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?

The Hessisch Oldendorf Show Is Over…

But it was a super event this year! Lots of very nice cars. Is a Hebmüller rare? Nah, I saw at least 30 of them last weekend I said my prayers in the church where the vw38 prototype was located. Hopefully God heard my prayers and watches over the whole restoration process.  I talked to a lot of people and searched for rare VW parts and literature the whole day. I came home with just one item. Most of the parts and literature had a nice price tag on them. For instance the pre ‘49 tail lights I’m looking for… 2000 euro… so I’m still looking I took a lot of pictures. Went to the Gründmann museum and almost had a 2 hour journey to vintage VW heaven… What a nice collection they have! I can’t wait to go the the next one… Counting down already… Still 3 years and 364 days to go…

Rare Vintage Rally Accessory

On http://forums.pre67vw.com/ I came across these pictures of a nice Zwitter. The owner has added some really nice accessories to it, especially the  front hood. Ever seen three head lights on a bug? No? Just take a look at this picture. A very nice accessory, don’t you think? When was the last time you saw a front hood like that? This rare Volkswagen accessory could be found on rally bugs in the early fifties. This Zwitter was seen on a local VW event in Bad Rappenau, Germany. The owner is also working on a pre A Porsche 356 engine for it. Talking about a real vintage race monster! It certainly left me with some questions… Who made this accessory and is this the only car known fitted with a rally front hood or do more examples exist today?

For Sale 1947 CCG Split Beetle

This is an example of a well preserved vintage Volkswagen. It’s for sale on TheSamba.com. According to the ad it is 99% original. Too bad the pictures are way to small to discuss the accuracy of that percentage. From what I can see on the thumbnails the engine area has some incorrect parts or it could be a 36 hp engine. The seats ( hopefully still the original ones ) could be covered with seat covers or the original upholstery is missing. The tail lights look like they have been updated to later Split tail lights. Original tail lights would be very hard to find ( I’m still looking for a pair ). Nonetheless it is a good restoration base or just leave it the way it looks like now and drive it. If I had the money ( €18000,- ) it would be very tempting!

For Sale: 1948 Swiss Split Beetle

This is a nearly perfect and very original 10/48 deluxe Beetle that’s up for sale on TheSamba.com. The car was one of the first officially exported Beetles to Switzerland (AMAG) in 10/48. It was in regular use no longer than approx. the late ’60s. In the mid ’70s the car was restored by a founder of the Swiss Split Window club. At this time the Beetle had only done 31000 km! So it is no wonder the car was very complete and had nearly no rust. There is no new metal welded in! Nearly all the parts were still in place. The engine, gearbox, front axle all have matching numbers. Since completion of the restoration in 76/77 with repainting it with its initial dark blue colour and complete rebuild of all mechanical parts using NOS parts the last owner (ownership 1975-2008) had only driven 700 km (!). It has never seen rain and was parked in a climate controlled show room. Underneath it is as clean as the outside paint and is waxoiled. The speedo now reads a little more than original 32000 km. This Split was not shown at any VW meeting since ever except at the local autumn meeting of the German Split Window club in Munich 2008 where it ran down a storm. In the early ’90s it was shown at a special display at the famous Geneva Auto Show.

At the moment this car is located in Munich, Germany.

Price: € 35000

1947 US-Zone Split

 Any information regarding this early Split from 1947 would be much appreciated. If I’m not mistaken this picture was taken in Southern California. I’ts the only picture I’ve ever seen of this car. I’ve got a few unanswered questions I’d like to see answered. For instance, is it still in SoCal or has it left the States? Is someone restoring it right now? What’s the story behind this car? Any numbers known? Does anyone have more pics of this beauty?

Precious Metal

I’ve spotted this car for the first time at a Vintage Volkswagen meeting in Belgium. A 1948 Split Beetle from Belgium, all original and unrestored! Amazing, isn’t it? The complete history of this car is known. The car once had an accident (front left side) in the early ’50s but was repaired with correct an original parts by a VW dealer during that time. They did a great job back then because you could not see it was repaired. The rumour goes that the current owner will keep it like this and will never restore it. This is what we call precious metal!