Cabriolet Dash in Rabbit

[trav1856]

Has anyone done this? Dash itself is a direct fit, but the lower dash doesn't look like it mounts up quite the same. Ideas? I do have a donor cabriolet, so I can cut out the bracing if need be, but they looked the same in the rabbit vs. the cabby, or maybe I'm just missing something.

[Quantum TD]

I've done the full conversion before. You will need to cut out the mounting plates from the A-pillar to be able to mount up the kneebar. For the dash, you will need to remove the middle support brackets for the dash. They mount to the unibody under the windshield. Hard to describe, but you can drill out the spot welds and weld it into your USA Rabbit pretty easily. The side, screw mounts from your USA rabbit will work with the holes on the Cabriolet dash.

Some welding involved, and the knee bar will make your car heavier, but also stronger in the case of side impacts. That bar in there is extremely beefy.

If you could find a 1980-1984 Jetta lower dash, you'd be in better shape in terms of welding. Because the Jetta is unibody, it doesn't need the kneebar. Instead, it has a lower dash with an extra glovebox. Kinda hard to find these days.

[trav1856]

I was wondering why the lower dash didn't fit quite right haha. Pulled the knee bar off the cabriolet tonight, and you were 100% right (I mean I never doubted you after all), the center brackets, it looks like I can knock those off with a chisel (should I mig those back on to the rabbit? or use a cracker box?) I've never welded on sheet metal like that before. (JB Weld anybody? haha)

[trav1856]

Hey Jer,

So do I need to cut the mounts from the cabriolet too? I'm assuming I need to cut the ones loose from the Rabbit, just to get the kneebar to fit in there, but don't I also need to brackets from the Cabriolet? Or do I just weld the kneebar in there and be done with it?

[Quantum TD]

For the dash: Cabby fits right to Rabbit with no modification. You can run it without the center 2 brackets, but I installed them on mine. It makes it sturdier

Knee Bar: You will need to cut the plates off the A-pillar lower sections to mount the knee bar. There is a plate that is welded in there, with 2 studs and 2 holes on each end. You will need to mig that in if you want to run the knee bar. Not much fun.