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VW Dictionary
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0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Package Tray Tray that mounts underneath the dashboard in order to hold additional items up front.  Often made of bamboo or a mesh with a metal frame.  Most package trays were meant to house light items such as gloves or maps within easy each. 
Also see parcel tray or bamboo tray.

Pahnapuhallin Finnish: "crop-dryer". In Finland, a common nickname for the Beetle sedan and convertible. The allusion is to the half-round fan housing on the earlier, "upright" VW engines, which resembles a crop-drying machine widely used by Finnish farmers.

Paint Code Original code assigned by VW to indicate a particular color.  Also called an L code. See the Paint and Upholstery section for detailed information.

Paint Imperfections Mistakes or wear in paint, sometimes resulting from rust or a poor paint job.  Some examples include:  overspray, checking, orange peel, and bubbling.

Paintshopped Term used to describe a photo that has been altered by the Paint Shop Pro computer program.  Common alterations include lowering, changing the color or rims, and erasing damage.  Also see photoshopped

Palma Sola Volkswagen Factory in Venezuela 1965-1981, produced Beetles and Brasilia

Pan Slang for Floorpan.

Pancake Engine Slang term for the Type 3/Type 4 engine. The term originates from the flat design of the engine, where the fan is bolted to the end of the crankshaft, where the crankshaft pulley would normally appear on the typical Type 1 upright engine.  The fan shroud and other details were also relocated, producing a flat or "pancake" design.

Panelvan Basic Bus model without seat or windows in the rear compartment.  Most often used for commercial purposes.
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Pano Slang for Panorama Bus.

Pan-off Restoration A restoration that involves the removal of the body from the floorpan.  Can indicate a more extensive restoration of a vehicle.

Panorama Bus Nickname for the Bay Window Bus in Holland.

Parcel Tray Somewhat interchangeable term with package tray, a parcel tray also refer to the metal tray mounted underneath the dash in a Split Screen (pre-1968) Bus. Also see bamboo tray.
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Parts Car Term used to describe a VW in such bad condition (either mechanical, cosmetic, or both) that it is only useful for parts.

Passenger Vehicle Line of VW Buses intended solely for passengers. Includes the Standard Microbus and the various Deluxe models.

Patina Refers to the unique visual design that results from an original paint vehicle where the paint has partially worn through to primer or bare metal over time.  Discussion

Pea Shooter Slang term for the VW Beetle and Ghia exhaust that has two chrome exhaust tips.

Peanut Nickname for the front turn signals used on 1958-63 Beetles.

Pecera Spanish term for fish tank but commonly used term for Bay Window Buses in Mexico.

Perfection Dealer-installed gas heater available in Canada from 1962-1964.

Pescaccia Italian: "fisher/hunter". In Italy, a nickname for the Jeep-like Type 181 sport-utility Geländewagen.

Petcock Small valve used to control the flow of liquid or gas.  Used on early Volkswagens before a fuel gauge was standard equipment.  Also see Fuel Tap

Petri Maker of steering wheels, horn rings, and horn buttons for Beetles.
More information needed. Send a description
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PG/SG Abbreviation for the Bus colors Palm Green and Sand Green, used on 1955-57 Standard Microbuses.

Phone Dials A Porsche manufactured rim that has a pattern of perfect circles that resemble the dial ring on older style phones

Piano Hinge Slang for 1952 and earlier Bus vent wing windows.

Pinhole Tiny imperfection in paint that looks as if someone poked a hole the size of a pin into the paint while it was still wet.  Also refer to pinhole rust, where small pinhole-sized holes have occured due to rust damage, often in a rocker or floor pan.

Pinwheel Pinwheel refers to the center section of the rear drum. On early Type 3 vehicles, 1961-63 they used pinwheel drums.  Later drums have a star pattern.  Early rear drums are also smaller, 230mm vs 248mm.

Photoshopped Term used to describe a photo that has been altered by the Photoshop computer program.  Common alterations include lowering, changing the color or rims, and erasing damage.

Pickup Pickup is a light duty truck. All standard VW pickups had three gates and a loading platform unobstructed by wheel wells.

Pipe fender Slang term for early Beetle fenders where a metal pipe was used from the body to the headlight buckets to contain the headlight wiring.

Pigalle Red upholstery and interior color.  Often used as a term to refer to the limited production all-red interior (seats, dashboard, carpet, and so forth) used on 1966 Type 3s and Karmann Ghias.  In Type 3s, it was available as an option on Black and Pearl White vehicles up to Chassis No. 316 140 226.  The term Pigalle refers to the red-light district in Paris.

Pitted Term used to describe chrome that has been damaged by water or age and is now covered with small blemishes.

Plattenwagen The VW Plattenwagen was built by factory workers and used to haul heavy loads around the VW plant in the 1940's. This vehicle sparked Ben Pon's idea for an economical work van which became the Type II.

Plexiglas Acrylic type clear plastic material used to fabricate corner windows on Barndoor era deluxe buses before the windows were made of glass. Also used for skylight windows for a couple years during the Barndoor era. The windows can be recognized by the Plexiglas script embossed into the material.

PO Abbreviation for Previous Owner

Pope's Nose Commonly used slang term for the taillight housing on Split Window Beetles from 1943 -1952, however it was still used by some until 1966.

Pop-outs Side windows that are hinged so they can swing out for ventilation. M code 114 gets you 6 of these on pre-67 buses.
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Pop-Top Describes the small or large fiberglass top that can be popped up and a Camper Bus.
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Por-15 Aftermarket product used to "Paint Over Rust" and seal it in, preventing further rust damage.  http://www.por-15.com

Porsche Büro Abbreviation for Ferdinand Porsches' design company in Stuttgart, Germany. Of all the Porsche Büro projects, the one with the most significance and lasting historical importance was the Volkswagen Beetle.

Porsche, Ferdinand III "Butzi"  Son of Ferdinand II "Ferry" Porsche, grandson of Ferdinand I. 

Porsche, Ferdinand Anton  Director of Porsche Büro, Dr. Porsche was selected in 1933 by Adolf Hitler to develop an affordable people's car.

Porsche, Ferdinand II "Ferry" Son and successor to Doctor Porsche

Porsche 914 A sports car produced by a collaboration between VW and Porsche, introduced in September, 1969. It was a mid-engined two-seater with a Targa top as standard equipment. The 914 was marketed as a "Porsche" in North America, and as a "VW-Porsche" elsewhere. The 914/4 used the 4-cylinder, 1.7-liter Type 4 engine and also running gear from the Type 4, while the 914/6 used Porsche's 6-cylinder, 2-liter 911T engine, plus 911 suspension, brakes, and wheels.
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POS Slang term meaning Piece Of Sh!t

Prerunner Vehicle often used to "pre-run" a race and learn the terrain before attempting the race in a full race vehicle.  Typically a street-legal vehicle that is driven to the race course, used to run the race course "pre-race," and driven home.

Pressed Bumpers Slang term often used for ribbed bumpers.  Bumpers used in the front and rear on pre-1959 VW Buses.  Pressed bumper is a misnomer as all metal bumpers are pressed.
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Primer Body and paint product used to cover bare metal and provide a bonding surface for paint to grab on to.
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Pritschenwagen See Single Cab  German: "plank-bed truck"

Privy Tent Full sized Westfalia tent used from '58-'64.

Project Refers to a vehicle which may require many hours of work to either get driving or for a restoration. Implies a long-term commitment which may or may not ever reach completion.

Pulguita In Spain, a nickname for the Beetle sedan and convertible.

Pulley Pulley is basically a wheel with a groove for a belt used to improve leverage and transmit power from one device to another such as driving the generator and fan on a VW.

Pulmonia A tourist taxi used on Mazatlán, México. It consists in a beetle floorpan and drive train with a fiberglass open body and canvas roof on a tubular frame.

Puma Two-seater manufactured and sold in Brazil from the early 1970s. Puma bought standard Beetle floor pan assemblies from Volkswagen do Brasil and modified them to fit the fiberglass body. A kit version was briefly marketed in the U.S. around 1977.
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Punch Bug Car traveling game where kids or adults would punch one another on the arm when they saw a Beetle and yell "Punch Bug" and the color, for example,  "Punch Bug Red!" 

Pumpkin taillight Slang for 1973 and later Beetle tail lights

Purist A VW enthusiast who prefers only original vehicles or "correct" restorations.

Pushbutton Dash Series of control used on 1961-early 1964 VW Type 3s that has the appearance of small square push buttons.
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