Disassembly October 2002
After the T34 spent three long months at an incompetent repair shop getting electrical work done (replaced ignition switch & starter, got tune-up), we decided to take one short drive down the coast and then begin the long restoration process. I'd already decided that the Bermuda & Cobalt paint was not good enough to keep and that I really wanted a Sea Blue & Blue-White T34, so the disassembly process was going all the way. We'd found a local VW painter (Jimmy Braxmeyer) that did show-quality work and he agreed to take the T34 in November. So in early October Lee & I got busy one long weekend and completely disassembled this 30K-mile one-owner T34.


This was the fun part, taking things off that had never been removed before! The inner door plastic skin was still glued to the door metal to keep water from getting on the door panel. The screws & nuts came off easily and there was no rust. Everything got bagged & tagged for safe-keeping & easy location later. Lee was visibly giddy at the amazing cleanliness & originality of this T34. After two days of hard work we were done, and only a shell remained. The engine was removed in 20 minutes, the doors were quickly taken-off, and both hoods were stored away. After removing the original carpeting I was about to toss it in the trash and Lee stopped me. Good thing he did since we needed the original rubber/plastic trim parts for our new carpeting! It helps to have someone that's been there before ...