ForumFriday: ’81 Rabbit Shop Truck Build

Forum user PnZrFst started his latest project build, a 1981 Rabbit, in 2015. Let’s take a look at his build and what he’s done with it in the years since he purchased this classic truck.

The Build

This Rabbit was road hard and put up wet when PnZrFst picked it up. It had more than 280,000 miles on the body and an unknown number of miles on the engine. The previous owner claimed to have replaced the engine at some point, but PnZrFst is skeptical that the replacement was ever completed. The motor mounts were toast, the shift linkage was loose and sloppy, and the radiator needed replacing because of a bad leak. One odd thing was that the radiator fan and the reverse lights were wired to a switch in the cab rather than to their respective sensors. PnZrFst had a lot of work to do to get this car back in working order.

Other than that, the body was in great shape with minimal rust, which is fantastic for a truck that’s more than 30 years old now. This truck had a great body, but if it needed replacement or repair, he could opt to swap out the stock steel truck body with an aluminum one. This switch would lower the vehicle’s weight and potentially improve gas mileage and help it last longer.

The Plan

Other than the things that we’ve already listed that are necessary to get the truck back in working order, he’s planning on running a compression test on the motor and pulling it to repair as necessary. He’ll also be rebuilding the entire front end and installing some coil over shocks instead of the stock options. He’s also going to swap out the rear axle with a Firestone 2500 so he can use the Rabbit as a shop truck. A set of powder-coated BBS RMs will replace the wheels.

On the aesthetic side of things, he’s planning on converting the front end from the classic square frame to a rounder one and recover the seats, which aren’t stock, in vinyl. He’s also planning on doing a full respray. While the truck looks good for its age, after 30 years, it needs some TLC.

This is one of the best Rabbit rebuilds that we’ve seen in a while, and we’re excited to see what he does with it next. These little trucks are great for daily driving, work or show. You’re only limited by your imagination, your budget and your skill. We’d love to see more Rabbit builds, so if you’ve got one, show it off!

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