VW 1500s on display, 1964

Photos of VW 1500s and 1500 Karmann-Ghias on display from issue 93 of VW Informationen, the internal publication for Volkswagen dealers.


VW presentation at the Canadian National Sportmen's show in Toronto.



The Volkswagen Sonderschau, an event organized by distributor Raffay + Co in Hamburg.


VWs that participated in the Munich-Vienna-Budapest International Rally resting in a dealer's window.

Volkswagen + VW 1500 ad, 1961

More modernist typography and layout from the Volkswagen + VW 1500 marketing campaign: a 2-page ad in the 1962 edition of International Auto Parade.




Roughly translated, the copy says the 1200 is a sensible car for a "number cruncher," and the 1500 is a sensible car for someone who needs something more.

Factory rebuilt Type 3 engines

At the Bill and Steve's BBQ today I got a good look at the two factory rebuilt Type 3 engines they have on display. If you had your engine replaced under warranty or ordered a replacement engine from a VW dealer these are what you would have gotten. The first is a 1500 with a sidedraft carb, which was apparently built in the late '60s so it has an interesting mix of early and late parts. It's nice to see the details of how VW put things together, even though as factory rebuilt engines they can't be considered definitive examples of how the original equipment engines were set up.



The carb is a 32 PHN-1 with an SP 247 kit installed on the linkage. SP 247 was offered as an accessory to improve throttle response on the sidedraft carb, but it looks like it may have become standard equipment in later years. These engines confirm that VW did use Oetiker clamps as original equipment.


A late Knecht air cleaner with the dust warning screened right on the surface.


Short coil and fuel line retainer, and a later-style fuel pump.


The generator was wrapped with oiled paper to protect the innards from moisture and dust while in the warehouse.



Clamps as they were originally installed.


Late tin was shared with the dual-carb engines, though there are holes that go unused here.


Complete with a warranty card. No miles on this one.

They also have a dual-carb 1600 that seems to be of about the same vintage.




Again, complete with the warranty paperwork.


This one is sitting on the crate it came in.


Remember to recycle!

Bill and Steve's BBQ

I drove down to Bill and Steve's today for their open house and BBQ in honor of the 55th birthday of Steve's 1952 split window bug. I had hoped to take the Ghia but I'm still trying to clear a carbon blockage from the intake manifold's heat riser tube. Anyway, it gave me a chance to focus on the other cars, like Bob Walton's '62 notchback. It's a late 1962 model imported from Italy with only 80-something-thousand miles on the clock. Nice!



Bob just got the notch last year and has wasted no time getting it loaded with period accessories. They don't call him Gizmobob for nothing.


The interior is fully accessorized. Fresh air deflectors, red needle trip speedometer, tach, full circle horn ring with a clock horn button, Blaupunkt radio, shift extension, Bambus parcel tray, wire cup holder...did I miss anything?


Oh yeah, he managed to score an NOS anthracite gray e-brake boot. Some guys have all the luck.


On the outside, in addition to the bumper overriders, Bosch fog lights, Jokon reverse lights, and mud flaps, he has this nice Albert accessory mirror.


Nice clean trunk with a bias-ply Fulda tire that might be the original spare.



Bob has a very rare late Hazet spare tire tool kit that was designed to work for both Beetles and Type 3s. Here's Bob himself showing us how it works.






Bob is currently working on another low-mileage early Type 3 acquisition. More on that later!

I also got to meet Craig (Licensepl8s on the Samba forums), who brought his nice '69 RHD notch imported from Australia.


Craig is a license plate collector who hooked Bob up with his '56 series yellow California plates. He's currently lobbying for a change in the law that will allow year-of-manufacture status for 1963–69 black-and-gold California plates, which would be a boon to '60s car enthusiasts statewide. Good luck Craig!

There were a few other Type 3s in attendance, including Fastback Don's. I missed Don again -- he's always early and I'm always late.

C'est la VW 1500: French-language posters, 1963

I found these posters introducing the VW 1500 recently on French eBay. All three were printed in Germany for French-speaking markets. The seller didn't indicate their size and the images he posted were unclear, so I was surprised by how big they were when they arrived.


47-1/8 x 31-1/2 in. (120 x 80 cm), matte paper, dated 1.63


47-1/8 x 31-1/2 in. (120 x 80 cm), matte paper, dated 1.63


46-3/4 x 33 in. (118.75 x 83.75 cm), glossy paper, dated 4.63

They're in good condition, other than some creases from being rolled up and a little dust from storage. All three make use of photos that were also used in brochures printed at about the same time.

1962 vs. 1963 VW 1500 pistons

In the last few weeks I've learned a lot about the differences between 1962 and 1963 VW 1500 engines. Many components were changed at the beginning of the 1963 model year, as listed here in a March 1964 supplement to the VW 1500 Workshop Manual:


I knew that the pistons, cylinders, and heads changed at chassis number
0 064 916, but it was never clear to me exactly how. Now I know.




The pistons introduced in August 1962 are about .060 in. taller than the earlier pistons, and the cylinders and heads were also redesigned, raising the compression ratio from 7.2:1 to 7.8:1. It's something to keep in mind if you're rebuilding an early 1500 engine. Not all 83mm pistons and cylinders are interchangeable.

We were able to use my newly sourced NOS '63 1500 pistons on the Ghia's engine by shimming the cylinders .060 in. Since we're still using the early '62 heads I was worried that the shims might cause problems in fitting the intake manifold, the early cooling tin, and the muffler, but a test fit on the reassembled longblock put my worries to rest. The muffler was a tight fit but enlarging the holes in the mounting flanges slightly took care of it.

I saved the Ghia's three original Mahle pistons and will be on the lookout for a fourth to have on hand in case they're needed for a future overhaul. Here are the markings on them (part number 311 107 101):





This weekend I'll be reassembling the engine, and hopefully the Ghia will be back on the road within a week.

Better know a dipstick

Many early 1500 Ghia parts were superseded by redesigned parts, and VW's documentation of superseded parts and when they changed is spotty at best. The early dipstick is a case in point. Lee Hedges has pointed out this photo that appears in the November '61 and August '62 owner's manuals showing the early-style dipstick in use.



Sometime in 1962 or 1963 a rubber collar/seal was added that was continued through the end of production. The earlier dipstick had an internal cork gasket in the cap. Since the new design could also be used on earlier cars, all reference to the old part was removed from the VW Parts List.



I had always assumed that the new collar was just added to the existing dipstick, but a side by side comparison shows there's more to it than that.



Sometime later, probably in early 1964, the word "oil" was moved to the top of the cap. This was apparently to make it more visible. Lee is surveying owners of '64s to try to determine when the change was made. The investigation continues.

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