Distributor Wires

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.