New Owner ... looking for original builder

Post interior and engine bay pics  from the seat tops it may be from Vintage Speedster but the vin is odd at 16 numerals. It will be interesting to see how you reg this in TX as the DMV now has issues with replicas, buggy's etc.

Thank you for your reply Alan. See attachments.

It is titled as 1973 Volkswagen, I think VINs went to 17 digits in 1981.

I am 90% that the seats are from Vintage Speedsters,  the rest of the car looks to be home assembled either Fiber Fab or Classic Motor Carriage aka CMC, as to who may have built it I have seen quite a few but I am not familiar with that particular speedster.

Thank you again Alan.  Would you have an idea where I could buy the leather strap that connect to door and interior to keep door from hyper extending?

Any Jeep dealer.  Just get a door strap and the end anchors for a CJ-5 or something.  They usually have them in stock.

Thank you very much. 

You can also put a block of white stuff that new TVs come packed in - its like styrofoam but sturdier. 

Where is that VIN located?  Is it a State applied VIN?

Hard to see from the pics, but do the engine lid hinges have anything stamped on them?
-=theron

Looks like it is missing a lot of the engine tins. You will need that compartment sealed from the engine heat, especially in TX.

Maybe my old eyes though.

Art

As Theron pointed out if cast hood hinges say INTERMECANNICA then it is IM.  If not then FF/CMC most likely.  If gauges say VINTAGE then CMC (but they look like aftermarket VDO gauges).  Most early IMs used 914 gauges according to the book on IMs.

Thank you very much Wolfgang, I am out of town by will check when I am home tomorrow. Les

And thanks to all for you comments and advice. 

Hi, Les, and welcome to the group.

As Art pointed out up above, it seems to be missing the heat shields in the engine compartment.  Those are a horizontal set of panels attached between the engine tins (which are there, surrounding the heads just above the valve covers) and the car's rear frame.  Adding those sealing panels to the engine compartment keeps that the cooler air coming in through the rear grill separated from the hot air coming off of the exhaust pipes.  Without the heat shields, the hot air from below mixes with the cooler air up above going into the cooling fan and makes the engine run hotter.   Not good.  Original VW Beetle sedans had something very similar for the same purpose.

Since it appears to be a CMC, I have a set of heat shield paper templates which I can duplicate for you and send them along.  All I ask for is $5 bucks for postage.  They are full size, on craft paper, so you can get a piece of HVAC sheet metal, lay the templates on that, outline them with a sharpie pen and cut them out - that simple.  Once made, they are easily installed without removing the engine or moving much around.  I drilled and tapped a bunch of 10-32 holes and screwed mine in and they can be removed in about ten minutes.  The templates also point to where to install weather stripping (available at Home Depot) to seal them right up.

I can’t tell if we’re seeing the garage floor or the engine tins.  Looks like tins to me.

Les, can you look down through the engine compartment and see the ground?  If so, you need to fix that.  If not, ignore us.

The tins are in there. They have the same water stained pattern as the metal tins where the heater tubes pass through.