Xposted from samba:
Curious what it is like to own a T3. I currently own a VW bay window, love it. However it is a rust box and will need replacing in the next year or two. I am quite familar with beetles, as I built a sandrail, and helped a friend get a parts car back T1 on the road. However I love the look of a squareback and am considering it in my options of next cars. I like the extra interior space vs a beetle, the cool factor of a less than common car, and who knows what else. However how is it for prices of parts? Am I gonna pay double for everything vs a beetle, or is it not so bad? I always assumed T3s used most of the same parts as a T1, but the more I look into them, the less true that becomes.
And rust, when I am shopping, what rust do I look out for? What can't be repaired on a T3? are heater channels a lost cause? As cool as a T3 is, the budget isn't there for a car full of nothing but odd pricey parts, and I will have to settle for a beetle or another T2. I do love my pop top, but I hear a T3 rear seat folds down bed like?
some help for the uninitiated would be cool.
How do squares compare to other VWs?
- fusername
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How do squares compare to other VWs?
give a man a watch and he'll allways know what time it is. give him two and he can never be sure again.
Things are rarely just crazy enough to work, but they're frequently just crazy enough to fail hilariously.
Things are rarely just crazy enough to work, but they're frequently just crazy enough to fail hilariously.
- Marc
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As with any used-car purchase you should inspect the condition of the brakes & steering - but Type IIIs have an additional "gotcha" - they have an internal front stabilizer bar connecting the two upper control arms. There's an adjustment for normal wear on the thrust rings between the arms and the front beam - the upper control arm endplay should be checked and adjusted if need be every time the front end is lubed (hopefully that's at least once or twice a year) but it's often neglected. Excess endplay hammers out the thrust pieces; insufficient torque on the locking bolt allows the swaybar end to get chewed up. I can recall spending hours scrounging boneyards for good upper arms & swaybars 30+ years ago...it's gotta be much tougher now finding healthy parts.
The rear suspension is essentially the same as Type I (although IIIs never made the switch to single-springplate, so they all use the `69/`70 "Bug" pieces).
The rear suspension is essentially the same as Type I (although IIIs never made the switch to single-springplate, so they all use the `69/`70 "Bug" pieces).
- KevNurse
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