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Fri Mar 27, 2015 9:51 pm

Hello all, I would like to introduce my 1969 Fastback that I just picked up. This VW is jointly owned with a friend who wanted one for a long time but was unsure if this particular car was the "right" one. When he briefly hesitated in buying it, I saw my chance so we went in "halfies" so to speak. Anyway here are pictures of the car as found...

First impressions were not great, given the car has been sitting outside for many years and was covered with green slime. I know enough about type IIIs to be aware that new front fenders are not available and all used ones around here will be as rusty as the ones on the car. Then the owner mentioned it came with perfect rust free fenders in the correct year... Otherwise the body and chassis did not appear obviously rusty. The owner then mentioned it had only 34,000 original miles!

Well we pulled the trigger and bought it for $500 each. It also came with new TMI seat covers and a NOS muffler and tailpipe. My kid in the above photo can't decide if he really likes it or not. He did say Squarebacks are cooler however...

It looked a lot better after the pressure wash! With regards to the low mileage, I have laughed at many VWs in the whines sections that are advertised as low mileage, yet look like absolute garbage. When we picked up the car, the owner gave us a stack of documents and history to back it up! The original owner bought in new in my hometown and drove it extensively for the first few years of its life. The fuel record book is still with the car as she travelled throughout western Canada and the US. Later the car was rarely driven and then sat for years in storage. After the original owner died, it was passed on to a relative who did not drive it often, and again it sat. The guy we bought it from had good intentions to restore it properly, but was distracted by motorbikes, and again the car sat, this time outside...

The car came with some old pictures in the glovebox too.

All these photos were taken in 2001 when the previous owner bought it and took it out of storage. He only drove it 500 miles in 14 years. Our plans for this car are to finally give it the restoration it deserves, while retaining as much of its originality as possible. First job will be to get it mechanically up and running again, then do the necessary body and paint. The interior needs the seat covers replaced due to sun rot on the headrests. There was no wear at all on the seat surfaces. We hope the moldy original carpets will respond to a good cleaning; the headliner and door panels are still perfect. Overall we are pleased with our purchase so far and hope to post more as the restoration progresses...

Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:55 am

Sounds like this little Fasty finally found a Good home!

Sat Mar 28, 2015 6:27 am

That looks like a gem! You have to keep us posted on the progress and what you find as you go through the car. Congrats!

Sat Mar 28, 2015 10:11 am

Suesanctuary wrote: Sounds like this little Fasty finally found a Good home!

Agreed. Do you have any more pics? We love pics around here. :wink:

Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:54 pm

Very nice! I love that the exterior is so complete like those clean bumpers and guards, chrome trim etc....all the bits n pieces are there. How is the rear apron?

Sat Mar 28, 2015 8:45 pm

This is quite the car! I am the other 1/2 owner and I was really surprised when Volktales suggested "halfies". I too have never owned a Type 3, mostly just Buses instead, but the Fasty is a great looking car IMO. And this one is very cool in that it came with a bunch of original paperwork and log books of where it has been driven even! It will be fun to get into it and make'er purdy again. Might be a long process as other projects are in line, but this little Fasty deserved a better fate than to just languish uncovered in a dirt driveway. The funny parting comment to us as we drove away was, "Be sure to tarp her!" HUH??? What the hell, why didn't he? Oh well, the car is definitely in better hands now. Thanks for the push Russ!

Cheers,
Don

Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:43 am

Fri Apr 03, 2015 9:38 pm

Time for an update with ALOT of pictures...

After the pressure washing, and currently sitting at my place of employment.

The headliner really is in great shape. Rare for a VW of this vintage in this area.

Door panels are both really nice too. All seats are sun rotten on the tops. It is too bad VW quality of the seats was not so good in that era...

The dash is badly split, but I was already given a decent replacement from a friend. The other owner already has replacement gauge bezels in his stash of spare parts. Is that under dash parcel tray an option like Beetles, or was it fairly common???

Under the hood reveals local 1971 newspapers and a few other interesting items...

The bottle once contained genuine VW windshield washer fluid... The small tube is actually a mini grease cartridge.

The cartridge has never been used and was manufactured by ESSO.

Might have been some kind of free promotion sent by mail. Was posted to the address of original owner. More pictures to come shortly...

Fri Apr 03, 2015 10:04 pm

How can you tell this was an original Canadian car??? The bag of tire chains under the trunk! The West Coast of Canada had much colder and snowier winters 46 years ago then the global warming of today...

Lots of shiny original paint under the trunk liner. Wish the whole car still looked like that...

Nice to see original Diamond Blue paint code sticker still there too. Unfortunately tool kit was missing including jack handle.

Spare tire well was in decent shape.

This dense foam "impact" absorber was still in place too. All five wheels with the car are original date coded February 1969.

Shiny underneath the hood too. Exterior of car had been repainted decades ago and the shade is off a bit.

Ten years ago car had a $1200 Midas brake job :shock: ! Way more than I have paid for most of my cars!!! They need a bit of servicing now...

This shot shows the original gas heater tailpipe still fully in place. All Canadian spec VWs featured gas heaters as standard in this era.

Here is a shot of said gas heater. This Eberspacher is mounted above the transmission like Webastos. I have not seen this model before. The original owner's manual shows the more familiar front trunk mounted gas heater instead....

The tangled mess of hoses attached to the electric fuel pump. Different types of hose, clamps, etc. All will be replaced with new.

The rear valance is completely undamaged.

It wouldn't be a true Canadian VW without some rust though... Not surprising there is some behind the reinforcement plates in the front inner fender panels. This problem led to the premature demise of many type III's in this area. Another fault engineered into the car by VW unfortunately. A few more photos to go...

Fri Apr 03, 2015 10:27 pm

All glass is original VW, including the windshield.

Now onto the engine. That fuel gauge was attached to the rail when we bought it. To me it signifies there was some kind of running problem when the previous owner stopped driving it... Otherwise the engine looked alright and the only thing missing is some kind of connecting boot for the air filter intake... It turned over by hand easily.

Car came with a few spares. How about eleven pressure sensors??? Do these things fail that often??? Finally had a chance to do some actually work to the car today on Good Friday. We first checked the brakes, which looked decent despite the long period of inactivity. As the linings and hydraulics were neither seized or leaking, we bleed out the old fluid. Some nasty looking gunge came out, but once clear brake fluid appeared, the brakes felt fine. We will be putting on all new flex hoses once the car returns to road use. I kinda thought Midas would have done this already...

Once the brakes were done, it was time to turn attention to the engine. As the oil was clean, we elected to change it after attempting to start. First on the agenda was cleaning the fuzzy ignition points. Then the fuel pump fuse was removed and a battery connected. After cleaning all the fuses and terminals in the fuse box, pretty much everything electrical functioned. Gasoline was sprayed into the intake, and the engine was cranked over. It started instantly and the oil pressure light went out immediately. Then it was time to deal with the old gas in the fuel tank...

We pulled out the fuel gauge sender to see how bad the tank was inside. It turned out to be completely dry and rust free! This was a bonus. I changed a few poor fuel lines (all will be changed before car is back on road). Then we connected a decent fuel gauge with a bleed valve on it. The fuel pump fuse was reinstated, some fresh fuel added, and the key was cycled to prime the system. The bleed was opened to purge any old fuel that may have been in the fuel ring. Once this was done a few times, the pressure showed the necessary 28 psi. Then of course a fuel line that fed the gas heater started to leak. This was fixed, the fuel pump re-primed and the engine was cranked. Started and ran!!! Sounded good and seemed to run well when cold. As it warmed however, it began to lean out too much. As the fuel pressure remained OK, something else is amiss. Will have some time tomorrow to investigate this, hopefully will be simple. Although given that the previous owner was trying to figure out a running problem, time will tell how simple it is...

The other owner took this shot and says it reminds him of an old VW advertisement. If that was true I would need to scrub the shop and put on a vintage smock!!!

Sat Apr 04, 2015 6:36 am

Volktales wrote:

Otherwise the engine looked alright and the only thing missing is some kind of connecting boot for the air filter intake...

The connecting boot for the air filter intake connects the intake to the air ducts in the body. The boot ensures that the engine air intake is only pulling fresh cold air from the louvers on the side of the car as opposed to quite hot air from inside the engine compartment and right over the exhaust. You will want to find one of those.

There should be a similar boot connecting the main cooling fan intake to the body as well. Can't tell 100% from your photo but it looks like that's in place. That one is also essential or the engine will be trying to cool itself with super-hot air which doesn't bode well for long engine life.

Also missing is the timing plug which plugs the hole in the fan surround. That would also be good to replace, and they're being reproduced now.

Looks like this car's got pretty good bones! Should be a fun project. :D

Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:08 am

The main boot for the cooling fan is in place. I will try to find the missing air intake boot as well as a plug for the timing hole. For now I will concentrate on the lean running problem. It should be a fun project and am looking forward to take it out for a drive!

Sat Apr 04, 2015 10:19 am

ISP West has the boot.

How did you determine it's running lean?

Sat Apr 04, 2015 2:00 pm

Really liking this fasty. Looks like a nice score.

Looking forward to more pics, good luck with getting it running right, shouldn't take too much :)

Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:23 pm

Nice complete looking fastback 8) Will be nice to see it restored with the Eberspacher BA4 running :twisted:

Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:21 pm

notchboy wrote: Nice complete looking fastback 8)

Thanks Jason!

notchboy wrote: Will be nice to see it restored with the Eberspacher BA4 running :twisted:

Of course…we live in the Great White North in igloos and we need to keep warm somewhere :lol:

Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:52 pm

We only had a short time to work on the car today. We replaced the rest of the fuel lines under the car. Before starting it up again, we checked the head temp sensor resistance (ok) and then the throttle switch. It did not click, but did work once re-adjusted. Engine ran a little better, but still too lean. I know it was too lean, because while running poorly, if I gave it a shot of gas in the intake from a spray bottle, it would run much smoother. I intend to remove the injectors, and check for crud in the screens when I change the hoses. I also will pull the distributor, replace the points, and service the trigger points as well. Today the fuel gauge showed perfect running pressure at 28 psi, but no residual pressure. Something else to investigate too. We do fully intend to retain the gas heater in operating condition as well. We did take the car for a short drive today and were impressed with the ride. Can't wait to enjoy it when it runs well!

Sun Apr 05, 2015 8:06 pm

Me likey

Mon Apr 06, 2015 8:40 am

Volktales wrote:

Car came with a few spares. How about eleven pressure sensors??? Do these things fail that often???

Keep in mind that not all of the pressure sensors will be compatable with your car. The ones with the black plastic caps are 72-73 parts. Same applies to the ECUs. For your car, you're looking for parts that end with the letter A or B (MPS or ECU).
The parts that you don't need could be "re-sold" to others who need them, that could help "offset" the cost of the car.

Very nice looking car, and at least you bought one that's complete. That's a rare find these days. It looks like at least 1 of the PO's took car of it going off what I see in your pics. 8)

Mon Apr 06, 2015 9:20 am

Bobnotch wrote: Volktales wrote:

Car came with a few spares. How about eleven pressure sensors??? Do these things fail that often???

Keep in mind that not all of the pressure sensors will be compatable with your car. The ones with the black plastic caps are 72-73 parts. Same applies to the ECUs. For your car, you're looking for parts that end with the letter A or B (MPS or ECU).
The parts that you don't need could be "re-sold" to others who need them, that could help "offset" the cost of the car.

Very nice looking car, and at least you bought one that's complete. That's a rare find these days. It looks like at least 1 of the PO's took car of it going off what I see in your pics. 8)

We were scratching our heads a bit over the black cap versus those w/out. So that is great info Bob, thanks! There is really no point in keeping all these spares and indeed I will find new homes for the excess spares once we are satisfied with the way it is running. Is there a way we can test these units to more accurately pass them along? Buying non-working parts is never fun and I would rather not be selling any crap.

You are correct that this car was looked after by one of the PO's and when it wasn't being used they thankfully put it in dry storage. That is probably what saved it from melting back into the earth.

Thanks again for the info!
Cheers,
Don