I can't remember how far from the firewall. Make the panels first and they will locate themselves on the bend.

Cool Thanks

Got back to Crab Town mid-afternoon. Still smiling. :D

Dave (NO_H2O) and his buddy, Kevin, did a fantastic job. Speaking of jobs, I have to get to work tomorrow and my alarm will be set for 3:15 AM -- that's 0315, Jake ;) . I will nab my daughter's camera for a more complete photo shoot -- maybe this weekend. Those access panels are just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to the attention to detail that was performed. In the meantime, here's a quick recap ...

Everyone was real cool -- making my visit an enjoyable one. And that is saying a lot. I don't typically travel well to begin with. Buying an engine sight unseen is against my general nature and has an element of stress with me. Not only can I not offer enough thanks for the work that was performed but also for all of the advice Dave, Jake and others gave along the way. I'm sure some of it probably seemed like hand-holding at times but no one was ever put off by my countless questions.

Dave even called twice during my journey home wanting to know everything. That meant a lot to me.

My car got a Top 40 award at the Toccoa show. Dave tried to convince me it was because I waxed the thing but I'm not stupid. Most of the show-goers were staring at his handywork.

The trip home had some funny events. For the most part, I wanted to keep running at a steady 65-70 MPH. The 2056 handled that between yawns. What we east coasters would call mountains, the 2056 treated like a mole hills.

When I drove the stocker to Georgia, my maintained speed of 60-65 would trail downwards if I stopped paying attention. Driving back, my speed would pick up from 65-70 if I wasn't careful.

Traffic conditions sometimes dictated for me to pick it up intentionally. Almost every time it happened, someone wanted to get even as if how dare I drive a li'l ol' Beetle at 85 and pass them. Once I got around the crowd, I reminded myself I didn't want to flog the new machine.

The funny thing was most of the people who were offended by me were very atypical for wanting a race. There were older folks -- yes, older than me -- pick-up trucks, minivans, and even a would-be 18-wheeler (trailerless). Once in Virginia, I shadowed behind the passer just to let him know it was no fluke and to let him take the lead on any speeding tickets. As I got closer to home, I took roads that allowed for a more entertaining ride.

The truth is I have no idea what the limits might be. It is also mind boggling to think my Type IV was probably the weak sister of the bunch. What I do know is this set-up is exactly what I was looking for -- very, very driveable; plenty of oomph to disregard hills and slow pokes as obstacles; reasonable fuel economy; effortless at legal speed limits; no weezing when I want to kick it; no running out of pull when the RPM's get elevated; and fun, fun, fun.

Did I mention I'm still smiling? :laugh:

hehe sounds like you had a blast can't wait to see the pics :)
I can't wait to save up to get my T4 from jake :)

I'm glad your trip home was a fun one. I know what you are saying about people not wanting to be passed by an old VW. I have a blast with folks driving Joel's bus on the freeway. I roll that thing at 70-80 to and from work. RAT type 4's are sweet. If they don't like beeing passed by a Bug,,,,,,, They realy hate beeing passed by a Bus.:D

Oasis, Thats a great trip report..

The guys on my forum would like to hear about it too....

Soon we'll be doing a radio show on recent type 4 converts- would you like to be on that show?

If it is a Thursday date I can do, I'd be delighted. Unfortunately, many of my Thursdays are tied up. I am hoping to be able to hear your show for the first time this week.

Thanks for the kind words Dennis. We aim to please.
What a month. You are a Type 4 convert, trophy winner and now a shot at being an internet radio star.:agree:

Very heady stuff. Can you enlarge the driver's door? ;)

We have a saws-all and a few cutting wheels around the shop. If the sunroof is not enough,,,, we can do a vert conversion.:laugh:

The answer is still yes but unfortunately, I won't be able to hear tonight's show either -- back to school night. Sorry, my daughter comes first. :o

(You better not be leaving here. ;) )

Oasis,
Would you like to be a guest on this weeks radio show? We'll be recording it tomorrow... Let me know ASAP.

Tomorrow? Ouch, that's today! Probably too late on the reply but the answer is yes depending on the time. Umm, I left my cell phone in my other car and PM'ing you my work number will be next to useless today as I will be in and mostly out of my office. I'll check back before lunch. (I hope I was your next-to-last resort at least.)

Oasis,
I did not receive the email
We'll be doing the show around Lunch today.. Please call me at 706 892 8192 ASAP!

Sorry. I just got back from a meeting and in 20 minutes I have another. It isn't gonna work today. :(

Engine first ...
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3810/2056t4el9.jpg


You can sort of see the Euro-valance and the exhaust ...
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3669/rearqtrlh6.jpg


Lousy pic of an ingenious access panel ...
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3545/trapdoorsr9.jpg

Dash view ...
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6421/leftdashwy0.jpg


Interior shot ...
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/5194/interiorun0.jpg


Different interior shot ...
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/1194/seatingxq0.jpg

Side view ...
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/5251/frntsidepf4.jpg


Frontal view ...
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/1448/frontqtrst7.jpg


Overhead view of Kamei spoiler with a glimpse of the strut brace and electric windshield washer container ...
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/8384/bootviewwd1.jpg

It all looks real good!! :righton:

Very nice ride Oasis.

Thanks! It is a lot of fun. I have been very fortunate with the advice I have received and used. I hope those who contributed their work and expertise take as much pride in it as I do conceptualizing it and driving it.

I still have plenty of things I would like to do but the four main phases I had outlined are now done. It's funny, though, to realize how many detours this project has taken during its evolution.

How is the Kamei spoiler in your driveway? Do you still have clearance issues?

I have it nearly mastered. I have to enter nose-first (no backing in) at a 40º-55º angle. Any less, I'm scraping; any more, I'm in the rough. Since parallel parking is acceptable on either side of the entrance of the driveway, that adds another element to the drama.

I almost don't scrape anywhere with it anymore. I must say it is a tough little bugger and I am glad it is ABS plastic. If it were f/g or c/f, I would be talking about it in the past tense.

Here are the latest pics.

The first is a pic of my new CSP shifter which I love. It also shows my new ash tray which is three parts coming from three different places. :sleep: Not pictured is my new cup holder with a cell phone pouch. :rolleyes:
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/331...shifteryk2.jpg

Next is a pic of my KPH speedometer which I know is a snorefest for our Canadian, European and Asian friends. The neat thing is it was calibrated by North Hollywood Speedometer to measure MPH. Now, you're impressed. ;)
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/258...withkphob2.jpg

Nothing new to see here but snow surrounding my car. :)
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/166/frontfeb07gk8.jpg

Looking good Dennis. I bet that shifter is a nice upgrade. Kevin has installed one in his Oval and he loves it. I think I heard the Scat Drag-Fast shifter (that he upgraded from) go sailing thru the trees behind the shop after he tested the CSP shifter. The speedo came out nice too. How is that tach working out for you? Summit has their shift light on sale right now for $30.99.

Saying the shifter upgrade is a night-and-day difference is almost understating it. It is so solid and smooth, why it has me grinning that grin I'm sure you remember.

A subtle thing about it I also like is I don't have to stretch forward to grab first or third. All gears are comfortably within reach.

Mine is listed as a 40% reduction. I can't even begin to imagine what a 60%'er would be like. It might be too much ... or too little depending on the perspective.

It was suggested I should black-out the surround on my speedo now. I'm digesting that advice for the moment.

The tach works most of the time. The weather backlogged my shop and they got the filter changed and the Royal Purple in the veins as well as the above-mentioned installs. As you can see, it idles at 600 in the cold. After it warms a bit, it idles around 800-900. They will look at the tach more closely the next time they see it.

I haven't forgotten about the light. I'm still conceptualizing where to put it. Maybe I will have a decision by the next time I see you. :agree:

That is a really cool looking shifter!!! Old school, but clean.

You will have to show it off in Manassas this spring :)

That would be nice. I seem to have the goofiest luck in attending that show for whatever reasons. Your post makes a good reminder to find out this year's date. :)

I was there on Sunday. I was parked next to Granny Smith Apple Green (my name for it) GL 1302. It looked spectacular. I didn't get to chat with the owner. He was constantly wiping every gram of pollen off of it.

Mine was washed. When I got there I wiped off most of the bazillion dead bugs but that's all. Seems like every time I go to Nissan Pavillion, too, I have to clean off the mass grave of insects. Is that why they call it BugOut? ;)

I had to leave at 2, but I got to see all of the cars and all of the vendors. The drag races were still going on when I departed. I'm not sure I understood the scoreboard. It didn't hold my interest anyway.

I was surprised to see a lot of good deals on cars being sold. By good, I guess I mean fair prices for condition, etc. There were at least five cars I would have purchased if I were in the market.

Sorry, no pics. I didn't think to take my daughter's camera. I have ten gigs of jpg's and gif's to purge off my hard drive, so maybe that was in the back of my mind. Or, I was just forgetful. I didn't take an umbrella either. :rolleyes:

My 1302 drove like a champ. I took it to my father-in-law's birthday -- an hour-plus drive each way -- the day before plus the nearly two-hour drive to Manassas. I am happy to report I got a genuine 27 MPG while driving between 70 and 80 MPH most of the way.

I averaged 29.0 on the return trip from Georgia after the engine/transaxle install by DTM. Except for a couple of spirited moments, I was maintaining a pedestrian speed of 55-65 then. That calculation took into account the tire size change but it assumed the speedo was accurate to begin with -- something I did not verify. My current speedo is calibrated specifically for my car and driving through unmanned speed traps have verified its accuracy. I am tending to believe the 29.0 is close to being correct, although Sammy Hagar is coming to mind about maintaining that speed ever again.

Glad to hear you got a chance to hit a show with your GL. Also glad to hear that it is running well.:agree: