Originally Posted by
Greg Amy
This is a good place. The above as well as others (including Bill Miller, who's been noticeably absent lately) have a very good knowledgebase of the old Rabbit chassis. Hell, I owned one new, and worked at a dealership when they were being sold.
Generally speaking, items of significance to building an IT car: 81-84 Rabbits delivered in the US, with the exception of the convertible, were built in the same factory in PA. Other than IT-irrelevant items such as interior/trim and suspension, as best I can recall, the GTi got the following changes in production versus the regular Rabbit:
- 1.8L JH engine
- close-ratio transaxle
- 14" wheels
- vented front rotors (same calipers as other Kelsey Hayes-equipped Rabbits)
- larger rear drums (? Need to check on this)
- aluminum bumpers
- rear wiper standard (optional on other Rabbits)
- driver's front wiper had a wind deflector
- front air dam standard
Did I miss anything?