7 years, $140,000, 12000 hours for ultimate custom on 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI
However much you’ve worked on a single vehicle, chances are you haven’t done as much as Canadian engineer Derek Spratt did to his 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI.
Over the course of seven years, Spratt estimates he spent more than 12,000 hours modifying his GTI and documenting his labor of love in over 180 videos on social media. The videos range from Spratt’s descriptions of basic electrical wiring to installing a modern digital dashboard in a vintage vehicle. His own estimate of his costs: $140,000.
And today, he doesn’t even own the car.
This Mk1 GTI was the first car Spratt purchased as a 21-year-old college student in Ontario, Canada. He was among Canada’s first buyers of a true GTI, which arrived that year with a 90-hp engine and stiffened suspension of the true European GTI...