Been thinking about getting one (Squareback, need a parts hauler...), and I'd like to know specifically about the parts situation (vendors and availability), but I'm interested in hearing any general opinions on them.

Yes, I know all about TheSamba and related boards. Been reading them. Just casting for opinions. Most of the Samba people seem to be interested in ditching the FI for carbs, and doing a search on MPS comes up completely blank, so I wonder about the general ability there to handle the D-Jet. Were I to get one, I'd prefer an EFI model, and this would be my first D-Jet car (both 914s were not).

I know personally where you could find a T3 ghia for 2100.00

guy does not have a clue as to its real worth--I would get it, but my teener is bankrupting me

Hi,

I just picked up a '69 Fastback with factory sunroof last weekend and brought it home. This is the 3rd Fasty I've owned over the years. This one will be a restoration car in about a year, but in the mean time I can drive it. It is no longer fuel injected, but has dual baby dell 34's on it. They do need tuned up as it idles too slow and rich, but what a kick to drive!

Certain parts for the T3's can be tough to find as I'm sure you've seen on the Samba, mostly weatherstriping, trim parts, etc... I mostly picked up mine because it was a factory sunroof fasty. I've only seen two in my life. Lots of notchbacks with sunroofs though...

Good luck,
Tom

QUOTE (jwalters @ Jan 25 2005, 03:58 PM)

I know personally where you could find a T3 ghia for 2100.00 guy does not have a clue as to its real worth--I would get it, but my teener is bankrupting me

could you pm me about that ghia. i'll be in florida this weekend and may want to take a look at it.
thanks

PM SENT

QUOTE (jwalters @ Jan 25 2005, 03:58 PM)

I know personally where you could find a T3 ghia for 2100.00 guy does not have a clue as to its real worth--I would get it, but my teener is bankrupting me

Florida's a little far, and I never really cared for the looks of the T3 Ghia. Wouldn't work too well as a parts hauler, either. A fastback, maybe, but a squareback would be best.

Anyone else? Pretty sure there are at least a couple of Squareback owners on this board...

Fastback was my first car.

I had this one before I moved from FL to NM. A few parts are becoming hard to find, but they are generally well supplied.

They're great cars. I'm currently looking for a yellow Fastback to go with 914RS.

There is a member here " '70 Fasty " that can help you.

Paul

Currently working on restoring a clients '74 Square, and will be doing their fast back as well. I have found a lot of donors at the local parts yard. I like them.

im a sucker for a cal look notchback with fuchs

I learned to drive a standard at the tender age of 9 in my dads square-------awesome car.

There is one I know of in Hollywood ( Fl )--it is fire engine red with red tinted windows--absolutely awesome!!!

Not for sale tho-------

I had two Squarebacks. I'd still have my dads if there hadn't been so many DMV problems with it. I wouldn't worry about D-jet if it's running well when you buy it.

I've owned a few, and worked on a LOT more. I like 'em. Parts are still pretty much available. D-jet stuff is pretty much all available, EXCEPT for the MPS, and the rebuilts would be cr*p, if they were better, that is. The early cars came with carbs, and the replacement carbs are fine. I once had a single sidedraft model, and I still have some new mufflers for the 2 carb and FI cars. T1 type tranny, T1 engine, front discs and larger rear drums. T1 style seats, lotsa legroom. They get really good fuel mileage, and I KNOW you can get 2 55 gallon drums of oil in the back of a SB. I've also seen a few converted to pickups, some well done, others hacked. VW missed the boat on that one! Fastbacks have REALLY limited carrying capacity.

Oh ya, I have found the intake manefold gaskets (tubes from plenum to runners) to be NLA. kinda crappy.

QUOTE (Dr Evil @ Jan 25 2005, 09:22 PM)

Oh ya, I have found the intake manefold gaskets (tubes from plenum to runners) to be NLA. kinda crappy.

There is a shop down here that has loads of that stuff!!!

I've had 3 squarebacks - a '71, and two '73's. Two of the cars had been converted to carbs (the 71 - with a single Weber progressive that worked great - but stuck through the deck), but one of the 73's was injected. It ran great, and I never had a problem with it in the time I had it.

There used to be a shop in southern California called Bill and Steve's that catered specifically to the Type 3 - but mainly early stuff, abd it's kinda pricey. Not sure if they still exist or not.

Also - there's a guy here on the board I've seen (not sure of his screen name - but his name is Toby Erkson) that has had a suped-up square for quite some time. NEAT car - and I lusted after it for some time while I had my squares.

...doesn't Dad Roberts have a Type III?


R

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ Jan 25 2005, 05:47 PM)

im a sucker for a cal look notchback with fuchs

i'm always lookin' for a notch...

Good, quality parts are not plentiful. Rusty, used ones are. There are parts from the T1 (Bug) that will fit. You want to subscribe to the T3 email list. Go here: http://www.vwtype3.org/ We've got several hundred (world-wide) members and they're a great group of guys (and a couple gals). One of them, Russ Wolfe, was a real, honest-to-goodness VW mechanic for over 20 some odd years, both as a certified VW mechanic at a dealership and with his own shop. Though he is a great resource we also have many more who are equally as good.

Bill and Steve's does T3 stuff but I wouldn't consider their 'knowledge' up to expert status. There's the Type 3 Detectives in the UK but, at least for the 'states, their stuff is speeeeendy! The shop I'm part of here in Portland, The DDB, works ONLY on T3's. We even have a couple VW 1218 fuel injection testers (contributed by yours truely) that we use

Stick w/the stock FI if you can...crap, gotta go, little girl is very unhappy...being a new dad isn't easy...

I have a 72 squareback...needs a new tranny.

Might be the 130hp 2007cc engine that smoked it.

Try ISP West. They specialize in Type 3s. I used them quite a bit when I had my last T3 and was a satisfied customer.

http://www.vwispwest.com

I have a 69 squareback I got as a daily driver, but the engine went south. It needs a small rebuild (just top end) i think, but I havent had time to mess with it. As soon as it gets that, Im going to throw on some paint and sell it. I'd rather drive my 912 any day. It is a cool looking car, and you can throw it into corners better then most wagons. I wanted to rat rod it (satin black paint with red wheels and white walls). But this damn education has got in my way of almost anything car related.

If you want a project T3, I know where you can pick one up

QUOTE (MattR @ Jan 25 2005, 10:00 PM)

I wanted to rat rod it (satin black paint with red wheels and white walls).

that was my idea you big jerk.. and your squareback is an advertisement for bondo

dude...we need a bondo smiley (mixing and slapping it on)

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ Jan 25 2005, 09:09 PM)

QUOTE (MattR @ Jan 25 2005, 10:00 PM) I wanted to rat rod it (satin black paint with red wheels and white walls). that was my idea you big jerk.. and your squareback is an advertisement for bondo dude...we need a bondo smiley (mixing and slapping it on)

No rust or bondo, the seller said so himself!

I cant complain for $650.

I"m still working out the bugs with the d-jet on my '70 fastback. Love the car though. Just rebuilt the 1600, port and polish job on the heads, 1.25 ratio rockers, runs awesome wehn everything works right. 2.0 liter fuchs, good thing i decided to go with 5-lug on the teener.

I love my daily square as well:



Never left me stranded. Maybe it has s/th to do with the fact that I did outfit it with a 914 1.8 engine

Greetings,
Walter

I just recieved Hot VW's March 05 issue yesterday. There's a nice early Notch with American Racing 5-spokes on it and re-drilled drums. Very nice. I'd love to have a nice notch.

Oh, found a pic of Dad Robert's Type III.

Dad Robert's Type III

R

QUOTE (kafermeister @ Jan 26 2005, 06:59 AM)

I just recieved Hot VW's March 05 issue yesterday. There's a nice early Notch with American Racing 5-spokes on it and re-drilled drums. Very nice. I'd love to have a nice notch. Oh, found a pic of Dad Robert's Type III. Dad Robert's Type III R

I saw those pictures on that Notch too. Very clean and looks good. Sorta like a VW version of the BMW 2002 or Datsun 510.

Paul

I have had a 69 fastback and a 64 SB 1500S. Loved them both.

Nice car Walter! I can tell by the pic that you are in the Netherlands but where exactly?
I can tell by the sidewalk and street bricks...

I currently have a 76 Westy that I am gonna do something with, including installing that good 80hp motor I got from dan root.

Geoff

We had a fastback and a squareback when I was growing up ... loved 'em both. Eventually sold the squareback, and lost the fasback to a fire. Been a couple of years since I worked on any type I's or III's, but parts didn't seem to hard to come by.

Dad Roberts does have one, but I wouldn't call it a type III.

Nice parts hauler but its got that big ass thing in the way! I can see now why Brad is always wanting to customize 914's.

Geoff

Where is the transmission in that thing? The engine appears to be in the axle centerline as opposed to mid-mounted or tail-dragging.

My old fastback only hauls one thing........and it ain't parts... . Seriously, I've had several other squarebacks. Still have a pair of rear fenders that may end up bein a trailer. Be glad to help in any way I can with your project. I'm currently lookin for another set of flat tailight lens( all red )...............Dad

Where's the tranny?

QUOTE

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ Jan 25 2005, 05:47 PM) im a sucker for a cal look notchback with fuchs smilie_pokal.gif agree.gif i'm always lookin' for a notch...

So am I, though I almost bought a $800 fasty on ebay the other day. I i had the money I would have

Engine and trans were from a 70's Oldsmobile, front wheel drive, Toronado. I used only the engine, trans, and differential. Adapted the Toro axle flanges over to VW cv's. Custom axles made from 9 inch Ford shafts. The engine is mild, maybe 300 horse.......keeps me from tearin chit up.. . Now that I have it back, been thinkin real serious bout a new short block,one with a tad bit more compression. .....Dad...

my folks had two of these back in the '60's. I have always thought they looked good. How are they to drive? Same as a bug, or quicker? Can the engines produce similar power to the typeIV engines? and how is the heat - something about a pre-heater??

I can't comment on how they drive, as I haven't driven one, yet. They're basically Type I (bug) engines wrapped in different tin, with the cooling fan hanging off the end of the crank (like the Type 4). About 60hp for a stock-ish 1600. I expect they're slower than a late Bug, but much faster than my 850 Mini.

In colder climates, lots of people use one of the gas heaters (Eberspacher) to supplement the engine heat. I expect here in NoCal, the engine heat would be adequate.

I'm mostly interested in a parts-hauler that's adequate on the freeway. If I was smart, I'd just get some small Japanese pickup. I'm pretty stupid, though. I considered a Mini pickup (as in, an old British Mini in pickup form, which were made by the factory), but they're very expensive for what you get (roughly $6000 for one that's in the same shape as a $1000 Squareback), they're smaller than a Squareback, and unless I spent even more money, they'd be quite a bit slower. I thought about a Bus, but that's bigger than I'd like (or need).

I have a 73 Squareback and LOVE it! It has lots of space to haul stuff and it really moves on the highway. I can easily cruise at 80+!! It handles like a champ in the snow too. In fact I like driving it in the snow more than anything else! The heat is great too. I just use the stock heater setup.

I pulled this one out of a junkyard for $300 and restored it. I used a 1641cc engine out of another Square. It has dual Weber 34's. I focused my restoration on the body and interior. West Coast Metrics had all the rubber and trim that I needed. It's next to imposssible to find the chrome trimmed window seals. I got a new wiring harness from a guy out in California - can't remember his name.

I had a custom interior made up by Sewfine Fabrics in Littleton Colorado. Between new fabic interior and new seals - the cab is actually pretty darn quiet and warm! And when it's too hot - I open the factory sunroof

I got into the 914 thinking I would take the 2.0 out and put in the Square. But then I got to liking the 914....

I have an extra set of engine tin and some heat exchangers for the Square if any one is interested.

Cheers
Nate

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ Jan 25 2005, 05:47 PM)

im a sucker for a cal look notchback with fuchs

An ex-housemate sold his notchback basket-case for $1,800 last year.

Very nice Squareback, Nate. Reminds me of the one we had before we left Indy. Course mine had air conditioning....lets see.....in the left front fenderwell their were various holes....oh yea, and in the right front too, and don't forget the rockers!!Courtesy of all the salt they loved to put down in the winter time. Sure hope yours doesn't, or hasn't, developed the cancer yet.............Dad.....

They drive nice especially the late ones with indepenant suspension. My 64 1500S SB had a 1776cc 85hp motor in it with OEM sway bars and Koni's so it drove real nice on the freeway.
The 69 FB had the djet and could scoot too with 66hp plus on trips I got over 40mpg.
They are nothing like driving a VW Bug! Had a 60 bug that I put a 1600 DP in with one of those Holly Bug sprays too.
Had lots of buses including a 67 21 window which was my favorite until a friend wrecked it when they borrowed it.

Geoff

They drive better than a Bug and have more room. In fact, they feel and drive better when carrying a load greater than just the driver They have a beefier front suspension and were meant as a step up from the Bug. When maintained the heating system is good, I speak from experience (going from good to unmaintained to maintained). Simply insulating the flex tubes that go from the heat exchangers to the body makes a difference

Aside from the cooling fan and tin, the oil tube is different and the generator mounts on the fan housing, left side. Please, allow me to show off my engine:

(All she needs is an after-market fuel injection system...)

compufire coilless/dizzyless elctronic ignition?

i forgot you cannot run normal 2.5" aircleaners on them type 3's

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ Jan 26 2005, 10:07 PM)

compufire coilless/dizzyless elctronic ignition? i forgot you cannot run normal 2.5" aircleaners on them type 3's

Yup and yup

I did the restoration on my Square in the summer of 2000. The body is pretty much rust free. I'm starting to see small spots on the rockers...
Toby - your Squareback provided some inspiration for me during my restoration. You've definately got the SWEET engine set up. Nice work!

Cheers
Nate

I have some engine parts and carbs if you find one that needs that kind of stuff!
My first car was a '66 squareback and I think they are great

Thought I would post some pix shot this morning of Ric Van Sickle's type3 which is his cali ride when he comes out from Chicago.

and

has headers and cam