RestoFUCK

From a decomposing corpse in a New England Field, to an I-93 paper weight this Rabbits transformation let alone is worth a story. But that wouldn’t do this car, and the owner Aiden Plante the justice they both deserve. This car is more than a before and after. If it was, this story wouldn’t be worth telling.

This Rabbit's story starts with Aiden, without him this car's story wouldn’t have ever happened in the first place.

Aiden first learned how to wrench in the name of hot rodding. He was learning how to walk and run all at the same time. Old American cars were originally his forte, but after a few friends (and a few Volkswagens) His passion immigrated from Detroit to Wolfsburg. Some of those few Volkswagens were Rabbits, they had been around growing up but they were nothing more than something for him to look at.

It was his friend’s Rabbit that he helped put together which put him onto Volkswagens.

So much so that the first car he bought was a MK4 Golf. Now buying a MK4 as a starter car can go two ways. Either you fall in love with it, or you hate it. It really depends. What made Aiden fall in love with his MK4, and VW’s from there on was the VR6. The particular one he had was a 24 valve. He loved that motor and knew one would always have a place in his life. But something else needed to have a place in his life as well, a MK1 Rabbit. Having spent time building one, and being around them most of his life, he naturally wanted one of his own. He had to sell his MK4 to get one, but that didn’t matter so much. Ridding himself of the VR is what did. His time with his first rabbit was uneventful but meaningful.

A few years later, now void of a Rabbit, and a VR6, Aiden had a hole in his heart that needed to be filled. So when he stumbled along this Rabbit, rotting away in a field (amongst a few MK1 Jettas) he bought them all in bulk. He was halfway towards feeling whole again and he was just one VR6 away from fulfilling his passions.

He found making his plan a reality was definitely possible but was going to require much more determination than he bargained for. Money, and patience, were some vices that stopped him from initially making this car what he wanted. Being frugal isn't a crime but in the first iteration of this build it ended up being a regret of his. He ended up getting his money's worth out of those MK1 shells by trading them for a 1.8t that came with a swap kit for his Rabbit. The deal skewed his real motivations in his build, he had the wrong engine. But due to the convenience, and potential the 1.8t came with he figured he’d give it a shot.

Once he got the 1.8t running and the Rabbit rolling it became very evident to him that this wasn't what he wanted. The 1.8t was a hassle to keep running right, and when it did run right it just wasn't the VR6 he knew belonged in the car. So when the 1.8t blew up he pulled it out and never looked back.

Having learned his lesson he began the second iteration of his build. This time around he was gonna do everything how he wanted, convenience be damned. That winter he set out to do just that, having previously ran a pretty minimalistic engine bay set up he decided to take that idea and go a few steps further. Going for a cowl delete and a bayshave his engine bay resembled a blank canvas with its beige paint job. A perfectly plain backdrop for the VR he finally had for it. When he tied together the bay it looked like something you'd see at Sema. Void of anything but the essentials Aiden was presenting the VR in its rawest form possible. When I say anything but the essentials I mean it, it has no SAI, no intake runner flaps, and no PCV. Unlike most things you'd see at Sema, this is fully functional, it runs, and runs well. That's thanks to his diligence, when he was looking for a motor he wasn't going to settle for anything with compression. Besides good condition, he was also after a 12 valve. Not for any simplicity reasons, or price differences. But for the same reason everyone wants a VR, the noise. He was interested in a rougher rumble as opposed to his 24 valves smoother sound. The one he found came with freshly done chains and a tuned ECU.

Aidens passion project was coming together, and only little things like axles were slowing him down from completing it.

Once he was able to tie up all the loose ends in his build he was left with a rolling piece of art. Rich with contrasting agendas, like a shaved bay that would make you think it belongs to the clean culture movement. But then a patina that's too good to be sanded down and repainted. The car to me screams hot rod, which is odd because not too many German cars can do that. The only reason it makes sense is because Aiden built it. He’s a through and through Hot Rodder, It's in his blood, that DNA is gonna find itself into his build. This Rabbit isn't just a before and after because it's more than just a sum of its parts. It possesses a quality that can't be purchased, or produced, and that quality is character.