Carsten Klein
Carsten Klein from Germany is one of our most recent Pioneers. He became instrumental to T34 owners with finding & selling used parts. Read his interview to learn more about this T34 Pioneer.
​
Which Vintage VWs Have You Owned Before Buying A T34?
In first car in 1980 was my mother's 1968 Beetle. After that I drove water-cooled VWs including a Polo, Scirocco, & three Golf models. In 2007 I bought my first KG, a blue 1970 Coupe.
​
When Did You First Learn About T34s?
In 1985 Karmann was my first key account customer as a young technical salesman. I saw these cars in the factory museum and thought, one day you are going to own one. When searching for a suitable T14 in 2007 I met Marcus Siegler, who gave me lots of advice. One day he showed me his project, a T34 which I never had on my radar and I fell in-love with the extraordinary body immediately. In 2008 I began looking for a T34 worldwide.
​
What Made You Want To Own A T34?
When I first saw a T34 at Marcus' garage I developed a strong impression of how rare and extraordinary they are. No other VW has their special look, special character, and unique lines. Soon after that I met Jörg Fischer and he shared a lot about T34 history & especially the Convertible models. When I saw the first Lorenz T34 Cabriolet I knew I wanted to own one. I had also seen Wishi's yellow 1962 conversion at events.
​
Tell Us About Your First T34 Purchase
In 2008 I learned about a 1968 Coupe with Automatic transmission hiding in an old factory down in the cellar. It was rotten but good enough to learn more about T34s, and I bought it for 800 euros. I brought it home and disassembled it by myself. This was the key for me to really understand these cars! It was eventually parted-out and many T34s are driving today with parts from this car!
​
You Decided To Rescue T34 Parts & Cars to Help Other Owners.
While selling parts from my 1968 it was also the beginning of my quest to find parts, rescue all of them, and help owners worldwide with shipping parts everywhere. A decade later I have shipped 2000 parts & T34s all around the world. Many T34 owners have contacted me for used parts to complete their T34s. In 2018 I made the difficult decision to stop searching for T34 parts for reselling and focus on my family & business.
You own one of the rare Lorenz Cabriolets. How did you discover it?
I bought the Lorenz Cabriolet in August 2009 from Rüdiger Huber, a well known German KG parts dealer. In 2009 the engine was refurbished and the lower sheet metal was replaced. The Lorenz company specialized in converting Coupes into Cabriolets for any model of car. There are nine Lorenz T34 Cabriolets known today, all in Germany. The first one was created in 1980 and the last in 2019. My 1964 model was converted in 1988 and it's the oldest model year made. It is one of the few to not be completely restored. Driving it is a really unique experience!
