Okay, here's my long-winded post on the subject: EMPI, or Engineered Motor Products, Inc. was founded by Joe Vittone back in
1956, with replaceable valve guides for the 36 hp head. Joe also owned the Economotors VW dealership in Riverside, CA, and made EMPI-equipped "GTV" Sedans, that could be ordered with a variety of options. The C-stripes that go on the outside of the body, the EMPI gauges, walnut dash inserts and window sash trim pieces, power brakes, 5 spoke, 8-spoke, or Sprint Star wheels, and engine combos ranging from merely dressed-up 1500's and 1600's to all out fire-breathing, gas gulping ground pounders were available. I had dinner with Joe a few months ago ( he's 86, and his body is beginning to act like it, but his mind is still very definitely "hitting on all 4," still)and he recalls that, back in the mid-to-late 60's, during the EMPI heyday, that he had a fully-optioned GTV sitting in the Economotors showroom. Some lab-coated guys came in, handed him business cards from VWAG, and told him that they would be back the next morning, and that if that accessorized, hot-rodded GTV was still in the showroom, they had instructions to pull his dealership franchise on the spot. Joe maintains to this day, that all he wanted to do was help VW, by making the car more appealing to the youth market, thereby increasing sales, but he has had to fight VWAG since he first saved a cylinder head that VWAG said should be thrown in the trash. EMPI never had any help or factory sponsorship, in fact, quite the opposite. They fought him on everything he did, to the point of threatened lawsuits and dealership cancellations. Back to the original thread, it depends on how much EMPI stuff is on the car, how good of shape it's all in,and can it be documented as one of the cars that Economotors assembled, or is it one that somebody purchased and then began adding EMPI stuff to. There is quite an avid bunch of EMPI collectors out there, who will pay insane prices for stuff that is original, pre-1972 (When Joe, tiring of fighting with VWAG, sold EMPI to the Lee Eliminators division of Filter Dynamics, Inc.) EMPI parts. For instance, a well-preserved wood-rimmed, "GTV" steering wheel can fetch anywhere from 4 to 5 hundred dollars now. An original EMPI Eliminator shifter (NOT the Flat-4 copy !) in good shape, with a pliable rubber boot, can bring 200 or more dollars, and usually more, and a set of 5 original, restored, EMPI Rader wheels sold on ebay a few months ago for $4000.00. The original, magnesium, BRM's ( again, NOT the Flat-4 copies) have sold for that much and more, to collectors. So, it all depends on what is in the car, what kind of shape it's in, and if you can document where the car came from. If you request a "Birth Certificate" from VW, and they say the Port of Entry was Long Beach, then there's a good chance the car was assembled at the Economotors dealership, and worth more that the "customer-assembled" variety, but proving this is going to be difficult, unless you have some original supporting documents. Either way, a fully accesorized GTV is a collector's car, and maybe not the best choice for a "first driver" for someone who may not appreciate what the car is. Joe was full of stories, like why the Sprint Star was way harder to make than the BRM, and why it very nearly didn't get made, why there are so many EMPI (Okrasa) cranks out there, and even how the famous Blue Oval with the EMPI name in it came into being, which is another long-winded stort for another time. I'll tell you this, though- it was probably the very first known copyright infringement known to involve VW's, and he DID NOT copy the Ford logo, as so many have speculated...