How's Abby doing?

Abby at the Watkins Vintage Fest in2012

Who's Abby?  Why, Abby is my 1970 VW
Type 3 Fastback. I can't say I ever desired a
VW Type 3. I've always had a thing for the old air cooled VWs, but Type 3s just don't exist in this part of the country anymore, so until recently I never even knew of their existence except for a distant memory of an odd white station wagon with no grille in the front, that used to tool around here when I was a kid. Time rolls on, and a couple of years ago I stop in to my buddy Jim's shop in an old warehouse, just to see what's new, and there sits this peculiar green car that I can only identify by the VW emblem on the hood.  It's in a row of other old cars including a BMW 2002, a Studebaker Champion,  a Camaro, and a Beetle Convertible. I kinda liked the weird little thing, but that was  all the thought I gave it until about a year later when my friend needed to find a new home for all the cars that had been in the warehouse. I saw it again, and started to see the possibilities it had, and started to think I needed to have it.
A little negotiation later and we towed the non-running VW across town and parked in the yard with an ancient set of Maryland license plates bolted on it to throw the village code dogs off the scent.
 I started to do some research about  the Type 3, mainly because it wouldn't run, and the reason it wouldn't run related to the world's first mass-produced electronic Fuel injection system that was installed 43 years ago, at the factory. The VW Type 3 holds the honor of being the first mass-produced car with electronic fuel injection  Over the next couple of weeks I learned all kind of things about the marvelous Bosch D-Jet Fuel injection system and the ATARI  of  a computer that controls it. After a major triumph of diagnostic work (I'm still proud of this) that included finding and repairing no less than 6 no-start conditions, I had the sweet little 1600 cc flat four  air cooled engine  running like a top. 

the transformation is underway

After a set of newer tires, a quick going through of the brakes, and a few other inspection items the Type 3 was on the road, and this unusual little car required a good name. so it was dubbed, "Abby Normal" in a little homage to Marty Feldman in" Young Frankenstein". Unfortunately the fuel injection triumph was short lived. After only a few short months, the barometric pressure sensor took a dive, and the car began burping and chugging like a collage freshman at a kegger.  it seems, on the East coast Bosch D-jet fuel injection parts  were made of unobtanium, and while they can be found on the West coast, they come at a price, and used.  I made the decision to switch to carbs. It got me back on the road, but not running nearly as nice as with the injection setup.

Since then Abby had shed her bumpers, traded in the original wraparound  b-ugly turn signals for some trim little bullet type ones off of a 68 Type 3, and ditched the plastic parts-store stick-on side molding in favor of a smoother look. Inside we have the original tatty seats, seatbelts from a C-130 cargo plane, and a  Magic Hat beer tap for a shift lever. She also sports a tach on top of the dash, more as a joke than anything else. But it's cool, and it works!
  Abby is never going to be a show car. not with all the body filler, fiberglass and pop-rivets she's been treated to over the years, so I decided the rat-rod look would suit her well.
The green paint had to go. It looked like Earl Scheib was forced to join the Army. So a quick sanding and several rattle cans of flat black primer later, and we have a hot-rod look.  The wheels went red, porta-walls will be ordered soon to give the tires a whitewall look, the body will be getting a proper coat of black paint with a matte clear  very soon, and I hope to lower the front end just a bit for a better stance. This winter I hope to be able to rebuild the engine, and work on a Mega Squirt fuel injection setup along with an MSD ignition.
Are you going to the Watkins Glen Vintage Racing Festival this Sept.? If so, you'll likely see me and Abby there. We hang around with the other unusual cars in the Concorso Speciale.  We'll be there unless the oil leak gets worse........