Video of T34 cabriolet

Here is a short video of the silver T34 cabriolet seen again at the old Karmann museum at the 50th celebrations of the Type 34. It is a 1961 body on a 1969 chassis\dash. Wonder how many other 'small' volume producers kept unused non series production bodies and turned them into working vehicles 8 years after their intended production date?

Video of the 1600 TC fastback prototype

Here is a short video of the aborted T34 prototype developed in 1964 and never to enter production. Video taken at the old Karmann museum.
An interesting observation is that with its completion in September 1964 the TC appears to have been a year ahead of the existing coupe in terms of engine size which had a 1500 (1493) cc engine and was not increased to 1600cc until the 1966 model.

Video from old Karmann Museum of the Sartorelli 1959 Ghia prototype

Here is a short walk around the Sartorelli 1959 Ghia protoype seen at the old Karmann museum during the 50th celebration of the T34 in 2011. Interestingly VW have it displayed as 1960 on the car.

The badge on the lip of the rear boot has disappeared I think since I last saw the car. Looking at the dashboard instruments it also looks to have a later 160KPH speedo fitted as well - wonder what the original looked like?

Toolkit

I have made sure that our 62 is as close to original condition and specification as possible. One of the areas I have looked into is the toolkit. All of the early cars predominately had slotted screw heads rather than Phillips or Posidrive screw heads to fixtures and fittings.
This is reflected in the specification for the toolkit in the owners manual; it shows 1 screwdriver 0.85 and 1 screwdriver 0.5, both with black painted wooden handles. Recently I was looking for tools to go with my Mercedes 190SL as the toolkit is missing from it and saw a toolkit advertised as being for a 190SL on e-bay with really low bids. Not surprising as it consisted of half tools for 190SL and half for VW including the correct early screwdrivers for my car. I put a low bid in and secured the toolkit. Here is a photo of my toolkit showing the screwdrivers and also of the toolkit from Johannes Krassenbrink's early 62 as well.
Interesting observation is that my toolkit (middle photo) is made from the early small grain 62 seating material whilst Johannes one is made from the material used to line the boot\trunk areas. This probably backs up the idea that the toolkits were made from off cuts from any material available at the time. Strangely our 65 has a toolkit made from the material seen on door panels from low light T14s.

August update - safely to the celebrations in Georgemarienhuette and back

Theresa and I drove both of our type 34s to the 50 years of the Type 34 celebration in Germany - I don't think there was any other husband and wife partnership doing this or indeed taking 2 cars from the same family. Our daughter joined us to show the depth of our obsession!
Well the 62 made it all the way without any major mechanical failure. I view this as a major achievement; it had only completed 300 miles before setting off on a 1200 mile return journey and had experienced a challenging life in its' attempts to get back fully on the road over the past 2 years. If I wondered why this car struggled to get back on the road I only had to look at the photos of the early stages of its' restoration and the pile of scrap it actually was - no mean feat to get the car to GMH in as original condition and to be the oldest car present as well was fantastic. The restoration was truly a huge task involving major transplants of pieces to bring it together.
To follow the same medical theme it did suffer from what I will call 'organ rejection' during its journey with a number of pieces being determined to drop off or become unglued along the way. All were quickly repositioned without major fuss.
It was great to travel to GMH with John & Lyn Figg and Mike & Astrid Kelly and fantastic to stop at Johannes Krassenbrink's in Altenberge and stay with him and Andrea there overnight before being lead by his outstanding 62 T34 to the showground at GMH via some great countryside. Thanks Johannes, your car was an inspiration to me during my own rebuild and looked outstanding.
I will cover off the event at GMH in some separate postings, absolutely fantastic event, even the rain and a fall whilst at the event, which lead me to crack a number of ribs, didn't deter me from keeping driving and enjoying the event. A huge well done to my wonderful wife Theresa for driving our 65 all the way to GMH and supporting me through the restoration and ensuring I continued with it as a panacea for a chronic ongoing illness.
So at this stage I am wondering whether to keep the blog going or draw it to a close as the car has now achieved my goal of getting to GMH - any views?
Due to a change in circumstances I may also have to consider selling the 62 - this is not definite yet and would be done only as a last resort. I would be looking for it to go to an exceptional home and at an appropriate price to reflect its' condition and early production date and my lack of desire to part with it. No customisers will be considered!