Allow me to introduce myself

The Dutch Bloke · Post by **The Dutch Bloke** » 20th March 2009 - 9:14am

Hi there,

My name's Elwin Molenaar aka The Dutch Bloke. As you might have guessed from my forum name I'm Dutch but I live with my wife and 2yr old son (both Dutch aswell altho the wee man was born here) in Scotland.
At the moment our family car is a 1968 1500 beetle called Emma. She's with us for about 9 months now and she's a great car to drive.

What brings me here at the Type 3&4 forum then, you might think.

Well we're expecting another baby in September we might need to look for a slightly bigger family car. And as I don't want to leave the aircooled cars and having 2 cars would be too expensive we've decided that if the time comes to get a bigger car, we're going for a Type 3 Squareback.

Already seen some nice cars in the for sale section, like Abe and the Noisy one (I love Ratlooks and so does my wife).

I was quite pleasantly surprised to see that Squarebacks are for sale for about £4000 to £6000, I was expecting something about £8000 to pay for them. So good news there.

I hope you guys won't mind me asking questions (expect quite a few stupid ones) as I'm not that technical

cheers.

Elwin

Oyeah this is Emma:

easy · Post by **easy** » 20th March 2009 - 10:17am

Hello and welcome

ask as many questions as you like there is some incredibly knowledgeable people on here, who know everything about type 3s!

Post by **Danny Lord** » 20th March 2009 - 6:04pm

Welcome to the forum

Danny.

corndog · Post by **corndog** » 21st March 2009 - 6:41pm

Howdee!!! Sqaurebacks RULE!! You will never run outta room

For 4-6k you should be able to get yourself a real "beauty".

My advice is take your time looking, if you think you've found the right one go over it with a fine toothed comb and watch out some sellers way overprice their vehilces!!!

BTJustice · Post by **BTJustice** » 21st March 2009 - 11:20pm

Its amazing who you bump into on VW forums.

Good choice Elwin, type 3's are the best

If you need a hand picking one or getting it home give me a bell,I've picked up a few things restoring mine and happy to pass on any info.

Dave.

The Dutch Bloke · Post by **The Dutch Bloke** » 22nd March 2009 - 8:57am

Cheers Dave, that would be really helpful.
We need to see first if the beetle's still big enough and if not then we'll get a Square.

But is there a "catch" to these cars, as they're "cheaper" than I expected?

BTJustice · Post by **BTJustice** » 22nd March 2009 - 10:05am

I dont think there is a catch, i think they are cheaper as they hold less appeal to most people than a beetle.

Lots of people who know nothing about cars know what a beetle is but not many folk know what a type 3 is so less demant = lower price.

I had a square back before my fasty that cost me £100 so you can still pick up bargains.

The biggest problem with a type 3 is rust. They dont rust out worse than a beetle but where they rust is usually a lot harder to find and fix.

Dave.

Post by **Editor** » 22nd March 2009 - 11:43am

I suppose if they start out less, it reflects that fact that it costs more to pay someone to fabricate panels than just buy them, since you can't buy many repair panels for Type 3s. There's also not the inbuilt dream that a lot of people have got from watching Herbie movies.

There is no doubt the Type 3 is a much superior car for family use.
Look at http://home.clara.net/hallvw/Family/boysvariant.jpg for proof!

You couldn't do that in a Beetle.

Mr Viking · Post by **Mr Viking** » 22nd March 2009 - 11:44pm

As a newish t3 square owner ive had my fare share of vw's mostly buses and beetles about 300 in total and worked on many more but never owned a t3 till now and wow what i have been missing a great drive much more responsive in every way and so versatile as well much more room in a t3 square than any beetle i have a dog take him everywhere in the square and me and the wife love ours so dose the dog as he can see over the seat and look out the windows:lol:
It is much more room for a family we look after my wifes sisters kids now and then and thay love the square ( because of the up and down it dose when thay are in it )

( its on hydraulics )

Good luck in finding the right one for you and your family your never regret changing to a square and welcome to the forum

The Dutch Bloke · Post by **The Dutch Bloke** » 23rd March 2009 - 1:06pm

it does indeed look like the perfect family car.

We just don't want to get rid of the beetle yet as we're going to have it lowered in May and we only have it for about 9 months now and really enjoy it.

Or someone here must come with a good offer or swap

kevg1970 · Post by **kevg1970** » 30th March 2009 - 9:42pm

Hi Elwin i have a really nice 71 fasty that may be for sale around may if you are interested i also stay in Scotland

The Dutch Bloke · Post by **The Dutch Bloke** » 31st March 2009 - 3:37pm

Cheers Pal, but if we're gonna go for a Type 3 than it'll be a square as we would need the extra space in the car.

Where abouts in Scotland are you? I'm in East Linton near Dunbar

kevg1970 · Post by **kevg1970** » 31st March 2009 - 6:43pm

No problem, i am up in sunny Aberdeenshire not to many old dubs up this way thier a bit scarce !

The Dutch Bloke · Post by **The Dutch Bloke** » 21st May 2009 - 2:36pm

Kev are you going to Biggar?

The Dutch Bloke · Post by **The Dutch Bloke** » 23rd July 2009 - 3:46pm

The closer the due date ( 7 weeks) the more it looks like the beetle is just too small.
Been looking at type 4 variants as well, but how are these spare parts wise? Haven't really seen many.

shawn71 · Post by **shawn71** » 23rd July 2009 - 5:15pm

Spares for the Type 4s are few and far between but most of the problems are fixable with a bit lateral thinking.

Engine parts are available as the motor was continued on far after the car was discontinued, suspension parts are only available second hand but many of the rubber parts probably would have long ago seen their best days, that said the shoptalkforum is a good place for workarounds for the lack of parts for the suspension. Body panels are almost non existant (see plumcrazee's resto for the amount of fabrication he has done).

There are secondhand bits on e-bay every now and again and if you are lucky the odd one may be lurking in a yard somewhere.

All that said they do make a great family car and I use mine daily (although it has been laid up for a few weeks at Volksfarmers for a replacement gearbox and a few other small jobs). You certainly get a few looks as people try and work out what it is or talk to you about how a family member/friend used to have one etc...

Good luck finding one if you decide to go the Type 4 route

PS love the look of the Bug, my wife drives a 1971 1300 bug. Just couldn't quite convince the kids to go aircooled