By SUSAN PARK

If a good friend came to you and asked you to fix up an old, abandoned car with over 300,000 miles on it so they could loan it to their friends to break a world record, you would probably laugh at them.

But when Peter Josza, owner of Rabbit Service in Lake City, was approached last year to do just that, he didn't laugh - he said yes.

One of his longtime customers, Terry Gates, had an old 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup that had been sitting on his property in Federal Way for some time. Josza had repaired the truck years earlier and rebuilt the engine. Twenty-eight thousand miles later, it blew a piston, so Gates parked it. Little did he know, three of his friends had their eyes on it.

Richard Robbins, a West Seattle resident and a recent retiree from the Furon Company in South Seattle, had been dreaming for many years of breaking a Guinness World Record. Two buddies he knew through church, David Suchcon and Craig Martin, both from South Seattle, decided to team up to make it happen.

Aside from enjoying long road trips, each had a special expertise to add to the team. Suchcon had a garage where the team could work on the car and Martin was a natural at public relations, a necessary skill for landing sponsors.

Robbins, the expedition's mastermind, had always wanted to break the record for driving continuously through the 48 United States in the shortest amount of time. However, Guinness retired the record because of safety reasons since breaking it basically meant speeding. Instead, the record was changed to fuel economy rather than speed. "It's a new category, basically," says Robbins. He poured over road maps, took small trips with his wife to explore the roads, and finally discovered an alternate route that would allow the team to break the world record.

They needed an efficient production model car to meet the requirements, so Robbins approached Gates about his Rabbit truck. Robbins says Gates told him, "You can use it. And when you're done with it, you can buy it."

So Robbins and his crew pulled the car out of the woods and towed it up to Rabbit Service. "The mold and the moss and the pine needles and bird stuff had pretty much engulfed it," recalls Robbins, "but it wasn't rusted at all." However, the windshield was cracked, the tires were rotten, and the engine needed to be completely rebuilt. "It hadn't been running in about three and a half years," says Suchcon.

Josza says when he got the car and heard about the dream, he was eager to fix it for them. Josza, who started Rabbit Service 14 years ago in the University District after immigrating to the U.S. from Budapest, Hungary, says, "I have the same attitude. You always have to show a little more than 100 percent."

Josza moved his shop to Lake City about two years ago where he runs it along with his wife Eti. His two children are grown and attending school in Budapest.

So last September, Josza took the car in and agreed to fix it on weekends when he had spare time. He says he was able to complete the job fairly quickly.

Robbins and his crew were estatic. After weeks passed, they wondered when and if the car would ever be finished. Eager to get the car, but determined to not be a pesterer, Robbins said he fought the urge to call Josza. In the meantime, Josza wondered why no called to see if the car was finished. By each thinking that the polite thing to do was wait for the other to call, no one called anyone.

The pickup sat at Rabbit Service, once more abandoned, while Josza wondered if Robbins' team had given up. He hoped his friend, Gates, would at least come and pick up the car and pay for the repairs.

A few weeks later, Josza said he finally called Robbins who offered no apology or explanation but simply came to pick up the car. In the meantime, Robbins says he was so grateful that Josza had done the work for free, that he didn't want to question why Josza didn't call him.

Robbins came up to Lake City to test drive the car and troubleshoot any potential problems. Josza added a new water pump, brakes, and struts. The total cost of the repairs was a little over $2,000, which Josza donated.

Robbins and his team proceeded to do additional modifications in preparation for the long trip of about 7,000 miles. Although only two drivers are needed to break the record, a third seat in the back of the pickup so all three could participate. "Comfort" accessories were also added. In addition, Guinness required them to retrofit the car with a tachometer, which records mileage on a flat paper disk. The tachometer also has a warning light that goes on if the group attempts to go faster than the speed limit.

In early March, Robbins team took the Rabbit on a test drive to check out the car. Josza says he wishes he could go with them, not because he wants to break the record, but to fix anything that breaks. He says he has been educating them on how to do quick repairs, "what could happen, what to do, what not to do."

The team will attempt to break the record in early May. Spring was chosen so they wouldn't need air conditioning, which was removed to make the car lighter and the engine easier to repair.

The record for fuel economy was first created in the spring of 1997 by a team based out of Texas who used 163.64 gallons of gasoline. Unlike the Texas team who began their trip in Four Corners where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet, Robbins' team will begin in eastern Washington. "Coincidentally, we live in Washington, which is one of the corner states (for the Continental U.S.) and a good one to start or finish it," says Josza.

Josza says he's happy the group will be going for the record. "I say never give up, whether you're 50 or 150. But make sure it's a big challenge." As for himself, Josza says he is looking for "something bigger."

For more information, call Richard Robbins at 932-2611.