66 Fastback....
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66 Fastback....
One owner from new until I bought it yesterday Most likely got an August '65 build date, so maybe the earliest RHD one around??
Last edited by Rich Oakley on 30th October 2007 - 6:45pm, edited 1 time in total.
Fastback
Nice to see the car again, and that it's still a tidy-looking one.
Mr S Edwards from Wareham used to own it - I've a photo taken many years ago of him with the car - March 1992 in fact.
Probably bought from Modern Light Cars in Holdenhurst Road, Bornemouth. The C-reg was from 1 Aug 1965 - that would probably be a 1966 model, chassis 316 xxxxxx. The lower the xxxxxx the nearer the first Fastback it would be. As a guide they were making around 35,000 a month.
I'm pretty sure the cars were available from Aug 1st, so VW must have made some of the new models before the end of July. They certainly batched RHD - the importers ordered a load at a time. They had about 30 miles on the clock new - driven over from Southampton to Bournemouth, I believe.
Our Variant was BLJ 659B - bought about a year earlier from M.L.C., but probably no longer in existence (nor is MLC!).
Mr S Edwards from Wareham used to own it - I've a photo taken many years ago of him with the car - March 1992 in fact.
Probably bought from Modern Light Cars in Holdenhurst Road, Bornemouth. The C-reg was from 1 Aug 1965 - that would probably be a 1966 model, chassis 316 xxxxxx. The lower the xxxxxx the nearer the first Fastback it would be. As a guide they were making around 35,000 a month.
I'm pretty sure the cars were available from Aug 1st, so VW must have made some of the new models before the end of July. They certainly batched RHD - the importers ordered a load at a time. They had about 30 miles on the clock new - driven over from Southampton to Bournemouth, I believe.
Our Variant was BLJ 659B - bought about a year earlier from M.L.C., but probably no longer in existence (nor is MLC!).
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Thanks for the excellent picture!
I purchased the car from Mr. Edwards (Stan). He is now approaching 90 years old and has not really used the car since about 1999. It came with all the handbooks/service books and every receipt since day one (including the bill of sale from MLC).
Speaking to Stan when I collected the car, he tells me that back in '65, he used to own a '62 Notchback. He took it in for a service at MLC in August '65 and he was shown the new 1600TL Fastback. He immediately made the decision to trade-in the Notch against a new Fastback. The chassis no is 018273, making it early, but not too early (Does a registry exist??)
It is in surprisingly good condition for an unrestored Type 3. It did have a respray and a pair of new front wings in '92, but other than that, it's had very little work done to it. I do need a good pair of heat exchangers and an exhaust if anyone can help out....
richardoakley1@btconnect.com
I purchased the car from Mr. Edwards (Stan). He is now approaching 90 years old and has not really used the car since about 1999. It came with all the handbooks/service books and every receipt since day one (including the bill of sale from MLC).
Speaking to Stan when I collected the car, he tells me that back in '65, he used to own a '62 Notchback. He took it in for a service at MLC in August '65 and he was shown the new 1600TL Fastback. He immediately made the decision to trade-in the Notch against a new Fastback. The chassis no is 018273, making it early, but not too early (Does a registry exist??)
It is in surprisingly good condition for an unrestored Type 3. It did have a respray and a pair of new front wings in '92, but other than that, it's had very little work done to it. I do need a good pair of heat exchangers and an exhaust if anyone can help out....
richardoakley1@btconnect.com
Last edited by Rich Oakley on 19th November 2007 - 1:01pm, edited 1 time in total.
Stan Edwards
Nice to hear Stan is still around. There aren't many of these one-owner cars still to be found, but there are a few, I'm sure.
I assume the date on my photo is just after the respray and wing replacement.
You can get a 'birth certificate' for it from VW - there's info on my home pages at www.hallvw.clara.co.uk/dating.htm if you want to know when it was built.
I assume the date on my photo is just after the respray and wing replacement.
You can get a 'birth certificate' for it from VW - there's info on my home pages at www.hallvw.clara.co.uk/dating.htm if you want to know when it was built.
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I think the new VWs were usually in the showrooms at the beginning of August - but could be wrong. Not sure how I could cross-check that.
Certainly the importers would order a batch - there's no other explanation for finding out that of the 4 '71 Squarebacks I had at one time or another, that 3 of them were made on successive days!
Dave.
Certainly the importers would order a batch - there's no other explanation for finding out that of the 4 '71 Squarebacks I had at one time or another, that 3 of them were made on successive days!
Dave.
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I'm pretty sure that would be right. It would make sense to have the new model on display the day it was released, so I'm sure a pre-production batch of RHD Fastbacks would have been made during July 1965.Editor wrote:I think the new VWs were usually in the showrooms at the beginning of August - but could be wrong. Not sure how I could cross-check that.
Certainly the importers would order a batch - there's no other explanation for finding out that of the 4 '71 Squarebacks I had at one time or another, that 3 of them were made on successive days!
Dave.
Perhaps the dealers would then take orders from the 1st August and a batch of RHD cars produced when enough orders warranted it.
I have seen photos of Wolfsburg Beetle production in the 60s that clearly shows RHD cars being produced in batches.
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On the way back from Camberg...
Last edited by Rich Oakley on 30th October 2007 - 6:45pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Your '66 Fasty looks great. I like the color too. By the way, was everyone okay after your windshield was hit?
'67 KG Cabrio; '70 Type 3; '71 1302s; '66 Shary 2 Type 3; '72 Type 2 Bay Window
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Re: 66 Fastback....
I really should use this car more! I took it for an MOT a couple of weeks back and it has done 31 miles since the last MOT!
Re: 66 Fastback....
That belonged to an elderly chap at Wareham - I called to see him when we were down there on holiday. I have a photo of it he gave me at the time somewhere. Lovely colour, lovely condition. Very proud owner.
They do survive quite well not being used much, but you should let it enjoy a few more trips to keep it really happy.
They do survive quite well not being used much, but you should let it enjoy a few more trips to keep it really happy.
Dave.
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Re: 66 Fastback....
Dave- see top of the page.Editor wrote:That belonged to an elderly chap at Wareham - I called to see him when we were down there on holiday. I have a photo of it he gave me at the time somewhere. Lovely colour, lovely condition. Very proud owner.
They do survive quite well not being used much, but you should let it enjoy a few more trips to keep it really happy.
Re: 66 Fastback....
Just a memory test then! That's very reassuring.
I read as far back as the Camberg comment, and assumed it was this recent one!
I read as far back as the Camberg comment, and assumed it was this recent one!
Dave.
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Re: 66 Fastback....
cool thread and my old squareback blew the front window when went under a bridge near crawley years ago . may be it`s a common thing on these car`s ?
Re: 66 Fastback....
They're very tough (toughened!) and you can bang them with your fist when installing, but the slightest trigger for the sudden 'crystallising' of the surface layers can be caused by a chip on the edge or a deep stone-chip. They don't crack in the normal way that a laminated screen does, but are not considered as safe in a crash, so are not usually supplied these days, unless second-hand.
I hesitate to say this but I've never had a windscreen shatter, and I think only one other in my immediate family has, but that went seemingly without any provocation.
I hesitate to say this but I've never had a windscreen shatter, and I think only one other in my immediate family has, but that went seemingly without any provocation.
Dave.
Re: 66 Fastback....
[quote="Editor"] , but are not considered as safe in a crash,
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what,like the rest of the car IS considered safe in a crash................lmao
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what,like the rest of the car IS considered safe in a crash................lmao
Re: 66 Fastback....
Safety is only relative, but it's less dangerous to hit a padded dashboard in a Type 3 than a metal one in a Beetle. When I think of the proximity of the windscreen and dash, the unlocked seat-backs and the lack of belts and mountings in the old Beetle when produced in '59, I shudder. Compare that with the Type 3 with its far superior passenger safety, built only a couple of years later, and the further improvements later in production.
When toughened (tempered) glass windscreens were being fitted, occupants could be flung onto the crazed screen and the head would punch through, leaving the edge to cut into their neck. The plastic layer in laminated screens held onto the shards and bulged with the head. It was a harder impact but more surviveable. That was before seat-belts were commonly fitted, and before the law said they must be worn.
Not really a laughing matter... A lot of work goes into improving primary and secondary safety in a car, though mostly for occupants. Unfortunately the least safe thing in a car is the driver. Very few road accidents are unavoidable in terms of the cause; it usually comes down to negligence on someone's part.
Have a safe journey!
When toughened (tempered) glass windscreens were being fitted, occupants could be flung onto the crazed screen and the head would punch through, leaving the edge to cut into their neck. The plastic layer in laminated screens held onto the shards and bulged with the head. It was a harder impact but more surviveable. That was before seat-belts were commonly fitted, and before the law said they must be worn.
Not really a laughing matter... A lot of work goes into improving primary and secondary safety in a car, though mostly for occupants. Unfortunately the least safe thing in a car is the driver. Very few road accidents are unavoidable in terms of the cause; it usually comes down to negligence on someone's part.
Have a safe journey!
Dave.
Re: 66 Fastback....
keep yer shirt on,was only having a larf
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Re: 66 Fastback....
Just found this pic I took in March 2013 when it had been snowing. A couple of days previous to this, we had had heavy snow in Sussex. The Fastback was the only car in my street able to climb the hill at the end of my road. I ended up ferrying stranded neighbours about whose cars couldn't cope with the conditions