Arrived in USA 28 May 2004: The T34 shipped from England to Oxnard in May and I drove it home on 28 May. The annual VW Classic (Southern California's largest stock VW show) was in only two weeks, and I had a long list of improvements for the M346 before having Andy Holmes drive it in mid-June. The aweful Zambezi Green seat upholstery needed to be replaced, the old green carpet & mats needed to vanish, and the solid green body needed a white roof to give it a proper mid-60's period look. With only two weeks to accomplish these tasks I stopped working and put forth a full effort.

First Week Work: Hours after arriving home, the first task was to remove the hideous mint green house-carpeting from the front & rear compartments. Original material was glued into place for a stock look. Front & rear reflectors were removed, exposing one hole in the left front nose. A fresh set of outer door locks with matching keys was installed, as the T34 didn't have door keys. The modern Ford radio was removed and replaced with the stock ivory Blaupunkt "Frankfurt" one, albeit without proper faceplate and painted blue dots on the fresh air knobs. The modern seat belts were replaced with new silver lap belts from Bill & Steve's. The right vent window (fitted with a perspex plastic piece) was replaced with a fresh glass window and I removed the dual speakers savagely cut into the rear parcel tray. The Beetle ebrake boot was replaced with an NOS T34 black one and I installed a new nose emblem. The electric sunroof was stuck-shut, so I loosened the retaining screw in the sunroof motor and hand-cranked the sunroof open (6V motor probably seized with 12V electrical upgrade). I fitted new door check straps and spent a whole day stripping the purple window tinting off the side windows. I replaced the "Gag Me Green" vinyl A-pillar material with Silver-Beige. Installed front & rear compartment seals, an NOS front hook, & repainted the other latch. Replaced the front & rear bumper guards & polished the rusting front bumper. Repositioned the dual horns under the front bumper. Repainted the wiper arms silver. Installed NOS rear scripts. Installed the right side mirror. And stripped the mint green interior carpeting.

Second Week Work: Jimmy repainted the roof Arcona White and rocker panels green (right) and Jose crafted new seat upholstery & rear parcel tray in Parchment Gray and fitted cheap new gray carpeting to be rid of the hideous mint green house carpet (below). Picked it up on Thursday before the Classic and gave it its first wash & detail. Installed the remaining parts (including a South Africa ZA decal to commemorate its heritage) and made it as nice as it's gonna get for the weekend. It's come a long way in just two weeks!

VW Classic 2004: Andy & Theresa (& Sophie) Holmes were on vacation in Southern California from England and Andy got to drive the M346 to the VW Classic weekend events. There were ten T34s this year and the RHD was a big hit. I was fortunate to find some parts: NOS front signal base & clear lenses from Axel Stauber, front pointy guards from Roy Kohrogi, & radio area from Yancy Everhart.