The ones I have seen around here have been in poor condition and way
overpriced. I don't think I have ever seen a really good body on one in the
last few years, even here in the south where they don't use salt on the
roads. I liked them when they came out, you could get a used one pretty
cheap but they needed a lot more ability out of the mechanics (two carbs,
everything in the wrong place) who were used to working on bugs.

I think they are rare mainly because for what VW was charging for them,
buyers could have a BMW instead. They were very expensive, and the rest of
the world had moved on to better mileage, front engines, etc.

My father-in-law had a 67 or so notchback and it was one of the best cars I
ever drove. He may have gotten it as one of the many odd cars that soldiers
brought home here. I didn't have to do the maintenance or take care of it,
so I don't know about that part.

On Fri, Feb 28, 2014 at 11:13 PM, The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com>wrote:

> > It is still Frydae here on the east coast of the USA, and I am curious
> about the
> > old VW that was called the square back.  It was sort of a VW station
> wagon.
> > What did VW call the engine in those cars? What was the configuration
> > of the engine, and what sort of fuel economy did it achieve?
> > It seems to me that if one of these in decent shape could be had today,
> it
> might
> > be a good, economical, easy to work on "around town" car for running
> errands and
> > carrying various household goods.
>
>
> That was one body style of the Type 3, and was sold as the Variant
> elsewhere
> in the world. (The other body styles were the Fastback and the Notchback;
> the latter wasn't sold in the U.S.) They all used a Bug engine with some
> modifications to make it fit under the low rear deck.  Although less
> common,
> the Type 4 Variant (a/k/a Volkswagen 412) came out a few years later and
> introduced the aptly-named Type 4 engine (which was also used in '72-83
> Buses and Vanagons). This was an upscale model; it was the largest of the
> air cooled VW cars and came factory equipped with a gas heater and other
> goodies.
>
> Parts that are unique to the Type 3 and Type 4 can be difficult if not
> impossible to find (especially for the Type 4 since it was a commercial
> flop).  This includes virtually all body parts, many interior parts, and
> some mechanical parts. Of course mechanical parts that are common to Bugs
> and Buses are more easily found.  We sell many of the parts that are still
> available.
>
> They are very cool cars, but alas there are not many left. I'd love to find
> a nice one myself, but here on the East Coast rust and road salt ravaged
> most of them long ago.
>
> - Ron Salmon
>   The Bus Depot, Inc.
>   www.busdepot.com
>   (215)  234-VWVW
>
> _____________________________________________
> Toll-Free for Orders by PART # :  1-866-BUS-DEPOT
>