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Danger Bunny: This 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit Was One Of The Biggest Eye-Catchers On The Property At SEMA


Danger Bunny: This 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit Was One Of The Biggest Eye-Catchers On The Property At SEMA

The last time I ever saw a round-headlight Volkswagen Rabbit, it was sitting in the middle of an abandoned logging track in Washington State and had been there for quite some time. It’s sunny yellow paint had taken on a sickly green tint, thanks to the algae and Douglas fir detritus, and it’s only hope for rehabilitation was to be pried away from it’s owner. Considering that the lady who held the Rabbit’s title had conversations with her pet pygmy goats, I’ll just assume that the car met the crusher sometime shortly after the turn of the century and be done with it. Lohnes has fond memories of these cars, but I do not. In my eyes, growing up, the VW Rabbit was a car to avoid…it was tiny, tinny, and when compared to the Cordobas, Camaros and even the Mavericks that populated my world as a kid, they screamed “I gave up!”, that the owner caved in the name of frugality and went for the lowest bidder.

23-year-old Connor Hofford’s Rabbit is about as far fetched from “frugality” as you can get. He’s stuck with a mostly “stock” look on the outside, but there is no way that you are going to hide BBS wheels with that kind of dish out back. With the hood shut, it passes for a custom VW. With the hood open, the VW faithful turn ill, the LS haters spool up for another round of keyboard bashing, and everybody else simply wonders how ten pounds fit into the five-pound bag.

Honestly, the execution is awesome. No scoops, no silliness, just V8 swap, custom interior with stock touches, and more power than you could ever need. Perfect.


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12 thoughts on “Danger Bunny: This 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit Was One Of The Biggest Eye-Catchers On The Property At SEMA

  1. Chevy Hatin' Mad Geordie

    No silliness?

    So what’s that lump of LS shit doing under the hood?

    To be fair I knew it had said motor in it before I even read a word and it seems that imagination and originality are wanting at SEMA when it comes to engine swaps.

  2. RK - no relation

    Yes Geordie, I agree. A V8 from a Cayenne or something similar would have made all the difference

    1. BeaverMartin

      If by “all the difference” you mean way less power, way more cost and way less reliable. Lot’s of people don’t like the LS but it’s really no contest as far as power per dollar.

    2. Chevy Hatin' Mad Geordie

      Now that would be a very interesting swap indeed, but it would take brainpower and imagination both of which are lacking in LS lovers…

  3. ratpatrol66

    Well damn this thing is so damn cool!!! A good friend gave me a square light little red wabbit. Gordo is a jack hole for thinking this is a heap just cause LS!

  4. ratty

    Very nice, a little too show-car fancy for my tastes, but he did a great job with the engine cleaning it up (not a fan of the way the LS engines look). The no-gauge dash is interesting, and props on the chassis build. I loved the old Rabbits, only ran into one V8 swap once, but it was totally stock looking, which in itself was very cool, but I bet it couldn’t hang with this one… Great job!

    (And unrelated, there’s nothing that screams more of insecure childish jealousy than brand-bashing)

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