Front Hood Drain Tubes

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!

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

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

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!

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

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!

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!).