Chapter 2 Type 3 Scripts

Transcription

1 Chapter 2 Type 3 Scripts During the 20-odd years of VW Type 3 production, a wide variety of scripts and logos have been used by Volkswagen for these vehicles, particularly at the rear. Here are just some of them: 12

2 Accessories To convert your Variant s rear into a comfortable sleeping area. Venetian blinds. A 1973 US Squareback loaded with accessories. (Courtesy Carlos Sanchez/Typ3nut) 29

3 1966 to 1969 (From left) 1966 was the last of the flipflap interior door levers; from 1967 models onwards there was a single pull interior door lever; 1967 pull-up/pushdown door lock from 1968 it had a bigger head Swedish 1600TL. Note the thicker side chrome strip. (Svenska Volkswagen AB publicity photo.) (From top) The 1966, 1967 and the dashboard knobs. Two examples of a 1966 VW1500A Notchback: upper photo from a German brochure; lower from a French brochure. They are clearly very plain, and were often used as commercial or government fleet vehicles. For the 1967 model year, there were some minor but identifying changes: the chrome strip on the side of the vehicle, originally used on the 1500S and later on the 1600L, 1600L Variant and 1600TL, became narrower from 1967 models; 1967 hub caps were slightly flatter, and didn t have the raised VW nipple of the 1966 ones; 12-volt electrics became standard, and knobs on the dashboard became black and soft plastic (though changing again for 1968) hub cap (top) and hub cap. The difference is very subtle. The 1966 has a more raised VW nipple door interiors: the A version with a simple arm-rest. Note the pull-up/push down door lock. The L version has the more stylish armrest/grab handle found on earlier 1500S cars. Just visible in the lower picture is the window winder lever, unique to 1967 models: a chromed lever with black rubber knob. The quarter vent lever is still chromed. 67

4 Volkswagen Type 3 For the 1966 and 1967 model years in Australia a model called the 1600TS was CKD-assembled with a high Australian content (after a handful of German 1600TLs were imported). This 1600TS was basically the German 1600TL Fastback, but with a significant difference: it still had drum brakes. For 1967 it retained 6-volt electrics, while the German 1600TL went to 12 volts. From 1966 to 1967, there were special Deluxe editions of the single carburettor 1500 Notchback with a limited number of luxury features, such as leatherette seat cover materials like those found on German cars, chrome strips along the side, and fin-style tail lights. In the 1960s, many Australian car makers were, like Volkswagen, proud of their local manufacturing, and displayed this pride with a sticker in the rear window. In 2017, all car production in Australia ended. The last car makers were General Motors, Toyota and Ford. A really beautifully preserved original 50-year-old example of the Australian CKD-assembled 1600TS. Note the drum brake 5-stud wheels, the clear front indicator lights, and the Australian-made leatherette seat cover material. 108

5 Chapter 17 SP-2 The German company Wilhelm Karmann GmbH had a subsidiary in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which the parent company allowed to be fairly innovative for a while, at least. From 1962 to 1972, it had produced the Type 14 Karmann-Ghia Coupé and Cabriolet with considerable success, and it was not a carbon copy of the German Type 1 Karmann-Ghia. Then, from 1972 to 1976, Karmann-Ghia do Brasil produced just over 18,000 of its own unique 1600TC Coupés: the Type 145. The SP-2, or, more properly, the SP-1 (Type 147) and SP-2 (Type 149), was in production from June 1972 to February 1976, but total production was only 10,205. Of these, just 681 were exported, with 155 going to Nigeria, some to several Middle East countries, and some to Caribbean countries such as the Bahamas. One was exported to South Africa for evaluation by VW of SA. Karmann-Ghia do Brasil would also have liked to sell them in the lucrative US market. The car was built with a range of passive safety features that were hitherto largely unknown in Brazil, like a front crumple zone, front seat head restraints, a steering column that could concertina on impact, an enclosed battery, and even two brake circuits. However, it was realised, too late, that the front headlights were too low for US regulations, and the costs of re-tooling and installing pop-up headlights, as in the VW-Porsche 914, Corvette Stingray, and Opel GT, was considered prohibitive for the market, especially as the car was not intended to be a fast sports car. It was indeed an extremely good looking and graceful car, and with a more subtle phallic stance than the E-Type Jaguar. But, with a little low-revving flat VW Type 3 engine in it, there was no chance it would be a hot performer. Some had described it as the most graceful but slowest sports car ever made. For a while in Brazil, some jokingly said the letters SP stood for Sem potência, which is Portuguese for Without power. A brand new SP-2 at the Volkswagen dealership at Sokoto in Nigeria, in January 1978, next to a new VW Kombi, also awaiting delivery to a buyer. It was probably one of the last SP-2s. Showing the low stance of the SP-2, this car was photographed at Sokoto in Nigeria, and the author s Australian VW Kombi campervan is behind it. 1 This photo taken in Brazil shows the graceful, but extremely low, lines of the SP-2. Those two gentlemen are not particularly tall, and the Plymouth Charger two-door Coupé next to it is already low. Volkswagen do Brasil press photos taken during the official release of the SP-1 and SP-2 in June The VW1600 Kombi campervan in this photo was driven by the author to Nigeria from Australia and back again, including a double crossing of the Sahara Desert, and overland across Asia. 139