[gabrielthomas]

Excellent Delivery!! :-)
I had to ask you a question here...

Sorry if this question is silly, but did it have a power steering, by the looks of it, it did not seem to have. If that's the case, wouldn't you have found it very difficult to drive?

By the way how did you return? :-)

[PAVAN KADAM]

Well, this car has been a Nagaland car all through, My friend owns another VW there ( pic below ) His workplace is NL , so no surprises.

There were lot of plans for the engine, which happened and again we had to revert back to going by the book..Anyways, thats a different story al-together. No A/C , No Power steering. And yes, those alloys are from UK, Porsche Design. Basically only 4 wheels with tires costed us 1.03 lacs.

Coming back to the roadtrip. With the help of my Friend Akash Tumkur who had relatively done the same stretch to Timphu from Bangalore quite a few weeks ago, he was kind enough to share his route details, and that made things very easy. A Big thanks to him


Day 1- Bangalore - Hyderabad - Overnite Stay at Hotel Avasa ( Hosted by 67Bug - Gautam ) Hyderabad

It was a pleasant morning at Bangalore, and we started our journey only to be set-back by the punishing AP heat Last minute work on the engine started showing some signs of over-heating, It still had to set-in with the initial running in. We had to take it slow and cruise at 70 kmpl, Our initial destination of VIZAG changed all of a sudden and we set off to Hyderabad.

Awesome roads, but we had our own share of issues. Night by around 8 we reached the city of Hyderabad, and only to be helped and hosted by my friend Gautam ( Carbug ) ever thankful to him for the rescue

That night we re-tuned the car, let it rest for a while and we retired for the much needed sleep.

[kasli]

Interesting is many NL. Cars have turned up like the UP CARS as a rolls recently and this car.

Good job

Cheers

[amit_shimla]

The restoration work is supreme, looks just like it is out of the box. Is it hard to drive a LHD car on Indian roads? Please post some more pictures of the red beauty.

[PAVAN KADAM]

After having witnessed the AP heat, we made a split second decision to drive the car through the night ( runs cooler in the night ) and the destination decided was Kolkata and so did we reach.

Day 2 - Vijayawada - Vizag - Srikakulam - Behrampur - Overnite Drive

694 kms took us more than 13 hours as the AP heat was relentless and we really did not want to stress the car, sadly my mechanic took ill and it was left for me and my tinker to share the drive, Also my tinker is not really well versed with a LHD and the onus of driving fell on me . As the night approached, i was the most happiest person on earth. Took an hour break at the AP border. Let the car cool down had dinner and off we go to drive through the Night. This is the first time i have ever driven through the night.

Day 3 - Drive continues via Bhubaneshwar -Kharagpur- Kolkota - Durgapur - Overnite stay at Rose Valley Resorts -Durgapur

1490 kms of literally NON-STOP drive indeed had its own share of ups and downs. The roads were good, but broken in patches, Reached Bhubaneshwar at 4 am my eyes give up and sleep takes over, and i call it quits. My tinker who had enough rest earlier offered to drive and we re-start again. Sparce traffic and beautiful roads ensured we reached Balasore and touched Kolkata border via scenic and super smooth Kharagpur roads by around 11:30 am.

A quick breakfast and i start my drive again and it was really clear our body started showing indications of Strain, wear and tear. It was our Treshold. Kolkata being a crowded city, even the highways was crowded. I kept driving never losing hope. 5:00 pm i stopped for lunch at Durgapur and i call it a day.

Shockingly due to Durga Puja all hotels were Full and there came a situation which really wreaked me from inside. called up my brother who asked me to turn around and walk 35 steps into ROSE VALLEY Resorts ( EX GINGER Hotel ). Finally... Finally there was hope left on earth. These guys luckily had enough rooms and that bought me a sense of HUGE RELIEF.

Hopped through few Pandals in the evening, good dinner and for the much desired rest.

[ringoism]

A real dream of a road trip in a beautifully restored Type III. The wheels really do help set it off, and the color is perfect.

These cars were a dime a dozen when I was growing up in NJ, and nobody thought anything of them, vs. the Beetles, which were regularly restored and enjoyed by enthusiasts. I never had seen one restored till now!

And yet, the fastback (and notchback, and squareback III's, for that matter) would really seem to be the more practical and balanced vehicles all-around (at least for families); And as this resto has proven, they can be extremely good-looking as well.

Thanks for sharing this. One of these days, we want to do a journey to the Northeast, as well (wife's from there).

-Eric

[suhaas307]

Pavan,

I salute you.

It's one thing to restore classic car and bring it back to its glory days. But it's a whole other thing to drive it across the Country. Your Client's faith in your work and delivery speaks volumes.

Driving an unfamiliar car on an unfamiliar road is not easy, and you've done it in a VW! Who would have thought?

These days, most people would think twice about driving their DSGfied VWs and Skodas through treacherous weather and unforgiving tarmac. And here you go taking one of the oldest VWs around, for a drive to the other side of the country, after painstakingly reviving it. Truly commendable. Not only is it a test of your skills and composure, it's a testament to fine German engineering.

Here's to you, and your future endeavours!

Here here!

[diliprayar]

Pavan,

That's one hot looking Fastback and an immaculately done restoration job.
The color and alloys combo is amazing and added character to her. Pictures are delightful to watch, the stance looks very aggressive and surely she might had pulled many hearts and heads all the way till Nagaland.

Delivering 3000 Km away post restoration is a fun filled challenge. You truly deserve appreciation.Please feed us with more information, how she behaved all the way till home.

Hope you love with Volkswagen continues. All the best.

[JoseVijay]

Driving a LHD car, have you faced any issues RTO or Traffic cops enroute to your destination? Being a vintage and an out of state registered car, it must have attracted many. BTW, what was the top speed achieved?

[Indraneel Bhat]

Hey Pavan,

Great restoration!!! What skills you must have!!! What I like best about the car is that classic Porsche 911 silouhette........ The car just oozes cool!

[BopsKA12]

Wow.. That is one good looking car. Perfect colour and perfect alloys,tyres for a fastback. Love going through your restoration posts
5 star restoration.

[Skyline GT-R]

Those are Porsche "Fuchs" wheels seen in 356s & earlier 911s.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Well well, After the much needed rest for the body and soul, started the day by 9:30 am, with lots of positivity and hope for the travel to come. Only to be let down by the pathetic state of the Roads througout.

From Durgapur we took the Chittaranjan route, went into Dumka, Untill here the roads were very scenic, later started our nightmares the Roads through Bagalpur - Malda and untill Kishanganj were Killing, it took 5 hours to cover 145 kms, forget the time. We did not even find any traces of Tarmac. I was Aghast, Was really feeling sorry for the car, and it came to a point where i decided i will give up. Just then i called Akash and he said, Purnea roads are good, please leave this stretch as early as possible. This gave me some positive energy and i drove on. 8 pm i reached the Highway of Purnea.

Purnea is another story, Sooper good roads, did some much needed spirited driving, the moment i entered the Toll, there was a huge commotion going on at the toll gate due to some death because of an accident. Phew...! This was the last thing that i wanted to do. Helpless and sorrounded by numerous truck drivers oogling at the car, i decided to sit on the road with those guys and share some gyan ( he he he ) suddenly out of the Blue, one Indianoil guy returning home came to me and pulled me and the car out of that jam into the Petrol bunk, i fuelled up the car since i got in, could see the Dead man from the bunk and few cars being burnt by the villagers. He quietly led me to the back gate of the bunk and directed me to the Highway. WOW... That was something, without thanking him, i sped off and a few hours of smooth tarmac, i was closing in on Siliguri. Yes.. Yes... at 10:30 pm the signboard said-- 104 kms to Siliguri , rain gods started showering blessings , this eventually delayed our drive, nevertheless it gave us a huge sense of relief. As the rains faded the roads became better, by 12:45 pm we reached Siliguri and were booked at Hotel Sinclairs.

1:30 AM - Checked into the Hotel after a to and fro search. Were stopped by the Police twice, but were let off with a Big Smile. There ends our Day 4,


Day 4 - Durgapur - Grazing through Bangladesh - Chittaranjan - Dumka - Bagalpur - Malda - Kishanganj - Islampur - Purnea -Siliguri - Overnite halt at Hotel Sinclairs- Siliguri

[harshad9493]

Pavan, thanks for sharing. I had just heard it directly from you a few hours ago. Need your permission if I can use some pics as my wallpaper. You Are The Best!

[PAVAN KADAM]

Day 5 -223 kms- Siliguri - Birpara -Hashimara - Jalpaiguri - Jaigaon - BHUTAN

Part 2 - 427 kms - BHUTAN - Falkata - Khokarjar - Bongoigaon - Barpeta - Nalbari - Dispur Guwahati - Destination

A new day and a new hope of reaching the destination brought us into high spirits As i started my drive from Siliguri to Hashimara, it dawned to me that 105 kms a few mere hours of drive BHUTAN was doable, And i took the decision to drive the car into Bhutan. I loved the drive though it was a BIG BIG DETOUR. Few hours i was into Bhutan and it was Lunch at Bhutan. Exchanged currencies as my daughter insisted over phone, at some not so good Bhutanese lunch. and started my drive towards Guwahati.

Highly scenic routes, and also since these routes were termed Dangerous, my friend had sent his manager in a Bolero as Escort, and yes, it did help a lot as even the GPS gives up due to bery badly marked maps on this route. ( WARNING - To those who want to rely on GPS in this route, it will be highly Unreliable )

BODOLAND gave me goosebumps due to its Sheer silence and eerie Darkness all around, it was also marked by armed forces all through.

1:45 am we reach the destination much to the joy of my friend Taranjit Singh Panesar and family who had never known all through the 1 year on what car they were getting. Yes, the car pics were never revealed to them untill the last day of my travel.

I really thank them for being patient with me throughout the year, giving me free hand at whatever decisions i took with regards to the car. Also for being super hosts. Showing the faith in me when i mentioned my decision to drive it all the way up there. I really take a bow to them.

Pankaj ( thebulletboy ) of Jalopy shop for supplying me spares for this rare T3.

Akash Tumkur and carbug ( Gautam ) for keeping tab on me all through the journey.