Newbie here-help me get re-started

Hey folks!

This is my 1st post on this forum, so please bear with me. OK, so I'm not really a newbie to IT, because I built an 84 CRX as an ITB ride back in 95, took it to Nelson Ledges for a driver's course, and ran it off the course into the tire wall on the 1st lap. I finished the class that weekend, got my book stamped and went home. I then got discouraged because I did a crap job on the motor build and called a junkyard and had 'em come and get the car after I took the good parts off of it. (Why did I do THAT?!?!?!) I then decided to go BOATING as a hobby so that I would have a hobby that the whole family would enjoy as my Wife (and then small daughter) were not even remotely interested in going to the track with me! I now have a 98 Sea Ray 290
Sundancer that I'm probably gonna get rid of now, as my Wife and teenage Daughter aren't even interested in boats anymore! They're too busy doin' girl stuff. So I tell my buddy who currently runs an AS Firebird (he previously ran a S2000) that I might as well go racing again since the boat thing is a bust.

Which brings me here to this happy forum. I would like a ITB VW as I have a soft spot for them. I've owned a '79 Rabbit, and '85 1.8 and '92 2.0 GTI's. I shoulda kept the '92, hell, if I woulda kept the Honda, I could be racing next season. But oh well. I still have my shoes,socks,and gloves, and all of my tools. I even have the old tires, Autopower rollcage, header, shocks,tires and wheels from the Honda. (like I could use those)Guess I better run an ad in the classifieds here.....

Anyway, to my question. Should I pursue an A1, A2 or drop some coin on a crossflow head A3? Looks like I'd have to build the A3 because I don't see any for sale yet. Maybe that's what I really want after typing this is an A3. I really don't want to build another car though, so an A1 or A2 would more than likely be the ticket. I'm open to suggestions. I've got a Silverado truck as the tow vehicle, so I'm all set there.

Thanks for listening!

There are still A1 series Rabbits & Sciroccos available but they are getting more difficult to find, especially a fairly rust-free chassis. A good source of information about the A1 series can be found on the VWVortex website (www.vwvortex.com)under the A1 forum and classifieds. Parts are still readily available for the A1 cars.

Both the Rabbit and Scirocco are still competitive in the ITC group. You might want to look for a car already constructed as this car will be more economical, most of the time, than building a totally new car.

I recently did a cost estimate of parts and labor to build a new ITC Rabbit, and the cost was over $17,000. The basis for this estimate was to take a good unibody chassis and to do a turn-key effort for a front running car. Of course, a car can be built for much less, and it depends on where you want to compete.

The A2 Golf is still competitive in ITB, and there are more of them available. Parts availability is good. Again the cost of building a car will depend on the level of preparation. Good luck, Ryan.

Paveway -
This may work out! I have run ITB for the past 2 1/2 years in an 1983 Rabbit GTi, and have had a blast. I have put a ton of work and $$ into the beast, all done by Shine Racing here in MA, and the car needs absolutely nothing to run well in ITB, as it has for me. The engines in these VW's must be bullet proof!!

But, as you can well imagine from having been in this "thing we do" before, I have just gone over the deep edge, and decided to build an A3 from the ground up. So, the Rabbit goes up for sale.

I have not even written up the add yet, but am going to do that over the weekend. I see that you are in Michigan, and coming to MA may be too far to travel. But if you'd like, I can give you all the upgrades and equipment that are in my car, and my price, and then you can see what else is out there for comparison purposes at least.

send me an email offline if interested

[email protected]

good luck!!

Paveway,
This forum is full of newbie requests like yours. The answer is always the same; "Buy an Existing car". Unless you really get a charge out of doing the construction yourself, this makes a lot of sense.Now, having given that completely unbiased opinion, I have the class winning (Geez, that feels good!)A2 GTI that I've run at Waterford Hills for sale. It's just finished its third season. Has lots of good stuff on it and you couldn't possibly duplicate it for what I'd want. Contact me if you have any interest, either here or through the Waterford site. I'm near Ann Arbor.

As someone who decided to go the MkIII route, I would advise someone in your situation to buy an already prepared MkII Golf or GTI. It is a matter of money - probably twice as much for the former option as the latter...

Kirk

I know a couple of people that would be glad to help you into a car. Both ITC cars and both pretty well set up. Another question to think about is do you want to go out and win or just go out and have a lot of fun? I tend to feel the second way because I am just returning from a 7 year hiatus. If you did your school at Nelson, you live close to me. Give me a buzz. You can also help by crewing for a while. Do what everyone tells you and buy an existing car rather than building. I've built two and rebuilt two and having most of the stuff in place already saves a lot of time and money.
[email protected]

Here's a nice A1 GTI for sale. Fairly fresh, and the price is pretty cheap.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=931625

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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608

Holy smokes! Seems like the floodgates have opened with IT VW's!

(Hmmmm, Lemme think....Where'd I put those savings bonds?????) http://Forums.ImprovedTouring.com/it/biggrin.gif

I know Glenn personally (the guy w/ the above GTI for sale). It's a nice car w/ pretty low time on it. The price is certainly right!

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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608