[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] [New Search]

Re: [T3] must have razoredge/what to look for


JonR=> What to look for when buying a car like this?
=> I mean except for the obvious rust.

The thing to bear in mind when looking at a 34 is that restoring one bears
very little resemblance to restoring a Volkswagen. While it was VW's most
consistent model, remaining almost the same for eight years, almost all the
body and interior parts are unique and there were only about 14,000 sold in
that time. If the car is missing original parts, replacing them is usually
much more costly. So the presence of trim and interior parts becomes much
more important to value. Nothing is irreplaceable, but almost everything is
expensive and usually tough to find.

Before committing to purchase a 34, I'd highly recommend studying the club
Website at Type34.org, where you'll find the deepest and most authoritative
databank on the model, as well as an active mailing list like this one.

=> Are there any rust traps that are not obvious?

Yes. Ghia's lovely handwork conceals some body seams that can attract rust,
particularly at the front corners, and there are potential traps around the
headlights, at the wheel-well corners and the spare tire well. Once there is
rust penetration anywhere it can quickly run rampant inside the fenders and
rockers. Rusty rockers/heat channels weaken the body considerably, and are
very hard to work on. Sunroof cars can have additional issues.

Steven Ayres, Prescott AZ
'66 Big Ghia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List info at http://www.vwtype3.org/list | mailto:gregm@vwtype3.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] [New Search]