video of our 65 on the motorway

video of our 65 on the M40 taken by Paul  Donovan

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5pXVCcqGfA

Drawing of our 1965 T344

Here is a link to a drawing of our 1965 model T344 done in 2003 and now shown in a slightly different format than the original, including deletion of the registration number\ substitution with the model year range instead.
http://www.classiccarportraits.co.uk/pages/VWKarmannGhia3_6269.htm

Arrived in Germany

The final post on my ex 62 T343. It has now arrived safely with new owner Carsten Klein in Germany where it will be kept safe and enjoyed alongside his other Karmann Ghias and Volkswagens.

On the way to Germany 2

Here is a video of the car setting off for Germany on the back of the trailer - the end of a long journey with the car for me and the start of a new and exciting one for the car. You soon in Hessisch Oldendorf in June in our 65! You will need to copy\paste the link at present as I can't get it to embed properly at present. http://youtu.be/1QuPFva_K1E

On the way to Germany 1

The 62 is at long last on the way to Carsten Klein in Germany for him and his family to have fun with. Great weather at this end when it was picked up and Carsten tells me the weather is good over in Germany too so hopefully it will soon be on the road over there.

3 T34s on the drive

Here is a shot of our 65, our 62 before restoration and Lee hedges T346 before export to the USA.

Other cars that have now gone to new owners

Here are a few of our other cars that have been sold on to other owners.

Well its a Karmann but not of the Ghia kind

With our 190SL still not finished in the summer we decided we needed a bit of open top fun and bought ourselves a Mercedes-Benz 320CLK convertible in July. Its Karmann built but doesn't come with the rust (so far). Great value, practical and fun to drive; but of course not a T34.

Article in Ultra VW

Our 65 was photographed for an article in Ultra VW back in the middle of last year. The article has yet to be published and here is a preview shot from it.

Here are pictures of our 1965 model T344

We have owned this car since April 82; it had a very minor restoration in 1992 which included outer sills, localised repairs around the headlights and small repairs around the torsion bar holes, plus a six inch section of the outer chassis rail on either side.  All finished off with a lower half respray.  He is still looking good some 20 years later although some minor repairs are now nedeed around the torsion bar holes again and bot

tom of the drivers door.

So long and farewell

At the end of last year I agreed to sell our November 1961 T343 to Carsten Klein in Germany, Carsten will be collecting the car from the UK shortly.  I will be sad to see the car go after spending so many years working on it and getting it as close as possible to how it left the factory. It is great however that the car is going back to Germany to someone who will cherish it and add it to his ever growing collection of T34s.
It has been a pleasure to own one of the earliest surviving T34s, oldest at the 50th celebrations in Germany. Have fun with the car Carsten!!

2012 Looking good

Here we are approaching the end of 2012 so a couple of shots of the car - She has come along way over the 9 years and is bracing herself for further change - more to follow in the next month or so.

2012 update

The engine has experienced a small degree of oil leakage from the push rod tubes.  As a reslt I decided to replace them all and to use collapsable ones; the challenge was at the time I wanted them no supplier in the UK had them.  I imported a set from PowerHaus in the US and after mastering how to fit them without damaging the seals the oil leak has been cured.  Here is a photo of the kit supplied (missing one push rod tube which they had to send on).

At the same time I stripped back the rear drivers side axle hub; there had been a slight weep from one of the seals due to some trapped Hylamar sealant which had damaged the O ring.  Also now replaced and resolved.
Carsten Klein kindly supplied a replacement window lifter for the rust weakened drivers side window and this has also been replaced.
Finally the points seem to have burnt to an extent after the first 3,000 Km so they and the condensor have also been replaced.

Changes to early vent window glass

As a final bit of the observations on changes introduced in September 1962, as mentioned in the scan of the page from the VW1500 body manual in an earlier post today, there were a number of changes to the vent window glass and chromed pivot frame that it sits in.
The biggest was that originally the locking handle for the vent window was secured to a chromed stud which was permanently riveted through the glass. The head and overall diameter of the stud was smaller than that on the later ones, the hole in the glass was enlarged to accommodate the post September 62 version.
The chromed pivot frame at the bottom of the glass also differed; the chromed stud for the locking handle sat relatively higher up the chromed pivot frame and the leading edge of the chromed pivot frame had a different end profile.
Finally the pivot bar from the chromed frame that goes into the vent window frame had a different profile that eliminated the need for the circlip fitted on the later ones. (although there also seems to be a mid version which has the early prole but later pivot bar with circlip.
The early window glasses with riveted fittings shown here in the first photo are off my early 62 and will be going back on once I have some new locking handles for them sorted out.

Early front vent frame comparisson

Following on from my post about the change to the door glass here are some photos from which you will be able to see the changes made between the pre and post September 62 front vent frames.
The early frames only had one ridge for the locking handle to engage with, later ones had two. Also the shape of the front part of the frame which is hidden within the door has changed as well becoming smaller in size.

Door glass for early cars

If you have a car built before September 1962, chassis number 087078 then take great care of your door glass.  The glass from September 1962 onwards was reduced in width by 2mm and fitted along with an adapted vent window frame - see attached sheet from the 1500 body manual from VW plus photo of early and late window glass stacked on top of each other showing the difference in size.

Drivers door and pain in the glass

I took the drivers door to be repaired and resprayed; it needed the dent I mentioned in an earlier post removing and repair to a small chip in the ridge removing.  I got the door back a couple of weeks ago and refitted it.  The bad news is the dent is still visible; it will have to wait until the end of the summer before I tackle it again as I want to use the car over the summer.
In the process of putting the car back together I wanted to tackle the problem which I kept meeting of the door glass separating from the lifter.  This is happening as the horizontal part of the lifter has rotted, weakening the structure and its grip on the glass.  As a result I need a new lifter - for drivers door on a LHD drive - if you have one then let me know, it must be totally rust free as I have a couple of others that have rust in them already - surface rust is OK but no holes or splits.

External door handles

Back in September 2009 I posted pictures of 1962 model external door handles showing that they differed from later ones by having hollow  backs.
I had by that stage already rechromed a set of later ones for my 62 and have now had the early ones rechromed also.

I will fit them shortly along with the NOS door handle seals I bought across in Germany last year.

50 years old today!!

It is 50 years today since my Type 34 rolled off the production line at the Karmann factory.  Since leaving Germany it has lived in Denmark, South Africa and England.  In August it went back to Germany as part of the 50 year celebrations.  Lets hope it survives another 50 years.

November 2011 update

I just got the speedo back from Speedy Cables. I had to send it to them as 50 miles from the end of our trip to Germany it started screaming like a banshee.

They have stripped it and serviced it using some parts from a spare unit I sent them and then fitted it with a new correct style chrome bezel. Looks great, only down side is they used the case from the spare unit and now my 9\61 stamped case is on the wrong unit - ah well its only me that knows!

They also made me up a new LHD speedo cable; the outer case had split and I wondered is water had got into the mechanism through that opening. The new cable has a hole for a split pin like later cars rather than a circlip but identical otherwise. I'll fit everything back together over the next weekend or so, should be ready in time for the cars 50th birthday on November 20th.