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…

I want one!

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!

VW Split Bug Bibles

Within one week two Split Bug workshop manuals (German: reparatur leitfaden) were auctioned on eBay ( 1 2 ) . They both fetched exactly the same price. A grand total of € 505,- each. Isn’t that amazing? These are not that rare and have been offered several time on eBay. I bought mine last year for not even one fifth of these selling prices. The manuals are published in the early ’50s and most of the times found written in German. I also have the French version in my collection which is definitely harder to find.

Hessisch Oldendorf, Here We Come!

Just a few months left and we’re off to Vintage Volkswagen Heaven! The 5th International Vintage Volkswagen Show 2009. The show takes place in downtown Hessisch Oldendorf in Germany from June 26th until June 28th 2009. More info can be found on http://www.uraltkaefer.de. Also check http://hessisch-oldendorf.bbt4vw.com if you want to participate in the Hessisch Oldendorf 2009 convoy. 

Vintage Volkswagen Scale Model

 I followed this Volkswagen Split Bug 1:18 scale model a couple of weeks ago in the hope to win it. As usual the price went sky high in the last few seconds. According to the eBay ad it is made in Oyonax, France. The ad also mentioned a manufacturer. It supposed to be made by ’Plastiques Gilac’ but I have my doubts. Does anyone have more information about this plastice VW scale model? Collecting vintage VW scale models is something I started a while ago. I do not have that many scale models and I only collect the Split and Oval ones. It’s just a small part of my vintage Volkswagen hobby. My main interest is collecting pre 1957 Volkswagen literature which already is taking up a lot of closet space.

Historical Volkswagen Pictures

 I was pretty amazed when I saw this small collection of original pictures from early Volkswagen prototypes. They were posted on http://forums.motortrend.com by a guy who’s grandfather was an engineer / test driver in the early days when Volkswagen wasn’t even a factory yet. The two top rows of pictures and the last one are pictures of the VW30 prototypes. They must have been taken somewhere in 1937. Notice the convertible. This was car number 22 out of 30 VW30 prototypes. It was painted dark blue and was already fitted with bumpers. In this picture the convertible is still carrying its temporary license plate number IIIA-0426. It later received its permanent license plate number IIIA-37022. The other 2 cars are VW38 models. At page 170 from Chris Barber’s book ‘Birth of the Beetle’  he says ‘The only known picture of Car 43024…‘ which corresponds to the picture on page 171. As we look closely at the first picture of the third row we can see that this is in fact another picture of car ‘43024′. Isn’t that great or what? The other VW38 prototype is car ‘43019′. This car still has its original bumpers. Car ‘43024′ already has been updated with VW39 style bumpers. These are truely amazing historical Volkswagen pictures. You begin to wonder if these are the only pictures this guy’s grandfather has…