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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

VW Model TYPES : Production VW Type Designations- TYPE 2.

This is the third part on  the Volkswagen (VW)  model TYPES for newbies on the aircooled VW scene. The first part was on the  VW Model TYPES Prototypes and Wartime Production Models the second on the Production VW Type Designations Type 1 while this third installment is on Type 2s. This is more on the  general understanding of these VW "Type" systems which would be of great help for us to understand and be understood by fellow enthusiasts but more importantly also as an important technical guide in sourcing out VW parts/numbers and to learn more about the history of the VW itself.

b. Production VW Type Designations:

2. VW TYPE 2 (T2, TII): Transporter Bus, Van, Vanagon

Prototype 2 (a VW “truck” version)  was developed in the post-war production years at the Wolfsburg Factory and was formally designated in production as “Transporters” in 1950.
1949 Type 2 Transporter Cargo (Prototype)
 1100cc Engine with air-cooled same like engine the Beetle. 
Early versions had 25 horsepower. Launched to the market 8 th March 1950
Proven too weak to withstand "truck-use", a stiffer and lighter unitized body/chassis was developed from the original Beetle (Type 1) chassis. All versions of the VW “vans” or “ buses” that followed was now referred to as Type 2.

The Type 2 was the van or bus version of the VW Beetle. It had many variants and is most notable for being the iconic image during the "Hippie Movement". Below are some Type 2 variants.   Aircooled.net notes that the “type” designations used below are unofficial created retrospectively by VW enthusiasts usually only used in the short format “T1″, “T2″, “T3″- which understandably causes more terminology confusion!

Type 2 VARIANTS:

1. T1: “Early Bus” called the Microbus or Splittie (it had split window shields-two panels):
from vwbussale.com
     a. T1a - ”Barn Door- with large back engine cover,
from vwsage.com
     b. T1b-Slightly smaller version; Kombi: 11 windows; Deluxe: 15 windows; Sunroof Deluxe: 23 windows, etc.
1965 Volkswagen 11 Window Kombi
1958 15 Window Deluxe Bus
23 window deluxe sunroof bus
2. T2: “Late Bus” (nicknamed ”Loaf” or “Bay Window”)- Upgraded version of T1;

     a. T2a for 67-71 “Early Bay”,
1970 VW Early Bay Campervan 
     b. T2b for 72&up “Late Bay”
Volkswagen T2B late bay window
3. T3 (T25) Aircooled Vanagon (nicknamed “Brick”) style vans; "Caravelle"
Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) ; Transporter or Caravelle (Europe), 
Microbus (South Africa) ; Vanagon (North and South America).
4. T4: Commercial class- VW Eurovan came along and people naturally called it a ”T4″… not to be confused with the former VW vehicle models 411 & 412.

Volkswagen Eurovan

NEXT: Volkswagen (VW) Model TYPES II : Production VW TYPE 3 (T3, TIII)

















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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Volkswagen (VW) Model TYPES: Production VW Type Designations- TYPE 1.

This is the second part on  the Volkswagen (VW)  model TYPES for newbies on the aircooled VW scene. The first part was more on the  VW Model TYPES Prototypes and Wartime Production Models while this second installment is on the Production VW Type Designations. This is more on the  general understanding of these VW "Type" systems which would be of great help for us to understand and be understood by fellow enthusiasts but more importantly also as an important technical guide in sourcing out VW parts/numbers and to learn more about the history of the VW itself.

b. Production VW Type Designations:

1. VW TYPE 1 (T1, TI): Beetle, SuperBeetle, Ghia, Hebmuller, Thing

In 1945 after the end of WWII, the first production model of the civilian VW “sedan” was built  based on Ferdinand Porsche's original “protoype 1″- designated as a ”Type 1″ vehicle.
   Ferdinand Porsche (far left) and Adolf Hitler examine a prototype model that will evolve into the Volkswagen Beettle
Subsequent production models  from modification and changes to the original Protoype 1 concept were also classed as “Type 1″ and model/version numbers were added to their type designations for distinction:

Beetles (Type 11)
1958 Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle 1.2 liter 4 Speed
from carpictures.us
SuperBeetles (Type 15)- VW 1302 and 1303. These had longer noses and larger back windows.
from urightbrothers.blogspot.com
Ghias (Type 14)
Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia Convertible Type14
Hebmullers (Type 14A)- in 1948, Hebmüller were in talks with British controlled Volkswagen company along with Karmann to create a convertible version of the Beetle. Karmann were to build the 4-seater version and Hebmüller were to build a two-seater roadster version .
Prototype Type 14A Hebmuller
Things (formally designated as Kurierwagens – Type 18)
Kurierwagen in Germany, Trekker in the United Kingdom,
Thing in the United States (1973-1974), and the Safari in Mexico

This VW Type was manufactured from 1938 until it was discontinued in 2003. The One Millionth Beetle

was produced in 1955.The last Beetle to be produced was manufactured in Pueblo, Mexico, No. 21,529,464.

Some variants:

VW Cabriolet: Convertible versions of the Beetle.
Beetle Convertible '50s Edition
Baja Bug: Off-road customizations which turned the old Beetle into new dune buggies for off-road adventures, made for the sandy beach or desert, or other off-roading areas.
A "Baja Bug" Races in the Mojave Desert Race (MDR) Series in Southern California. DevkotlanPhotography.com

Volkswagen New Beetle: Modern version of the old bug. Concept One was the name of the new concept of re-doing the classic VW Beetle. This version has the engine in the front and trunk space in the back, similar to most vehicles now.
At the 1994 North American International Auto Show, Volkswagen unveiled the J Mays-penned "Concept 1"

NEXT: b. Volkswagen (VW) Model TYPES: Production VW Type Designations- TYPE 2.

















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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Volkswagen (VW) Model TYPES: Prototypes and Wartime Production Models.

A newbie on the aircooled Volkswagen (VW) scene would easily be confused by all the frequent references to the VW “TYPES” further complicated by a variety of abbreviations like Type 166Type VW-3Type VW 38, T4, Type 4, etc. A general understanding of these VW "Type" systems would be of great help for us to understand and be understood by fellow enthusiast,s but more importantly, also as a technical guide in sourcing out VW parts/numbers and to learn more about the history of the VW itself.
Ferdinand Porsche

It all began at the end of the summer of 1933 when Ferdinand Porsche was summoned to the Hotel Kaiserhof in Berlin for a meeting with the German dictator Adolf Hitler.  Porsche was an outstanding engineer and chief designer for Daimler-Benz, Auto-Union, and now with his own engineering consultation firm. In a private conference, Hitler told the engineer his plans for a car...and the rest is VW history.

Hitlers original design sketch bears little resemblance to the final car

Porsche used numbers to describe and differentiate his vehicle prototypes and production models. 

a. Early Volkswagen prototype and wartime production models:

  • Type VW-3 - 3 built by Daimer-Benz; 2 were wooden frame; 3rd built was the first all metal VW version)

1935 Volkswagen Beetle Type VW 3 Daimler-Benz
The VW3 (1935) - in Wolfsburg museum

  • Type 166- the Schwimmwagen; an amphibious 4 wheel drive vehicle
Prototype Schwimmwagen
Kommandeurwagen: WWII variation of the Bug. It has the 4x4 drive                                                                                                      train of the Schwimmwagen, but with a KDF sedan body.   


VW "Käfer" 82 E Military vehicle

 1938 VW Kubelwagen Prototype 

NEXT: b. Production VW Type Designations:



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Friday, March 15, 2013

The Volkswagen Beetle and The Beatles "Abbey Road album" cover Conspiracy Theory.

Have you read about this before? Its the first time for me so I just wanted to share to other younger Volkswagen (VW) enthusiast on how our beloved German iconic vehicle was a part of The Beatles entertainment history....or urban legend...You be the judge..

The Abbey Road Beatles album was first issued on 26th September, 1969- the final Beatles album to be recorded, but not their last to be released. For the first time on a Beatles album, the front cover contained neither the group’s name nor the album title- just that iconic photograph taken on the zebra crossing next to the Abbey Road studios in London NW8 in August 1969. 

For decades now fans of the Fab Four have suggested that Paul McCartney was killed in a car crash and replaced with a lookalike - pointing to his barefoot appearance on the Abbey Road album cover as proof. Conspiracy theorists believed the cover contained clues, as the band wanted to reveal the truth of their guilty secret. Below are the "clues" in the album cover (numbers added as a guide to clues below) discovered throughout the years- some of it a bit of a stretch for me- but nonetheless mentioned here as trivia and of course relating the whole tale to the iconic VW beetle as seen in the background below. 
from dailymail.co.uk
from dailymail.co.uk
1. THE FUNERAL
The cover is a funeral procession of The Beatles across the zebra crossing-Paul's funeral. John Lennon, in white was seen as a preacher leading the procession, Ringo Starr’s black outfit indicated he was an undertaker or the mourner, while a denim-clad with scruffy shirt George Harrison was the grave-digger.                                                                                                                                         

Paul is wearing an old suit and is the only one who is barefoot which allegedly is how people are buried in several countries. 

2. THE CIGARETTE
A closer look at Paul reveals he's a holding his cigarette—commonly referred to as the coffin nail—in his right hand (he is left-handed).  This is a significant clue to theorists suggesting that Paul's 'coffin lid' had been nailed down and the person on the cover is perhaps not Paul  but in fact a replacement for him after his death.  

3. THE VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE REGISTRATION PLATE.

Behind George Harrison appears a white Volkswagen which looks like an innocent car until one checks out the license plate: 28 IF.  It means that Paul would have been 28 if he was still alive.It has also been suggested that the LMW stands for 'Linda McCartney Weeps' - referring to his new wife whom he had married earlier that year. 

4. THE SPECTATORS 
In the background, a small group of people dressed in white stand on one side of the road, while a lone person stands on the other. Is this meant to be Paul, alone and different from the others? 

5. THE POLICE VAN
The police van on the other side of the street symbolize the police who were called to the scene of the original McCartney accident in 1966 and were paid off to hush up the whole affair.  According to legend, the band's manager, Brian Epstein, bought their silence. 

6. THE LINE OF CARS 
A line can be traced from the VW Beetle to the three cars in front of it. If it is drawn connecting their right wheels it runs straight through Paul's head, with theorists suggesting that means Paul sustained a head injury because of a car crash. 

7. THE BLOODSTAIN
On the Australian version of the album, the cover showed what could be a bloodstain splattered on the road just behind Ringo and John, supposedly backing claims of a road accident. 

8. THE CRACKED S
On the back cover there is a picture of the Abbey Road sign and above it the name Beatles has been written. There is an obvious crack running through the S - thought to suggest problems within the group. 

9. THE DOTS
To the left of the name 'BEATLES' there are a series of eight dots. When joined together they form the number three. Did this mean there were only three Beatles left? 

10. IMAGE OF DEATH
If the back cover is turned 45 degrees anticlockwise a crude image of the Grim Reaper appears, from his skull to his black gown-  a sign that someone in the group had died. 

11. THE GIRL
Nobody knows the identity of the girl dressed in blue on the back cover. On the night of the alleged 'car crash' it was raining heavily and Paul is said to have given a lift to a fan called Rita. It could be that this girl is her, either fleeing the scene or running to get help. 

12. PAUL'S FINAL RESTING PLACE
If the writing on the wall is split into sections, it conveys the cryptic message, 'Be at Les Abbey'. In numerology the following two letters, R and O, are the 18th and 15th letters in the alphabet. By adding this together (33) and multiplying by the number of letters (2), we get 66, the year Paul is supposed to have died.
Three also represents the letter C so 33 could also stand for CC. Cece is short for Cecilia, with theorists claiming Paul was 'laid to rest' at St Cecilia's Abbey, a monastery in Ryde, Isle of Wight.

McCartney insisted he had merely kicked off his sandals because it was a hot summer’s day. On the day of the photo shoot  The Beatles were dressed in the suits of Tommy Nutter, Savile Row’s enfant terrible of the time – all except George Harrison, who insisted on wearing denims.

The photo on the album cover was in fact just one of ten taken during the same 1969 shoot by photographer Iain Macmillan. In fact, a rare photograph of the Beatles that disproves a conspiracy theory about Paul McCartney's 'death'  has sold for £20,000 at auction. The photo shows the band walking in the 'wrong' direction across the famous Abbey Road zebra crossing - and more importantly shows McCartney wearing a pair of white leather sandals.
Iconic image: Taken at the same time as the famous Abbey Road album cover in 1969,                                                                     this picture clearly shows Paul McCartney, third from left, wearing a pair of sandals.

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