The cars shown are 1965 models, though I didn't know you could still buy a Beetle with a canvas sunroof in 1965. Maybe it's what you got if you ordered a sunroof on the non-export version.
Monday, January 21, 2008
"How many Volkswagen models are there?," 1965
I ran across this VW factory photo in a 1966 copy of the Swiss graphic design magazine Graphis.
The cars shown are 1965 models, though I didn't know you could still buy a Beetle with a canvas sunroof in 1965. Maybe it's what you got if you ordered a sunroof on the non-export version.
The cars shown are 1965 models, though I didn't know you could still buy a Beetle with a canvas sunroof in 1965. Maybe it's what you got if you ordered a sunroof on the non-export version.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
NOS Beck tune-up kit for Bosch ZV/JCU 4 R 3 distributor
I paid a visit to Martin Serrano today and along with a big stack of early Type 3 hubcaps I picked up this cool NOS tune-up kit from the U.S.-based foreign auto parts distributor Beck:
Never mind the nonsense printed on the package (1964 Fastback?), this combination of points and condenser will only work on the rare Bosch ZV/JCU 4 R 3 distributor for 1964 1500S engines.
Beck rebranded the Doduco points and Bosch condenser:
Martin also showed me his NOS copy of the 1966 Beck VW Type 3 catalog, which listed Type 3 accessory overriders and Type 34 tail lights among other rarities. An American parts catalog specific to Type 3s — quite a find.
[illustration from a 1959 Beck all-makes catalog]
Never mind the nonsense printed on the package (1964 Fastback?), this combination of points and condenser will only work on the rare Bosch ZV/JCU 4 R 3 distributor for 1964 1500S engines.
Beck rebranded the Doduco points and Bosch condenser:
Martin also showed me his NOS copy of the 1966 Beck VW Type 3 catalog, which listed Type 3 accessory overriders and Type 34 tail lights among other rarities. An American parts catalog specific to Type 3s — quite a find.
[illustration from a 1959 Beck all-makes catalog]
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Luftentnahmeschlauch für VW 1500!
I got this NOS Helphos windshield washer hose from Charlie Harlock a while back:
This is the accessory hose that draws air from the spare tire to keep the windshield washer reservoir pressurized. There's a check valve that ensures the spare's pressure doesn't get too low. I believe a similar part eventually became standard equipment on later Type 3s.
The VW 1500 version is considerably longer than the one for the 1200. Here's the instruction sheet:
[Insert "clean windshield at the expense of an inflated spare" joke here.]
This is the accessory hose that draws air from the spare tire to keep the windshield washer reservoir pressurized. There's a check valve that ensures the spare's pressure doesn't get too low. I believe a similar part eventually became standard equipment on later Type 3s.
The VW 1500 version is considerably longer than the one for the 1200. Here's the instruction sheet:
[Insert "clean windshield at the expense of an inflated spare" joke here.]
Friday, January 4, 2008
1963 VW 1500 Karmann-Ghia colors
I finally found a copy of this rare accordion-fold brochure which shows the incredible number of paint and upholstery options available for both the 1500 Ghia coupe and cabriolet in 1963. This copy is undated, but I've seen other copies that carry the date "1/63," when Karmann was still gearing up for the cabriolet production run that unfortunately never happened. On the bright side, the decision to halt production of the cabriolet kept a manila yellow Ghia with a black and yellow interior and a red convertible top from ever being produced, so we can be thankful for that.
This is an odd brochure because it doesn't correspond to the options that were actually available to the public in 1963. In addition to the cabriolet never being available for purchase, there were other interior color options available in 1963 that don't appear here, such as the option of red interiors for anthracite cars and the black vinyl interior option for all car colors, as documented in The Samba's Type 34 color reference page. Maybe these additional options were introduced sometime later in the 1963 model year in reaction to public demand or criticism in the press. Road & Track's February 1963 road test of a 1962 model described the available interior color combinations as "garish and tasteless." That must have hurt.
This is an odd brochure because it doesn't correspond to the options that were actually available to the public in 1963. In addition to the cabriolet never being available for purchase, there were other interior color options available in 1963 that don't appear here, such as the option of red interiors for anthracite cars and the black vinyl interior option for all car colors, as documented in The Samba's Type 34 color reference page. Maybe these additional options were introduced sometime later in the 1963 model year in reaction to public demand or criticism in the press. Road & Track's February 1963 road test of a 1962 model described the available interior color combinations as "garish and tasteless." That must have hurt.
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