Hi. Thought I would post my car here. I got this 412 in july. It has been a bit of a project. heres the story
The tranny blew soon after I got it, so I bought a parts car 411 wagon (stick shifts are really really hard to find for these cars... none of the us models had them.) just for the tranny. after it was installed, I realized the clutch master AND slave cylinders were leaking, which are just as rare as the trannys. Thus, I could not get it to bleed. I built a bracket for a vanagon master and used the parts car slave to get it going. In went the parts seats (which were in great condition, one has since ripped
). I then started bodywork on it, stripping all of the paint, as the last one was flaking off, and I want it to last. a few sections needed welding, and of course a bit of bondo. I shaved the side trim off, as well as the wheel well trim and the bottom strip, plus the rain gutter chrome. I took a body work course at school which really helped (we practiced on my fenders, then painted my friends rabbit, which turned out great). Aluminum bumpers went on to replace the incorrect rear one, and the front brackets were moved closer to the body. Next on the list include custom exhaust (theres a pipe bender where I work), front and rear suspension (I already have the struts and springs) and who knows what else. I am thinking of converting to CIS injection from the current D-jet because of parts availability. CIS is also turbo friendly
(plus, a friend of mine has a spare set from his rabbit). I also plan on trying to wedge a stronger tranny in there from a bus.
If anyone has any body (or other) parts that would be swell (I had to weld in a 2 foor long strip in the front drivers fender, and the drivers rear quarter has LOTS of bondo on it from a past repair.) I also have some parts available. I would love to see any other local type 4's (I havent seen any, except one from prince george, and one in washington).
Overall, its a fun car, and I enjoy working on it.