So you got a Cabby, and now you want to make it your own.   Here's the list of mods I recomend, in the order I recommend doing them assuming that you're starting out with a bone stock car that doesn't require any emergency attention.   Notice that this is a "Do as I say, not as I do" list.   I did these all out of order, due to what my car needed, and what I already had laying around in the garage.

Suspension    Get that squishy stock crap off, unless the car is for your gramma !   New springs and struts are in order.   I went with the Boge Pro Gas strut inserts and Hor springs, essentially because Autotech had them on sale for $350.   I originally bought them for my '83 GTI. They dropped it about 1.5"   They dropped the heavier Cabby a little more.   Makes the car look tight, and it hangs on in the corners like you would not believe.   There's nothing like blowing by corvettes and mustangs on the on-ramps.

They do make the ride a little rougher though.   Nothing that bothers me, but you will find out where the loose spots in your steering column and dash are pretty quickly.

For a little extra tightness, I'm going to be installing Delrin control arm and rear trailing arm bushings. I'll report back on those later.

Strut Braces    Once you get the car dropped and start tearing through the corners, you'll notice that rag-tops flex a LOT up front.   Treat yourself to lower and upper strut braces.   The lower ones are the most important, and give you the most rigidity.

I used the $12 JC Whitney one on my old GTI, but I've heard of some of those breaking under extreme stress, so I went with a used one from a 16v Scirocco, which came with them stock.

While you're under the car mounting the lower brace, pull off the front swaybar and throw it away.   Here's the deal:   Front swaybars on rabbits make the car feel tighter, because they make the car less likely to lean to the outside in corners- but they do this by redirecting that force to LIFT the inside wheel !   Pull the swaybar, and the car won't feel as tight, but it will keep both wheels planted to pull through the corners.   Sell it to someone who thinks swaybars are cool, and use the money to buy garage beers.

For the upper brace I went with a polished aluminum Eibach unit.   Looks pretty; costs more than most.   Don't buy the upper bar from JC Whitney- theirs only work on OLD carborated Rabbits.

Exhaust    So now the car handles- let's make it go faster.

The standard-issue US exhaust manifold is often referred to as a "toilet bowl" manifold, both because of it's appearance and function- and also the fact that it's a piece of crap.   The dual outlet manifold is a much better piece of plumbing.   They came on old Rabbits and Sciroccos.   You can pick them up cheap ($25-80) online.   You can also buy them new from Techtonics.

There are also some headers available for your engine from Techtonics, Brospeed, Neuspeed, Bosal and others.   You can generally get them for both catalytic converter and non-cat applications.   Couple it to a free-flowing 2" exhaust, and you'll have a little more rumble and a lot more top-end.  

You will also loose a little torque at the bottom, because you will have less back-pressure- but we'll fix that by upgrading your throttle-body and camshaft.

6/2003 Update: Got the 2" TT exhaust on, sans cat, and it is too damn loud. Will be putting a cat on ASAP.

Engine    I've gone back and forth a lot on this one, considering everything from TDIs to G60s to a 2.0 16v. I even had a nice 2.0 3-E "bubble-block" from an Audi sitting in the garage for a bit, but ended up selling it cheap to a friend who was owed a favor.

That whole mess will be topped-off with a G-grind camshaft, Corrado cylinder cover, and Audi 4k throttle-body.   Not bad, eh? I figure that should be good for about 20 extra horses - 50, if I paint Type-R on the valve cover in black and red.

6/2003 Update: ...or a not-so-cheap 3A. Ended up with a monster race-built TT unit.

Brakes    The stock brakes on the Cabriolets are really quite adequate. Cars older than '84 tend to have solid front rotors which can be cheaply and easily upgraded to vented units. Just buy vented rotors and matching pads, and you're done!

I, of course, couldn't leave well-enough alone and went for my usual overkill approach. I scored a set of brakes from a 16v Scirocco, as well as a spare axle beam from one to build up for a quick swap. For the uninitiated, the 16v Sciroccos came with 10.1" front brakes (as opposed to 9.4" on Rabbits) and rear disks instead of drums. Since the Scirocco is built on the same platform (A1) as the Rabbits and Cabriolets, all those goodies are bolt-on upgrades.

To squeeze all that extra braking surface, they came with a larger bore master cylinder, which will fit in any '84.5 or later Cabriolet or Scirocco (older cars require a different brake booster, and may also require a different pedal assembly). You can do the brake upgrade without the bigger master cylinder/brake booster, but it will mean you have to push the pedal a lot farther.

The only other thing you need for the swap is a pair of 16v Scirocco e-brake cables, and the stub axles for the rear wheels. I managed to score the ENTIRE setup for $50. I ended up getting all new calipers and turning in the old ones as cores - but EACH core charge was at least $50, so I'd say I made out like a bandit.

I also replaced the rubber lines with stainless steel units, replaced the bleeder valves on the new calipers with Speed-Bleeders, went with the ATE Power Disks up front, stocks in back, and Super Blue race fluid to fill the lines. I did the front brakes last Fall, and they went on pretty easily. I just ordered all the stuff to do the rears, and will report back once I get them done.

Stereo    I re-wired my stereo harness to mate up to a factory VW '98 "Deluxe" head unit. Spending big money on a stereo for a convertible just seems like an invitation to have your top cut up by thieves. Someday I'll take apart the dash again and document the wiring for posterity. It will work with the VW"Premium" unit and CD changer too, but I installed a Deluxe because it has a CD-In jack on the face- perfect for an MP3 player.

Now I just need some speakers. I've got an assortment of NOS Blaupunkts in boxes, but haven't had time to install them. What I know is that the front lower map pocket speakers are 4x6" on early cars, and 5" on later ones. There is a hole in the door frame up higher for another 5". The stock back speakers are 3.5", but the holes in the frame are big enough for 5.5".

There's a guy in Cincinatti who made a custom suspended base box that replaces the rear deck and leaves a little room in the trunk. Hopefully someday I'll either get around to buying it from him (he sold his cabby, but kept the box) or making one like it.