Name: Paul Knight
Vehicle: Type 3 Notchback
Engine Size: 1500cc
Purchase date: November 1993
Modifications: This car is mostly stock-spec - the only major change being the removal of several inches from the ride-height, which took place way back in 1994! OK, the motor has been upgraded to '1500S' spec, thanks to twin 32PDSIT Solex carbs and a set of 1500S domed pistons (for higher compression), and features a very mild Scat C25 cam and carefully-ported NOS single-port heads, but that's hardly enough to set the world alight these days!
Just recently the car was overhauled (following a lengthy hibernation!) and even modified a little more. A faulty gearbox was replaced with a good, used unit, which was fitted with a set of 'short' axles (sourced from an early-sixties Beetle). This was followed by a a full brake overhaul (as detailed in the November 2007 issue of Ultra VW), and a new set of wheels. Incidentally, the offset of the 5.5-inch wide Empi Sprintstar wheels was the reason for the short-axle conversion. The deep dish of the Empi rims means that (even after the short axle swap!), the current 185/70 R15 tyres are a very tight fit out back! Thankfully, the 4-inch wide front wheels (fitted with 145-section Firestone F560 treads) tucked under the front ’arches quite nicely, and only cause minor interference problems when attempting to mount a curb at full-lock.
Future plans:
Right now this is a tricky question... If you'd asked me last month, my plans were to assemble a tough transmission and a forced-induction stroker motor of some sort. My initial thought were along the lines of a streetable, mild turbo conversion on a tough, 2-litre+ motor, rather than an out-and-out racer... the kind of motor I could drive on the street without reliability/overheating issues, yet could still pound on the strip every now and then (without showing myself up!).
However, since the resurrection, I must admit that I've grown to love the faultless ride, reliability, flexibility and even the fuel economy of the old 'hot' single-port motor. Perhaps I'm showing my age (!), or perhaps I'd just forgotten how nice it is to drive a quiet, smooth and economical car on a daily basis! The heaters not only demist the windscreen, but also make the cabin nice and toasty (and in no time at all), and even the ride quality is superb, especially given the not-insignificant lowering job! That's right, the notch has become my daily driver for now, and I must admit that it's such a pleasure to use that I'm loathed to change anything major at this point!
So, for now at least, the future plans involve little more than just regular servicing and clocking up some more day-to-day miles in my all-time-favourite VW!
However, with some parts already collected, there's a good chance the turbo-motor may still happen... perhaps in the back of something new, who knows?!
Other projects/rides:
At present my only other full-time project is the trusty T4 Westy workhorse. Check out the project page to find out more.
In my spare time I've been tinkering on my father's Porsche 356 B (T5), his Apal Speedster replica, and a Cal-inspired, 2007cc Bug we've been sidelining and putting-off for almost seven years! It sounds crazy, but workshop time is a precious commodity these days!
However, after more than seven-years in the making, it's finally a roadworthy vehicle (and what a sweet ride it is!) Keep your eyes peeled for future updates, including some tech. features covering issues such as tuning and balancing the 48mm carbs, and some real-world road testing facts and figures. In fact, we've been having so much trying to better each others 0-60mph and quarter mile times that we've all but lost track of progress!
However, poor weather is on its way, so we'll be forced to sideline the 'power runs' any day now - images and info will follow as soon as I find time to hit the laptop to collate the results...
