This an awesome little car that gets compliments everywhere I go! I hate to use the term "Barn find" but when I bought this car, t had been sitting in a garage untouched and partially disassembled for many years and I have taken great care to preserve the originality of the car, hile at the same time making it into a fun, afe, eliable driver. The paint is largely original and it was professionally polished to a high shine. In addition to the original paint and EMPI C-stripes, he exterior of the car features front and rear gravel guards, fuel door trim, umper guards and of course, he EMPI Sprint Star wheels - hard to find 4.5" front with 135/15 tires and 5.5" out back with 165/15 tires. I also installed, ew Hella taillight assemblies, new windshield and seal as well as new seals for the 1/4 windows and rear window.
The interior was in pretty sad shape so I installed new door panels, eadliner, arpet and sun visors, s well as reupholstering the front and rear seats. The dash only has couple cracks, o I left it alone. It also has wooden dash panels, nobs and window cranks. The original AM/FM radio is still there and works pretty well too. The last thing I put inside the car was a set of new EMPI logo floor mats to spice it up a little. The front and rear seat belts are still intact too. I spent a lot of time making sure that all of the lights, ipers and stuff worked properly.
I lowered the car up front with a 2" narrowed adjustable beam with new ball joints, .5" lowering spindles and a 1 spline drop out back. It has disc front and drum rear brakes with new hoses all around new rear wheel cylinders, hoes and new master cylinder too. The car had no engine when I so I put in a smooth running 1600cc Dual port. I just gave it a complete tune up and valve adjust as well as installing a new carburetor and Bosch 009 distributor, o it runs like a champ. I wouldn't be afraid to jump in it and drive anywhere.
In addition to the other things I have listed, here has been a lot of other work done to my car. I replaced the driver's side floorpan half and patched a couple small rust holes on the passenger's side rocker panel. It looks like someone replaced the rocker panel on the driver's side and did a good job of it. There is a fair amount of dings dents, tc. and some rust bubbles here and there but I'm not aware of any structural rust.
As far as I know the EMPI GTV bugs were a dealer installed accessory package and there were four trim levels available. Unfortunately they didn't keep records on them so there is no way to tell what each car had when it was delivered. I do know that they are fairly rare cars and do not come up for sale very often so when I had the chance to buy this thing, jumped on it. I've enjoyed having it but another project has come up so I'm going to let it go. Don't miss the opportunity to by this car and be the hit of every VW show you attend or just have a ball cruising it around like I have.
I am sure that I have missed some things that I have done to the car. My goal with this car was to have a comfortable, eliable driver with the classic patina. With that said it's not perfect and shows its age being a 43 year old car, ut don’t judge this book by its cover. The drive train and suspension is all top notch. This car drives great down the road and is very comfortable with the new interior. I really like this car and hate to sell it but I have another couple other project cars and I could use the space. I have no problem selling to overseas buyers and I will be happy to help with local transportation. Feel free to contact me with any questions. I can be reached by email or hone at 303-332-5014. Thanks for looking!