Three rear-engined cars

In their March '54 issue, Popular Mechanics compared three rear-engined cars. Thou shall not dwell on the one on the top....

"The volkswagen-peoples car - is not cheaper than it counterparts, so it can not be the price which has given this car its popularity. In the new model (1954) the factory has corrected all the faults and deficiencies that earlier models had to struggle with....
...the car now also has syncromesh on 3 of the 4 gears...4th. gear is an "overdrive", and not suitable for driving in the city.."

"The Porsche is appointed by its owner to be the best car built to this date.... ..Both engine and body seems to be built like a high-class clock.... ....a lack of luggage space for a as luxurious as this.....for elderly owners, it can be laborious to enter and exit the car..."

 

Even though I might get both arthritis and lumbago when I get old....I think I would try very my best to cope if a '54 Porsche was my ride... =)

Denmark is a great country:-)

Last friday a big package arrived on my doorstep. First I mistook it for being some boring new kitchen spotlights I´ve been waiting for, but I was soon to be proved wrong. Inside I found a NOS aluminium frame for the convertible project. I first bought a frame i HO 2009 that turned out to be a zwitter convertible frame, but this time I finally got my hands on the correct and missing frame. Now the set of four is complete:-) Searching finally payed off thanks to Peter Plade and XX in Denmark.

Sechs volt babe

Enjoy this Sechs volt-babe. If you want to find the other Sechs volt-babes just search for it on the blog. We will like to thank you readers for your great comments on the blogs, and in e-mails. Not everything happens here on the blog, we are busy in the garage and prepering parts and cars for the summer. Splitboy is heading forward with his great project. Tell him to do a update on his blog:)

Sechs volt mug - serving black(smith) coffee

The happy guys at Norwegian Hammerworks enjoy their coffee with style. Given the happy faces, it's not impossible they got hold of our "Moonshine edition" mugs. Either way, the light of the moon dosen't seem to interfere with their excellent work. We wish Thomas and Gunnar the best of luck on the split(zwitter?) project... It's not listed as work going on in the shop (according to the web site), so we guess this is top secret =)

JB VW T2B - Fantastic phot blog

Thank you Johan for leaving a comment and showing us your blog. Outstanding quality on the pictures and lots of interesting motives. Some of the best we have ever seen! A man dedicated to details, seen both in the pictures and not at least in his cars. We will be back to visit this blog for sure!!!

http://jbvwt2b.skynetblogs.be/

Mr. Bluehat and his Sechs volt DD-cup

Peter Plade from Denmark is one of our true vintagefriends. Last summer he took his supercool oval all the way from Silkeborg in Denmark heading for Vintage village and SCC. His oval is world-wide-known and always pictured. We did also meet in H-O last summer, and then he got his Sechs volt-mug. Peter is always searching for THAT accessory, the little rare one that will lift his car above all the others. He is also very helpful to his Sechs volt-friends in Norway and get us some nice stuff from time to time. Last fall I did meet Peter and Jens in Silkeborg and we had a great time by one crazy collector of Volkswagens. Many thanks for the picture.

The 12 Volts finally got an alternative

12 volt Volkswagens does have a crowd of enthusiasts, even so in Norway. We struggle to imagine what gives them energy to go on, other than modern electricity. The guys who more than triple the horsepower in their engines has a obvious reason for choosing 12 V electricity in their cars. But now we are talking about original car enthusiasts, that claim to be "12 volt og stolt", translated to "12 volts and proud of it". Luckily for us low-voltage nuts, one of the main caracters on the 12 Volt barriere has opened a own blog. We hope to find out more of the 12 volt mystery here in the future. Good luck to our good friend and 12 volt misionary Boblehue. Please visit him HERE, and have a look at his stunning Savannah =)

Broken windscreen?

Ever looked at your vintage, pre-58 windscreen as the sunlight dawns...and seen the round, transparent circle in front of the steering wheel...and wondered why?

Here's why. The windscreen of our beloved Volkswagens are made out of hardened glass...which shatter to pieces should a rock or similar hit it. Just in front of the driver, a small circle is made of non-hardened glass, and still provide visibility. Another great safety feature from Volkswagen =)
(Popular mechanics DK, 10-1961)

LOBO got his Sechs volt-mug

Last night I met LOBO, and could finally give him a well deserved Sechs volt-mug. He promised to send us a nice picture. LOBO aka Nicolai is a young man with the right interests in life. This picture shows his higly beloved Judson-'54 and some lovely girls. This is actually a normal day in LOBO`s life. Driving his oval and spending time with nice company. (Lobo is in the left of this pic - see if you can spot him). LOBO is a very skilled artist and got his own website. He also has a gift in finding good motives for his sketches =)

*Oval57*

History repeating itself...?

One evening, I found these pictures at my folks....Back in 1970, my dads first car was of course also a beetle, a pearl grey '62 US-spec.
After repaint and a total dismantling of the engine, fitting new gaskets and bearings, the car looked and ran great again!
Looking at these photos, it could seem that my old man and I share the same hobby - this is exactly what I do on my spare time these days...
...the difference is of course that this car was my folks only transportation, and had to be used on a daily basis.
The old car served them well. When it was traded in for a brand new 1300S/"GT Beetle" in 1974, it probably went on to the wide, endless autobahns.....
Driving a beetle couldn't have been that bad, today an all-steel, '63 american roadster still resides in their garage.... =)
(Splitboy)

Latest score: Split convertible decklid

This time we have something really interesting and rare to show you. After searching high and low - and yes I admit it - even desparatly considered buying a repro decklid, I finally found a original split vert decklid for my longterm project. The decklid has been under my roof for two days now, and both days I just had to take a look at it before rushing to work... Still, I can't yet believe it. What are the odds of finding a split vert decklid in Norway? It has two easy reparable dents, and lots of surface rust. The inner part behind the hinges is the only part that will need some minor welding. Luckily all of the vert-only-parts are in good shape.

VAU-MAX.DE "covergirl"

Knechtens 52 zwitter has made it to the front page of Vau-Max.de in Germany. This is a website more known to Norwgian watercooler enthusiasts, but as a serious website they found room for a real vintage car as well. The photoshoot took place in the outskirts of Hessisch Oldendorf in the summer of 2009. All photos and text by Igor Vucinic. Even Knechten has to admit there are a lot of cool shots there, and Igor must have some credit for the correctness in the details. Full article

http://www.vau-max.de/

Full story on the restoration can be found in Knechten Vintage Barn

Sechs volt mug

Our famous Sechs volt mug is almost everywhere. This time its in the hands of Olav Fossmellem in Odalen, Norway. He is working on his split wich is bougt from our good friends Erik and Arnt. The split is in good condition, and will be driveable this summer we belive. We wish Olav the best luck with the restauration and hope to see this split on meetings in the summer of 2010.

Looking back at Vintage village @ SCC

It is freeze outside. - 20 degrees. Then its nice to look back at last years big happening. The vintage village at SCC. Schwimming, Kubeling and talking about originality all day long. And low voltage and the correct pices and hottest items of course. Sechs volt did get some new friends they sure will meet again.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The sechs volt are preparing for a feast to celebrate the new year, and we tried out our new costumes last night. We have great expectations for the new year, and hopefully at least one new project will roll out of the garage this year as well. Then we have set a pace of restoring one car a year. If we keep this up, the market for split beetles in Norway will be destroyed in a few years =) Best wishes for 2010!!!

Merry Christmas & happy new year!

The Sechs Volt Garage would like to thank you all for a great 2009. We hope for a even better 2010. Have a nice holiday, and may the presents be hard this year as well!

Oval 57 (Håkon), Splitboy (Are), Fürsten (Kaj) & Knechten (Vegard)

Winter fun

Here in Norway the VWACM club arrange a winter rally on snow for aircooled VW's. This take place in early january, and the temperature often is below -10 deg celsius. The sechs volt have no car to participate in for the 2010 event, but would not hesitate if we had the car in the picture at hand. We would floor the pedal and hit the narrow snow covered roads... it would bounce nicely against the snow banks =)

40.000 hits!

A classic pin-up never ever goes out of style....
(Painting from "Gil Elvgren - the complete pin-ups)

The submarine samba story continues

Becoming one of Norways biggest VW celebrities, Morten "Crazy" Lunds 1957 samba bus has made it to The Daily Telegraph in the UK. Not your average VW magazine, but they have acording to the internet over 800 thousand readers every day, and is one of the largest newspapers in the UK. We congratulate Morten, and can easy back up the slogan for next years SCC, "Just north of insanity". SCC happens to be just north of Mortens garage =)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/classiccars/6753575/Rare-VW-Camper-rescued-from-watery-grave.html

PS! As you can see, Crazy Morten and Horny Tiger on the same front page...

The new 1952 Porsche!

Well-known motor journalist and car expert Floyd Clymer travelled through Europe in 1952, visiting most of the motor shows and car manufacturers at the time. While Clymer (who is also known as the editor of "Souping the Volkswagen") visited many factories, we will skip all the boring ones and concentrate on what's important.....
While visiting Stuttgart, Clymer was presented to the lovely Pre-A 356 Porsche. "...the sportscar is supplied with a rebuilt vw-engine, with two carburettors and a high compression top end. The production rate is 100 cars a month, and they are almost completely hand built by 150 workers. The price is 10.500 DM for the coupé, and 12.500 DM for the cabriolet. The sportscar comes with three options enginewise, 1100ccm, 1300ccm and 1500ccm. With the biggest engine, the car can go 160 km/h, which is quite impressive for a car with a engine that small...."

Text below the picture points out how low the car is....

As for the engine; note also the angled "Fram" oil filter on this oh-so-beautiful piece of machinery....
(Popular mechanics DK, June 1952)