Paul'sT34 Project

Went To Carson City, Nevada, Today

2011-05-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Took the T34 to work. It was its longest trip so far and the weather was perfect, a cool 65 degrees. Started at Mt. Rose, elevation 8900 feet, and drove through Washoe Valley, 4500 feet, in twenty-five minutes. The denser air gave the engine more strength and more responsive acceleration. It was a different car!

Had no overheating issues coming home. 3rd gear was used most of the drive uphill. This car has amazing abilities.

I sure can get used to commuting this way. Below is a shot of the vehicle at my company's parking lot.

A Comforting Sound In the Middle of Winter

2011-03-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

What a winter! The local ski resorts, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley, have over a 55 foot base of snow.

There was a break in the weather and I was able to finish my digging tasks. Decided to start up the Ghia to get rid of the cobwebs. A great sound of normalcy it was! (not much to see here, just a idling T34)

The Old Wrap-the-Bumper- In-Cloth Trick

2011-01-29T18:27:00.001-08:00

Experienced car owners know this drill. Always wrap your bumpers with cloth to avoid scratches while installing. Then cut the fabric off with scissors after you are done.

Having a great time assembling the car while it is snowing outside.

Back From the Shop

2011-01-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Two months later and the T34 is back in the my garage with just a few minor paint issues. Looking forward to the reassembly process.

Back To the Body Shop - Déjà Vu

2010-11-23T11:59:00.000-08:00

Decided to go with a local body shop to fix some scratches and dents. The shop owner found many problems with the last paint job.

Some flaws found:

some body filler never hardened from previous body work. When the paint was touched some areas it would crack!
doors and front hood were not aligned properly

Spare Tire Wheel Well Rubber Profile

2010-09-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

There was a question on the T34 mailing list on what the piece of rubber looks like that seals the spare tire wheel well against the body. Here are the photos of a fresh NOS seal.

Repro Rubber - Have Trouble With It Sometimes - Part II

2010-09-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here is another example of "less than par" T34 repro rubber for the bumper overrider. An entrepreneur produced this with good intent but it cracked within ONE YEAR of installation. Again, it was not exposed to water, rain, sun, etc.

Looks like I am going to have to resort to T14 Ghia solutions to make things presentable.

Repro Rubber - Have Trouble With It Sometimes - Part I

2010-09-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

I removed my front bumper today. It is the end of summer and snow can fly any day here in Tahoe and it is time to work on the car.

The front bumper rubber grommet in this photo bothers me. I always buy repro rubber from entrepreneurs to support them. In this case it was never out in the sun, got wet, or stressed it any way. Yet, it still cracked. It is 2010, can't we figure out what rubber doesn't crack easily?

NOS Hub Caps

2010-08-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

There are 3 less early NOS T3 hub caps in the world as they were just placed on the car. It took me twenty years to find them. Finding the 4th has been illusive.

It is just amazing how flawless they are. The convex shape, with the scratch less chrome, perfectly reflects images almost like a fish-eye camera lens.

One detail that I appreciate is the reverse side of the cap. One can see the "machining scars" necessary to create it.

The Seals Leak

2010-08-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

Washed the car for the first time today. I was watching very carefully where the hose water wound up with all the brand new installed seals

The interior, for the most part, had a few drops on the inside movable windows.

The front spare tire area had a major amount of water in it even with the new hood drainage hose installed. I am not sure I will be able to fix this.

Front Fresh Air Vent Trim

2010-08-19T18:10:00.001-07:00

I have had this set of aftermarket front trim for many years. Decided to install it. It has its drawbacks but because of the rarity I think people should see it.

Here is the article on type34.org

Made It To the Top Of Mount Rose

2010-08-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

Drove to see if I could get the T34 out of the Tahoe basin via the high Mount Rose pass.

No problems! The car cruised up the steep grade in 3rd gear with no overheating or engine breathing issues.

Flaps and Plates

2010-08-10T19:55:00.001-07:00

Been waiting to get those T3 mud flaps on the car for a couple of weeks. It wasn't as easy as I thought to install them.

I do have genuine T34 flaps but the rubber appeared to be on the fragile side. Instead of mounting them on the car I decided to preserve them for possible future duplication.

My Nevada license plates, with the Lake Tahoe theme, arrived! If you can't read them click on the picture.

First Real Drive in 26 Years

2010-07-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

Checked the oil, tire pressure, and gas and took off through the sunny pine tree countryside of Lake Tahoe. I wasn't sure I was going to make it back without a tow or flatbed.

I had forgotten how well the T34 handles on tight turns. Tahoe has many highways with sharp corners and I was able to have some fun being aggressive with them.

After 20 minutes the car seemed to be begging to be put into the final 4th gear for the cruising it seems to be designed for. On one stretch of the highway I was able to do so. The vehicle seemed to give a sigh a satisfaction that it was back on the road as the RPMs dropped.

I made a mental checklist of things that need fixing. Among the items is some needed engine tuning. There wasn't much power going up steep hills but it was adequate on the more level roads.

After 40 miles I pulled into the garage and immediately re-torqued my lug nuts. I remembered Andy's accident where his wheel fell off and didn't want to repeat it.

What a fun day!

DMV - Denied

2010-07-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

Tried to get a titled today at the Nevada DMV. The pink slip for the T34 is long gone, probably thrown away during a house remodel.

They didn't like my proof of ownership I had EVEN THOUGH IT IS WHAT THEY WANTED ME TO GET LAST WEEK.

The supervisor then asked me to supply proof that I have owned pictures of this car for many years.

This was actually kind of a fun project. I had my daughter help me recreate a pose I did about ten years ago. The old photo is at the top with the car dissembled and the bottom photo is the car assembled. The car didn't age but I sure did! I hope the supervisor sees my growing older as proof.

As other proof of owner ship I was able to find my VW birth certificate from the factory. It is a letter addressed to me from Wolfsburg with my chassis number and vehicle description.

I should be good to go.

----------------

Update - The birth certificate from Wolfsburg did the trick! The supervisor of the supervisor had to give the document an OK and signed off on giving me official title to my T34. Whew!
Thanks for all the encouragement from everyone.

Under the Hood Drainage Hose

2010-07-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

My front hood drainage hose was disintegrating. I ordered several standard sized hoses from U.S. companies but none of them fit correctly.

Finally I located a supplier in England who had metric sizes. I found one which was a very close fit. Sent Lee Hedges a sample to get his opinion. He confirmed it worked for him.

The hose is located at www.VintageCarParts.co.uk . Order the tubing that has the 10mm bore and 1.55 wall.

Distributor Wires

2010-06-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

The foil on engine lids always seems to rip above the distributor. People mentioned this was due to the spark plug wires not having angled boots. The straight wires, therefore, contact the engine lid. Over time the contact rips the foil.

While at my storage unit yesterday I found a Bosch spark plug wire purchased from Bill and Steve's years ago. It had the angled boots. I searched for the part number on the Internet and it turns out they are available at Amazon.com for $16. If you order two sets the shipping is free!

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-09004-Premium-Spark-Plug/dp/B000BZEFGY

Engine Lid Graphics

2010-06-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

Scott Taylor did the great technical work and created early engine lid graphics in .pdf files. I asked my local printer to provide a graphic in matte black vinyl. They were easy to apply and look great.

Rear Trunk Carpet Installed

2010-06-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

Installed the rear trunk carpet. Used NOS material which was destined for a VW squareback. Much thanks to Mr. David Ball for providing me a template for one of the carpet pieces.

Early T3 Carburetor Altitude Corrector - Initial Impression

2010-05-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

The early side draft T3 carburetors were given the option of having their main jets substituted with an optional Solex altitude corrector. Go here for more documentation on the T34 web site.

The size difference between the main jet and the corrector is quite noticeable.

Below is a photo with the unit installed. I didn’t have to remove the carburetor and there were no gasoline leaks with the unit in place.

Initial impressions at 7200 feet , with a warm engine, were quite favorable. I was able to start the engine with ease and run it around the block with the same performance I had at 4300 feet.

The big test is when I get the car registered and can run it to the 9000 foot summit of Mount Rose highway. Based upon today’s results I expect no issues.

T34 Tachometer Restoration

2010-04-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

Purchased a genuine T34 tachometer recently and sent it down to North Hollywood Speedometer company for restoration. They will also convert the unit to 6v and paint the needle amber red to match my other '63 instruments. They used an old T34 clock of mine for spare parts.

Scott McWilliams, who himself is a 6v T34 tach owner, went to take pictures of the unit while it was apart. Thanks to ScottMcW for taking take off from his day!

All his photos and comments can be seen here at Flickr. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottmcw/sets/72157623924885494/)

Sunday Was the Day

2009-10-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

The last time I drove my car was 26 years ago and I was going to give it a shot.

I put in the front seats, quickly adjusted the clutch, started the engine, warmed it up for three minutes, and slowly backed it out of the driveway. At that moment I had to make the crucial decision … go downhill or uphill. I decided to go uphill as I could always coast down the hill if things did not work out.

I traveled 50 smooth yards, parked, and ran into a friend’s house to show him the idling car. Going uphill proved to be a correct decision as the engine conked out as I let it run.

I was glad my brakes worked as I sheepishly coasted it back to its parking place in the garage.
It looks like I have some things to figure out.

Engine Lid Insulation

2009-10-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

I installed my repro engine lid cover/insulation a couple of months ago. There was about a 1/2 inch gap from the engine lid to the rest of the compartment. Many people felt this was fairly normal for T34s even with the original insulation.

To make things look a little better. I added 1/4 inch of dynaliner:
http://www.dynamat.com/products_car_audio_dynaliner.html

This made the engine compartment line up fairly well.

You Have To Be Dapper To Look Good - Blue High Beam Indicator Light

2009-10-19T19:36:00.001-07:00

All my instruments are NOS and have brand new (not NOS) 6 volt bulbs. I could not make the high beam blue indicator light up so I could see it.

Then I remembered an old article (circa mid 1980's from the Ghia Report from Tim Dapper). I took off the old piece of blue tape he talked about and ABSOLUTELY that blue indicator light was bright as it could be....

Tim's Article:

One of the first things I noticed about my 1500 Karmann Ghia was that I couldn't tell whether my bright lights were on. During the day, the dashboard highbeam indicator light could not be seen at all. At night, if it was really dark and you looked carefully at the proper gauge with the dash lights turned off, your could see a dull blue glow.

So the next time I had the fuel gauge assembly out of the dashboard, I checked out the problem with the highbeam indicator light. By holding the assembly up to the sun, I could see that the blue lens was almost completely opaque. So I got out a small square ended file, with the intention of carefully scraping away some of the lens material in hopes that it would allow more light to pass through.

But when I started to scrape the lens, and amazing thing happened -- a layer of the lens flaked off and the lens seemed to fall apart. When I fished out the piece out of the housing , I found that it was not a layer of lens material at all, but was a piece of blue plastic tape. It seems that after twenty years, the tape adhesive had become brittle allowing the piece of tape to fall off.

Now when I held the housing up to the sun, a nice blue square appeared just like those for the red and green indicators. And now you can actually see the blue indicator light when you flash the brights on and off.

You can do this same thing in your Ghia also. To remove the fuel gage assembly, you must read up behind the dash and find two "thumb nuts" on the back of the gauge housing. By taking the nuts off, it is possible to remove the "U" shaped bracket which holds the assembly in place.

Once the bracket is out of the way, you can unplug the large plastic assembly from the back of the gauge unit, and withdraw the unit through the face of the dash. All of the various wires stay attached to the plastic assembly.

Upon removing the assembly, chances are that you will ruin the rubber gasket which goes between the unit bezel and the dash face and you will want to fix this.

Now all you have to do is fix the blue indicator lens and put the whole thing back together in the reverse order in which you removed it.

You are ready to hit those brights and watch the blue light shine!

The Dash Is Complete

2009-10-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Got the Blaupunkt radio in today. It was a small struggle getting things to fit. Scott Taylor, from his blog:

http://vwplusvw1500.blogspot.com

provided this T34 spec sheet:

He also gave these dimensions of the mounting bracket indicated in the above diagram:

The radio looks great with all the NOS instruments and radio cover. It was struggle collecting all of the instruments. Have to thank Lee Hedges for finding the 6 volt early clock. That was by far the hardest to locate.

The Fanfare Horns Are Working

2009-10-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

Reached a milestone today. The dual tone horns sound sweet. Much effort was spent trying to get them to work

The issues were:

powder coating on the steering column which prevented proper grounding. Removed it with chemical stripping
horn ring contact points coated with paint from Koch's steering wheel restoration
cracked steering wheel gasket after the unit came back from Koch's. Koch's rectified the situation.
used the wrong type of grease in the horn bearing. http://www.type34.org/article.php?story=20040719003006592

After all the above I was able to make the appropriate connection:

If You Painted Your Rims

2009-09-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

I have read too many times where vehicles, with fresh restorations, had wheels fall off. The reason... the fresh paint on the rims prevents the lug nuts from binding.

Andy Holmes, in a recent email, felt this may have been the issue in his recent accident (Luckily he was OK) :

http://rebuildmyghia34.blogspot.com/2009/09/happenings-since-may.html

Much of my free time today was scraping off the paint from the lug nut contact points on the rims. I even wire brushed the nuts to make ensure there would be clean metal to metal contact. The rounded knife, used in the process, worked well.

Don't forget to do your spare tire too.

Painted The Hub Caps Today

2009-09-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

At the '09 VW Classic this year I mentioned to Everett Barnes that I was having trouble painting the emblems on my early T3 hub caps. I didn't want to use the decals that are available and painting them by hand with masking tape wasn't working out.

The solution he gave was so simple. The final product looked the same as my NOS hub caps.

All one has to do is mask them as in the below photo:
Next, spray paint the exposed section with a satin black paint (this appears to be what VW used on the NOS caps I have). Remove the newspaper and tape immediately.
The piece of wood in the above photo has a sturdy paper shop towel stapled tightly to a piece of wood. The towel is saturated, but not dripping, with acetone.

Note: Wear rubber gloves and keep that garage door wide open to avoid strong fumes!

Rub the wood many times, in different directions, over the cap making sure that every pass come in contact with a clean piece of towel. Below is a photo of my practice cap after one coat. I had to do two to complete the project.

Fired Up! Yeah!

2009-09-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

Installed the wiring harness. Everything but the turn signals and horn are working. Will take a couple of days to figure that out.

Took a risk and poured in 5 gallons of premium gas into the tank and turned the ignition key.

After 25 years the engine started right up! The sound of the 1500 engine was very soothing. I sure missed that sound.

The yellow bulbs in the Marchal headlights and fog lights made the garage glow.

NOS Heater Pipe Adapter Rings

2009-08-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

I was having major problems trying to get my heater hoses attached from my car to my heater boxes. Nothing was working. I made sure I found NOS heater boxes, bought both kinds of NOS hoses, and nothing would hook up appropriately.

When I found my car, chassis 152 252, it had no heater pipes to speak of. The engine was a genuine VW rebuilt engine from the 70's with apparently a later style heater box. I could not get things to hook up whatsoever.

Andy Holmes bailed me out on this one. He found these genuine VW Type 3 adapter rings on the Samba, part number 311 255 113.

It turns out they worked perfectly for my situation and I can now heat the interior of my car. I slid them into the flexible pipes and they now attach with no worries.

Thanks Andy!

Did the Right Thing and Had the Mechanics Checked Out

2009-08-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

Delivered the car to to a VW shop to check out the suspension, brakes and transmission. They found many issues that had to be corrected. One big item... my brake drums were out of round and therefore had to be replaced.

The transmission, a rebuilt one, was leaking with the old seals. To be sure to make it would behave properly they removed it from the car, torqued down the case, and replaced the seals.

Because of the above the engine was out. I took it to yet another vintage VW shop to have it tested on a bench . The mechanics gave it a 100% good-to-go rating. The loved the unfamiliar side draft carb and how it started up right away with few issues. They let it warm up and then let it come back to idle. All of them commented on how well it sounded.

This was the first time I have rebuilt an engine and had things work right off the bat. Yesss!

Home after two years

Been looking for this for several years

2008-09-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

On many 1963 VW vehicles, not just T34s, these under-the-rear seat-passenger heater vents had manual levers. I am trying to find one of these gray rubber knobs that goes on the lever. There is even a VW logo on them.

At the last VW Classic event I went to, I examined '63 Bugs, T14 Ghias, and T3s. They had this type of rear heater vent. Just some of them had the rubber knobs in place. Let me know if you know of one! Thanks, Paul.

Thanks to Lee Hedges for the picture and giving me one of these rare parts.

It Happened!

2008-09-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

After 19 months my NOS T34 front mask finally arrived from France. Hopefully this item will never used as a replacement panel on a vehicle. Ideally it should be used as a model for reproduction.