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Here I am sitting on my new project car, at the seller's rural property, on the morning I bought it. I hauled it back home using a rented towbar and a friend's van. Where I spent about a year completing the build in my spare time.

When I got it, it was basically an empty shell with rotting tires on rusting steel wheels. It barely rolled.

The fiberglass body was already installed on a shortened VW type 3 pan (squareback frame). It didn't have a motor and the interior was missing.

It needed a lot of parts. All acquired from auto junkyards, the local newspaper's classified ads, and J.C. Whitney's mail order catalog.

And at the time, the local area had a half dozen auto-parts stores that specialized in VW stuff, so finding what I needed was not a big problem. Plus it seemed there was a auto machine shop at every corner, so getting skilled work like valve grinding was painless.

A very tired VW motor was bought and soon rebuilt with "big bore" 1700cc size cylinders, new crank and camshafts. It was fueled by a Holly Bug Spray carburetor. The high-performance exhaust system was noisy, which is just what every guy wants.

It was painted by one of Sacramento areas Miracle Auto Painting shops. Despite their bad reputation, they did a decent job.

When it was finished I had to register it with DMV as a new vehicle. That process required getting a full inspection at the main CHP office. During the inspection, most of the officers came out to the parking lot to take a look.

I passed inspection without any issues. And as I drove away, the steel wool I covertly packed into the muffler to silence it, completely blew out. Fortunately it lasted long enough for me to get the officer's signature on DMV's paperwork. :)