This cool 1973 Volkswagen Square Back has been sold, but that doesn't mean there aren't some other great cars and trucks available at www.denwerks.c...
Takes me back to my childhood in NSW Australia in the 70's. My parents drove us around in a lime green one with red vinyl seats. No aircon in the hot Aussie summers but as kids we didn't even care. Kids were pretty tough back then lol. Thanks for the video. Brings back happy memories :)
Like you say, this car is really clean. All the things that are hard/impossible to fix, are still good on this one. A couple of points: The bumper overriders are dealer add-ons, as are the sisal floormats, the cargo shelf, the radio, and the speakers. The dash is amazing, if it's actually the original. On the original, the grill over the center speaker is a separate part. The outside mirrors are Beetle mirrors, not correct for Type 3s. The original rear cargo rubber floormat has been replaced with carpet. VW used the wheel beauty rings only up thru '69. After that, they painted the outer face of the wheels silver. The rest of the wheel would have been black. The clear hoses in the gas tank plumbing are Tygon-like replacements, almost certainly, poorly compatable with gasoline. The originals would have been black and would have lasted forever. I suspect the engine has been rebuilt. i say this because of the hose clamps on the intake air runner sleeves. This is what people end up doing after they've used the wrong (Beetle) intake manifold gaskets, which are too thin. This also leads to air leaks there, which lean out the mixture. The correct gaskets are necessary, hard to find, and a bit expensive. The rear end of the cooling air intake bellows is missing it's clamp, which will make it flop inward under suction and get chewed up in the pulley blades. This is another clue that this engine has been out. It would be important to fix both of these problems quickly, as each of them can lead to expensive engine damage. I assume this car has long been sold. Hope it went to a good home; it deserves it.
My second vehicle was a '72 Squareback that I picked up for $700.00. Had quite a few dings, worn interior, original EFI converted to dual Solexes, etc., but what memories! The little workhorse had so much character & never let me down. I have since owned a number of cars that were infinitely faster, sleeker, or more comfortable, but there will always be a special place in my heart for my little Type III.
Hey man, I'm from Germany. I'm a little jealous of the beautiful car. You found a real treasure there. Even here in Germany you can only find very few of these cars in such good condition. Hold it tight, it will give you joy for a very long time. The engines are very durable and you can still get a lot of cheap spare parts for them.
My parents bought a new 65 Variant S when we were stationed in Bamberg but it came from a dealership in Erlangen. It was red with a white top and it had the grey leatherette interior. That was the last year that the interiors were so nice with the black plastic molding that trimmed the top of the upholstery on the doors and under the windows. They weren't sold in the USA until 66. We brought ours back to the states and my father and I picked it up in New York and I took my driver's test in it. Unfortunately, my dad wrecked it in 69. I've always missed that car and I still have the original USA license plates. I want another one and thought I'd have to find one in Germany. I want one from die sechzige Jahre. It doesn't look very promising .
Very nice! So nice, we can learn from the original details. For example, the hood emblem is the correct flat type with a circular groove in the center of the ring, with black paint. Speaking of which, few corrections need to be made in order the correct information is continued: Wheel trim rings were an option, which included black painted rims. Type 3 rims are not as easy to find as type 1 rims, so nice to see because not all that common. Front windshield lost its trim, most likely because the seal is less money and most shops don't know how to install a windshield with trim, or any window for that matter. Finding original trim will be worse than finding a hen's tooth in a haystack. Your passenger side license lamp is out. Love how you are so excited can't think once in a while. ;) Driver's door creak could be the strap, they do need regular greasing. Amazing though the strap isn't rusted, especially the passenger door that is oft frozen the door shut. 7/72 is last month of the '72 model. Carpet in the rear not original, would have had rubber mats. Coil has been replaced. Missing the rubber plug for the fan shroud, which keeps the cooling air in. Missing the cardstock battery cover. These never survived, only know because have one myself. Been meaning to make a copy, but never got around to it. Amazingly strait apron, very, very, uncommon. Also, like the non-stock exhaust tip, adds to the trim rings for a more polished look. Looks like you still have the hangers for the paper fresh air tubes, never see those either. Amazing to see the brake inspection plugs. I myself never seen them. Hope still enjoying such an amazingly original and pristine Volkswagen Squareback.
I just wanted to add my excitement to Adriel Rowley in regards to using this video as a great example of original details for a Squareback. I have had my 73 a year now and have used this video countless times to try and get little details right. Thanks for posting this Denwerks!
would like to know how to contact Adriel Rowley. Have a 70 or a 71 Squareback, and appears to be in very good condition, most original, and wonder what is not. Bought it 11 years ago,ran it and drove it a mile, then stored inside my building ever since. Just cleaned it out and removed most of the interior panels. Don't know much about it at all. If I shot some pics for you to review, could learn a lot about what I have. Plan on getting it into condition,and drive it on a regular basis. Some restomod's like lowering etc. Thanks
Pretty thorough walk around. There was two of them in my family, one 66 and one 71 model after. We had the second one until late 80s. These square back models are amazing solid cars with a great design and so versatile. Our family's was not fuel injection, it had one carb each side. That VW saved my life in an accident and it was reparable. They were made out of thick metal. This video was like a trip to the past. Thank you and keep it that way or better.
My Dad owned 3 of these cars, one in light blue, navy blue and orange, around this time in the 70's. 2 were destroyed by students at his school, he was a Principal. Mom warned him not to park it in the school parking lot when he would go there on the weekends to work, sometimes. Sad! We used to joke that if were were in the yard, we knew Dad was coming as we could here the motor at the top of the hill, lol. Cool to see this car, thanks.
Type 3 squarebacks are great little wagons. Run better than Type 1's. For a young guy, it was the perfect vehicle for a 300-newspaper motor delivery vehicle. They handle well and are responsive with dual carbs. This car is in amazing condition.
I always loved the shape of this VW 1600 Variant as we used to call them. Also the 411 were very nice. But all these 1500/1600/1800 were known as loving gasoline. Today, they are rare and I love to see your nice car.
Juri Vlk What do you mean loving gasoline? When new, they were always at or very near the top of the competition in terms of fuel economy. Check out the old road test and car and driver or road and track
@@michaelconverse5127 I remember my father having lend one for a couple of days and complaining its fuel consumption. It took considerably more than the beetle he had before and 12-13 liters were quite a lot in the 70's when a Honda took 7 liters/100 km. It was very bad in fuel consumption, don't forget the very low specific power output of these engines. But they look the hell good. My father gave it back after some days and took another beetle!
@@michaelconverse5127 They were. I am German, my grandfather bought her in 1972, it was the L-version with a 54 hp engine, the cheaper version had a 47 hp engine. There was no tuning or anything done to her, she was only serviced in certified VW garages until about 1986. My granddad insisted on that, while I had been driving her since 1984. When he passed away in 1986 I inherited her and she lived for two more years. There was nothing you could do to keep the petrol consumption under 10 litres / 100 km. I don't complain, as this would have been normal for such an engine. I just wouldn't call it economic. The fuel tank could only hold 40 litres, so when you reached 400 km of driving you had to look for a petrol station. I remember one incident when I rolled into the petrol station on virtually the last drop and stopped the engine. Then I had to move on for another metre and tried to start the engine again, but it wouldn't start. It was very funny. Another time I was driving and knew I had to reach a petrol station very soon, and the engine suddenly just went out. There was no warning, no light blinking, no sputtering of the engine, just went out as if the switch had been turned off. Fortunately it was a country road, and I just got out and used the 5 litre spare canister to fill up enough to reach the nearest petrol station.
Elektronische Benzineinspritzung Jetonic von Bosch. First Engine of the world with electronic injection for cars. My father had a vw 1600 TLE ! 54 HP . V max 135 :-)
We had one of these back in the seventies. Of course in orange. Very popular colour at that time. Good memories ..whole family travelling through Europe.
I have a 69 Diamond Blue beetle in very similar “near survivor” condition . Don’t be concerned with the small imperfections and paint chips as no one but you will notice. I particularly like the blue interior as most came with black. Great Fun….. enjoy it.
This vid just popped up … brings back memories - we had one that same colour. Of course, in Ireland, (and UK) they were called the VW Variant (for estate/station wagon). Did a good bit of my learning to drive in it. That’s a lovely looking one - they rusted terribly over here in our damp climate. Hope it’s still going well after 6 years ?!?
My mom had a beige 1971. Great memories. She owned it until 1979, when it quit running and wasn't worth fixing. We were a VW family from 1968 to 1979. My father had three buses - 1963, 1972, and 1974. In June 1979, my parents bought a used '77 Cadillac Sedan de Ville d'Elegance. What a move they made!
My Dad used to put a sack of potatoes in the front during the winter. I'm surprised this one escaped the rust, it must have been garaged warm. Rust and blown heat exchangers killed ours.
Looks alot like the Volkswagen Square Back that Harrison Ford drove in the 1985 movie "Witness". According to IMCDB.org, the movie car was a 71`...But very very cool..
One of these in this color was my first car when I was in college in the 80s. Even back then, it was rusted and had patches on it. Fourth gear had to be held down or it popped out and the reverse didn't work, which was a challenge. I paid $300 for it. Mine was a '68 model. I'm now on my 5th VW and also have an Audi.
I loved my royal blue rattlecan painted 1972. My father fronted me the $ to buy it in 1979 so I could get to my summer job at a car magazine in Toronto. After I drove it in university I drove it from Ottawa to Alaska. Sadly I neglected the transmission and it died coming back down the Alaska Highway.
My father had a 1971 squareback. Brazilian version, though. It was quite different, it seems to me, except for the doors and front windshield, and the motor, very few else was shared. My father's was diamond blue, which seems very close to this Marina Blau. It was lighter than the Marina Blau, maybe.
Marina Blau also has more green. In different lighting, shows more than other lighting, a playful colour. My '71 Squareback is in this color, so why know. ;p
For sure, it is a beauty. I do have my suspicions that the motor is not original. In 1968(?) the Type 3 went to a hanger with side motor mounts. Pre 1968, there was a center mount at the back. Although your motor has the side motor mounts, it also has part of the old-style center mount attached. This possibly points to the motor being a 1967 Type 3 or earlier. Also, you are missing one of the giant strap clamps that holds the fan intake bellows to the body. This possibly points to the bellows being replaced, or at least removed (possibly with the engine. That all being said, the motor has the stock FI set up which is great. Congratulations on a great car.
Late to the party but what a specimen. Had the exact sweetheart back in early the 80s only in oxidized red. Took it all over NE Canada and US. Only had to change one injector, new brakes and tires over three years. It made a 1500 mile round trip to Canada from upstate NY with three buddies, canvas tent for 6 on a full roof rack including provisions and beer. Believe it or not, the four of us were comfortable but we were also in our mid twenties. Wonderful memory and the car did not miss a beat. Burnt very little oil. Loved that VW...
My next door neighbor had one of these back in the 70s. Same color paint, same color interior. Almost identical except the license plates: Hers were Florida tags.
Jesus.. I haven't seen one of these in almost 50 years! Our family had one in the 70's and we did a couple out West vacations in it. All I remember is my dad having to fix the engine all the time, especially "cleaning the heads". It became a "rust bucket" after awhile and had to be sold. The original color of the vinal seats was black, at least in ours. I remember my big toe kind of got pinched once in the door as it was closing, so seeing that brought back memories. Those speakers look different and maybe even the radio. I bet all that was replaced at some point. I don't remember a package tray either, so that might have been an optional feature we didn't have. Oh, you didn't take off the side panel in back, where "the brain" of the car is. All I remember is it was a big connection point for all of the electrical wiring.
Thanks for sharing it's in amazing. Condition. I'm in the process of putting a 1970 type square back together and have no idea where the springs go onto the hood hinges. I have a funny feeling that they sit in the back groove of the hinge. Can you possibly verify that for me. Thanks
I used to see these VW Squarebacks when I was a boy. At the time I found them to be more attractive than the VW Beetle. Even today, I have to wonder why Volkswagen didn't discontinue the Beetle in favour of the Squareback, the Fastback, and the notchback sedan.
Jason Carpp because the type 3s you mentioned were a step up from the Beetle, never intended to replace it. Plus why would they replace a car that sold over 400,000 units in in the USA alone 1968 with one that never broke 100,000 a year ?
Plus, meeting California emission standards for 1974 was cost prohibitive; production numbers really tailed off with less than 44,000 imported in 1973 the last official year of production.Some records indicate 50 some 1974s were built.
I believe VW's transition from Beetles to cars like the Rabbit and the Dasher also played a part in the discontinuance of these Squarebacks/Type 3 models. Volkswagen was becoming, by the middle of the 1970s, more like the VW we know today.
Well spotted! I noticed that too, cause I'm Dutch. It looks original from the 70's and it probably means the rear window, if not the entire car, was in the Netherlands before. My parents only had VW's since the 60's and after their first beetle they got the 1600TL fastback, from late 60's. It had more space for our family of 6 , because of the rear storage compartiment. It looked nicer than the square back but had less room. Nice 50 year old time capsule you got there!
yes that is old undercoating. I had my share of that back in my hay days. vw's of those years always seem to get push rod tube leaks. better check those out. It might be your slight leak from the motor oil that's there which isn't much.
Hi, I believe it was 1970 is when they made this change. Not a 💯 % sure, but someone here probably know s and can help us out! When I saw your name I first thought of Michael Scott from the Office, my favorites show, That’s What She Said!
The pre 70's with shorter front ends look better to me. What did your car in the vid sell for? With the US craze being SUV's Crossovers, and trucks would think these type 3's would be more in demand. Will have my car on the road this summer, or for sale, It's a very clean car, that I happened to run across.@@blueovalranch
Why more automobiles are not made as simple less costly to own use I will never figure out or why autos in the USA are so stupidity big some have as much room as this one in them or overpowered we I repeat need to slow down just calmly doing things in our daily lives not rushing gets more done faster calm down nice easy does it best why we drive heavy big cars tanks take up space I wonder also many stupid things other things most of us do make no sense how done this vehicle was made simple only I would as on mine a 1971same was bigger mirrors on the doors rear lights plastic covers I had red white orange three colors problems happen when cars are mass produced fast assembly lines slower just steady work not trying to go faster makes better quality nicer less troubles gets more done easier some older models 1968 1969 we have in the Long Island vw auto club perfect condition no but nice basically how well made or not assembly lines varies it all depends on who drives it takes care of it mantaininses it. Repairs done right bad good roads use of it properly how many drivers varies how driven I know a Volvo owner now no more 25 years old sedan 140000 miles sold it with original transmission clutch look 95 percent new condition very clean when done properly it lasts works use to be buy new cars every four five years three years do we really need new styles back when there was not so mucho push to finance auto loans paying more than it is worth then not paid off need your next one we had no auto leasing it was cleaner show rooms sales were more more honest who never sold only what you wanted the service repair shop was well organized very clean work done right these days all mostly fraud crooks sued in New York statue by their lawyer talk to sales persons is waste your time double interests costs on loans donot say I pay in full before I drive it away from dealer some involved then you never see I was sick three months later stroke who cares they reposed it sold at auction I gave not a penny more ever it was more dealers ny city the same had to pay costumers back what ever became of volks very mice who care all now is stealing things from cars for fast dinero or fraud also what are we becoming in this world I know nice volks some still exsist care as does my senora even with all my problems health dinero or whatever a real relations love caring sharing takes two to tango what as I see it a nicer world could be and respect for all if many things were done nicer ways and slow down just do it get done enjoy life more or stay miserable thank you