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San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200
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Lee Hedges
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 3:17 pm    Post subject: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

I've been involved with T34s for more than 30 years. My first one was a Sea Blue 1964 Coupe that I bought in Point Loma California in 1987. With the lack of information on T34s back then I founded the Type 34 Registry in 1988 and built a worldwide organization of T34 owners. As a Registry I began collecting ID numbers into a database. In 2004 when the internet warranted a free site I relinquished control & soon founded PureT34, dedicated to stock T34s. Then in 2011, with the need for a worldwide organization & easier contact with T34 owners all around the world I founded T34 World. Today the T34 World database has 1458 T34s, registered with their body/chassis numbers.

I've owned many T34s over the years, learning more about them every day. Today my collection includes four:
- 1962 Coupe #0 001 200
- 1962 Cabriolet conversion #0 001 776 "Ruby" (restored in 2000)
- 1965 RHD Electric Sunroof #345 012 044 "Jeffrey" (currently being restored)
- 1968 Electric Sunroof Automatic #348 177 587 "Otto" (daily driver)

This thread will be used to document the restoration of #0 001 200, currently the world's oldest T34.


Last edited by Lee Hedges on Thu Jan 19, 2017 8:41 am; edited 1 time in total
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Lee Hedges
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 3:26 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

I first learned about this T34 about ten years ago when the previous owner Tim Miller bought it in Tucson Arizona in 2007. It had antique Arizona license plates and had recently been driven by a woman in the Phoenix AZ area. She drove it into a VW shop claiming it was making noises and the shop owner discovered the engine had come loose from its mounting and was hanging down barely connected to the transmission. The noise she heard was the flywheel grinding away on the lower bell housing.

The lady sold it to the shop owner in Phoenix who trailered it down to Tucson where Tim eventually bought it. Tim has a large collection of vintage VWs and prefers the lowered custom style. The T34 was for his wife and she wanted it restored. Since this T34 had a rusty floorpan he separated the body from the chassis in Jan 2009 and began repairing the chassis. He contacted me for advice on finding parts to get the restoration underway. He bought rubber seals from Germany, fog lights from Germany, and even a 1961 Blaupunkt Frankfurt radio from ebay Germany. The floorpan work was finished by using an excellent early T3 chassis welded back onto the original T34 tunnel structure.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

In late-2015 Tim contacted me saying he wasn't going to continue with the restoration as he'd been divorced and found other easier projects to work on. He knew that I'd be interested in buying it, so we came to an agreement on the price. I drove out to inspect it for the first time in Feb 2016. I met Tim's two sons Timothy & Trey. These guys were hands-on VW guys with a true passion for the hobby, respectful & easy to talk to. Timothy had just bought a 1967 Fastback & Trey had found a 1964 Beetle Cabriolet.

I first confirmed the body VIN # matched the chassis VIN #, and it did. Then I tried to find all the rare early-62 parts around the yard since it had been disassembled. Windshields & fog lights in the workshop, front beam & bumpers in the backyard, and the original hoods against the workshop wall. The chassis was on sawhorses on the side with the seat rails from the original chassis. OK, it was rough and completely apart but the body looked pretty straight & undamaged with no sign of previous accidents or repairs. The dash had Porsche 356 gauges fitted and the interior was thrashed. It was worth saving!

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

It took me some time to save the money, then the hot Arizona desert weather made it impossible to work in over the summer of 2016, but finally in late-December I was able to retrieve the T34.


Last edited by Lee Hedges on Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:00 pm; edited 1 time in total
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KTPhil Premium Member
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 3:55 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Wow!

Wow, that such an early car survived.
Wow, that you have a "parts set" that is so nearly complete (for a T34, that is!).
Wow, that you are taking this on, so we know it will be done right.

Thanks for sharing, and it looks like the San Diego area is the T34 capital of the world!
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Lee Hedges
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:09 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

December arrived and I got a call from my good friend Jack Fisher. He had a few days available before the New Year to retrieve the T34 in Arizona. I had not told my wife about buying the T34 so I told her that I would be driving to Tucson for work. My other good friend Pedro Sainz volunteered his F150 truck & was able to borrow his friends dual-axle trailer. The timing was right and Jack & I left on 27 Dec for the 6-hour drive to Tucson.

When we arrived Timothy & Trey were there but Tim was at work. We first loaded the body shell onto the trailer with just the four of us. Not an easy task, as the steel body with doors attached is HEAVY! After moving it 5 feet at a time we finally got it onto the trailer. We lifted the body & slid the chassis underneath. By that time it was getting dark & Tim came home, so we washed-up and headed off to dinner. Tim shared his memories about buying the T34 and Trey shared that he had traded his Beetle Cabrio for the early-62 T34 Coupe in their collection.

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The next morning we arrived early and collected as many T34 parts as we could find, sharing them amongst the two 1962 T34s. Hoods, glass, lights, pads, and other bits were discovered & loaded into the truck bed. I'd agreed to buy the engine from Tim's 1963 T34 so that was loaded as well. Jack & I drove back to San Diego that morning, tired but excited.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

I'd arranged to have my old friend Kevin Zagar fabricate a steel tube body cart, so we arrived at CoolRydes in the afternoon. We watched with amazement as Kevin cut steel tubes and welded them into a unique T34 body cart. He mounted straps to the T34 windshield posts to lift the T34 off the trailer and make exact measurements to use the existing body holes. By 7pm he'd loaded the body/cart back onto the trailer and we headed over to get Pedro who would help get it off the trailer at my workshop. I'd already arranged with five other friends to help carry my RHD 1965 T34 from the garage into the workshop that evening. With everyone's help we got both T34s carried into the workshop. My wife was shocked that I'd bought another T34.


Last edited by Lee Hedges on Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:00 pm; edited 3 times in total
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:22 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Lee Hedges wrote:
December arrived and I got a call from my good friend Jack Fisher. He had a few days available before the New Year to retrieve the T34 in Arizona. I had not told my wife about buying the T34 so I told her that I would be driving to Tucson for work. My other good friend Pedro Sainz volunteered his F150 truck & was able to borrow his friends dual-axle trailer. The timing was right and Jack & I left on 27 Dec for the 6-hour drive to Tucson.

I figured this was a team effort by the usual suspects!

Lee Hedges wrote:
My wife was shocked that I'd bought another T34.

No, she wasn't. How could she be? Wink
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MonT3
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:53 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Nice score Lee. Look forward to seeing your progress with this unique, and very car. Congrats
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Lee Hedges
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:58 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Since I knew I was buying this disassembled 1962, I knew I needed lots of missing parts. I had some in my collection already but kept my eyes open for opportunities.

In the summer my good friend Andy Holmes from England heard about my new 62 plans and offered several parts left over from his 62 restoration. MPH speedo, 32 PHN single carb, NOS oil cooler, early intake, push-button switch, and early wheel cylinders. The MPH speedo was dated 761 (July 1961) which is extremely early! Thank you, Andy! I sent the old wheel cylinders off to Jim Adney to be restored, which he did for a reasonable price! Thank you, Jim!

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Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Since the original 4-slotted early rims were not included with the T34 I kept searching theSamba for these rare rims. Finally I bought four from four different guys for $40-50 each. I was really surprised to see how much some other guys wanted for these!
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Lee Hedges
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:13 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Even though I had a few of the missing parts for this 1962 already in my spares, I knew it would take a lot more to make a complete car. I kept my eyes open and in the late-summer I heard about an April 1962 T34 Coupe in Ontario Canada that was listed online locally. The owner Matt Ward warned it was complete but pretty rusty. I contacted Dave Whittick nearby about the opportunity so he went to inspect it. He found the lower body was too rusty to be restored and he passed on it. I asked Matt for detailed photos and was pleasantly surprised to see most of the missing parts for my new 1962. So I bought the T34 as a parts car for $1500. Amazingly, Dave offered to retrieve the T34 and bring it home to his shop for parting-out. What a beautiful stroke of good luck! Over the next few months he retrieved the car with his father at Matt's barn and has been quickly parting it out. Boxes have been arriving every week loaded with amazing parts!

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:46 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Excited to own the oldest T34, I immediately set out to discover the production information from the Volkswagen AutoMuseum. I'm fortunate to have two German friends that are well-connected in the VW AutoMuseum archives. First I asked my T3 friend Lutz Gaas and he used his back-door contact in the archives to check the info. In April 2016 they sent back info stating it was a Notchback built on 06 November 1961 that was delivered to The Netherlands. That couldn’t be right! Then I asked my long-time T34 friend Jörg Fischer from Darmstadt Germany to help. He emailed with the archives (Frau Roswitha Hendel) and paid for a search. After a few weeks they sent a reply on 15 August 2016: “We regret to inform you that the microfiche containing the data for the vehicle with chassis number #0 001 200 is no longer readable”.

I'm seriously disappointed ... now there will never be a confirmed production date for this T34! Damn. Based on the 14 Nov 1961 birth date for my other 1962 #0 001 776, I estimated that #0 001 200 would have been built the first week of November 1961. Also, since VW mixed all of the Type 3 chassis numbers together from 1961-64 and the factory likely built 50 Notchbacks to every T34 that would mean this one would be the 24th T34 built.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 7:32 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Serious dedication and work to pull that together Cool Amazing that its here in the states, in your hands. Very cool indeed.

Cant wait to see it at touch it with my grubby paws.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:48 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Lee Hedges wrote:
My wife was shocked that I'd bought another T34.


Why should she be surprised you bought another T-34? My wife and I have been married for 36 years, and nothing I do surprises her anymore when it comes to vehicles. She's gotten used to it, and she's seen me drag home stuff that should have gone to the recycler too.
Nice looking project you've got there, should keep you busy for the year. Wink
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:49 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

So you will be driving this to the Type 3 Rally this fall, right?
Wink
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:56 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

KTPhil wrote:
So you will be driving this to the Type 3 Rally this fall, right?
Wink


Trust me we discussed it. Unfortunately it's just too much to do correctly.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 11:18 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

No plans to begin the restoration soon, so no way it'll be at the Type 3 Rally this year. But the next one might be possible. Just getting this T34 was a big deal for me. I've got the RHD 1965 T34 to reassemble first. But there's a lot of things that can be worked on with this 1962 at the same time.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 10:08 am    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

For those of you wondering how to identify an early-1962 T34, here's a set of images to help you.

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1 - two in-line centered holes for the front nose emblem (round nose emblem on all other T34s has offset holes)
2 - cat eye side mirror with angled top section
3 - rear water drain holes without grilles (earliest 1962s)
4 - rear seat base armrest with no ventilation holes
5 - rear panel with KG script & 1500 without side tabs
6 - rectangular nose emblem
7 - fresh air controls have two-piece chrome trim & molded knobs into levers
8 - front seat backrest angle adjustment knobs are on the side (not front) & gray plastic
9 - front seat backrest release knobs are at the top of the seats (not at base)
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 11:26 am    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Great stuff, Lee. I know it's not likely I'll ever be able to have a T34, but I enjoy watching the build!
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 1:23 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

When each model car was built at Karmann Coachwerks they stamped a consecutive production number into the body near the aluminum ID plate. As this number was stamped by hand, sometimes it was visible next to the ID plate and sometimes it was partially (or completely) covered by it.

When I inspected the body ID plate it was covered with white paint. After removing the thin layer of white the Ruby Red original paint was underneath. But there was no production stamp around the ID plate. So I drilled-out the two original rivets and removed the plate. Underneath was the shiny Ruby Red paint and the number 111 stamped into the body. It's the 111th T34 built! And there's a possibility that it might be the 11th one built since we have yet to find an 2-digit body numbers.

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Early VW 1500 brochures said that Karmann built only 28 T34s per day. If that's true then this T34 was built within the first week of production! I'd also read that T34 production didn't begin on 29 Sep 1961 as the data table shows but rather on the first day of November. That would jive with my calculations that this T34 was built on 06 Nov 1961, within the first week of production.

My curiosity was challenged so I removed the ID plate off my other 1962 Ruby #0 001 776. The stamped number underneath was 137. So the numbering scheme seems to fit.


Last edited by Lee Hedges on Fri Jan 13, 2017 4:35 pm; edited 2 times in total
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 3:22 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Phenomenal!
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 8:09 pm    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Thats pretty sweet.
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OK, this thread is over. You win.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 12:36 am    Post subject: Re: San Diego Nov61 T34 #0 001 200 Reply with quote

Glad you're documenting this Lee. Good luck and let me know if there's anything I can help with.
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