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At 01:29 PM 10/20/98 +0100, you wrote: Mike: It sounds like the same "mechanic" who worked on your T3 is the same guy who performed a "complete body restoration" and "rebuilt the engine with a new block" to our 1972 Convertible before I bought it from the previous owner. Since I am overseas, I couldn't see the car and bought it sight unseen on the good word of the previous owner. I was aghast when I saw that: - the body was repaired with bondo 1" thick in places; - fiberglass covering rusted floorpan holes (painted black to make it blend with the floor); - NO side window rubber; - a basket case engine built on a recycled single relief valve MOFOCO block - loose case nuts - loose head nuts - a cracked head (the other was new -- go figure) - rusted and stripped exhaust manifold screws that couldn't even hold the muffler in place; - an oil pump incompatible with the camshaft (resulted in metal shavings ruining the new bearings - a distributor that couldn't advance - an Earl Scheibe paintjob that didn't even remove the turn signals before spraying - EVERYTHING painted with a black rubber coating to make it look shiny. And all that at a premium price. (I know, caveat emptor.) The only thing to do was for us to do a complete body off restoration and engine rebuild which we finished this past summer. The moral here is one that I think came from Gene Berg: "Do it right, cry once." I rebuilt the engine and did most of the body-off resto work myself. The work we couldn't do (weld body panels, install floors, paint, we monitored every second day...religiously and with a camera. The result was that the workers knew they were being monitored and we now have the entire restoration documented in pictures. How does this relate to T3s? We are going to do a body-off restoration job to our '65 T3 and use the same body shop and paint shop that we used for our convertible. In our weeks of visits, we gained a working respect for each other that made their work a collaborative effort with us. Afterwards, the painter even said that it was refreshing to work with someone who really cared about their car. This made them do a better quality job than they normally would have. The result? We now own a car that we, the bodyman, and the painter are all proud of. They are now even looking forward to working on our Variant! Since we were there and took pictures, we know exactly what was done to our car. I'll let you know how our Variant turns out. Take care, John Kowalski Zagreb, Croatia (where old world artisans can still be found) >Just in case none of you knew, Keith is just about one of the nicest people >I have ever met. And the man knows so much about T3s it makes an novices >head spin. >Just wanted to extend my gratitude to the person who gave me a personal >step by step into oiling my car and unfortunately but wisely pointed out >that all the body work done on her was cosmetic and solved no problems, as >it should have. Now I'm trying to choose the best knife for the guy who did >the work.... I'm leaning toward serrated. Or Ginsu. > >If you EVER get ANYTHING done to your car by an outsider NO MATTER HOW MUCH >HE SOUNDS LIKE HE KNOWS, watch the work step-by-step. I learned this too >late > >Unbelievable. And, of course, it's New York. So getting what I want without >getting screwed at this point is tricky. > >-Mike >Oily 72 Sqbk in Brooklyn New York where no one knows how to work on a T3. > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------- >Unsubscribe? mailto:type3-request@vwtype3.org, Subject: unsubscribe > > >