One Real Opinion

[Steven Ayres <comwest@well.com>]

RLGreen=> I would like as many thoughts on this as I can.

I'm toward the end of a full resto right now, and I've been dealing with 
just these sorts of issues for months, for waht it's worth, and nobody 
has ever said I wasn't opinionated, so .... 

[Disclaimer: Wherever I use the imperative form ("You *must* ..."), 
it should be read as "Well, I sort of think that you *might* be happier 
in the long run if you ...".]

You say you've got the money ready, so I say do it all and do it right 
away. It won't get any cheaper, nor will parts ever be more available. 
Just make sure the people working for you really know what they're 
doing.

If the car's never been hit, take it off the pan, fix the suspension as 
necessary and powder-coat the pan to ensure that your lovely paint job 
won't be wasted. Remove all paint and filler, down to metal, repair the 
rust spots with new metal and fix the dents. Get inside the fenders and 
between the panels with rust inhibitors. Find a body man who cares about 
what he's doing. This is where you'll spend the most money, and it'll be 
worth it. By really scraping and cleaning the metal, you also open up 
all the clogged drain holes and dirty bits. It's a drag, but you'll love 
it later.

When the body's painted, take it to Lenny Copp at West Coast Classics 
for the interior. He'll do a hand-sewn job for about the same price as a 
good kit. (I wish I'd known that before I bought my kit.) He'll pull the 
wiring harness and have a new one made at Wire Works. This is a *very* 
important investment on a thirty-year-old car.

Shop around for a chrome shop, and I mean the whole country. I just took 
a personal recommendation and wouund up paying three times as much as I 
should have. Shipping is worth it if it can save you 500 bucks. (On a 
Square I'd also consider powder-coating instead of chrome, if you're not 
planning for a stock look. *Much* cheaper and easier to keep up.)

Meanwhile you'll build an engine or have one built. If you want to see 
30,000 miles tick over in a couple of years, don't go larger than 
1835cc. From what I've heard, a Jacobs ignition computer would be a good 
investment for a larger engine, too -- by better controlling your burn, 
it extends the life of the engine. Don't cheap out on engine parts, 
don't buy a mail-order long block, and don't over-carb or over-exhaust, 
they're wasted on a T3. Definitely go with a full-flow oil-filter.

My consulting mechanic (a former VW racer) tells me that the five-speeds 
are great if you just want to do more shifting -- the final ratios are 
generally pretty close to the same. (If someone can authoritatively 
confirm or deny that, I'd love to hear about it.) A better buy might be 
the longer-3-&-4 trannies (e.g., Freeway Flyer), but check carefully 
before you buy. Most people stay with the stock units, they work just 
fine.

As for the issue of getting bored with it once it's done: People are 
different -- some want a ride, and some want a second career. If you 
want a career, yeah, you'll get bored and you'll need to start another 
project. Getting there can be a lot of fun, but in my case I am *so* ready 
to be finished ...!

Steven Ayres, Prescott AZ
'66 KGhia 1600 (in process)
'64 KGhia 1500S (partz)
'79 Campmobile (next project)
comwest@well.com
.