Here's one for you VW guys

[motomatt383]

saw this at a shop i was doing a sales call at today. i'm not a big VW guy, but thats a body style i've never seen before!

are they rare or just not popular.

matt

[66patrick]

I believe that is a VW Type 3 coupe, either a '66 or '67, judging from the lack of sidemarkers.

[meangreen]

mmmm notchback! my dad used to race one very very rare

[slick]

Yup Type 3 Notchback. Aka my wifes dream car. Not a cheap car to buy usually. Probably one of the more sought after VW's. Sweet cars, Type 3's are fastbacks, squarebacks,and notchbacks. Type 34's are in there too... good post..

heres one for sale here in town...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... ?id=614213

[66patrick]

The car I had the day I turned 16 was a twin to yours, Slick! I had the car about two months before I blew the engine in it. man, was it a nice car! I bought the car from a friend's parents for a mere $475.00! Of course, this was a little over 30 years ago! Volkswagons hate me! Every air-cooled car I've ever had was like a Teutonic Christine, or it blew up, or caught fire, or was stolen, or pulled apart when we towed it three miles!

The water-cooled cars (one Jetta, one Rabbit) were great cars!

[hemithekid]

speaking of rare, at the local car show there was a 1954 edsel ranger with a factory small block/4 speed with colorado plates. Nobody i talked to about it had never seen one with a 4speed.

[66patrick]

No such thing. Edsel was introduced in August 1957 as a 1958 brand - it was like Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury - it's own make. There was no small block, nor a 4-speed available. The only engines available were the Ford 361, in a 2 or 4-barrel. You could get an automatic which had the shifter in the center of the steering wheel (really!), or a 3-on-the-tree manual.

Someone built that particular car. Ford...did not. A four-speed would be easy to do, if you have the pedals, plus the floor hump from a '58-'61 Ford big car, along with the tranny and linkage from that car...THEN you'd have built a 4-speed Edsel. The Ford small-block did not debut until 1961, as a 221 V-8. The 260, 289, and 302 engines came later on. It might have had a 312 or a 352 V-8, but those are not small-block Fords. They are in the same family as a 390.

Today's Ford lesson. On a Dodge truck site.

[hemithekid]

vin plate says small block 4-speed.

[66patrick]

It's hard to build a car with an engine that did not exist at the time it was built. Plenty of phony and "phantom" build tags out there.

The Edsel engines were either a 361, which says "E-400" on the valve covers, or "E-470", which was a 410 cubic inch engine. If it isn't there, it's not the original engine, and I guarantee these two are NOT small-block engines in any way!

No four speed available at all, anyway. Like I said before, someone built it. It was NOT Ford.

[Russ]

What Patrick said. There was no Edsel before 58 models ( which came out in late 57) , no small block engines, and no four speeds. I'm 66 and remember the Edsel introduction very well, even remember the first one I saw. That push button shifter in the center of the steering wheel gave a lot of trouble. It was electric, unlike Chrysler's push button shifters which never gave trouble.

[Oldguy]

Yep, I concur! I remember the first time I saw one. My buddy said, "That looks like an Oldsmobile sucking lemons!" Helped a guy build a stock car out of one in 65! LOL Mike

[HighDesertDodge]

I owe Slick some pictures of the notch backs in my storage area. I was talking with him about a swap or sale. But life has been draging me around every which way. I lost all the pics that I took of them to a bad CF card in the camera. They were out in the open where I could get good pictures. Now they are packed in behind other cars. Or hidden between buildings.

[hemithekid]

correction, it was a 58 stude ranger with a big block 4 speed.

[slick]

I totally forgot about the pics...Let me know if you ever get any..

[66patrick]

correction, it was a 58 stude ranger with a big block 4 speed.

EDSEL Ranger, yes...Studebaker never had a Ranger nameplate in their vehicle lines...

[MoparKid340]

those are bad about catchin on fire.
i miss my 63 bug :(

[66patrick]

Had a '66 Beetle burn to the ground; my '66 Type 3 and my '71 Beetle blew engines; my '62 Baja was stolen, then recovered; my '72 Beetle I had in Germany literally fell apart as it was being towed (another blown engine)...so VW's and me don't really hit it off well at all; at least the air-cooled ones, anyway.

[OldSpeed]

...so VW's and me don't really hit it off well at all; at least the air-cooled ones, anyway.

hahahahaha I think that most everyone who has owned an old VW has some sort of story like yours. I know I do. I had a 69 type 3 squareback. Fun car but it was fuel injected and there must have been one wire or ground that was bad somewhere. No matter what I repaired or replaced on that damn thing it would out of the blue die on me. And the best part was it would not start up until is was good and ready...could be the first key turn or after an hour of trying! But I loved that car and bummed I sold it. (But I will never get one with a F.I. engine again.) Down the road I would like to find an original late 50's bug with the 'rag top' sun roof for my wife to drive. And with the way gas prices are going I may take the engine out and cut holes in the pan so we can power it Flintstone style!!

That Type 3 Notchback in the photo is one of the rarer VWs in the US. Finding parts for them is next to impossible in most cases from what one Notch owner told me. But they are sought after by VW collectors.

[slick]

It's funny how people always talk about vw's catching on fire...I've had about 7 VW's, 3 Squarebacks, notch, bus, bug, and now a fastback and have never had a major problem with any of them. (knock on wood) I live in AZ where the temps are over 100 degrees for about 4 months, so you figure if it was going to catch fire it would be here I think if they are well maintained and taken care of they will last a long time...

[OldSpeed]

Slick, sounds like you have owned some great VWs! I learned so much from working on those things. I was always aware and cautious of the infamous VW fire hazard as I am sure you are too. My understanding of the cause was faulty old fuel line hoses. The old braided cloth lines crack or just plain come off their connection and of course with all that heat...spells car-b-que. On all of the VWs I owned and worked on with my buddy, we replaced the lines and put good fuel injection fittings on the ends. Most of the lines were pretty stiff from all the years being baked by the heat of the engine.

Out of habit I ran new rubber fuel line from the tank to the carb and used the same end fittings on my D100. (and rerouted the fuel up over the valve cover vs the route the original steel line took on the /6 engine.) Old habits never die I guess and for the peace of mind - it is worth it!