KdF Era Delivery Van

I came across this original picture on Ebay a while ago showing what appears to be the type 88  KdF era delivery van (see Chris Barber’s book page 191). It must have been built somewhere in the early 40′s and was based on a Kübelwagen chassis. Note the banana style bumper at the front. This was not the only pick-up type car Volkswagen produced during the war but these models never became high figure production cars. Even after the war Volkswagen never developed a pick-up type Beetle. Coachbuilt company Beutler built some pick-ups and another coachbuilder named Fischer converted some Ovals into pick-ups. I wonder what happened to the KdF one on the picture. Is it still among us? who knows…

1952 Volkswagen Commercial

Look What The Mail Man Brought!

Look what I found in the mail box last week… It’s the ultra rare TRANSART KdF brochure ( 1 2 ). The same as mentioned in the Kdf Collectables post. Inside there are transparent pages with phantom views of the KdF wagen. This brochure was an insert in the ‘Motor Schau’ magazine published in March 1939.  No, I didn’t won it on eBay but it was a present for my birthday from my lovely wife. She found it on a local eBay like internet site and knew I was looking for one so she purchased it immediately. Can you imagine the look on my face when I opened the envelope? It’s definitely a nice addition to my VW literature collection, thanks to my wife…

1943 KdF Beetle

KdF Collectables

I had not much luck in winning these items that were recently auctioned on eBay. The first one is a 20 page KdF brochure ( 1 2 3 ) printed by TRANSART AG, a company in Berlin. The front cover of this brochure has an embossed image of a KdF Wagen in front of the KdF swastika in a cog wheel emblem. I’ve seen this brochure several times on eBay but never had the chance to purchase one.
The second item is a rare user manual for the VW Schwimmwagen type 166 ( 1 2 ). This manual has 48 pages and is dated March 1943. It appears to be in very good condition.
The last item, also in super condition and from the same selller, is a user manual for the VW Kübelwagen type 82 ( 1 2 ). This one is dated September 1940. Almost 70 years old and it still looks like new! Very nice collectables and still high on my literature wish list.

Want a Hebmüller?

And not just the average type 14A but the ultra rare type 18A police convertible ( 1 2 3 ). When was the last time you saw such a rare car? This is definitely the chance of a lifetime as it’s up for sale right now. According to the ad on http://www.elevenparts.com/ it was built in 1949 and will be delivered with German papers. I’d love to see this one getting a full restoration by professionals  and bring it back to its former glory. Apart from some incorrect parts it looks like a good restoration base. Does anyone know how many of these are still with us today? Probably not more than a dozen. How about the price? A bargain? Nah, I don’t think so…