Dont know if any of you got along to the Cunderdin Easter Air show this year, but I did (my in laws have a farm just down the road). There was a german re-enactment group cruising around on a 40's BMW with sidecar and a couple of other cool vehicles. I cruised on over to their display only to my surprise to see a kubel !!.

Must be a replica says I, so I get down on my hands and knees to look under it at the front beam. Hmmm, king and link, raised spindles and no shockies... weird.... Lots of spot welds on the body, some not real straight...... okay...... looks like a country buggy steering wheel, but I know they were identical.....

So I asks the owner "Is it a replica ?" No, says he, its a 1941 and he bought it from a bloke in england (he's a pom) and brought it over himself. Awesome. Apparently alot of the spare bits have come from Czechoslovakia, he has a contact there.

Its absolutely schmiko too - straight as a die, everything original, except for the metal fuel line to the carby (he has one, due to be fitted) and the wrong dizzy (one coming from Czeck, but he has a split bug one in it for now) and the horn button !!!!!!!

So WA dubbers, expect to see this beasty at the next Day of the VW, as I worded him up about it. Would have looked great parked next to the three split window bugs we had this year !

Oh yeah, and he drove it the 180km there and 180km back !!!

It was rebuilt locally too apparently. And no, sorry I dont have any pics (forgot my camera). Do you think I was kicking myself ?

AAAAAAAhhhh. spewwwwwin.
Rob...

what the heck is a kubel. I am not 100% up with VW history only just getting involved 6 mths ago with my first dub. Can someone please find a photo (not nessacerilly the one mentioned above) and post for all us dumb nuts to have a look! OK, change the word "US" to "ME". lol

Internet searches do wonders, especially when i am at work and ment to be doing a million other things. :thumb

Volkswagen made approximately 52,000 Kubelwagens for the German Army in the 1930s and during World War II. The Kubelwagen is rear engined and rear wheel drive - 4x2 only -based on the famous Volkswagen people's car or "VW Beetle". As such its offroad performance was no match for the four wheel drive Jeep MB.

Volkswagen Kubelwagen:
loa: 3740mm, width: 1600mm, height: 1650mm, wheel-base:2400mm
engine: air-cooled 4-cyl, 985cc, 24hp at 2000rpm transmission: rear engined, rear wheel drive, 4x2.

Actually a very few 4WD Kubelwagen were produced from 1944-45. They were 4WD in first gear only. They were based on the design of the Schwimwagen, the amphibious version of the Kublewagen. It has a prop that swings down and connects directly to the crank via a square-drive socket. The Schwimwagen was made 4WD in first gear so you could get out of the water. VW also made the Komanderwagen, which was sort of a jacked-up VW Beetle, also 4WD in first gear in very limited quantities. Hot VWs Magazine has covered these vehicles, including a collection in Norway that consists of one of each of these rare vehicles (although the Kubelwagen is not 4WD).

This Volkswagen Kubelwagen was at the Museum of Army Transport Beverley.

The Kubel is the real thing and rebuilt from the ground up. I did his front and rear suspension and tried to convince the owner not to take every dent out of the bodywork, but what the hey, It's his kube. The motor is incorect but you try and find one, the horn button is off a Country Buggy but the steering wheel is genuine and very different from the 3 spoke CB type.
There is a fellow in Chez that you can buy any part for a kuble (replica) and if you had enough Euros you can build a complete replica body. Reading the parts catalogue will make you stiff. The owner bought many parts but the vehicle was very original to start with.

Are you sure the motor is incorrect ? I seem to remember he thought it was the right one... but I wouldnt trust my memory on that - if you worked on it you would know more than me. It must be a split engine then eh ?

He mentioned he has a new horn button coming for it.

It is heaps straight - looks just like it came out of the factory, was great to look at.

there was one of these at Byron dubfest last year and the dudes were all decked out in army to......friggin awesome, will look for a pic or if anyone else got one of it?