Pre Islamic Arabs knew of Abraham and Ishmael and them building the Kabba

Amazingly, this is precisely what the hadith literature suggests just as the following examples prove:

Narrated 'Aisha:

(the wife of the Prophet) that Allah's Apostle said to her, "Do you know that when your people (Quraish) rebuilt the Ka'ba, they decreased it from its original foundation laid by Abraham?" I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Why don't you rebuild it on its original foundation laid by Abraham?" He replied, "Were it not for the fact that your people are close to the pre-lslamic Period of ignorance (i.e. they have recently become Muslims) I would have done so." The sub-narrator, 'Abdullah (bin 'Umar ) stated: 'Aisha 'must have heard this from Allah's Apostle for in my opinion Allah's Apostle had not placed his hand over the two corners of the Ka'ba opposite Al-Hijr only because the Ka'ba was not rebuilt on its original foundations laid by Abraham. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 26, Number 653)

Narrated 'Abdullah bin Zaid:

The Prophet said, "The Prophet Abraham made Mecca a sanctuary, and asked for Allah's blessing in it. I made Medina a sanctuary as Abraham made Mecca a sanctuary and I asked for Allah's Blessing in its measures the Mudd and the Sa as Abraham did for Mecca. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 34, Number 339)

Narrated Ibn Mirba' al-Ansari: Yazid ibn Shayban said: We were in a place of stationing at Arafat which Amr (ibn Abdullah) thought was very far away from where the imam was stationing, when Ibn Mirba' al-Ansari came to us and told (us): I am a messenger for you from the Apostle of Allah. He tells you: Station where you are performing your devotions for you are an heir to the heritage of Abraham. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 10, Number 1914)

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah:

The Prophet sacrificed two horned rams which were white with black markings and had been castrated. When he made them face the qiblah, he said: I have turned my face towards Him. Who created the heavens and the earth, following Abraham's religion, the true in faith, and I am not one of the polytheists. My prayer, and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the Universe, Who has no partner. That is what I was commanded to do, and I am one of the Muslims. O Allah it comes from Thee and is given to Thee from Muhammad and his people. In the name of Allah, and Allah is Most Great. He then made sacrifice. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 15, Number 2789)

In these hadiths Muhammad asserts that he and his followers are to follow the religion of their forefather Abraham who supposedly built the Kabah and instituted the rites of pilgrimage. This shows that the Meccans  knew and believed that Abraham had traveled there and were therefore aware that Allah had  revealed and made known the true religion to their ancestors long before Muhammad was born.

There is more. According to the follow narratives there were pictures of Mary, Abraham and Ishmael in the Kabah:

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

The Prophet entered the Ka'ba and found in it the pictures of (Prophet) Abraham and Mary. On that he said' "What is the matter with them (i.e. Quraish)? They have already heard that angels do not enter a house in which there are pictures; yet this is the picture of Abraham. And why is he depicted as practicing divination by arrows?" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 570)

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

When Allah's Apostle arrived in Mecca, he refused to enter the Ka'ba while there were idols in it. So he ordered that they be taken out. The pictures of the (Prophets) Abraham and Ishmael, holding arrows of divination in their hands, were carried out. The Prophet said, "May Allah ruin them (i.e. the infidels) for they knew very well that they (i.e. Abraham and Ishmael) never drew lots by these (divination arrows). Then the Prophet entered the Ka'ba and said. "Allahu Akbar" in all its directions and came out and not offer any prayer therein. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 584)

This shows that the Arabs of Mecca (as well as Medina) knew of and were aware of the Biblical characters such as Abraham and Ishmael. These next hadiths indicate that they also knew that they were  descendants of Ishmael and that both he and his mother had  settled in Mecca:

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:

The Prophet said, "May Allah be merciful to the mother of Ishmael! If she had left the water of Zam-Zam (fountain) as it was, (without constructing a basin for keeping the water), (or said, "If she had not taken handfuls of its water"), it would have been a flowing stream. Jurhum (an Arab tribe) came and asked her, 'May we settle at your dwelling?' She said, 'Yes, but you have no right to possess the water.' They agreed." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 40, Number 556)

Narrated Salama:

Allah's Apostle passed by some people from the tribe of Aslam practicing archery. He said, "O children of Ishmael! Throw (arrows), for your father was an archer. I am on the side of Bani so-and-so," meaning one of the two teams. The other team stopped throwing, whereupon the Prophet said, "What has happened to them?" They replied, "How shall we throw while you are with Bani so-and-so?" He said, "Throw for I am with all of you." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 710)

Narrated Abu Huraira:

I have not ceased to like Banu Tamim ever since I heard of three qualities attributed to them by Allah's Apostle (He said): They, out of all my followers, will be the strongest opponent of Ad-Dajjal; 'Aisha had a slave-girl from them, and the Prophet told her to manumit her as she was from the descendants of (the Prophet) Ishmael; and, when their Zakat was brought, the Prophet said, "This is the Zakat of my people." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 652)