1965 M346 Restoration

1963 Disassembly for Ruby Red L456

2011-07-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I disassembled the 1963 Coupe so Jimmy Braxmeyer can finish the bodywork (last painted 1982, remove old rust bubbles & scratches) and repaint the lower-half L456 Ruby Red. Everything came apart fairly easily (4 hours). This body is in great original condition and should look very nice returned to new paint again. Jimmy needs three weeks for the work. Then comes the fun ... reassembly, which always takes 10X longer than the disassembly. We'll be using the new front & rear window seals, bumper bracket seals, and vent frame seals that were included with the T34 purchase.

Getting a Deep Cleaning of the Rear

2011-06-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I decided to tackle cleaning the rear compartment that had not been cleaned in 49 years. It had a deep dark shade of oil residue over the trapdoor covering and the Ruby Red inner engine painted sheet metal was thick with residue as well. The lettering & arrows black ink had been rubbed-off over the years. I used a toothbrush, spray bottle of Simple Green degreaser, water bottle for rinsing, and a roll of paper towels. After some intense scrubbing the oily residue came off to reveal the original Silver-Beige material underneath (top pic). The side insulation panels came out beautifully as well. The inner walls of the engine sheet metal were easily cleaned.The lettering & arrows were easily repainted using Sharpie pens. A thin pen was used for outlining and the thick pen for filling-in the symbols. Took 15 minutes total for the repainting process.

Making Things Clearer

2011-06-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

In the month I've had Jacin's Ruby Red & Black 1963 M343 I've completed a list of things that needed attention. When it was first delivered the speedo needle was sticking at 35mph and it had a chip out of the needle. The faces of all the gauges were foggy as well. So in the interest of cleaning up the gauges in preparation for the new owner's enjoyment I decided to get the full gauge set cleaned up. I've used Foreign Speedo in San Diego for the past 20 years and dropped-off the gauges. Bob said it'd be no problem to diagnose the speedo issues and give the gauges a good cleaning.

Two days later he called to say the gauges were finished! The speedo had been sticking because the internal magnetic parts were old and needed to be rebuilt. Fortunately he had the right parts (for a 49 year old T34 speedo?) and now it was calibrated and working like new again. He repainted the needle to match the others. And he polished the clear gauge faces to look crystal clear once again. All for $125. Killer service, great price, and super-fast delivery. I'm constantly impressed by this shop for their personalized attention to details and their honest approach to making their customers happy. Polishing the gauge faces was only $18 each too.

Special Delivery

2011-06-08T07:22:00.001-07:00

Jacin Ferreira dropped-off his Red & Black 1963 Coupe yesterday for consignment. It's an original 6V single-carb 1500cc with 150K miles and a fully-documented history. Reliable daily driver that I'll be taking up to the VW Classic this Sunday to find a new home. I'd bought this same T34 in 2005 from Yancy Everhardt in Arizona, cleaned it up and restored the interior, then sold it to Jacin a couple months later. Jacin has bought an extremely-early 1962 Notchback from England and the T34 doesn't have indoor storage space, so it's time for it to find a new home. Asking price is $12K, a fair deal for a nice daily driver push-button 1963 T34 Coupe.
Spent the past two days going through a prioritized list of issues to resolve. The fog lights were not working so I installed a new pair of 6V bulbs (thanks to Tuomas in Finland for the source!), cleaned the connections, and ZINGO they're working again! Fog lights on a T34 are such a beautiful feature ... and functional ones really add to the allure of the Sartorelli-designed front end.Rear overhead view shows the original California Black & Gold license plates and frames from it's 35 years in Northern California with its first owner. I replaced the rear scripts with NOS ones and used the script tubes that Franck Boutier found. Wide white wall tires are from Coker Tire, the Silvertown 2.25" model.Engine is simple & authentic with 6V black coil, single-carb, early fuel pump, and it looks so nice this way!Interior was restored to original using the heat-seamed Silver-Beige vinyl. Carpeting is a standard gray loop that looks great with the Silver-Beige. Original Blaupunkt Frankfurt radio, 90MPH speedo, push-button unit, rotary heater knob, & rubber floor mats all scream "1963".

Spring Festival 2011 in Carlsbad California

2011-05-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

The Vintage VW Spring Festival is an annual event in Carlsbad, CA (near the beach) that I founded in 1992. It's at a VW dealership and we clear-off all the new VWs and make room for the old VWs. This Sunday there were 100 vintage VWs on the lot and four T3s in the showroom to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the T3. Three T34s were there: Bob Walton's Pacific Blue & White 1964 Coupe, Rodger Marcks' Cherry Red & Black 1967 Coupe, and my Ruby Red 1962 Cabrio. Jack Fisher was there with his two girls as well but driving his 1962 Notchback since his 1965 T34 isn't quite roadworthy yet (but soon).

New Model: Minichamps (VW) Orange T34

2011-04-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

The orange Minichamps T34 has been out & available for a couple years now but two things were keeping me from splurging on a 2010 model: cost ($50) and it's ORANGE! T34s never came in orange so I really can't see why the model is orange, but it is. When I saw that this Minichamps model was repackaged in VW form (sold by VW now) and with a cool VW logo on the box, I fell for it.

Dizzy at Christmas!

2010-12-24T17:12:00.000-08:00

Once in a great while I'm genuinely surprised by the kindness of another and this Christmas Eve was one of those times. I received a knock at the door and my postman handed me a small box, heavy for its size from Texas. We'd already received all our presents for our five kids so this box was unexpected. I quickly unwrapped it and to my great surprise inside was a completely refurbished 1962-63 Bosch R6 distributor with NOS "big top" cap & rotor! Jason Weigel was my Santa Claus and I was very excited to receive this oh-so-generous gift that he knew my "Ruby" needed. Now her engine area can be more authentic & happy. Thank you, Jason ... & Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you've been good all year long and get exactly what you deserve under the tree tomorrow!

Fixing Hacked Engine Sheetmetal

2010-12-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

When I found my early-1962 T34 (#0 001 776) back in 1999 the engine sheetmetal side walls had already crudely been hacked-out. I could never quite understand why since the single-carb engine was still fitted and the T34 was parked in 1972, only 10 years old. There were three original single-carb with manifolds stored in the front compartment (talk about spare parts!). I had ignored this fault when I did the restoration work in 2000 since I didn't have access to an early T34 engine bay and I was just happy just to have it driving again since being off the road for 28 years.Fast-foward 10 years and it's now the summer of 2010 and Doug Narczewski is parting-out a Sea Blue 1962. I send an email requesting the original engine sheetmetal side wall sections and Doug removes the sections, boxes them up, and within a week I has them at my door for $168. It's an early Christmas present to Ruby, my 1962 T34.The plan will be to have the pieces media-blasted & rust-protected, then take the T34 to a metal shop (with engine removed) for the surgery. I'm just happy to be able to return this neglected section to original once again.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2010-11-05T17:50:00.001-07:00

I'm old enough now (47) that celebrating my birthday has a different meaning than when I was a kid. A cold craft beer, dark chocolate candy, and something T34 related are my favorite gifts. The first two are easy for my family to find on their own but I always help them with the T34 item. This year I was very fortunate to get an email from my buddy Carsten Klein in Germany asking if I was interested in buying this T34 model. I knew instantly that it was a rare Ichiko color variation that I did not already have in my collection, so I told him "yes, please send it down!" It arrived a week before my birthday and I got to preview it before officially opening it in front of my wife & kids.The Ichiko large-scale (1:18) tin models are my favorites because they are actually able to be played with, have over 21 different variations, and really have that 1960's era feeling about them. The vast majority (18 of the 21) of the Ichiko's are police models with different badges, lights, sirens, and words. But there are three civilian models that rarely surface: a Ruby Red with Black roof, a solid Pacific Blue, and a Gray with Red roof. I was thrilled to add this fine condition Gray & Red one to my collection!

The Ichiko models are easily identified by their ICHIKO rear license plate, front windshield trim (but none on the rear window), blue-hue plastic front & rear windows, lack of front turn signals, & 8-slotted beauty rings. They also have "Made in Japan" printed on the rear window shelf.

Fresh T34 Drawings!

2010-09-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

There are very few good drawings done of the T34 and when Scott Perry discovered some MG's drawn by a UK artist he urged me to convince the guy to create a T34 drawing. I sent Paul Bennett the PureT34 site link and asked him if he had ever seen a T34 before. To my surprise he said "No but they sure are nice-looking cars!" and then asked if there was an audience of organized T34 owners that might be interested in buying his drawings. I told him that I'd buy one and that I could help promote them to the 500 active T34 owners worldwide. Two days later Paul sent me these proofs of a T34 Coupe & Cabriolet! He based the drawings on a 1966 M343 (Everett's), Andy Holmes 1965 M344, and Jorg Fischer's 1963 M341. You can now order these drawings in either B&W or hand-colored for 10GBP additional. Visit www.classicmemories.co.uk for ordering information. Paul said he can change the rim style if you include a photo of your rim.

Palos Verdes Concours d' Elegance

2010-09-19T18:27:00.001-07:00

I try to attend interesting car events in Southern California to promote the T34 to new people that may never have seen one before. It always generates interesting comments like "THIS is a Volkswagen?" and "That's NOT a Karmann Ghia!". So this Sunday I left at 6am for the Palos Verdes Concours d' Elegance. Palos Verdes is a posh community in Southern California and the Concours was held at the Trump Golf Course overlooking the Pacific Ocean & Catalina Island. By noon the heavy fog layer was gone and the sun came out providing great scenery to a great event. There were 250 cars of all types & years from 1898 Mercedes Benz three-wheeler to 2011 Audi V10 sports cars.

In the Volkswagen class there was a 1952 Beetle Cabriolet, 1952 Panel Bus, 1963 Deluxe Microbus with Puck Camper, a 1972 SuperBeetle, a 1955 Rometsch Cabriolet, a 1969 Beetle Limosine, and FOUR T34s! No T14's, no Notchbacks/Variants, and the confused crowd was amazed that our unknown models were out en-mass!

My Ruby Red Cabriolet replica 1962, Greg & Kiki Hahs mild custom Light Green 1964 with Electric Sunroof, Aaron Weiss' mild custom Red/White 1966 M343, and Paul Kramer's unrestored original Castillian Yellow 45K-mile 1967 M343 made a great full-production series with Coupe, Sunroof, & Cabriolet models on display!

It was great to finally meet Greg & Kiki Hahs and get a chance to see the high-level of restoration work they've done on their 1964. It's got a red-needle 6K rpm tach, electric sunroof, white steering wheel/column, slate-covered vinyl dash pads, & fresh matching two-toned vinyl interior. Kiki drives her T34 to work on Fridays and really loves the T34.

KG Treffen & Italian Visit

2010-08-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

A week after the Swiss visit we had the KG Treffen in Oxnard. The two Italian's (Antonio Pellegrino & Luigi Segre) came over especially for this event and we had a week's worth of fun with them. I drove my Ruby 1962 up on Friday along Highway 1 into Santa Monica, Malibu, and into Oxnard and it was a beautiful day. We met Tom Reay, Chemo Ordaz, & the Italian's at KG Parts & Restoration's shop for some VW-talk, free food, and some relaxation.Chemo took us to his shop where we inspected the progress of Tom's 1968 Automatic M345, which has come a LONG way in a short time. We followed the vintage VW owners to Chullito's for some local Mexican food (fresh Campechana de Marisco's was awesome!), cold cervezas, and more T34-talk.Chemo picked me up early the next morning in his 1964 M343 and we drove the T34s to the Harbor View Park show site. After 10am there were about 35 KGs & 4 T34s. Tom Reay's outstanding Sea Blue 1965 M345 from Los Osos, Chemo Ordaz' driver Blue & Black 1965 M343, my 1962 M341 replica, and Scott McWilliams drove his Ruby Red & Black 1965 M345 with Scott Taylor in the passenger seat. After an intense judging experience (thanks to Antonio) we chose the top KG awards and then selected the top KG in each model to vie for the Sartorelli-Segre Elegance Cup. The winner was a very nicely restored Cardinal Red 1958 T14 Cabriolet. After a beautiful day in the sun at the marina Antonio & Luigi in KGP&R's shop T14 followed me down to San Diego in a 5-hour excursion, arriving just after dark.On Sunday we had a fun BBQ with Scott Taylor & Cathy. They got the full T34 immersion with inspecting the M346, parts, literature collection, toy collection, and everything else. I got a chance to really sit down with Antonio and understand that we both have the same ideology on life, T34s, and people. He's a great friend and someone I'm sure we will know for many years to come. Luigi (19) is new to KGs and our T34 obsession but was very mature and accepting of how much his grandfather (Luigi Segre from Carrozzeria Ghia 1954-63) has affected our hobby.On Monday we cruised up north to Costa Mesa to visit Paul Kramer's 45K-mile Castillian Yellow 1967 M343. What an outstanding job Paul has done with maintaining this fine original T34! And he gave us the full tour as well of over 25 vintage & race cars.On Tuesday we drove the T34 & T14 on a San Diego Tour beginning in Oceanside and going south along Pacific Coast Highway into Carlsbad, Encinitas, Del Mar, Torrey Pines, & La Jolla. After breakfast we visited Jon House's 30K-mile restored Sea Blue & White 1965 M344 hiding in the garage for the past couple years. Then we stopped in old St. Malo for a scenic photo and cruised along the coast to the Torrey Pines glider port and spent a half-hour watching in amazement at the paragliders. Then we dropped down into La Jolla Shores where Luigi found some new girlfriends, then we stopped at La Jolla Cove to see the seals & tidepools. Last stop was at Su Casa for homemade guacamole, ceviche, & fresh shrimp and the cold strawberry margaritas were there to wash it all down. Antonio jumped down into the sand and dipped his feet in the Pacific Ocean, something he's done in different parts of the world.

Suisse Visit

2010-07-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

Two new T34 friends from Switzerland came by during their vacation in Southern California and we took the 1962 out for a drive. Philip Egger (1969 M343) & Roland Gentner (1964 M343) brought their families to California and stopped by for the full-dose of T34 immersion: cars, parts, toys, literature, & photos from Karmann's archives. It was really nice to take the T34 for a spin after 4 years of inactivity. Special thanks to Jason Weigel for sharing his spare early manifold, as mine was rusted-through & disintegrating.My thoughtful new Swiss friends brought a unique license plate & vintage metal badge for the T34. The plate is from their local county in Thurgau (TG) and has a one-year registration tag (autographed by the 10 family members) and the vintage TCS (Touring Club Schweiz) badge is their equivalent of the AAA (mounted onto a bracket secured to the bumper bolt behind the guard).

Front Hood Drain Tubes

2010-07-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

Paul Colbert initiated the research and discovered a new source for the correct size rubber tubing for the front hood drain tube set. The L-shaped short tube (T14 repro) mounts into the hole in the front hood channel. The bottom end of this tube is cut-off so it can slide tightly into the top end of the 49cm (19.3") long rubber tube (1.0cm inner diameter). This metric tubing was discovered in England and I bought 10 tubes worth for USA T34 owners. The long tube is pushed through the hole at the top and then snugged along the inner nose, through the holder clips and down to the horn hole.

On early T34s with dual horns (up to #345 031 XXX) the dual horns are fitted inside the spare tire area with a large boot (T14 repro) to keep the water/dirt out. This boot needs to be cut at the top to allow the drain tube to go 0.25" into the hole so the water can drain onto the street.

On late T34s with dual horn mounted on the front bumper there is a black metal horn cover plate with a round drain hole built-in. A second L-shaped short tube is inserted into the bottom end of the long tube which is then snugly fitted into the metal cover plate hole. The seal for this can be made from a Transporter Kombi rear window seal (inexpensive T2 repro) or cut from the dual horn boot (T14 repro).

As always this couldn't have been done accurately without the generous help from Paul Colbert, Andy Holmes, Franck Boutier, & Everett Barnes for their original restorations & photos.

Ivory Door-Lever Cups!

2010-07-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember the early ivory inner door pull cups were never available and we'd always scour the swap meets for acceptable original ones. They'd always break when you installed or removed them so we'd always keep a few extras as spares. Now KG Parts & Restorations in Ventura CA has reproduced this much-needed part!

I ordered a pair for my 1965 and was pleasantly surprised that the color was very close to the originals (left is original & right is repro). And for $6.50/pair they are inexpensive as well. Order # is 837-247 64 70 RPGY and you’ll need two as they’re sold individually. Go to www.KarmannGhia.com and search for “door latch cvr”. The black ones for later T34s (or solid black interiors) are listed as well for $5/pair.

Parts Sources List

2010-03-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

I'm always helping T34 owners to source parts and advise them on where to buy the most difficult to find bit for our T34s. With our Thailand source dead, new vendors offering repro items, and a few unique cross-over sources, I began to compile the known parts into one document. Here's the PDF: T34 Parts Sources

I will try to keep it updated & current but this list will only work if everyone contributes their sources, prices, & info. If you have a source for a part, please email me to share it. LeeHedges@PureT34.org

Scripts & Emblems Installation

2009-08-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Franck Boutier (France) I was able to source the tiny script tubes for the rear scripts. These tubes are 3mm outside & 2mm inside so they were not easy to find but an online supplier in Texas had them and I bought a box of 50. They are shorter than the original clear tubes but they worked beautifully! Pushed firmly into the cleaned holes then the scripts pushed firmly into the tube holes. The front round VW emblem was a bit trickier since the clear spacer under the emblem kept it up too high, but when I clipped-off the tips of the script tubes (apparently keeping the emblem studs from going down far enough) it sat down close to the body and was firmly installed. There's no way these scripts will fall-out now! Thanks Franck!

Back Home Again!

2009-07-12T10:21:00.001-07:00

At 1030pm last night Chemo & a buddy showed-up with the M346 after five long years away. We grabbed a wheel well and unloaded the body onto the wood dolly I built. The dolly is designed to store the T34 in one garage space while being able to work on either the body or the chassis separately. The chassis can roll-out from underneath the dolly or the body can roll-out.

The massive amount of rust repairs that Sean Roper performed and Chemo finished are now invisible on the razor-smooth body panels. The fresh air vents are perfect, the spare tire frame is undetectable, and the lower wheel well sections are flawless. I'm very happy with the results and the L554 Cherry Red color is absolutely beautiful! It's sedate and classic on the Black roof.

Restored Gauges

2009-07-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've used Foreign Speedo for gauge restorations for the past 20 years and they've always produced quality work at reasonable prices. The set of four T34 gauges was only $165 and was completed in 8 weeks. Cases painted, black rings on the center dials were repainted, brass polished, needles repainted, speedo calibrated & turned back to zeros, speaker fabric replaced, plastic faces polished, and inner rings painted to match. The only things they can't do is repair clocks and replace the outer T34 chrome trim rings.

Now I can hear you saying "hey, he's got the wrong speedo for 1965, as it's the smaller diameter one for the 1964 models". But no, there were a short series of early-1965's that had the small diameter 100mph speedo carry-over from the early design. Not very many had this design but mine did. And all 1965s had the white needles, unlike the 1962-64 models with amber needles. Try finding one of these small-diameter bronze-knob white-needle 100mph gauges ... really specific & very limited!

Mmmmmm, Fresh Chrome!

2009-07-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Bob Walton & Jack Fisher I have a yummy fresh new set of T34 chrome! Bob used his source in Pomona (Best Polishing & Chrome) CA and the results are awesome. Vent window frames, "pointed" bumper guards, front & rear bumpers, & Euro headlight rings all came out like-new again. Several holes were filled in the front center bumper, holes filled in the Euro headlight rings, and the vent frames were pretty pitted. Hub caps were done by Pedro Sainz in Mexico, a specialist in early T3 caps. Took 7 weeks and total cost was $1065. No tax, no shipping to/from thanks to Bob hand-carrying the parts (what a guy!).

Final Paint!

2009-06-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

A huge hurdle has been reached with the final painting of the M346! Five years from when I disassembled it into 34 million pieces and now it's showing signs of its rebirth. Chemo shared these photos with the T34 owners at the VW Classic (which I missed as I was in Germany on business) and now shared them with me. The L554 Cherry Red may look differently under the yellow lamps of the shop, so he's taking new ones outside to see the real color hues. But my inital impression is one of great contrast between the body & roof and of an aggressive look with the two-toned scheme.

Visit to Darmstadt Germany

2009-06-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

I was in southern Germany on business and had a couple extra days to spend visiting with two T34 owners in Darmstadt. Jorg Fischer owns two amazing T34s: an unrestored Anthracite & Pearl White 1963 with manual-crank Golde sunroof & a restored Pearl White 1963 Cabriolet, one of five known to exist worldwide! Tobias Ebner also owns two T34s including this nicely restored Emerald & Pearl White 1963 Electric Sunroof. We met for steak dinner & Martzen beers one night and then the next day went for a beautiful T34 cruise into the edge of the Odenvald forest for some amazing photos. I was able to take a ton of reference photos of the M345 to help my M346 restoration and was also able to see the M341 details up-close. Did you know that the rear side seat vents are rotated 90 degrees on all M341s? Strange but true ...

Porsche T34 Interior Light

2009-05-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

Just got an great tip from Franck Boutier in France about a Porsche 356 interior light that seems to be an excellent & reasonably priced repro for our T34s! It's stamped Hella, is 80mm, has the right shape, the inner edge is painted silver, it has an ivory switch knob, takes a 10W bulb, and they have the long 6V bulbs as well. Priced at $35 you can order part #NLA-632-101-03 from Stoddard in Ohio USA at 440-951-1040. The repro light was not in-stock but after a quick check with thier purchasing girl the rep said they expect to have more in mid-June and will accept orders now & ship it when it comes in. It's listed as fitting Porsche 356-AT2 & 356-BT5, all Cabriolets & some Coupes. That's a huge stroke of luck, as we've been seeing NOS ones in the $200 range and used ones for $100-150. A perfect repro one for $35 seems like a steal! Thanks, Franck!

Off to Chrome Shop

2009-05-20T12:20:00.001-07:00

Thanks to a local plating shop source from Bob Walton I was able to gather the chrome parts and get them sent off. Expected costs: $250 per bumper (3pcs), $60 per guard (for the pot-metal pointed style), $25 per headlight ring, $60 vent frame, & $10 per license light ring. I'm having the four holes in the front bumper piece filled, dented/rusted hub caps fixed, and extra holes in the headlight rings filled (all at no extra cost). Warning: be sure to have the studs in your pointed guards masked-off so they don't get dipped, as the acids will eat the studs down to little stubs rendering them useless (been there, done that).

NOS Pointy Guard

2009-05-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

My wife always laughs at me for spending so much time searching the web for T34 parts, theSamba, eBay USA, eBay Germany, & emailing with so many T34 owners worldwide. But I got the last laugh this week when I scored an extremely rare NOS pointed bumper guard (right front) from an old friend in Ohio, Phil Lucas. Phil used to be involved with Bugs For You (Orange CA) and was recently doing some spring cleaning. Franck Boutier shared the ad with the PureT34 e-group and within a few seconds I had fired an email to Phil asking to buy it. He responded, "The T34 group is strange, I'd had this part listed for 90 days but only now you asked about it at 3:41 and Paul Colbert replied at 3:43! And the PayPal fees were $3.43 to accept your payment!" Strange & wonderful numerical coincidences! My wife still doesn't get it ... but that's OK, I'm thrilled with this score.

First Look: Paint!

2009-04-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

Chemo just sent me the first-look photos of his paintwork, L41 Black roof & pillars with L554 Cherry Red dash. The body will get shot next and then it'll be delivered to San Diego. WAHOO!!!

Body Dolly

2009-03-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

I've got little extra space in the garage for the reassembly process, so I decided the best way to store & work on the body & chassis would be to design a wood body dolly. Over the weekend my son & I built a 72"x65" rolling platform that will allow the painted body to be stored above the chassis. Total cost was $175 and it took several hours to complete. The wheels have locks when the dolly is rolled out of the garage into the driveway with a ratcheting strap to secure the body to the dolly.

Ready for Paint!

2009-03-04T17:37:00.001-08:00

I got a surprise phone call this week from Chemo ... "your M346 is ready for paint"! What fantastic news after almost 5 long years of body restoration work with two different bodyshops, "Jeffrey" will soon have a new suit of clothes. Chemo said the sunroof drain "weep holes" were restored (which had been rusted & hacked by a previous owner), the front hood hinges & hood was replaced with better donor parts, the NOS door hinges were fitted, the final bodywork is completed, and he's ready to buy the paint.As this is a legacy car (one that I'm keeping forever), I want it to be as close to original/stock as possible. Since VW originally painted in a single-stage enamel (7 coats I've heard) in 1962, that's what we've ordered for this M346. Chemo found a paint shop that was able to order the Dupont Nason single-stage paint in Cherry Red (L554) & Black (L41) for only $150/gallon (about one-sixth of PPG two-stage cost)! I've ordered two gallons (plenty on reserve if anything ever happens to it) of the red, and five paint touch-up sticks. That was a stroke of luck!

Chemo sent updated photos of the finished bodywork as of March 1st. What an amazing transformation Chemo has done with this rusty T34! The fresh-air vents are perfect (previously were filled-in with bondo), the rockers from Lars are smooth, the spare tire area is clean, the rear shelf is renewed, and the holes in the roof are gone.

I hope my next post will share the fresh Cherry Red & Black painted body!

Rear Shelf Repair

2009-03-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

Back in September (when I last visited the M346 at Chemo's shop) I discovered that the rear shelf really needed to be replaced. One phone call to Larry Edson (Mr. T34 sheetmetal source) and a rust-free rear shelf (in Sea Blue) was on its way to Chemo. Chemo removed the spot-welds on the swiss cheese shelf and welded-in the new one. What a huge difference (even though it'll be completely covered by the liner.

I just got photos in the mail today from Chemo even though this work was completed in October last year. He sent more updated photos too ...

NOS parts in 2009!

2009-01-24T20:14:00.000-08:00

When restoring a T34 you really need to be diligent in your searching for parts and it never hurts to get lucky. When Mel Thompson from Tennessee (Black 1968 M345) emailed me after 10 years to help him sell his left-over parts, I agreed. In the stash of used parts were a couple gems: an NOS vent window & two NOS fog light trim rings! Mel was gracious to allow me to buy these without popping for the whole stash, so thank you Mel! Then while watching the new parts on theSamba I discovered Mark Smith from Oregon (vintage T3 source) who always has interesting T3 parts and sometimes a T34 part if you're lucky. Well he listed some NOS early Anthracite plastic heater sliders, so I scored one of those. He mentioned he had some NOS T3 compartment material as well, so I quickly added two of his better pieces. And lastly, I was extremely fortunate to find a complete set of T34 hinges for an amazing price from an old T34 friend. So it always pays to help other T34 owners, keep your eyes open for new sources, and always ask the sellers for other T3/T34 parts.

NOS Compartment Material

2008-10-25T12:22:00.001-07:00

The front & rear compartment material for the T34 is the same as the early T3 models, and since there is no source for the correct material color and pattern, most T34 owners either make-do with what they've got or search for T3 material pieces to cut-down to fit the T34 pieces. Since I'm always searching eBay Germany for items, I discovered a source for NOS T3 side panel material which is long enough for the T34 rear compartment side panels. At $20 each they are well worth the cost since the original ones from my 1965 were well-worn.

Original Carpet & Compartment Mat research

2008-09-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

In an effort to restore my 1965 interior to as close to stock/original as possible, I had the fantastic opportunity to take detailed photos of an original-owner 1965 Coupe from Los Angeles. The carpet pieces were all intact, the front compartment mats were in perfect condition, and the rear compartment mats were also in mint condition. The secret to getting the details right is in knowing what the details looked like when these T34s were new. A complete collection of these photos are now on the PureT34 site so other owners can benefit from this extremely original preserved T34.

Swiss cheese anyone?

2008-09-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

The rear shelf (left side photo) looks like Swiss cheese and the previous owner has hacked-in a pair of speakers, so I did some checking around and was thrilled to have discovered a nice original unrusty rear shelf with Larry Edson (right side photo)! Now the Swiss cheese will be gone and a beautiful original metal shelf will be welded in place. Thanks, Larry! This is exactly why it's so important to have lots of T34 friends!

Chemo Ordaz Bodywork: Aug08 - current

2008-09-01T20:25:00.001-07:00

Finishing Bodywork: Chemo has been working hard of the bodywork, smoothing out the rough welding repairs, and massaging the body to be ready for the paint. Tom Reay took some photos on Labor Day weekend and sent them along. He says "Looks good, Sean was coming by today to do some welding on the roof and other spots. It's in sanding primer. They have done a ton of work on the car! What a job, I think you'll be happy with it."

Chemo Ordaz Bodywork: Aug05 - July 06

2008-09-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

Rocker panel set from Lars Neuffer in Germany were welded into place. Cost about $1100 to get the set here back in 2004.
The right rear corner was the worst of the cancer, but luckily Larry Edson had an original replacement piece from a parts car available. Thanks Larry! When I spoke with Tom Reay about his 1965 M345 restoration (also done by Chemo) he mentioned that they moved the seat rails 4" towards the rear seat to provide more headroom, since the sunroof box takes an additional 2" of space. Tom is 6'3" and I'm only 5'11", so I'm sure there'll be plenty of room now. And my kids are too big for the back seat anyway. Thanks for the tip, Tom!

Sourcing Sheetmetal: July-September 2004

2008-09-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

There was a long list of sheetmetal that needed to be replaced including rocker panels, front & rear wheel wells, rear air duct grilles, fresh-air louvres, and the area in front of the spare tire well. I was very fortunate to find original pieces from Larry Edson and a new repro rocker panel set from Lars Neuffer. This is what made the difference between a bondo-bucket and a top-notch restoration.

Jimmy Braxmeyer's Bodyshop: (July 2004-July 2005)

2008-09-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Braxmeyer's bodyshop: my first choice for bodyshop was Jimmy Braxmeyer since he'd done both Paul Colbert's 1963 M343 & Jon House' 1965 M344. When Jimmy took a closer look at the rocker panels, wheel wells, and other areas it was clear this would be a monumental rust replacement task. Since a previous owner had filled-in the fresh-air louvres with bondo (???) the first task was to replace these vents (below). As the months clicked-off I was not in a hurry (= less expensive repair work) so it sat at Jimmy's shop for 12 months with little work accomplished. The rust must simply have been too daunting a job for Jimmy to find time to tackle. By July 2005 I asked him to return the M346 to my home in hopes of finding another bodyshop.

Chassis Work (July 2004)

2008-09-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

After the body panels left the next step was to disassemble the chassis, engine, transmission, & brakes. This was a nasty, dirty, and back-breaking task. But once the parts came back from the powdercoater it was all worth it! What a difference!

Disassembly (June 2004)

2008-09-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

Only five days after the VW Classic the M346 had been completely disassembled. I had high-hopes of getting the bodywork done and wanted to be rid of the hideous Zambezi Green paint color! I was able to remove all the parts and even separate the body from the chassis on my own. Then my buddy Jason Weigel came over to help with lifting the body off the chassis.

Finding my M346 (Apr-May 2004)

2008-08-31T15:24:00.000-07:00

Discovery & Export to USA: Having been heavily involved in T34s for the past 20+ years I've always had a hard-on for an M346, a right-hand-drive Electric Sunroof model. These were the rarest of the T34 models and there are currently less than 20 survivors worldwide. I'd driven Janet & Clive Richardson's 1964 M346 during a 2000 vacation in Germany and was hooked! In March 2004 I finally found one for sale that met my requirements, but it was in England. It was the second oldest M346 known to exist, was a daily driver, looked mostly complete, and was unmodified. I was extremely fortunate to have the legendary expertise of Andy Holmes to inspect, purchase, & arrange for shipping of it back to California.It arrived at Port Hueneume (Oxnard) in late May and my first stop was Scott Perry's work in Thousand Oaks to see his 1965 M343 and welcome my M346 home (above).I spent two intense weeks replacing parts, painting the roof white (thanks Jimmy!), & redoing the seats & carpeting (thanks Jose!). It made its debut at the VW Classic in June 2004, driven by none other than Andy Holmes (below) who was over on vacation with his wife Theresa & daughter Sophie! The M346 was a huge hit with the T34 community and it would be the last time it'd be seen driving for more than 5 years!