Postal VWs

[finster]

found these pics on the net while looking for reichspost vehicles - have not seen this rounded box style body conversion before. I think the bundespost was started in '47 and colour changed to yellow from reichspost red. anyone know more about these? number plates indicate british zone

[ronjonlasvegas]

I saw these photos posted in the Gallery from Sacramento, CA Bugorama show last weekend. Does anyone know if this is really a Bundespost car or if it is just a tribute? I know the car has been repainted, but the yellow color in the photos look much lighter than the other VW's I have seen that are still original paint Postal Yellow.

The caption in the photos say this is a real Bundespost VW, anyone have any more information?
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September 1964 Standard Sunroof walk through SWR/BG original paint.

[finster]

my initial thoughts were that the colour was too lemony but apparently the yellow did go through a few changes
"With the downfall of the Nazi regime ends the chapter "red mail". To erase all traces of Hitler's Germany in public life, the Allies in 1946 decreed the return to the traditional yellow. In the following decades, therefore, only changes the shade, from the 1946 introduced honey yellow first to rapeseed yellow. In the 1980s, it turned into gin yellow, which also survived the privatization of the state-owned company in 1994 and the IPO of Post AG in 2000."
now it is ral1032 ginstergelb or broom yellow, honey yellow is ral1005 and cadmium yellow from the 1070s is ral1021.
however I'm sure it would have had black wheels with yellow caps and black bumpers.

[finster]

also found this van-beetle while looking for postal yellow colours...!

looks like it is still red/black colour scheme

[ronjonlasvegas]

I can now see that the one from Sacramento must be a tribute car. It is a deluxe instead of a standard and does not have the black emblems, black wheels with yellow hubcaps, black door handles, black mirror, etc... I also think the original Bundespost cars did not have a rear seat as that is where the mail was stored.
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September 1964 Standard Sunroof walk through SWR/BG original paint.

[el_safari]

Hi
Deutsche Bundespost from 1949 till 1971: RAL 1005
from 1972 till 1980: RAL 1021
since 1980: RAL 1032
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La terre n'est qu'un seul pays

[ronjonlasvegas]

[finster]

a simpathetically restored kubel post - van

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"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[qwerty]

Rometsch at bottom left of photo!

[Martin Southwell]

Is the box on the back of the Kubel a standard RP size/shape, and the Kubel body cut about to accomodate it? Has anybody have a view of the interior?

[finster]

it uses the standard box (ambulance/post) as fitted to the beetle type 83. so two doors at the back and there was a hatch in the floor for extra engine access.
this is a photo of the car above during restoration showing the cut-down doors etc

_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[Martin Southwell]

Interesting. Thanks. The doors are the weird shape I thought they must be. There must have been also a fair bit of semi usable space under the box, as the rear door appear to be openable. Also interesting to see the sand coloured paintwork still in the front interior area, and to know that what must be doubly rare (Army & Post Office) vehicle, along with its later swivelling front tow hooks has survived. Is the top photo of the vehicle taken at Potsdam?

30+ years ago, in my home town of Bristol, there used to be a guy who imported the basic model, yellow, ex German Post Office Beetles, and sell them on, as they were right hand drive. There were quite a few floating about at one stage. The logic I was told was that the German postman/woman who had to get in and out of the car so many times a day, was safer getting in and out onto the pavement side, rather than into the traffic flow.

I recall that the left hand interior of the car, the passenger side for us, was usually immaculate, whilst the drivers side had very worn door hinge pins, sagged seat, and usually rust/holes on the floor where their wet, and no doubt salty at times, shoes rested.

[finster]

here's a rear view

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"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[JollieOllie]

Would love to see a dedicated thread on this vehicle!

[finster]

looking inside the box shows a hatch to access the storage area where the rear seat would be and the engine access hatch nearer the camera...

JolliOllie and others - a series of photos on facebook and a youtube video here
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10226240382933406&set=pcb.1721954007998060


Link

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"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[Martin Southwell]

What's the history behind this RP Kubel? Is it an original that has been in hiding for many years, or a re-creation?

As a Kubel owner/driver, I can imagine this would be a nightmare to drive on todays roads, with an almost total lack of rearward vision. It's bad enough with the normal canvas roof and side screens up, and why I always try to drive with the roof down whenever possible, which also helps to reduce the internal noise levels. Not a consideration during WW2!

[finster]

you need to ask herr grundmann - the kubel is an original type 28 but I think the box might be new...
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"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[mandraks]

[JollieOllie]