[T3] It's a sad day in So. Cal ...

["daveb" <nomeansyes@cox.net>]

Fellow T3-ers,

The time has come... just last week, I sold Esther, my '64 notchback 1500S.
(seller's remorse, it's killing me!  did I sell her for too little?  should
I have kept her?)  I won't bore you with the details, but it's just what I
had to do.  I've had her for almost 5 years, beginning with someone else's
unfinished project that was in storage since sometime in 1986.  I got her in
'99 as a hollow shell of a car with boxes and boxes of parts, 3 engines, 2
front beams, an extra transaxle, and a spare rolling chassis with a solid
floorpan.

Since early 2000, I took the body off the pan, replaced the pan halves from
the donor chassis, converted it to 12V, added dual circuit disc brakes (4
bolt wheels), rebuilt the '68 swingaxle with a "freeway flyer" r&p, rebuilt
the '73 1600cc motor (w/ VW FI heads), added a mild cam, dual Webers, new
rubber all around, new 2 tone interior, body work and Ruby Red paint, ball
joints, tie rod ends, a "monza style" exhaust (with heater boxes), and on
and on and on.  It's mostly stock, but not correct for the model year, and
DEFINITELY NOT a darksider.  She has about 27,000 miles since I made her
roadworthy.  She'd been to Invasion '02 but not to Hershey.

She didn't even make it to VWType3.org or the Samba for sale.  I put a sign
in the window and within 2 weeks, I sold her to a local Santa Barbara
family, as an ongoing project for dad and first car for his 16yo daughter.
The intent is to cherry her out and bring it to shows, meets, and the like,
perhaps even to Invasion 2006 in Oregon and beyond.  I thought hard about
this and worry a little that Esther will be at the mercy of such a young,
inexperienced driver.  Their intentions are good and dad is a motorhead from
way back, so I'm confident she'll get the attention she deserves.  My hope
is that both Esther and the new driver can successfully make it through the
learning curve of novice driving!  I've pointed them to vwtype3.org, this
list and thesamba.com as starting points, so you may see a new member or two
before too long!

I could go on and on about the car and my experiences, but the main point I
wanted to convey was my gratitude and thanks for the information, support,
parts, and general camaraderie during my time in the T3 world.  Everyone, I
mean EVERYONE I've dealt with on this list by email, phone, in person, etc.
has been helpful and courteous, and it has been my pleasure to know each and
every one of you, if only by reading your posts to the list.  More often
than not, I've been a lurker, reading the posts fairly regularly (much to
the dismay of my oh-so-patient wife, Dolores), and only posting when I had a
problem or an inquiry.  Regardless, I always received good direction or
information or whatever until I had sufficient knowledge to fix the problem
at hand.

For the past 4 or 5 years, it is my pleasure to have been part of the VW
Type 3 enthusiasts of the world.  It has been one of the most meaningful
experiences I've had and thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to
share in something truly special.  I wish you all the best and hope that you
keep the finite world of Type 3 VWs alive for years to come.  One of these
days I might just have to get another, and maybe then check out the
DARKSIDE!  Only time will tell

So, thanks to Jim, Russ, Greg, Everett, Brian, Keith, John, Hal, and
everyone else for everything!  It's truly been an awesome experience.

Type 3's Rule!

Peace, out,

David and Dolores Britton
- '64 Notchback S ~Esther~ (no more)
- '65 AMC Rambler Classic 770
- '02 Harley Davidson V-Rod
- '03 Nissan Sentra SE-R SpecV


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