Type 3 Parts availability

Exploded Diagrams; Part Numbers; Alternative parts
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Editor
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Type 3 Parts availability

Post by Editor » 13th September 2005 - 1:14pm

As with most 40-year old classic cars, parts availability can be tricky, but there are quite a few enthusiasts still around and there's no good reason for any of the Type 3s to have to be scrapped. OTOH you will find that unless you can do much of the work, a rusty example will probably not be economical to have repaired professionally.

If you want to restore it to original condition, you will have to be prepared to pay quite high prices for certain parts eg the press-button dash unit. Notches are generally worth more than the Fastbacks and Variants, but the special panels can be harder to locate in the UK.

Type 3 Detectives (T3D) http://www.typethreedetectives.com/ can usually get what you want, but it's a specialist market so expect to pay a premium for their time.

http://www.status-vw.co.uk/ are sympathetic to Type 3s, and have a number of lines of interest.

The USA suppliers like ISP-West http://stores.ebay.com/ISPWEST-VWPARTS may be able to get some things, but shipping is usually expensive. Trim is obtainable through agents for TMI, but there's a company in the UK doing good repro stuff - I'll collect the contacts and put them on the site ASAP.

It's also worth checking our PARTS-SWAP webpage for alternative VW parts that work OK. Not all agents seem to know what fits Types 3 and 4 any more.

Don't be put off getting it roadworthy - everything is possible!
Dave.

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