A Comforting Sound In the Middle of Winter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?