Karmann-Post No. 25, October-December 1962

In this issue of Karmann-Post an article on the VW 1500 Karmann-Ghia reprinted from Auto Motor und Sport is illustrated with images of both Karmann-Ghia models along with photos of production in the Karmann factory. There are some rarely seen promotional images of the 1500 Ghia here, including an early '63 sunroof model (Type 345), alongside the usual press photos.










The Motor-Tourist review of the 1500 Ghia is also reprinted in this issue.

You can take it with you: the Blaupunkt Derby 660

In the 1950s and '60s Blaupunkt and other European auto radio manufacturers offered portable "picnic" radios that had the option of being installed in a car as a dash-mounted pullout. Unlike more recent pullout systems that were intended for theft prevention, the idea behind these older pullouts was versatility.



The Blaupunkt Derby 660 was introduced in 1965 so it's a period-appropriate accessory for a VW 1500. It's larger and more modern-looking than the previous Derbys and offers shortwave, longwave, and FM bands. I bought this one many years ago and found the under-dash mount more recently.



Nice typography on the dial still has echoes of the 1940s.




The car mount was meant to be installed under the dash. It carries the Ideal brand. Ideal was the original name of the company, and the blue dot that was used as a quality control symbol eventually evolved into the company's trademark. The name was formally changed to Blaupunkt in 1938, but apparently the Ideal brand was still used for some components.



A plastic ridge on the top of the radio case guides the radio and secures it as it slides into the mount. The following sequence shows how a protective flap on the mount automatically opens to accept the radio as it slides in. When it's pushed fully home the power, antenna, and speaker are automatically switched over to the car's components.






The radio is then locked in place. A push tab above the radio unlocks it and allows it to be removed again.



The radio also has jacks for an alternate external power source and external picnic speakers or headphones for use away from the car. They thought of just about every possible need.

In the last few months I was able to find instructions for mounting a Derby 660 in a VW 1500 or 1500S:







I originally bought this Derby with the intention of mounting it in our '65 Squareback, but I didn't locate the mount until after I sold the car. I'm not sure if it will find a home in my 1500 Ghia or not. We shall see.

Karmann-Post No. 20, July-September 1961

The cover of issue number 20 of Karmann's promotional magazine featured a 1500 Ghia cabriolet prototype on display at the 1961 Frankfurt auto show (IAA). Other photos of the new 1500s were featured inside.



Mr. and Mrs. Wilhelm Karmann and Ghia's Luigi Segre with the cabriolet at the IAA.



Also at the IAA, the 1500 Ghia cabriolet is shown to German President Heinrich Lübke.



The issue also includes a spread featuring press photos of the new Karmann 1500s. The 1500 Cabriolet is referred to as the "four-seater" and the 1500 Ghia as the "two-seater." That's refreshingly honest — apparently Karmann didn't consider the 1500 Ghia's back seat a realistic place for anyone to sit.

It's an unusually wet winter for Southern California

You swingaxle drivers take it easy out there.



[1500S pushing the limit at Oulton Park, Cheshire, England in the 1960s. Source unknown.]

VW 1500 factory maintenance training slides

Last year Eric Colla was lucky enough to find a set of original factory training slides that cover basic maintenance of the VW 1500, and we put together a digital version of the slide show to share with the Type 3 community. The slides and caption text have been scanned and Everett Barnes created a page on The Samba where they can be viewed as individual images or downloaded as low-res or high-res pdfs. Here are a few of the slides:










From the photos and the information provided it appears that it was produced in late 1962 at the beginning of the 1963 model year. It's a great reference for how the early engines were originally set up, though since many parts have been painted gray for clarity it's not definitive. Even though I've read through all the early VW service literature many times I still learned a couple of new things from going through these slides and captions.

View or download the slide show here.

Many thanks to Eric and Everett for making this happen.

VW 1500 letterpress cut

I got a package in the mail from my friend Steve and opened it to find this old letterpress photo cut of an early VW 1500. Steve knows me pretty well.




Letterpress printing was on its way out in the 1960s, replaced by offset printing for most commercial jobs by the end of the decade, so it's a little unusual to find a cut of a '60s car. This one was probably used in a newspaper advertisement. It's an early '62 or '63 model and "VW 1500 1964" is handwritten on the back of the block.



I know of someone who has a letterpress so I might have to print up some cards. For the time being it can keep company with a old cut of a Bernd Reuters split window that I found years ago.

Thanks Steve!

"What bugeyedom has lost in the Sprite it has made back on the Karmann"

The 1500 Karmann-Ghia has the honor of being the punchline of one of Henry Manney III's jokes in his coverage of the Frankfurt auto show for Road & Track magazine's January 1962 issue. He isn't too keen on the Ghia's front-end styling and reports that it reminded another reporter of the Schwimmwagen. He likes the rest of the styling, though, and calls the 1500 Ghia "an improvement on the old one."



There's prominent coverage of the VW 1500 introduction in the article, including a feature photo of the dramatic 1500 display ("driverless Volkswagens, neatly executing 4-wheel drifts..."). But Manney is more interested in the NSU Prinz, BMW's 700 convertible and 1500 Neue Klasse sedan, the Porsche 2-liter, and the Fiat 2300 Coupe by 1500 Ghia designer Sergio Sartorelli. He seems a little underwhelmed by the VW 1500s in comparison. He predicts, correctly, that the Variant will be the biggest seller.





I have always enjoyed reading Manney's pieces for Road & Track. His humor and satire made other contemporary automotive reporting seem pretty dull in comparison. He was doing his automotive version of the New Journalism years before his fellow automotive writers got on board.