Part 13 - Postscript

   Its been a few months since Project Hole-In-One was abandoned.  After starting back with Skip Barber and resuming my 90-mile daily round trip commute, things were starting to wear out on the aging car.  With a Winter's worth of damage (Raccoon 1, Golf 0) the idea of pouring money into a car that at the end of the day

had very little retail value, I decided to end the project early and sell the car, with the proceeds going to something new.  The last thing I wanted to do was part the car out, since I didn't have the time to strip the car and I knew my parents didn't want another hulk in their yard.  In hindsight I'm glad I did.

   My first attempt to get rid of the car started with an ad in The Bargain News.  Thinking it a value at $1500 including the Recaro seats and everything else I put into the car, I was shocked when I received no calls on the car, and my ad on Vortex netted me some real low-ball counter offers.  With no other options, I decided to start selling off the car in pieces.

   Within days of posting a detailed ad on VWVortex, I had sold off most of the bigger, more expensive pieces of the car.  Within about a month, I had basically a shell with the brakes and suspension on it, and someone even took that off my hands for a VR6 conversion.  Talk about recovering your investment!  While I don't know the exact amount of money I spent on Project Hole-In-One, mainly because of the re-use of the suspension and brakes from my Jetta, I know that I spent less than the $2600 I made from the sale of the parts and finally the shell of the car.  Not bad considering I had no offers for the complete, running (and running well I might add) car when I offered it for $1500.

   Project Hole-In-One taught me an important lesson about building a project car.  Don't use your project car as your primary mode of transportation, at least until it is done.  Logistically, trying to get work done on the car was a nightmare, especially once I started driving back and forth to Lakeville.

   As a daily driver, Project Hole-In-One has been replaced by my first new car, a 2003 Golf GL TDI.  "Why a TDI?" you ask?  After spending $40-$60 a week on gas with Project Hole-In-One after I installed the cam, having a car that will go from Connecticut to North Carolina on a single tank of fuel is a welcome change.  Add to that the reliability of

Ah, the mileage...

a new car and the ease of major upgrades to the TDI motor, and the decision was easy.

   Project Hole-In-One was a lot of fun while it lasted, and parts of it are going to continue to provide fun for many other people for a long time.  Do I wish I could have finished it?  Of course, but I'm glad that I didn't bankrupt myself trying to do so.

The 1968 Fastback, as we bought it...

...and how it looked recently.

As for the next project car?  Why it was already sitting in the driveway waiting for me.  Back in '02, my father and I picked up a 1968 Fastback from a now former club member for the low, low price of $200, with new wheels.  Since the car is air cooled, the restoration won't be covered here, but as I'm writing this the car is at the body shop, awaiting some bodywork and a fresh coat of Savannah Beige.  See you at the shows...

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