Suspension options, am I missing anything? (Rabbity content)

The last couple weeks I've been going through the front end of my 84 Rabbit.  Caipers, rotors, wheel bearings, that kind of stuff.  Mainly take it all apart to see what needs replacing.  When it came to the front struts, well, i threw in the towel on saving them.

Another forum member said they could use the threaded ends of the housings, so I chopped them off above the lower perches and turned them over to the care of the USPS for a safe delivery.

Finding replacements has not been the experience I was expecting.  Especially when I place my budget constraints on the potential purchase price.

What I've come up with are the following options:

1.  Purchase a new set of struts assemblies, bolt them in and call it good.  I can't seem to find a better deal than the complete assemblies offered by the Parts Place for just under $300.  This would put the front and rear shock replacement cost at about $500.  And the struts (made by Sachs) are sealed and do not accept inserts from what I can find.
2. Purchase a set of inexpensive coilovers like Raceland, Rokkor or whatever they are called on Ebay.  This would run about $200 to $400 for all four, and I think would have easy options down the road for changing inserts and/or springs if the car stays in one piece after I get it running and driving.
3. Set off on a pick and pull adventure to find something relatively close in design and dimension and see if I can figure out how to make them work.  After reading through 84FSP's thread here though, along with a few others I found, I'm not confident I have the resources to make such an approach work effectively.  I'm learning suspension as I go here.   

So, are there other options here that I haven't found or considered?  I like the idea of at least being able to change inserts down the road, even if the ones I start off with are dumpy.  I searched for Koni STR.T versions, entry level Tokico versions, Meyele versions, and any other name I could think of to no avail.  Bilstein offers a B6 version (I think) in yellows, but that's out of my price range.

Thanks!

Bri

Have you looked at "German Auto parts"?

Linky: http://www.germanautoparts.com/Volkswagen/Rabbit/Suspension/188/2

The front struts are most likely the same as what you priced out but at this point finding OEM strut housing may be more work then just pushing the "easy button" and ordering the Sachs struts.  At least it will give you time to go to "Vortex.com" and try to buy a set of used strut housings.

I do know that Bilstein makes a complete strut that will take a replacement insert.

But based on Bilsteins long lasting products you may not need to replace the inserts?

https://www.partsgeek.com/dtmfbk3-volkswagen-rabbit-strut-assembly.html?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=pf&utm_content=wc&utm_campaign=PartsGeek+ShopZilla&fp=pp&utm_term=Volkswagen+Strut+Assembly

I did look at German Auto Parts.  They seem to sell the same Sachs strut that I've seen in other places.  In fact I priced all the bits at GAP to put the strut together, like springs, mounts, etc. and it came out costing more than the already assembled ones at Parts Place.

I know rabbitparts.com sells koni struts of the non insert variety but by the time you sourced springs, upper perches and strut bearings you would be above the parts place cost, albeit with much better dampers.

I'd go with a coilover kit myself. Inexpensive and takes common and cheap spring sizes so you could do whatever you fancy ith the ride

I have had Budget-O Coilovers of various provenance on a lot of different MK1s in the last 15 years.  I believe I have had JOM, Raceland, and Rokkor, possibly even VMaxx when they were still making cheap trash.  They're all pretty much the same (and might actually be exactly the same).  They're all decent and worth the buy-in in my opinion.  In my experience, as long as you have a tire with at least a 2" sidewall, they're going to produce a reasonable enough ride so long as you don't lower it into the earth.  I paid a premium for Weitec's on my last Scirocco and regretted it pretty hard.

My current daily driver is an '83 4 door Rabbit with Racelands.  When I bought it, it had skinny little 165/45-15 tires and it was the single most painful vehicle I have ever had the displeasure of driving, and I have owned some real turds.  195/45-15s totally fixed that.

I might actually have a set of rear Tokicos that I took off my last Scirocco sitting in the basement.  I'll poke around down there this weekend and see if I can find anything.  They're yours for the cost of shipping if you want them (if I have them still, of course).

I put racelands on a jetta and it wasn't terrible. Of course I was young and dumb and only drove it for about 1k miles before selling it.

You might find a reasonable deal on bilsteins if you hunt.  Then simply upgrade springs as you find something?  The fleabay coilover hats and coilovers aren't too bad assuming you put them on decent struts and springs.

@Burrito- if you wouldn’t mind looking for them I would certainly put them to good use, thank you!

@JKB- thank you for that link, I hadn’t seen that one yet.

@84FSP- I was seriously considering trying the mk2 strut approach, but wasn’t sure quite how to do it.  Your thread explained it very well- and made me realize I should probably find something that fits right off :-)

No such luck, sorry. 

Have MK2/3 ST coilovers (which need a new home, if anyone is looking), late X1/9 rear struts, and e46 front struts, but sadly no mk1 vw suspension goodies in the pile.

No problem!  I appreciate you checking.

Hard to go wrong with what Parts Place is selling as you describe above.  They are - from my many direct experiences - a great place to do business with as well as reasonably priced.  Sachs or Boge struts for your VW will both serve you well.  Make sure you get quality upper mounts, though.  PP will set you up there.

 Raceland is cheap ebay type junk again from my direct VW experience.