So an opportunity has come up in regards to possibly acquiring a complete Type 1 FI exhaust system. Someone’s making substantial changes to his exhaust and I queried him on what he’d want for this stuff.
If you’ve followed this blog or the FB page, you’ll know I’ve been actively trying to get a complete additional set of all 1-off parts for my cars, especially if there is no aftermarket replacement.
When it comes to some of the 1302 and 1303 front suspensions there aren’t any aftermarket replacements for certain items and when it comes to USA 75 and later Beetles there’s very little 1:1 replacement parts for the FI system and some of the systems that directly changes due to the Fi system use.
Now you can surprisingly get aftermarket heat exchangers, and a lot of other parts but the exhaust manifold tubes (highlighted above) are not made and are key parts for me to acquire extras of to have on hand for Murbella.
Now yes, I plan on having all of Murbella’s exhuast parts media blasted and ceramic powder coated to ensure they survive another 40 years, but I would feel good having an extra set of the exhaust manifold tubes in much the same way I have an extra set of 1302 spindles and control arms “just in case”.
And from everything I’ve read, aftermarket heat exchangers for carb vehicles are not remotely of the quality internally as the OEM ones, so I’m not sure what the less in-demand FI heat exchangers are like in terms of quality.
The current owner of the parts is down in the southern US so all of this may be way too much to ship in addition to the parts themselves.
I already plan on being over budget now that I’ve shifted to some media blasting where I was not going to do so, not to mention throwing in 4 wheels to be blasted and powder coated.
But man… all of this… right there… in one place…
Much like the Type 4 engine north of here that’s currently for sale, I don’t come across things I actually am seeking very often.