Manny was purchased by my wife in Lodi, Calif and given to me upon my marriage to her. She tells people I married her for her cars. He acquired the name "Manny" because someone thought he looked like a preying Mantis. He was shipped over from Europe at some point and still has the original Kilometers-per-hour speedo. I could have replaced it with a new one sitting in the shop, but I have become accustomed to multiplying the indicated speed by .6 to get corrected speed. I think it helps me stay alert, and is good for my brain. Or, it might be that I had it all apart but just didn't want to hook up all the little wires on the back of the other one. Either way, my brain was involved, so what the hell. When he arrived to me, he had and still has a nice 1776 engine.(Still runs great, doesn't use oil) It had a pitiful single carb that was determined to not idle, so in a fit of whatever, I installed a pair if 34mm carbs with electric chokes by Empi. Wow, I havent had to mess with them for 6 years, although I dont need the chokes here in Hawaii. They were great in Oklahoma. At the same time I added a Berg sump, a 009 distributor with a Pertronix electric ignition, and a Bosch blue coil. I got tired of no heat(?) in Oklahoma so I took off the J-tubes and installed new heater boxes and cables. However the last person that owned it (before my wife) had installed a shroud without the exits for air to blow over the heater boxes. To avoid pulling the motor just to change shrouds, I bought a couple of 12v fans from Grainger, and hooked them up through a switch on the dash so whenever I need to defrost the windshield, I just flip a switch.They sit back by the engine and blow a lot of air whenever I need it. 
Exhaust is headers with a custom Flowmaster welded on. It will last forever. First thing I noticed when I drove him was that every bump we drove over the front suspension would go "BANG!" My wife quit driving it in California, in fact, because no one could figure out what the noise was. She took it in to the VW dealer in Santa Rosa to have it fixed. They said it wasn't even a Volkswagen and she should junk it , that it wasn't worth fixing.(Idiots) Fred (her other mechanic) told her it needed rear ball joints, but he didn't do that, sorry. What was it?: Whoever changed the '68 undercarriage to '71 (for the front disc brakes, which are great, thank you), lowered the front by taking out a few leaves from the spring stacks , then put it back together. So there just wasn't enough spring torsion to support the front, and it would wham the bump stop with every little bump. The Cure: coil-over shocks, adjusted to the lowest setting. Now I have a nice ride, lowered 6 inches from stock, and it never bottoms out. (What idiots) ..... I noticed a little water on the floorboards one day and discovered when I lifted the windshield rubber that most of the front just below the windshield had rusted through. After I finished my wife's ghia (also for sale) ( http://www.vwinparadise.blogspot.com/) I took out the windshield and cut out the rust and welded in a nice thick piece of steel all along the front, much thicker than the original metal, etched and primered and POR-15ed it. It actually took me a full 8 months to restore the crew cab. (I was driving the '70 conv.) The front floorboards were gone , I replaced them, and there were a few leaks here and there, but the back seat floor was intact, the storage bin under the back seat was pristine, but the rockers were 
rusted through in a few spots. I cut out all the rust with a disc, welded in new sheet metal, etched, primed, painted. The problem in the back seat was the wing windows. The rubber was so old it didn't seal, and years of northern Calif and Oklahoma rain had taken its toll.I had to rebuild part of the doorjam below the door. I finally decided to just put in solid glass, which is doing marvelously, with no more leaks. (I have a full set of new rubber, and all the glass, and both sides frames, for sale if anyone wants the wing windows). While it was up on blocks, I redid all the front end: ball joints (what mothers, damn), tie rods, seals, bearings on the swing arms, wheel bearings, seals, new disc pads. I decided to paint it with Europrimer, a two-part primer that seals and is UV-protected, so I could experiment with the color scheme. I like the blue and white with the shape of color in front like a splittie. The stereo is a Kenwood KDC-217, 45 watts X 4 channels, with line outs for a powered sub. Front speakers are Pioneer 6 x 9's, in sealed boxes below the dash. I planned to build a nice box for the space under the front seats with 2 12" subs and a 400 watt amp for each spkr, but never got around to it. (So it would kind of lift you off the seat when the bass played). Wheels: The nice stock wheels were on it when I got it, but I wanted mags, so my buddy Bill Pierce, who owned a tire store, hunted till we found some 
nice 
5 x 112mm rims by 8"wide (also fit old mercedes, I think) that were just right. fronts went on no sweat, of course, but the rears were too wide with the bigger rear tires. Oops. Too late to take them back, so I discovered that I could put a 2x4 inside the wheel well against the inside of the arch, place a hydraulic jack against the 2x4, and with a little help from my trusty acetylene torch, I have flared fenders that fit the wheels perfectly, and I didn't desecrate the wheel wells by cutting them out. I put on bigger tires (larger circumference) for the trip from Okla to Calif (before shipping to Hawaii on Matson), and He cruised well at 80 + mph with a full load of lemon trees, patio furniture, and a 55gallon drum full of water ,a bubbler hooked up to a 12v battery, and 6 20 year-old Koi. (Them are fish). 
This picture is not of me, it is Daniel Ho and his wife. He has a recording studio in Southern Calif, and has signed many wonderful artists to his label) . I had both front seats and the rear top and bottom redone two years ago.
New foam in both fronts, done by a reputable local upholsterer, new headliner as well, after I painted. Spare is mounted inside on the left side in front of the back seat. It used to be in the bin under the back seat, but it was hell to get it out, so I welded up a mount and moved it out. There is still room for two people in the back seat. I put in new 3-point retractable seat belts in the front right away, I think you need all the help you can get. I built a cup/mug holder right behind the front seat, attached to the bulkhead. There just wasn't anywhere to sit even a cup of coffee before. Since then I adapted a cup holder made for an early ghia to the ashtray in front. I use it more than the other. I still have the ashtray in the glovebox. Shifter is an Empi, with a lift up loop for reverse, locked out otherwise. I drive this car/truck every day, to work, we haul stuff to the dump, bring back plywood and sacks of concrete from Home Depot, bicycles to the park, etc. With the gates down it is so easy to load/unload. By the way, when the back gate is down, there are little holes in it so the car behind you can still see your taillights. Quite clever, them Germans....
Exhaust is headers with a custom Flowmaster welded on. It will last forever. First thing I noticed when I drove him was that every bump we drove over the front suspension would go "BANG!" My wife quit driving it in California, in fact, because no one could figure out what the noise was. She took it in to the VW dealer in Santa Rosa to have it fixed. They said it wasn't even a Volkswagen and she should junk it , that it wasn't worth fixing.(Idiots) Fred (her other mechanic) told her it needed rear ball joints, but he didn't do that, sorry. What was it?: Whoever changed the '68 undercarriage to '71 (for the front disc brakes, which are great, thank you), lowered the front by taking out a few leaves from the spring stacks , then put it back together. So there just wasn't enough spring torsion to support the front, and it would wham the bump stop with every little bump. The Cure: coil-over shocks, adjusted to the lowest setting. Now I have a nice ride, lowered 6 inches from stock, and it never bottoms out. (What idiots) ..... I noticed a little water on the floorboards one day and discovered when I lifted the windshield rubber that most of the front just below the windshield had rusted through. After I finished my wife's ghia (also for sale) ( http://www.vwinparadise.blogspot.com/) I took out the windshield and cut out the rust and welded in a nice thick piece of steel all along the front, much thicker than the original metal, etched and primered and POR-15ed it. It actually took me a full 8 months to restore the crew cab. (I was driving the '70 conv.) The front floorboards were gone , I replaced them, and there were a few leaks here and there, but the back seat floor was intact, the storage bin under the back seat was pristine, but the rockers were 
rusted through in a few spots. I cut out all the rust with a disc, welded in new sheet metal, etched, primed, painted. The problem in the back seat was the wing windows. The rubber was so old it didn't seal, and years of northern Calif and Oklahoma rain had taken its toll.I had to rebuild part of the doorjam below the door. I finally decided to just put in solid glass, which is doing marvelously, with no more leaks. (I have a full set of new rubber, and all the glass, and both sides frames, for sale if anyone wants the wing windows). While it was up on blocks, I redid all the front end: ball joints (what mothers, damn), tie rods, seals, bearings on the swing arms, wheel bearings, seals, new disc pads. I decided to paint it with Europrimer, a two-part primer that seals and is UV-protected, so I could experiment with the color scheme. I like the blue and white with the shape of color in front like a splittie. The stereo is a Kenwood KDC-217, 45 watts X 4 channels, with line outs for a powered sub. Front speakers are Pioneer 6 x 9's, in sealed boxes below the dash. I planned to build a nice box for the space under the front seats with 2 12" subs and a 400 watt amp for each spkr, but never got around to it. (So it would kind of lift you off the seat when the bass played). Wheels: The nice stock wheels were on it when I got it, but I wanted mags, so my buddy Bill Pierce, who owned a tire store, hunted till we found some 
nice 
5 x 112mm rims by 8"wide (also fit old mercedes, I think) that were just right. fronts went on no sweat, of course, but the rears were too wide with the bigger rear tires. Oops. Too late to take them back, so I discovered that I could put a 2x4 inside the wheel well against the inside of the arch, place a hydraulic jack against the 2x4, and with a little help from my trusty acetylene torch, I have flared fenders that fit the wheels perfectly, and I didn't desecrate the wheel wells by cutting them out. I put on bigger tires (larger circumference) for the trip from Okla to Calif (before shipping to Hawaii on Matson), and He cruised well at 80 + mph with a full load of lemon trees, patio furniture, and a 55gallon drum full of water ,a bubbler hooked up to a 12v battery, and 6 20 year-old Koi. (Them are fish). 
This picture is not of me, it is Daniel Ho and his wife. He has a recording studio in Southern Calif, and has signed many wonderful artists to his label) . I had both front seats and the rear top and bottom redone two years ago.
New foam in both fronts, done by a reputable local upholsterer, new headliner as well, after I painted. Spare is mounted inside on the left side in front of the back seat. It used to be in the bin under the back seat, but it was hell to get it out, so I welded up a mount and moved it out. There is still room for two people in the back seat. I put in new 3-point retractable seat belts in the front right away, I think you need all the help you can get. I built a cup/mug holder right behind the front seat, attached to the bulkhead. There just wasn't anywhere to sit even a cup of coffee before. Since then I adapted a cup holder made for an early ghia to the ashtray in front. I use it more than the other. I still have the ashtray in the glovebox. Shifter is an Empi, with a lift up loop for reverse, locked out otherwise. I drive this car/truck every day, to work, we haul stuff to the dump, bring back plywood and sacks of concrete from Home Depot, bicycles to the park, etc. With the gates down it is so easy to load/unload. By the way, when the back gate is down, there are little holes in it so the car behind you can still see your taillights. Quite clever, them Germans....
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