You need to contact the university and track down students who helped build this thing and then reunite them with the car via a Q&A session to have them tell you all about the experience.

I sincerely hope you restore this one. I'd love to see multiple episodes just on this project.

Those are not solenoids, they are contactors. They are old school but effective and efficient when they work properly. I love the content especially when it comes to Volkswagen vehicles. Looking forward to more brother.

I've reached out to a Clemson ME grad who was there at this time to find out more & to see if he recalls anything. I'll follow up if I get more info. This is so cool-nice job.

I was very surprised how quickly you got this one running and surprised that you didn’t go up in a ball of flames not knowing anything about electric cars This is part of the history of the Electric vehicle And it is great that you have saved it need to be brought back to its full glory

With the current gas prices :D Would love to see this get fixed up and upgraded to a cheap town runabout

I'm just imagining how ludicrous this Rabbit would be had the university raced electric cars 30 years later. Definitely Rich Rebuilds material here, only without the annoying high-pitched recorders haha. It'll be awesome if he saw this video and offered a bunch of parts for a really good deal!

I’m noticing comments about no audio. At this point everything looks good on my end, and is working fine. Possibly an issue with KZfaq currently? If it continues let me know, and I’ll try to get it fixed! Thank you all!

“Doc, you built a time machine, out of a Golf?”

My favorite episode so far. I love how old school new school this is. Who ever thought we would be talking about nostalgic electric cars?

hopefully someone from the original build can chime in and assist. that would be sweet.

This is really incredible, and I'd love to see this car restored to it's original racing days glory. It was the beginning of a new era of EVs, just like the Model T was the beginning of the first true era of automobiles. This 'Energizer Rabbit' is just as deserving of a true restoration to showcase it as what it is.

“Nothing scares me” - that’s the spirit!

I’m truly glad there’s somebody’s out there bringing classics back to life! You are amazing and caring for doing y to this! Cheers from Pawnee Illinois! Thanks again 😎👍

I was halfway expecting you to shout "Hey y'all-watch THIS!!" like any Southerner before he meets his demise. LOL. Your love for this project (like the rest) makes you a joy to watch. Chris may not say much, but his cackles after you drive off are priceless.

Dads laugh and giggles are amazing

I hope some of the og builders see this and can give us a little history lesson on this some day.

You should bring it back to the "School where it was Built" for a courtesy visit!

Man I don't like Electric cars but something about this specific one makes me like it! PLEASE MORE!

Becoming one of my favorite channels mate ! Content so authentic. Feels like a bunch of friends going about saving a vehicle for the love and not someone simply going through the motions for content and clicks. Still can’t believe progress with the Targa.

By far the most unique and coolest project you got here, besides the Porsche. I cannot wait for a part 2, this it just way too cool! Restoration is definitely the way to go based on the story this Rabbit has.

Welcome to the world of Electric Vehicles! Here are a few tips: - Try driving in 3rd or 4th gear - Need more torque? Use 1st or 2nd gear - Don't shift gears while driving, it's pointless unless you need more torque - AC Motors are all regenerative. When you let off the accelerator or apply the brakes, you will regen some energy back into the batteries - After having this for a bit, and even what you've discovered here, they are incredibly dependable. Makes fuel engines seem overly complicated, because they are. :)

I love the sound!... Like something out of an '80's Sci-Fi movie!

Omg....After sitting all those years in the woods, and you get it to run again!!!!!! Seems pretty advanced technology for its time! That was indeed an awesome video! Loved it!

Guts. You are a beast for tackling this car. I would have been too intimidated. It took you like ten minutes to figure it out. What would be really sick is to Rich builds come out and you two do a collab video!!!!

Just incredible! I have to admit I never thought you would be able to bring that thing back to life …. RESPECT! Loved the video a lot !👍😀

Pumphry and Scotto would lose their minds , fantastic find and nice work!

This is super cool. I hope somewhere that someone who was involved in building this sees it and wants to help resurrect it. Would be great to see her fully restored again

I heard about this car awhile back! Insane that you found it!

sounds like a tire is rubbing on something when you turn. they're prolly a little bigger than what they used for racing. i'd absolutely contact the uni to learn about this, since i'm sure the info is archived somewhere as it was a class project build. it would be cool to clean it up, get it re-certified, and race it again. i doubt it would still be competitive, but i'll bet the modern race teams would think it was a hoot if they could see grampy out on the track.

Mk1+Budget Buildz=👍🏻

Can't believe this is the first episode! This is gonna be spectacular!

Your dads giggle is fantastic.

That was cool! Right out of high school (1981), I apprenticed/worked at a busy VW/Subaru repair shop. We worked on everything; Brats, GL wagons, air-cooled VWs, Baja's, race buggies, Rabbits, Sciroccos, etc. New subscriber from California.

Are you kidding...I was super excited when it fired up like the DeLorean...very cool😃

Your love for mk1 rabbits is so awesome... Keep up the good work👍👌❤️

i'd love to see you do a full body restore on this like you have done on the porche, maybe not a full nut and bolt but get it back looking great again, I certainly think it will be worth the money spent when it done.

Awsome project! I would love to see you, restoring this piece of electric car history back to its former glory.

his is so cool. So glad you saved it. Just be careful, that much dc voltage can easily hurt/kill you.

It's both cool and sad seeing the car in those pics from back in the day and then seeing the state of it now. But alas! I think you were the best possible outcome for this car! Neat!

That should be in a museum for all to see it's automotive history

One thing I noticed ( and I have no experience with electric car either) is that I'm surprised Clemson didn't use aluminum instead of the steel for all the mounts . Would save quite a bit of weight.

Definitely give Rich Rebuilds a call for help on this! He's the guy to call for some help.

You might be interested... Several years ago I bought an electric VW (1984) Rabbit Convertible (Cabriolet) on eBay and had it shipped 1000 miles sight unseen. I changed it from lead-acid to Lithium-Ion batteries which requires a different charger and a BMS (battery management system). Fully charged I am at 165 volts, and I need to recharge around 142 volts The controller is meant for 120V, but I have had no problems. I generally drive in 2nd or 3rd gear. If I am in first gear, on pavement, and I punch it, the rubber comes loose from the wheels in the front and they go flat. That is a lot of torque. I use it as a daily driver in the summertime. I have taken it to two car shows... people hang around and ask hundreds of questions. I can plug into a normal 115volt/15 amp outlet or a 240volt/50 amp welder outlet. But you must choose your extension cord wisely.

Dad Giggling behind the camera is friggen hilarious! He's quiet but funny as all get out!

Great Rescue of the Early Westy, wow it was pretty complete with all the electrical parts!, looking forward to more videos on this.

Famous last words "Get in the car its safe"

I like that little pink car, would make a nice toy for my grandson!

This was awesome man. just letting you know though you don't have to use the clutch when you take off. You can just throw it in gear and go. there's nothing to stall.

the pink car in the intro is awsome I would love to drive that one

If I don't keep myself in check, my HOA neighborhood yard would look like your buddy's lot.

I'm as excited as you guys are!

The junkyard looks like a goldmine. Hank and Wiley would have needed a lot of vice grips on that job.

Pretty cool car! Something different. Looking forward to more on this one.

Congratulations on 150k subscribers 🎉🗣️🔥

Your and your dad laughing in happines when this thing moves is priceless :) All the best!

I am really glad you saved it.

That curtis controller and the pot switch is the way to go. Same setup I have on my old golf cart. An upgrade to those 3 contactors. I've had to go thru all the wiring in mine a few times, as the pot switch gets fouled up, and the solenoid.

So glad this video finally came out!! That would be such an awesome daily especially with gas prices. I would love to see this one day. Such an awesome car! An electric rabbit is on my bucket list for sure

Way cool car! Watch out with that much voltage and wedding rings.

No matter what powers a car, if you are working on it and things go right is going to give you the same adrenaline rush and happiness!

and your dad giggling after you said "it works" is killing me lololol

Love this car, and all Rabbits. I've had a few including my current TDI swapped VW Caddy. I currently race a 1.6 D swapped cabriolet in 24 of lemons. As a price comparison I bought a 2016 e-Golf with 22k miles on it 2 years ago for 11 grand. It has a 100 mile range best case scenario

Great new build! I think that old Rabbit might need a new flux capacitor. You guys never fail to amaze me....great channel!!

Looks like its going to be a fun project it was nice to meet yall this weekend and see all your projects. I'm looking forward to seeing more videos on this.

Michael, your electric journey just started. Love your passion to get the cars and their original quality back on the streets. We loved those classy episodes that times and enjoyed it very much. As you do it now and bring the good memories back for all of your viewers. Thank you and take care buddy. Yours Ulf

I always wondered what Clemson did with that car glad you found and rescued it!!

So cool! I have a family friend who would do electric conversions to vehicles like vw busses and beetles. He had an electric-converted 914 that was a blast!

Very cool, and glad you did not catch on fire.

Sweet! I put that steering wheel on my ‘81 diesel Rabbit pickup along with a console for instruments.

Coolest E-car ever! Maybe a short distance daily Greetings from Germany

Well you have my interest in this my Dad did something like this in his alternative fuel's class in Columbus Nebraska Central Community college in around 1991 or 92 have fun with that 🙂👍

Your dad has the greatest laugh. His chuckle when you set off had me grinning ear to ear.

Fix it as best you can and sell it to a tech museum as it's a piece of experimental electric car history. It's great to see how fast it was for the time .cheers from Australia 🇦🇺 ♥

Definitely Make A video series on this Car!

Your BEST video yet ! Hope you get that shifter fixed and those strange noises under the car fixed without too much pain. Love that car ! Thanks again.

I would love to see you all fix up that pink car in behind you up I like that lil car it’s cool one

So cool can't believe it was scrapped it should gone to a museum. You got to contact university and find out more

Looking forward to seeing the evolution and restoration of this one!

That's an amazing car. It was running rite away ..

At 33:38 I was waiting for it to hit 88 mph with a flash and a bang and two flaming tire tracks :)

9:20 it even sounds like an real engine

The Porsche was cool buy this might be cooler. Old school new school tech. Wow! Really appreciate your work :).

This is like kids finding the car from ghostbusters and getting it to work :) "Get in her it's safe... year right!"

My son and I have a 1970s GE electric tractor which also uses those 60+ pound batteries - just six of them! But we found a couple of (relatively) inexpensive lithium battery packs to completely repower the tractor, pick up a LOT of capacity AND drop about 200 pounds. Repowering the little Rabbit with Lithium batteries (try Battery Hookup) could build in a lot of range that the car never had before as an EV, and make it a lot more practical.

Loved this video! Thank you for sharing!

Giggling like a couple school girls! Thats awesome, good job fellers.

That’s cool and can’t believe it worked after sitting for who knows how long. Great work and thanks for sharing this with us take care

I've got the popcorn on and waiting for part 2. HAHA 😄

Little late to the show but man, what a cool little rig!

This is absolutely amazing. I was getting all giddy when it started working! Truly amazing! Thank you !!

Love this channel! Its great that you show when you hit a snag, always keeping it real! Got a laugh when your dad said, "I think you stalled it." I really like seeing you guys work together and the laughs you have. Thanks for another great video!

Amazing, unique episode. Well done for saving that car and thanks for sharing with us! 🇮🇪🤝🇺🇸

I agree with the other comment definitely track down the mechanical technology department at the University and see if you can speak with someone that was a part of the build also another piece of advice is with the motor not being able to stall it would probably be best to have the car in gear and clutch release before you give it gas during takeoffs because the motor spools up so fast that it will burn your clutch out faster and I didn't see very good under the hood but it might be a little difficult to remove the electric motor in order to replace the clutch I personally would not use the clutch unless I was changing gears I wouldn't use it for takeoffs. I'm sure the KZfaqrs that you collaborated with on the boat would probably love this project I know I do and I would never have expected for you to jump going to an electric vehicle like this but I'm so proud that you did. This is a very awesome video I keep up the awesome work man. Loved every minute of it... I believe you burnt out your controller because it was not attached to anything it looks like it touched the ground wire that it was next to probably frying the controller rubber roofing is a good insulator and make sure you attach any components so they are unable to move. It's just one of those learning processes

This will be cool to watch and see what you do with it!

You should try to get in touch with somebody the students or teachers that were involved in the original project. Maybe the college would be interested in sponsor the restoration.

i think you can try to launch it without the clutch, just get it in gear while the motor is stationary and then give it gas. in ev swaps with manuals you typically find a gear you can do all your driving in, from parking lot to highway, so you'll only need the gas pedal (assuming the motor has enough torque to start i suppose). also fantastic video, i've never heard of this vehicle but i love it already.

Cool to watch you unpack how it works. Great project.

By far the best automotive channel on KZfaq! Keep up the great work!

Dear Budget Buildz guys. 👍👌👏 Definitely a great find! Congrats. Of course you need to buy the little pink Roadster now too (for your kids)! ;-) 😁 You often do really great stuff! Nevertheless sometimes it's different. For instance this time I had absolutely no clue, why guys that know VW Rabbits quite well, didn't repair the brakes at first! At least after the car drove for the first time (with the single 12V battery), the brake system should have been worked over. As you know, nothing is more important on a vehicle than brakes. By the way: Test driving with a totally lose steering wheel column wasn't smart too. I'm nevertheless eagerly looking forward to watch the next part and especially the next Porsche video. Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards, luck, health and wisdom.