I love Squarebacks, you love Squarebacks, everybody loves Squarebacks. And that term certainly sounds better than “Variant” in our present pandemic-plagued predicament. I don’t wish to sound alarmist, but there’s been something of an epidemic of Squarebacks in Tokyo: three sightings over a very short period of time. Type 3 indeed!
CC has had more than its fair share of VW Type 3 posts (listed at the end of this one); I even wrote a couple of them. So there’s no point in reiterating the model’s history here. This post is just going to be a visual celebration of the cornucopia of Type 3 wagons that have crossed my path this year so far.
As can be plainly seen, we have two of the “old” generation (1962-69) and one later model, which given its lack of C-pillar air vents, would be a MY 1970. Not sure what the deal is with the blue one’s massive muffler…
I found the blue one and that absolute minter of a white one on the same day, which was about a week after I had caught that slightly ripe beige 1970 wagon. So you can see why I thought the Variant had reached epidemic proportions in Japan.
I love the interior of these cars. That triple dial set-up is just perfect. Interesting to see the variety of aftermarket items used by VW enthusiasts on their Type 3s: the trigger gear lever, the different kinds of wood-rimmed steering wheels… The blue car’s original steering wheel is far more appropriate (to my eyes) than anything else, though the later cars’ all-black-plastic items were rather ugly.
The 1970 facelift, with that squared-up hood line, chunky bumpers and large amber turn signals, really transforms the Type 3’s look into something more modern, but also less happy. They literally wiped that chrome smile off the Type 3’s face.
We have all three types of rear lights (and front turn signals) in this Variant triad. There seems to be an issue, though. The flat type and pointy type on the early cars are supposed to correspond to the N (base model) and S (deluxe trim) respectively. Similarly, bullet-type turn signals are supposed to be found on N cars, and S cars should have the wraparound kind. Of course, the white car here has S-type turn signals and N-type rear lights and the blue car is the exact opposite. And I’m kind of puzzled. But I may have misinterpreted something or just got bad info on the Samba forums I’ve been reading to make sense of all these minutiae. Surely someone at CC will set the record straight!
Of all the Type 3 body styles, the Squareback is undoubtedly the one that gets my vote. The very notion of a rear-engined wagon excites the contrarian in me. The only real downside is that it’s missing two doors, which makes it less practical than it could have been. A cardinal sin for a wagon. But hey, these VWs look great, which is more than can be said about the Type 4, and are big enough to haul a small family, which is much more than the Type 1 could realistically achieve.
Could this be the best air-cooled VW then? That’s a triple yes from me. Three cheers for the Type 3 Squareback, the most catchy Variant of them all!
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1969 Volkswagen 1600 Type 3 Fastback – Fast In Name Only, by PN
Curbside Classic: 1964 Volkswagen 1500 (Type 3) “Notchback” – Three Is A Magic Number, by T87
Curbside Classic: 1969 VW Type 3 Fastback – In Good Company, by Actually Mike
CC Capsule: VW 1500 Type 3 Notchback – A Few Notches Short, by PN
CC Capsule: 1965 Volkswagen 1500 S (Type 3) Notchback – The Five Percenter, by T87
Curbside Capsule: 1968 VW 1600 Type 3 Squareback – Eyeing the Patient’s New Toy, by TBM3Fan
Vintage Road & Track Review: 1966 VW 1600 Fastback – The Type 3 Finally Arrives In The US, by PN
CC Outtake: Another Vintage VW (Squareback) Daily Driver – Hardware, by PN
CC Outtake: VW Squarebacks On Pearl Street, by PN
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: The Faster VW Fastback, by PN
> And that term certainly sounds better than “Variant” in our present pandemic-plagued predicament.
Did Toyota call its wagons/estates “variants” in Japan or anywhere else? Good thing they’re not trying to sell a Corona Variant in 2021…
The early 1500s had fascinating German pushbutton controls for lights and wipers. They resembled Trabant controls, and also echoed German electronics like Grundig.
Later versions went to the international ergonomic standard, with squishy rubber knobs that broke off immediately. Should have stayed with the unique original.
Though I never owned an air-cooled VW, this is exactly the car that set me up on a long life of long-roof love.
The issue you encountered with differences in the lights is quite possibly due to them having been imported from the US, where only the higher spec (equivalent to S) was sold. I assume California was a prime source for importing these, due to the many sold there and the lack of rust.
That “large muffler” is a typical aftermarket “extractor” exhaust. They used to be wildly common; one of the most popular aftermarket mods. Because of the configuration of the boxer’s cylinders, the stock system does not have equal length exhaust headers feeding into a single outlet or muffler, which is the most efficient type of exhaust system. The extractor does, so the four individual pipes snake around the engine and meet at the center behind the block, then a single muffler has to be hung from that. There’s just no other way to create a four-in-one exhaust system.
They have a distinctive sound, and can be rather noisy, depending on the muffler.
Nice reflection on an appealing car.
The whitewalls make it look like a kei car – very Japanese.
In 1964 when I was 14 my aunt was stationed in Germany with the Canadian forces. My parents and my older brother and I went to visit her. It was the first visit to Europe for all of us. My aunt had recently traded in her Beetle for a VW Variant S, and the plan was for the 5 of us to tour Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France in her new car. With a roof rack for the luggage we managed to all fit in and had a wonderful time. The photo is at a level crossing in France. It seems to be sitting a bit load, but it did not complain.
Later my aunt brought it back with her to Canada. In 1968 she was moving back to Germany and the plan was that I would buy the VW from her as she was going to get a new one in Germany. Unfortunately a couple of months before I was to get the car, its engine seized. By the time she paid for the repairs my aunt could no longer afford a new car, so the deal was off and I missed my chance at a Squareback.
This makes me almost cry. My all time favorite car. I had three of them: a “grey market” 1964, with a Blaupankt radio. A 1966, and a 1970. I loved to drive these cars and only got rid of them because of eventual mechanical issues that, on reflection, it would have been better to fix. For old time’s sake I have a catalog and an owner’s manual I bought online. These cars were packaged so well. They were roomy but small on the outside. I am always looking online for a nice one that I could somehow air condition; love these cars.
All these are front disc brake equipped so that makes them ’66 ~ ’71 .
Typ III’s are not for everyone, I’ve had more than a few, Mom bought a cobalt blue Squareback in 1967, it was a great car in every way .
It had the first year of dual port intake and the last year of dual Solex carbys so it really went well bone stock .
Typ III’s had vastly better heating than did the Beetles or Typ II’s, especially in New England, we never were cold in them .
They all had a nifty fresh air ventilator in the cowl, it tended to fill up with leaf debris and cause interior flooding in the rain .
The factory Tip III exhaust was incredibly expensive to replace, why so many got the aftermarket exhausts .
I experimented with mufflers on this typ of exhaust and discovered the Dodge mid size pickups with a V8 318 fit and worked great, wasn’t noisy like the original extractors were .
-Nate
Can’t help commenting. One could say I literally grew up with one of these as we shared the same birth year. Learned the value of parking on a hill because either the starter or the battery was always dead. Also learned more about Newtonian physics push starting that car than in 4 years of engineering school. Spent many a Saturday morning at the local salvage yard finding parts. And if a salvage yard isn’t a kind of paradise on earth for a 9 year old kid, I don’t know what is. RIP.
> The very notion of a rear-engined wagon excites the contrarian in me. The only real downside is that it’s missing two doors…
Well, then, what you need is a Chevy Corvair Lakewood. A rear-engine wagon with four doors (and four roll-down windows unlike *certain* Chevys.
The ideal dog owner’s cars – you can put the dog(s) in the wayback over the engine, the groceries in the frunk and still have the back seat free for human passengers.
The Corvair Lakewood is definitely in my fantasy garage. But they’re rare compared to the Type 3 Squareback – I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in the metal.