It arrived yesterday from Illinois in the back of an Intercity truck. Dr. Clock - I checked out your suggestions, and Intercity was less expensive. I purchased Tom Boney's old Auratium Green 2011 VS. A bit of a hassle with the Connecticut registration. I failed the first inspection because of a torn tie rod boot. I got the replacement boot from a local bug shop, and after 3 hours of trying to pop the tie rod end from the knuckle, I gave up. Yes, I borrowed a "pickle fork" from the local auto parts store, but the car won. This time. I brought the car to my local mechanic this morning and he did the job in 45 minutes. After a quick reinspection and an hour waiting for the DMV clerk, I was done. Very happy to have it registered as a 1968 VW Porsche Replica with classic car plates. I will probably pay more town property tax on my 5x8' utility trailer than I will on the car.
The car seems to be ok. Some of the usual VS paint blemishes here and there, but not too bad. The tri-mill exhaust sounds real nice and is not too loud on the highway. The car starts up right away, and has plenty of power for me (1915 cc). I would like opinions/guidance on the following:
1. One of the screws that hold the access plate on the top of the gas tank does not engage, so I am assuming that the hole threads are stripped. It was a bit damp around this plate, and the carpet in the area was also damp with gas (not a lot). Any simple fixes for this?
2. The car idles fairly well, I think. When coming to a stop it goes down to ~ 900 - 1,000 RPM, then bounces up to about 1,300 and stays there. Is this normal?
3. The temp gauge does not seem to move much. Today was about 70 degrees, and the gauge went up maybe 1/4 way up on my 15 mile trip from the DMV to home. Perhaps it is a bad sensor, but I would like feedback. An auxiliry fan ran for a few minutes after I arrived home, then shut off.
4.
In earlier posts, I mentioned that I had been lurking for a while as well as driving as many cars as I could. Enjoyed visiting all of the builders (except Beck), and I was about pull the trigger on a new stone grey VS when this came along. The auratium green color is my second favorite and I believe that I paid a fair price saving many,many thousand$ over a new VS so I am happy.
My wife asked me tonight if I am done spending money now. Funny - right? Well, I told her, not really. I do want to add a louder horn (Hella), rock guard screens over the headlights, and some 3" Deitz lap belts as soon as I can.
I look forward to contributing to this great community, and my wife and I plan to be at Carlisle next year.
Thanks guys.
