Hi all,

I have been considering buying a Type 3 for some time now.

I have never owned a car older than MY83 so jumping into the 'old car' scene is a little daunting.

I intend to use it as a daily so reliability is paramount, my current ride is a MY97 RWD Hilux... I have good technical knowledge, limited repairs experience and nil body work experience so I am thinking that something restored would be ideal.

I'm into early T3's, specifically squares, MT only. I love the rat look but would prefer a clean, slammed, original cal style car.

On to my questions;

I thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of things that I should be looking at, i.e. common mech issues, key rust locations/ways of identifying body issues and maybe even thing that SHOULD have already been done in a properly restored vehicle...

Budget is around 8K or 2K with swap of current ride.

Timing is not an issue I'm in NO hurry. I am prepared to hang out LONG TERM to find the ideal car.

Any help/comments would be appreciated.

watch for rust in

top of front guards
inner rear guards
floor, usaullly worse in the passenger footwell for some reason
engine mounts
battery tray
bottom of doors
heater chans are always pretty beat
around the rear windows is a problem too

Might I add.

the front pillars
the roof especially at the back(squareback special)
front of bonnet
the drainage tray/fresh air box thingy
upper corner of front guards
bottom of front apron
box reinforcements in front guards

yes type 3s can rust anywhere and each car is unique in its rust

Any comments on reliability and economy as a daily drive?

What are they like to drive? Handling ok?

economy? not bad but not great either.

reliability? depends on too many factors to mention. Out of my experience carby models is.....meh! the TLE (EFI) models are awesomely reliably! if you know what u are doing that is.

My experience is opposite to Vlad's... Carby... Awesome... EFI... I wont go near them...

haha what ever

my notch is my daily and i been driving it as a daily since march the 2nd, its been great and i recommend the late type 3s as a daily

goes thru a bit of fuel but i do drive alot for work, i have had 2 big break downs but both were fixed on the spot with a few phone calls

When I had a Type 3 wagon as a daily driver it was pretty heavy on fuel around town, but great on the freeway. It used more fuel in the suburbs than my beetle but less on a longer trip. I would say that you would expect something like maybe 12 litres/100km or more in town, but closer to 10 litres/100km on the highway. I've always found air-cooled VWs to be very reliable.

This was mine:



I had trouble with the carby linkage falling off of the RHS carb, and the rear engine mounts to the body were cracking. Other than that, it was all good.

the cracks are pretty standard thats sanother place to check for cracks or rust

i've driven my 68 notch everyday since I bought it in Aug 08, a week later I drove it to nambucca heads in a day 1500klms in 15.5hrs
I've done about 20-25000 miles in it since ... still goes strong and compared to my previous car a 73 XA Falcon Coupe, it runs on next to no fuel...

efi is good but can turn pear shaped if not looked after over the years etc, carbies are awesome and other than the occasional tune, and a service after bad fuel are easy going...

good luck with the search...

Reliable. Heck yes mine has been running on two cylinders for a few months now. Can't kill em.

Chromeo Hi I have driven my Notchy 1964 for about 4 years to work a tank of fuel $30 bucks every two weeks I would cover about 300km in that time therefore 10c a kilometre seems ok its heaps of fun to drive and kids love it lots of waves every day

A mate of mine Sunny loves it he says he feels like he is in a racing car maybe I am driving to fast .
The Type 3,s also are very fast off the lights you will generally be first off the lights in first gear then they go flying past you in their superoots they look a bit pissed off that a classic
most people don't even know what the hell it is has taken off so fast.

I drove a late for a daily for a few years and did 300-400km per week... fuel use isn't great but not terrible, I had a few carbie issues (linkages falling off) but managed to source a 2nd handie that was good and dramas sorted! Even running rough it always started and kept going!

Keep them serviced regularly and do your maintenance and they look after you okay... start from the best base you can afford cause for a daily driver you can't afford it to be off the road.

Quote:

Originally posted by Poolio the VW ganster 2 Chromeo Hi I have driven my Notchy 1964 for about 4 years to work a tank of fuel $30 bucks every two weeks I would cover about 300km in that time therefore 10c a kilometre seems ok its heaps of fun to drive and kids love it lots of waves every day A mate of mine Sunny loves it he says he feels like he is in a racing car maybe I am driving to fast . The Type 3,s also are very fast off the lights you will generally be first off the lights in first gear then they go flying past you in their superoots they look a bit pissed off that a classic most people don't even know what the hell it is has taken off so fast.

One thing about economy is that you wont match a modern 4 cylinder car but modern cars are much more expensive to service and insure and can never be as cool as an all steel car with 2 boots. Any old car can be reliable if you replace enough parts which luckily is the air-cooleds best feature (cheap parts & simplicity) and plenty of passionate owners on this forum will keep you on the road

Quote:

Originally posted by vlad01 yeah that bottom end torque really helps and stuff all weight. I know exactly what you mean

Weights

And this is a beetle's weights, there aint much in it!

umm? 1 ton isn't much. I was more referring to modern equivalents which typically weigh 500Kg more. And what has this got to do with beetle?

I have an early square, it's a very solid car and was used in a MYER catalog last year. It's a Savannah Beige 69 with original paint and Flat Four Sprintstars. It is usually considered to be one of the most desirable, as it has the later models 12 volt electrics, front disc brakes and double jointed rear suspension, (usually referred to as IRS) but the early (prettier) shape. It's a little rough looking, but comes with a very good engine, almost all original paint, already lowered, genuine tacho and original EMPI steering wheel and gearshifter. It also has a very rare full length roof rack and early slim taillights. And a towbar.

I don't really want to sell it, but my better half wants a new kitchen, and I don't have the time to do it justice. I'm happy to talk about selling if you're interested. Happy to send some pics of any areas you may be concerned about. May throw some pics up later if I have time to give it a wash.

Cheers, Dave

Vlad, if you're going to compare a Type 3 to a modern car, then you would have to say that they're underpowered. A modern equivalent vehicle would be probably a Passat wagon, which is about 50% heavier but has over 140% more power, even with the 118TSI engine. With the V6 you get over 350% more power. It's really not a fair comparison to make as they're different beasts.

The comparison which I made with a Beetle is much more relevant. Beetles and Type 3s are very similar cars with almost identical mechanicals, but because the Type 3 is burdened with so much extra weight they don't feel as lively to drive. I'm not saying that Type 3s aren't great cars, they are. They are great cruisers, but are not as much fun to fang through the hills because of the weight.

@Chromeo, I apologise for side-tracking this thread. Good luck with finding a Type 3. You'll love it.

Quote:

Originally posted by waveman1500 Quote: Originally posted by empi And this is a beetle's weights, there aint much in it! Are you reading the data? 1025kg for a late Squareback and 760kg for a late Beetle. That's a lot! 265kg, or 35% heavier than the Beetle. 35% of a car's weight is a lot. You can definitely feel the weight difference on the road. The Type 3 is considerably slower in acceleration and slower through the corners, trust me. I have owned and driven both. The Superbug would absolutely leave the Type 3 for dead through the hills, despite the lack of twin carburettors.

yeah like who drives a square anyways, so impractical

its all about the notchback in my eyes but i am biased in every way

sorry for the highjack, enjoy a type 3

Ha, no dramas...don't mind watching the discussion evolve.

Thanks for all the feedback guys

come to the darkside

yes come join us

Notches are definitely where its at.....no denying that!

Good luck in your search mate!

Scarab (aka: Paul)