was there many automatic 68/72 bay kombis,are there many left on the road....did they come out as an auto?
any info please.
Rob.

[ Edited on 20-1-2006 by robnjo ]

I had a '73 auto about 7 years ago.

We restored a 73 auto about 12 months ago- 1700 motor and went quite well

The auto option was only avilable from 1974 onwards, but an auto gearbox can be retrofitted painlessly to anything back to 1972, so long as it has the type-4 engine... prior to that, the bay's were all manual, and because they have the smaller engine bay and old type-1 engine... among other differences, I'd assume fitting an auto to a 68-71 would be rather a lot of work.

I've been told by a local Veedub guy that auto kombi gearboxes can be a pain in the ass and expensive to rebuild... and kombikim said they can also a dogger to drive up some hills.

thanks...plan B

In the Type 2, the VW Type 4 engine was an option for the 1972 model year onward. This engine was standard in models destined for the US and Canada. Only with the Type 4 engine did an automatic transmission become available for the first time in the 1973 model year. Both engines displaced 1.7 L, rated at 66 DIN hp (49 kW) with the manual transmission and 62 DIN hp (46 kW) with the automatic. The Type 4 engine was enlarged to 1.8 L and 68 DIN hp (50 kW) for the 1974 model year and again to 2.0 L and 70 DIN hp (52 kW) for the 1976 model year. As with all Transporter engines, the focus in development was not on power, but on low-end torque.

The autos also had lower diff ratios so performance except on very steep hills was very similar