5 star motors New Zealand Arctic Bug, testing of beetle prior to shipping to Antarctica, photos of whats left today..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d256q2KkCGc

That is so cool watched it from start to finish, how is it when they put the bigger wheels and flared guards on her, what a beast!

I also found the clip below, she is quite different here, pretty much stock.

I must admit to being a bit confused, did she go to NZ for testing then come back to Australia then on to the Antarctic as a stock car?
(Note she is loaded onto different ships?!)

It looked like the the ski front and fat wheel rear option worked okay, why wouldn't you take that gear with you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_FftkcIIdg 

They are not the same car.

The second clip is the much more famous Antarctica 1, that served at Australia's Mawson base for a year in 1963. Antarctica 1 returned to Australia in 1964 and became a rally car (it won the BP Rally driven by Ray Christie). After that the now ratty car went on display at various VW dealers in country Victoria before disappearing. It was probably scrapped, as no evidence for its existence has been found by VW enthusiasts, in spite of much looking. Bill Moore and Steve Muller made a replica a few years ago and sold it to enthusiasts in Germany for display at the Wolfsburg museum.

The New Zealand car was a couple of years later; it was first mentioned in Safer Motoring magazine in the December 1964 issue. The Kiwi VW was obviously influenced by the earlier Australian car, even down to the ruby red colour. It seems to be an earlier model, as it has no front blinkers. The paddle double wheels and front skis were useful in NZ's snowy southern highlands, but would not have been much use in Antarctica where the ground is much colder and made of ice, not snow. Antarctica 1 worked fine with snow chains and winter tyres on stock wheels.

Sad that the Kiwi Antarctic VW did not survive, just like the Australian one (nor the International Orange Antarctica 2 and 3 that followed up to 1968).

phil the kiwi one was parted out about 15 years ago. there was evidence that they just used chains and or double wheels in antarctica as the mud guards were beat up from chains etc... bug was a wreck and sadly sold for parts to restore another!! (terrible I know), skis, brackets and some studs etc is all that remains..

it was important to get the footage from VHS to digital before it deteriorated.

Yes the Australian Antarctic beetles found the same thing. The original red Antarctica 1 was there for 12 months, and while the mudguards did get a flogging, the real damage was done to the front suspension mounting. It cracked regularly and had to be rewelded up numerous times in the Mawson workshop. The replacement orange Antarctica 2 and 3 in 1964 and 1966 respectively used the factory accessory front suspension reinforcing bars. Antarctica 1 also had the strong winds shove the doors forward, overriding the check rods and folding the doors flat against the front mudguards! The workshop was able to repair the hinges OK.

Australia's base at Mawson is on the edge of the Antarctic continent, facing the ocean at a longitude of about 63 degrees East (about the same as the western Indian ocean just east of Madagascar, and Pakistan/Afghanistan further north - it really isn't south of Australia!) It is one of three Australian bases, with Davis and Casey. On the other hand, the New Zealand base of Scott is on Ross Island, next to the US main base of McMurdo, on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, so the climates of the NZ and Australian bases are quite different.

Some great footage of the NZ Beetle. I wish I knew more about its expendition - maybe someone will have to go through archives of Christchurch newspapers from the 1960s ! The Australian bases are run by the AAD (formerly called ANARE), and they have lots of info on the Australian VWs of the time. Who runs the NZ base? I wonder if their archives have any more info?

thanks,very entertaining!

Loved the video!! Just shows how versitle the old bug it..... If old QLD got snow!! ... On second thoughts, I'll just watch the vid a few time and get over it lol

makes you wonder just how much history and interesting bug bits are hidden away in sheds!
whilst this was not a barn find, it was in a barn and there were other finds in there!