Hi team. OK, I did it, have purchased my first ever resto project and I'm diving in head first, balls out and with my eyes wide shut and have bought a rolling shell 1966 Type 3 Fastback project to sink my teeth into.

Yes I'm a noob, but a big Type 3 fan, my first ever car back in 1985 was a '66 Fastback - I have so many fond memories in that car, I drove the poor thing into the ground, having had it frequently in the air as a wild and crazy youngster. It was pristine when I bought it and a disaster when I sold it 4 years later! (I later saw it back on the road as one of the first Type 3 rats I ever saw).

So now I'm in the heartland of my mid-life crisis, 47 years young to be exact (and I should know better haha). My 4 year old son by chance is a mad VW fan. So to forge years of great bonding memories I stepped up and bought us a project, same year and model as my first car. See some pics below.

Now I really am jumping in here balls and all guys. I love to tinker, I have been described as overly cautious, penny pinching and conservative, I am not all that mechanical and have never taken on a project anything like this - but I think it's gonna be a blast! And if you're gonna do it, start with a VW being less complex than most I guess. The plan is to join the VW club (of Victoria, Australia), mostly restore it and enjoy it on weekends for years.

Some deets on our new ride:
• German built, Australian delivered (RHD) 1966 Fastback (no sunroof) - I guess that makes it a very early model, I much prefer the rounded front to the later shark nose style
• 1600 engine has been rebuilt already and came with the car, not installed (not the original engine which was shot apparently)
• Brakes have been redone
• New headliner has been installed
• Seems pretty straight and mostly rust free, some surface rust and a couple of slightly worrying rust spots but certainly not a basket case
• Was mostly dismantled for a respray about 5 years ago, was painted a shocking ford blue and then left to sit for 5 years and never driven (I’ll be stripping all that back and going for something much cooler like a red, green or baby blue I think)
• What she’s gonna need:
o New chrome all round and inside (I have most of it but it’s all generally smashed)
o New carpets (She came with new black set, I’ll sell that and replace it with a red or something cool)
o New interior trim kit – front, interior & rear (She came with a new black front and rear door trim set, I’ll sell that and replace it to match the seat colour)
o New seat upholstery – thinking off white seats with contrasting piping
o New paint job (and I’ll have to suck it up and strip the current one back inside and out myself)
o Re-chromed bumpers
o New RHD dash or restore mine which is in very poor shape
o New steering wheel (white banjo with Wolfsburg centre cap is my wish)
o Engine to be fitted (after a new clutch, pressure plate and flywheel is fitted and system converted from 6v to 12v)
o Rear engine mount to be repaired / replaced (some wise guy looks to have forgotten to detach it when removing the engine and it took all the weight and cracked)
o New set of gauges, all 3 of them, preferably speedo with chrome trip
o Wide deep dish rims with new kicks and white wall inserts, chrome domed hubcaps
o A whole bunch of bits and pieces like fuel tank & sender, front & back indicator lenses, spare tyre wheel well, engine cover, interior knobs, exhaust, distributor, air filters, rear ash trays, seat belts, jack etc

As you can see, the kind folks I bought this off stripped it bare and got rid of half the stuff above. Even if it was trashed I wish I still had what they threw away so I knew exactly what to replace it with, but I do love a treasure hunt, and that is what the first 3-5 years of this project will be I think, finding all the bits and pieces I need to put this baby back on the road and looking beautiful again. I could have always just bought a restored one, and I have no doubt that some time through this resto I’m going to wish I did, but what’s the fun in that huh!

This is not going to be a resto at all costs, we are well and truly on a tight budget. I’ll buy all the chrome, carpet, trim and upholstery in new kits from the USA I guess and fit it out myself. I’ll strip the car back and prime it myself. I’ll buy good second hand parts locally where I can (or good value repro or NOS). I’ll fit the clutch and engine myself (but I’ll get it checked and tuned by a professional). Again, I have never done any of these kinds of jobs before so it’s all new territory for me, but the forums and YouTube I think will become my new best friends! I’ll be calling on you all for advice no doubt!

By the time I have all the bits n pieces I need my boy should be close to 8 or 10 years old and I think it will be an awesome project for the 2 of us, memories to be cherished forever.

I’ll start a thread of the resto for updates and questions as soon as we get the ball rolling. If you’re in Australia and have some of the parts I’m looking for feel free to PM me, I’m up for getting them all from the one source if possible.

Cheers team, wish us luck on the mid-life crisis first car resto!

Looks like it has the potential to be a nice ride.
Good luck with it, and keep the pictures coming.
All the best, Rob.

Thats gonna look great.
Keep the pics coming! ~ Best to start a members ride

welcome aboard! balls n all

Thanks for the welcomes guys, nice to be here...............hey it's nice to be anywhere!

Nice, there is one of these at Mick motors, parts car. Northgate Brisbane

Ah the car from Ballarat!!

Where are you located?

PM sent