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Mon Aug 05, 2002 12:10 am

It is time that Type 3ers come together and take a stand against VBugTrends and HotVBugs and all other aftermarket companies that think Type 3s arent worth a damn! I recently picked up the September 02 copy of VBugTrends becuase inside the cover, a wicked looking bug caught my eye and immediately knew that it wasnt any 'cal look' or 'german look', but of a look all its own. Sure billet rims are the rage in other categories of the auto industry, but who says they wont work on vws? I don't! And his interior is fresh! Mix it up a bit, why do you have to use a prefab kits? Is an interior 'custom' if you can order it? I have a similar idea for the interior of my square, old Serta matress fabric. You laugh now, but what till your looking for vintage or vintage print fabric. Anyways, what really got me going about this article was the ending, where the owner gave serious props to type 3s! I was so excited that when i got off of work at midnight that night, I went and tinkered with my 66. Then i really started to think about the aftermarket situation with 3s. Why arent there companies out there making replacement panels for the most common of damage areas - the floor pans! Only fibreglass is available to us, and those are still twice as much as the cheapest bug pan replacement. I have much more to bitch about and i know this belongs in the rants/raves cagegory, but i had to get this out.
I now would like to encourage all to write to the magazines and demand more type 3s featured and to write to the aftermarket companies and demand at least pan halves to be made. Thats the least they could do.
I'd also like to thank those who see more in type 3s than just a work horse or a mode of transport when their bug fries a piston.
I want to thank my friends also trying to keep type 3s from rotting into the earth (hey chris, ryan, tony) and the companies and organizations that support us (detectives, type3.org, and of course everett and thesamba). Im sure you havnt the last of me. Thanks for your time.

Jonathan Williams
1966 VW Squareback
Centralia, WA

Ill see you all at Parma!

Tue Aug 06, 2002 12:35 pm

man, your right! I hate all this anti type 3 BS that I see everywhere! You know what the last straw is in my opinion? when show orginizers put type 3's in the same category as type 4's! How would early bus owners react if they shared a class with late buses?

Fri Aug 09, 2002 12:23 am

no you're both wrong. if everyone thinks its cool, then its not cool anymore. There's no need to let everyone in on the secret. parts schmarts, improvise!

Sun Aug 11, 2002 6:38 pm

I think you're all right...in your own individual ways. It would be incredibly nice to have better access to type 3 replacement parts, like floor pans, fenders, cooling tins, etc., but if that comes to pass and the type 3 becomes a recipient of aftermarket parts, then our cars will have as much cheap taiwanese crap on them as bugs and buses do. How many of the aftermarket VW companies today actually produce good quality parts? Maybe 10%....and me saying 10% is being nice. At best, some of the better companies make mediocre parts that STILL don't hold a candle to OEM VW parts. I have owned a few T3's over the years and yes, it's been hard to source some parts for them, but I'd rather have used German parts, than new Taiwanese.

Mon Aug 12, 2002 8:38 pm

As a new Type 3 owner and as a complete novice to anything Volkswagen or automobile repair in general...I have to say that I had never heard of or seen a type 3 before I had this 1971 Fastback given to me. Despite the VW organizations and the people in the know...a majority of the population doesn't have a clue about the popularity of this model over that one. But tell me...how many heads turn when you're driving down the road in your tupe 3? Bugs and Busses are a dime a dozen..we've seen too many of them. Just keep your type 3 on the road and be proud!!

Thu Aug 15, 2002 11:58 am

Jon, you say it well. T3's are the coolest vw's and get shit for recognition. I agree that t3s are tough to find parts for but I'm glad they don't reproduce them. I would like to see them start reproducing front fenders at least. they are the toughest to find. I can't remember the last featured type three in an american vw mag that was anything short of boring. No worries though fellas. Down to Earth dubs up here in tacoma wa will shortly turn the t3 scene around. My paint was shot last night and i'm reassembling it next week. It had better well be featured. how many other 17 year olds turn out show t3's that are entirely different than anything you've ever seen. Now that your interested, just chill my porsche guards red nooskuel beuaty will complete soon for everyone to drool over.

peace,
chris
vw's rule

Thu Aug 15, 2002 1:20 pm

wow!!! only 17 and so modest! Seriously man don't count or expect to get in any magazine. if you build a car w/ that purpose in mind, then you have your priorities all out of whack. Don' build a car for your ego, build it for yourself. Maybe we will see your car sometime soon.

Thu Aug 15, 2002 3:56 pm

You're right, its not going to get featured, but hey it'll be sick anyway you look at it. And no way did I build it to get featured! this is my own car, its just turning out great and everyone keeps shouting feature at me. So if it happens great. I'm just sick of these other teens getting featured for that reason (They're Teens, so what!). Its not so amazing that an 18 yr old or whatever can turn out a feature car, especially these guy's whose parents do half the work for them.

peace
chris
DTE

Sat Aug 17, 2002 11:25 am

Is there some kind of Piece Of Shit magazine that MY type 3 Fastback could be in? I choose to aspire high....

Wed Oct 01, 2003 9:51 pm

Build it because it's what you love. Forget the rest of the Bug followers. Anyone with a a tiny imagination can buy a few parts and make heads turn in the bug world, however, the rarer parts make the finished product 100's of times better.

No doubt, you will find your journey frustrating. Do not aspire to become part of a mediocre culture.

Do it for the right reasons.

Type III --- AHHH , The Best!

Sat Oct 04, 2003 8:18 pm

Of all the VWs, Type 3s have the best "reverse snob appeal". Bugs and busses are great to show and look at, but the t3 is truly great to DRIVE. Most people who are owned by 'em just can't stop driving them. How often do you see a TYPE 3 TRAILERED to a show, as opposed to Types 1 & 2? My wife even thinks it's cute (my '66 Variant Euro)... and she's a Benz driver that is of the firm opinion that VWs are primitive pieces of shiite. (How many thumbs- up and stares do you think she gets in her 85 Benz wagon? Hee hee.) A few weeks ago we were schlepping a bunch of records to a show. We had her Benz wagon full as well as my Squareback. She was following me up the freeway, and I went to pass a Hummer. :shock: (Yes, you read that right). She said that there was this little tiny skinny speck in the passing lane zipping past this monster... and the kids in the back seat of the monster were leaning out the window pointing! They didn't appear to be laughing, either. That damn Variant will cruise at 130- 135 km/h all day long, at 36 MPG (as far as I can tell doing lots of converting from Km to M.) Of course, it HELPED that I was able to get some nice Mahle domed piston/ cyl. kits off German Ebay to build the engine with. I built this damn thing from the ground up to serve as a nice weather weekend cruiser, but I can't keep myself out of it.
The reason they don't repop a lot of Type 3 parts is, I think, that Type 3 folks are, by nature, pickier than owners of the other Types, and are a lot less willing to buy substandard parts. On the flipside, what we Type 3ers have to go thru to get our cars the way we want them makes us appreciate and love them more. But then, maybe I'm just full of farkin' shiite. 8)

Sun Oct 05, 2003 4:39 pm

Shhh, we don't want all the beetle owners going out and buying type3s. Its bad enough that they keep wanting our rear brakes to upgrade the wooful (sp?) inadequect systems. But to get the aftermarket to actually supply us with parts for our own cars, you're asking for a miracle. At least we can use some of their parts once in a while. I'm currently selling the last of my bugs, as I want to only own type3s. They are a much better car, better designed, more room inside, better handling, different body styles, etc... I currently own a 65 Notch, a 69 Square and a 70 Fastback (wife's car), along with a former 71 Square that is becoming my 2 seat Roadster, and I love them all. I prefer to drive my Notch in the summer, as it has a factory sunroof, the Square gets driven in the early spring and late fall (or when needed as a truck), and my wife's Fastback is driven in the summer months (late spring to early fall). I plan on using the Roadster more in the summer when the weather is really nice, as there's nothing like an open top car in the summer. 8) I know this, because I helped my son build one (a 4 seater) out of a pile of scrap parts that I have here. It was really cool driving it once in a while. And not being in Cali, most people around here don't even know what my Notch is (most keep asking if it is a BMW :roll: ), or when taking the Square to the store you get people who say" I haven't seen one of those since I left California." :D These things make me smile more when I drive them.

Tue Oct 07, 2003 1:13 pm

VeeDubbYuh wrote: But tell me...how many heads turn when you're driving down the road in your tupe 3? Bugs and Busses are a dime a dozen..we've seen too many of them. Just keep your type 3 on the road and be proud!!

Amen to that. I have a 68 Squareback (lowered and cal look), white over mint green w/8 spoke empis) that is in excellent shape and I drive it all the time. It is the only one in at least the two closest counties and people are always turning thier heads and asking questions. I love this car. I never got this much attention when I was driving my 56 Oval.

Wed Oct 08, 2003 12:35 pm

i own 67 sqr bk and an oval55 and my sqr is nice and you need body parts i can sell them to you parting out my 67 type3 email me and ill hook you up :lol: