[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] [New Search]
On 12 Dec 2002 at 21:58, Andrew van der Stock wrote: > I?¥úm about to get going on my first resto, so please be gentle. :) You've made quite an exhaustive list, so I have a couple of generic comments. BEFORE you take anything apart, I'd drive the car for a few months and keep notes of what you find that needs work. Otherwise you will spend time fixing things that are just fine and ignoring things that need help. This can break the back of any restoration because you tend to exhaust your money and time before you have a working end product. I would advise you to fix as much of the small items as you can BEFORE you start to strip down the car, but if you have to strip something down to get to it, then you can just set the trim parts aside for later. This will get you familiar with lots of things before you start. When the time comes to reassemble parts you will be grateful for any memories you may have about how this was when it came together. Did you mention brakes? These cars have excellent brakes when they are properly working, but they seldom are when you pick up a "new" type 3. That's where I usually start, if only to protect my "investment." You have listed engine as one final small item. It's a lot more than that. Care spent at this point will pay great dividends. Few things look sillier than a great looking car pulled off the side of the road with engine trouble. Example: About 15 years ago I suddenly started seeing a little Honda that someone had obviously put a lot of "rice time" into. Purple metal-flake paint, huge wide wheels, LOUD sound system, fluorescent wiper blades and shock absorbers.... The funniest thing was that I saw it driving around exactly once; the other 5 times it was abandoned on the side of the road in various places. This guy missed the point. Finally, I wouldn't take the body off the pan unless it needed serious rust repair. If it does, then perhaps you should consider looking for a better body to start with. Perhaps the biggest danger is in starting down a road that is so long that you'll never get to the end. That's why I prefer to break the project down into more finite sized chunks. If you can drive it a bit between "chunks" this will do wonders for your enthusiasm. -- Jim Adney jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711-3054 USA ------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <type3-off@vwtype3.org> For more help, see http://vwtype3.org/list/