a GTI tach cluster, was assembled to emulate that.

View attachment 61504

And the new sibling, an 83 GTI that hasn't run in a number of years:

View attachment 61505

Tight fit!

View attachment 61506 Ûj

-Graham
Glad the shift boot worked out.
 
#80 ·
Salt seems to be gone for the year, so I got the truck out this weekend. Haven't touched my small list of items to address yet, but shouldn't be too long before I get around to it.

Went to my buddy's place to pick up an nice 2x10' tabletop that I had sitting there another identical slab. Another friend is kindly giving me some legs to support the table on. Will be nice to have some room to work at the new place.

The GTI isn't too far from running. I'd like to replace the fuel lines from front to rear since somebody hacked at one in the front. Not looking forward to bending my own - they just never come out as nice as I'd like - so I'm going to see if I can find a local shop to pattern them after the old ones. Have all new brakes and suspension for it and will have that installed before too long.

I love all of the cool 16V and boosted builds on this site, but can't say I feel like I'm missing out much in this JH Caddy! With the 5-spd it feel great around town, and I can give it some gas without getting into trouble. The 2.0L bottom end will happen soon enough, but only because I can't help but to dig into an engine every year or so.

Winter storage - a little bit tight...
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See the truck in the background? GTV-6 sounds nice
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Bad angle, but it was a heavy tabletop. Beats throwing it in the back of the Passat wagon
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Current state of the GTI - hover mode
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#88 ·
Pickup has been proving useful with another move coming up. We sold our two houses in the suburbs and will be moving to a place off of a dirt road. Goodbye, clean cars.

To add to the excitement / confusion of the move, I’ll also be starting a new job in October. I had been working at EV startups recently, but I think I’ve had my fill for now. Going back to engineering at one of the Big 3. I should have a lot more free time

With the help of some friends, I moved the equipment and spares from my old garage over to the new spot. Haven’t had time to unpack that yet.

Got the GTI back on the ground so that I can tow it over. Finally gave in and ordered everything I need to get it running. I wanted to do a tedious cosmetic refresh of the suspension in addition to the mechanical refresh, but I might skip that and just enjoy the car for what it is.

And, I finally found a 3A bottom end that I liked! Brought that home from NJ recently. I think I’ll get around to setting up a JH/3A in the next year or so
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#91 · (Edited)
Planning to bolt on some rear bumpers and it’s time to acknowledge that I have no holes for rear bumper fasteners.

Were any pickups originally sold without rear bumpers? Or, do we suspect that they were removed and the holes filled, for style or possibly due to rear impact?

Some photos of the rear apron without bumper holes.
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Couple of junkyard runs and online orders and I have pretty much all that I need to refresh the GTI suspension, refresh the fuel system, and replace the nonexistent exhaust. Cars are hunkered down in storage mode for now. Probably won’t put up a detached garage for a couple of years, so in the meantime:
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Finally organized the work area at the new place too:
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#108 ·
Planning to bolt on some rear bumpers and it’s time to acknowledge that I have no holes for rear bumper fasteners.

Were any pickups originally sold without rear bumpers? Or, do we suspect that they were removed and the holes filled, for style or possibly due to rear impact?

Some photos of the rear apron without bumper holes.
Just to answer a question... Yes, some pickups were originally sold without rear bumpers. A guy I know worked at a VW dealer as a tech in the early '80s when trucks were being sold new. He told me that the LX trucks came in with rear bumpers, but the base model trucks came with no rear bumpers. He said he put aftermarket rear bumpers on all of the base model trucks that came into that dealership.
 
#105 ·
Spent most of my free time rebuilding timing belt tensioner and replacing timing belt on the Alfa this weekend. A buddy stopped by and we took the pickup out for the first time this year

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Also spent some time looking into reverse switch solution. Car has 4-speed reverse light switch wiring with a 5-speed trans. Jumper is easy.

I’m not getting closed circuit when I shift into reverse, but if I pull the reverse switch and depress the pin I get it. Will have to dig into that.

So nice to have a functioning lower steering column bushing. I need to get to work on my early style rebuildable strut mounts now. The aftermarket mounts are getting noisy already
 
#120 ·
They were sold as pickups, not rabbits. Light trucks were exempt from safety regulations prior to 1999. Heavy trucks are still exempt from it, which is why you don't see new dump trucks with side impact airbags or things like that.

 
#124 ·
Truck has always had a soft brake pedal until close to the floor. I saw that there might be a spec for clearance from the booster pushrod to the master cylinder on the MK1 FB group today. I need to pull both to add a seal to keep engine compartment air out of the cabin anyway, so I might check it all out when I set about taking care of that.

Drove some snow tires to store underneath the back deck. I guess I should buy a little wagon
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#125 ·
Truck has always had a soft brake pedal until close to the floor. I saw that there might be a spec for clearance from the booster pushrod to the master cylinder on the MK1 FB group today.
I also learned that same thing from that post, haha. And immediately ordered the tool to check it because I know mine is wrong but never knew the right way to check it.
 
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