Reassembly Process from May 2003 to present
May03: The painter suggested that "the longer the paint has to cure without anyone touching it ... the better". So that's exactly what I did ... nothing ... for three months. I put the T34 into a single garage and locked the door. During the "curing stage" I took care of the parts already off the car. I shipped all the parts to be rechromed to Bill & Steve's VW Parts in Downey. The gauges went off to Foreign Speedo in San Diego. I bought a repro early tachometer on eBay (ouch!), and bought all of PoP's repro seals. And while in England for the KG International (too much fun!) I found an original set of tar board insulation from a 1968 parts car owned by Clive Richardson.

Sep-Dec03: we opened the garage and began to install some parts. We put the hood & door hardware on & fitted new door check straps so they could be closed safely. The new BF Goodrich 165R15 whitewall tires from Coker Tire made a huge improvement!. We installed the door check straps to keep the doors from opening too far. West Coast Classics in Fullerton made a new carpet kit. Since we'd saved the original trim pieces from the carpet, Lenny sewed them into the new gray-black German square weave pieces. The results are fantastic, truely as close to original as possible. By December Jose had glued the carpet kit into place for a perfect fit. He also installed the new off-white headliner & pillar material. What a fantastic process to see him lay out the material, glue the roof insulation, attach the roof rods to the headliner, then slowly glue everything into place.
Aug04-Jul05: With the reassembly work progressing so slowly (stalled for 8 months due to Lee's new M346 disassembly), it was decided to have the T34 moved to Lee's garage for the completion of the restoration process since it would be closer than meeting in Oceanside. Left door components were installed, euro bulb-type headlights & fog lights were completely restored to eliminate the rust in the frames & reflectors. Engine tin was removed for powdercoating. Chrome bits were separated for replating. More rubber seals were ordered from PoP in Thailand. Rear view mirror & sunvisors were fitted. Rocker trims & rear scripts were fitted. Front & side signal lights were detailed & installed. Ash tray was fitted & rear air duct grilles were installed. Glovebox lock was installed & rear license frame fitted. Dual side mirrors were converted from T3 threads to T34. NOS headlight lenses were found in Germany & England. Ebrake handle was restored in Anthracite, heater control arms were repainted black with NOS buttons fitted, & shift lever was polished. Sep04: Painted foot pedals black & had lug nuts plated in black-zinc. Installed: right door edge seal, front & rear hood seals, front hood deflector plate, door wedges, & NOS right door striker plate. Found both muffler heater boxes, & ivory quarter window knobs. Mar05: Sanded & repainted the front seat frames back to Anthracite with spray-paint from Wolfsburg West. Installed: left side window seal, turn signal lever. Took engine to VW Paradise for rebuilding & fan shroud bead-blasting. Powdercoated engine tin & carb parts. Hub caps & headlight/foglight rings to chrome shop. Apr05: Installed: Right side windows & seals, right door components, door handle & lock seals, bumper guards seals, left quarter window. Bought: new steering wheel from ISP West & full-circle horn ring. Jul05: The right door was assembled & the quarter windows were installed. Bumper guards seals were fitted and the rocker panel trims were installed. Gauges (including cool repro tach) & steering wheel were assembled. Engine was installed & tuned at VW Paradise.
2006-2009: In July 2005 Lee's marriage disolved, forcing the restoration work to halt and the M344 to be stored back in the Oceanside garage while Lee sold the home, moved into a condo, and took care of the messy divorce issues. The T34 has sat patiently for almost four years, covered & safe.