Vintage VW eBay Treasures!

What would we do without the internet? Where would we have to find al these early Split Bug parts? For instance, in the ’70s and early ’80s people must have had a lot of connections to find the good stuff. Or they had to visit vintage VW events like Bad Camberg. As I was born in the mid ’70s I can only imagine how these events looked like back then. Were there a lot of early parts available? Even with the internet nowadays, it’s getting harder to find good original parts and not something like this. But, I’ve found a nice selection of parts on eBay again ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ) and no, I didn’t won any of them As you can see, the vintage VW treasures are still out there…

We Have A Lift-Off

It’s been a while since the last post but here is an update again. After having my 1949 split for about 5 years I finally got the time to remove the body from the chassis. Some of the bolts wouldn’t cooperate but with the right tools I managed to get them all out without breaking one. The bottom of the heater channels are in bad shape so I’m in need of replacements. Also the passenger’s floor pan is in terrible shape. The plan is to restore the chassis first. Yesterday I bought a right rear split fender. The condition is not that good, but the price was right Also the ‘football’ like rear view mirror has been found and next month I can pick up three other split fenders. Still searching for two passenger’s side front fenders…

Who’s Playing These Games?

A while back I came across an ultra rare KdF board game on eBay ( 1 2 3 4 5 ). Never saw it before. I placed a maximum bid of € 1000 on it. Yes, I know, it’s a lot of money for ‘just’ a board game but when was the last time you played this game?  My guess was that it wouldn’t be enough to become the lucky winner as eBay is full of vintage VW collectors. I waited and waited, 1 minute before the end of the auction. Still the highest bidder. Would it be mine after all? 10 Seconds before the end of the auction… Exciting, isn’t it? Just check the result in this picture. Is it worth that kind of money? Well, that’s up for discussion…

Heb 201 Still For Sale!

2009 was a great Hebmüller year! Some nice examples came up for sale. This one is still for sale (1 2 3 4). If I’m not mistaken the seller bought another Hebmüller that was offered on TheSamba a while ago so he decided to sell this one. It needs some metal work as previous owners installed a Karmann Ghia dashboard somewhere in the mid ’70s. It also has an incorrect pan, engine and gearbox. These are from 1957. The good part is that this car will be delivered with the correct parts, like a standard pan complete with axles, wheel drums and gearbox, a 25 hp engine, new chromed bumpers and guards, windows and new wooden rear window frame, original 1949 tail lights, original rear fenders and many more… Still for sale for € 62500…

It’s Raining Early Speedo’s!

The last few weeks eBay was a great source for buying Split Bug speedometers from the 1940′s (1 2 3 4).   I bid on all four of them, even though they weren’t  in very good condition but I didn’t won any of them. Luckily I already have a good one for my Split. Oh, and a spare one, too! But hey, I still could use one for filling up my show case… Looking at these speedometers you begin to wonder what happened to the Splits that used to have them installed? Or where they spares too, back then?

Yes, It Is! The VW 38 Prototype…

KdF All The Way!

Here are some eBay auctions of KdF parts that fetched some nice prices. Low demand of these rare parts often pushes the price sky high, but what if it’s the last part you need to complete your restoration? This usually results in paying the price! The first item is a 1943 VDO speedometer  for a Kübelwagen or some other KdF type car. It definitely needs restoration. I wonder how much that would cost compared to the selling price? The second item is a dash pod that would make a perfect match with the first item. It has the cog wheel logo on the rear side. The last item is a Solex 26 VFI II carburetor for a type 166 Schwimmwagen which is looking very good! It could be NOS. It also has the cog wheel logo. As you can see, there’s some real investing going on in the vintage VW scene!

Real Masterpieces?

A couple of weeks ago I was following an auction on eBay (where else? ). The item to be auctioned was a spare parts list for a Kübelwagen from 1943. It was in perfect condition. Maybe a bit too perfect, so the first thing that went through my mind was, “Is it Real?” Also the seller could not confirm whether it was original or just a cheap reproduction. If it was original it definitely went cheap and the winner is very lucky. Normally the original ones go for hunderds of euro’s. I didn’t bid on it as the chances are high of buying repro stuff on eBay these days.

Also the following piece of KdF literature looks repro to me but I’m not 100% sure. It’s some sort of repair manual for a Kübelwagen from 1940 sold on eBay. Can anyone confirm if these items are original or not?

Hebmüller 410 For Sale

What can I say… Seeing is believing… 2009 must be the year of the Hebmüllers. First the number of  Hebmüllers that showed up at Hessisch Oldendorf vintage VW event was a record breaker  and now another one turns up for sale. This time it’s located in Sweden. It appears to be in a great restored condition but a shiny coat of paint can be deceivable. Too bad the ID tag and body number is missing due to an early accident. Also the interior needs to be done. Why would someone sell such a rare car when the restoration process is almost finished? More info and pictures can be found on TheSamba. For 55.000 euro this one could be yours…

Economic Crisis? Use The Kdf Money Box!

Ever seen such a nice collection of KdF money boxes? I wish I had them in my collection I but haven’t found a nice one yet. People used them for saving coins which they used for buying KdF stamps. These stamps were put into a KdF savings card. The full cards eventually could be traded for a KdF-Wagen not knowing that this would never happen. Back then two companies made these boxes. They were Georg Brandstaetter or GEOBRA and the German tin toy company Michael Seidel. Nowadays  these boxes are very rare and highly priced collector’s items. I’m still looking for one…

On the KdF-Wagen forum there is an interesting thread about these money boxes and if you are into vintage VW scale models don’t forget to take a look at the models section of this forum.