New Member - 30 Years Coming - Full Circle - Great Story!

[V8W]

Hi all

First, just wanted to say this is an amazing site!

I've been a car guy for 30 years as a professional and enthusiast. Even though I like all old cars, my specialty cars over the last 3 decades were mostly domestic classic cars. I always wanted a Type3 Fastback because that was the car that ignited the automobile passion for me.

My father worked at a VW dealership in the late 60s and early 70s and bought a Type3 Fastback brand new. That was the only car I loved from diapers until I was 15 years old. I wanted that car so bad when I turned 16, but unfortunately it was sent to the junk yard when I was 15. There have been a few times over the last 30 years I've come close to buying one, but never happened for one reason or another.

So here I am joining Samba at 43 years old, still trying to live that dream, that passion I felt 30 years ago when I was 13 years old riding is that car. I placed a Wanted Ad in the Classifieds, so maybe the stars will align this year.

I will leave you with an amazing story about that car and the unforgettable afternoon I had with it before it went to the junk yard. Enjoy!

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The 1971 VW Type III Fastback was parked in our garage and not being used because it was at the end of it's useful life and my father was contemplating on what to do with it. I was 15 years old, loved the car, and dreamed about driving it when I got my drivers license at 16.

One day after school while nobody was home, I decided it was time to test my driving ability around the neighborhood. I never drove a stick shift before but my dirt-bike clutch works the same, so it should be no big deal. With much excitement I grabbed the keys and headed toward the garage. This was no ordinary garage, it was a very old outdoor garage that looked more like a chicken coupe with a cracked & crooked cement floor.

Starting it up, vw engine was music to my ears, pulling out of the garage slowly, all went smoothly. I drove it around the local streets for about 15 minutes with no problems. Never stalled it even once! Upon returning to the garage I had to reverse it into position, the way it was originally. This is a very tight alley way, narrow garage, stick shift, with manual steering... so it was very difficult for a seasoned driver, let alone an under-aged rookie.

After several attempts I hit the drivers door on the garage and put a hand sized dent into it. After a few more attempts I finally got it in but it was parked crooked. I decided to jack up the rear wheels and slide the car into position like they do in the service shops. When I got the rear of the car where I wanted it and started to lower the car, the old leaky hydraulic jack was tricky to operate and the car came down too fast. The right rear wheel went right through the garage floor!

I could believe my eyes. The car is stuck in the garage floor with a huge hole about 3ft in diameter and 1ft deep. My parents will be home in a few hours. I decide to call in the Cavalry for help. I call my three friends on the phone to tell them what happened. My friends arrive shortly after.

First we need to get the car out. They start rocking and pushing from behind while I'm inside working the clutch. With the smell of burning clutch filling the garage, we finally get the car out of the hole. One friend starts taking the drivers door panel off to pop the dent out. My other friend's dad is in the construction business and he remembers a bag of cement and sand in his basement. So he runs home to grab it.

In the mean time, my other buddy and I start filling the hole with anything we can find... paper, rocks, you name it. About 15 minutes later my friend arrives with a half bag of cement, bag of sand and a black plastic mixing tub! We break out the garden hose and mix up some cement. We never made cement before, so we just keep adding ingredients until it looked good. Filled up the hole and smoothed it out with a block of wood.

I now switch tasks to assist putting the door panel back on after successfully popping the dent out. Now we need to get the car back in the garage OVER the wet cement hole. The right rear tire should be located just behind the wet cement hole, We decided to use a long 2x4 and drive the right rear wheel over the patch in the floor. I slowly back the car over the board while my friends guide me. Success!

As I get out of the car I hear a sound coming from the rear of the car. It sounds like leaking air. Turns out the board we drove the car over had a nail in it. How all three of those guys missed it I'll never know. One of the guys jumps on his bicycle and races down to the local mini-mart to grab a can of fix-a-flat. In the meantime we clean up and throw some final touches on the repaired floor like dry leaves and dirt to blend it in.

My friend returns with the fix-a-flat and we fill the tire up with gunk and pump it up the rest of the way with a bicycle foot pump. We closed the garage doors and locked everything up. We all gave high-fives and everyone went home. My parents never knew or they never said anything. I'll never know. Six months later the car went to the junk yard.

I told them the story 20 years later and we all laughed about it. Looking back, what amazes me the most about the whole thing, is the unbelievable ability and resourcefulness of four 15-year-olds.

After all those years and all those classic cars, I have come full circle, I still dream about driving that TypeIII 30 years later, which is why I joined Samba!

[Tram]

Excellent story. Fastbacks suddenly seem to be the new Notchbacks. In fact, DasBlackSamba has a car for sale that's almost identical to the one you're standing next to- or it could be put back to that, at least.

Just do me a favor. Get a late Fasty, and restore it right. No mods, no hack jobs, no bullshit. Dont fock it up.
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Немає виправдання для війни! Я з Україною.

[KTPhil]

Great story!

...except for the part where you say, "...it was at the end of it's useful life."

No such thing!

[Tram]

OP, saw your ad- a little advice- Yes, the 4 speed is nice, but do not shy away from a good Automatic! You'd be surprised at how zippy an AT can be in these cars. In fact, the AT models were rated at a slightly higher top speed than a manual.

Just an FYI.

There looks to be a decent builder over in Chardon Ohio listed in the classys unless it's completely gone underneath.
_________________
Немає виправдання для війни! Я з Україною.

[SamSmith]

[Bobnotch]

[notchboy]

[Tram]

[riFph]

[krusher]

[Tram]

[Shaven]

[V8W]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

Also, thank you for the suggestions. Because of my childhood with this car and so many decades gone past, unfortunately no substitute will do. The only Type3 I will buy is a fastback with a manual trans in very good to excellent condition. Here are a few I almost bought recently for example...

- Couple years ago there was a nice dark green one with white interior at the PVGP (I go every year, I am a sponsor this year, awesome event) but the owner wasn't around. When I went back to talk to him later, the car was gone.

- Last year in April 2011, there was a 66-69 being sold by a fellow named Marvin in TN I believe. It was cream colored, fully restored, stock, beautiful car. He was asking $8k, selling price was $7k, but he needed to unload it quick and offered it to me for $6k. That was a great deal, but I only had $4 to spend at the time. This year I have more to spend, I contacted him, but the car is gone.

- Another example would be recently, the yellow one for sale in NC for $5k. It's a very nice fasty, but it's not at the condition level I would be immediately happy with.

Here is an example of what I'm looking for, only in a fastback...

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1288822

Here is another example, this car is 5 miles from me, but not a fastback...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-VW-Squareback-/260995612157

I just have to be patient and the right car for me will come along. I been waiting 30 years, a few more weeks or months is no big deal. I'm looking forward to hanging out here!

[Shaven]

name
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the dc baggin is because its a well known fact that a restored sc will never be worth anywhere near what even a shitbox dc is

[V8W]

Name is Brian!

[Shaven]

Hey Brian,
just a helping hand mate

Mmmmmm Rag Top
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=807858

Matty car is MINT - Very Nice
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1206361

Ken's 68 is stock & clean
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1206361

a thought... but its fat
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1250317

John's 66... $2800ono - dont rule this out you can make it your own. great base to add you $5k to
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1246043

out of all the Fasties listed... these are all nice IMHO.
cheers matty
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the dc baggin is because its a well known fact that a restored sc will never be worth anywhere near what even a shitbox dc is

[V8W]

I regularly check TheSamba Classifieds, thanks.

[Shaven]

[V8W]

Yes, I joined the forum yesterday, but have been reading the classifieds much longer, thanks.

[dragsters for life]