The Volkswagen Type 3 is a compact car that was manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen from 1961 to 1973. Introduced at the 1961 Frankfurt Motor Show, Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA), the Type 3 was marketed as the Volkswagen 1500and later as the Volkswagen 1600, in three body styles: two-door Notchback, Fastback and Squareback, the latter marketed as the 'Variant' in most markets, and 'Squareback' in the United States.
The Type 3 diversified Volkswagen's product range beyond the existing models – the Type 1 Beetle, Type 14 Karmann Ghia, Type 2 (Bus) – while retaining several of the Beetle's key engineering principles, notably the air-cooled rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout and all-round torsion bar suspension on the same 2,400 mm (94.5 in) wheelbase.
The Type 3 followed the Type 1 Beetle, utilizing a low-profile version of Volkswagen's rear-engined, 4-cylinder air-cooled engine, as well as body-on-chassis construction while featuring ponton styling in contrast to the Type 1's articulated fender and running board. VW finalized the design by 1959 with prototypes ready for testing by 1960. Secrecy was such that even at the 1960 Geneva Auto Show, VW denied they were readying a new design. In 1961 VW announced the new line as the "VW 1500".
Production began in August 1961, a month before launch, of the Volkswagen 1500 Notchback, encompassing three-box styling in a notchback saloon body.[3] Production of the Karmann Ghia 1500 (also known as the Type 34 Karmann Ghia) with a coupé body commenced in November 1961 and deliveries started in January 1962.[3] The estate bodied Variant (marketed as the Squarebackin the USA) followed, with the first cars produced in February 1962.[3] Two convertibles based on the 1500 Notchback were also announced with the original models, but did not enter production.[4]
The Fastback, or TL version, a fastback coupé, arrived in August 1965, at the same time the 1600 engine was introduced. Volkswagen's intention was that this model should replace the Notchback, which is what happened in the UK market, but in other markets, including the German domestic market, the number of customers preferring the older Notchback shaped car was higher than foreseen, and in the end both Notchback and Fastback body shapes remained in production until July 1973.[5] The Type 3 also featured wall-to-wall carpeting, and was available with air conditioning in the US.
Volkswagen of America began importing the Type 3 in 1966 in the "Squareback" ('Variant' badges were not used in the US market) and "Fastback" but not the Notchback configurations. The Type 3 was competing in the market with the Chevrolet Corvair that had been previously introduced in the United States in 1960, which incorporated a 6-cylinder rear-mounted air-cooled engine in notchback and station wagon body style, as well as a compact van derived from the platform.
In 1968, the Type 3 'E' (Einspritzung) became the first German automobile in series production with electronic fuel injection (Bosch D-Jetronic) as standard equipment. The larger Volkswagen Type 4 was introduced in 1969 which had a similar mechanical layout with further engineering refinements.
For the 1968 model year, 1969 in the USA, a three-speed fully automatic transaxle became available, noted for extremely low internal friction. With the automatic came completely independent rear suspension (IRS), replacing the swing axle ( IRS) set-up. For 1969, the IRS rear axle was standard with both automatic and manual transmissions.
The model received a facelift in 1970, when a 115 mm (4.5 in) nose-lengthening added 1.5 cu ft (42 L) to the luggage capacity.[6] At the same time it got new big square-section bumpers and much larger tail lamps and front indicators.
Volkswagen offered the Type 3 in a lower trim level in Europe, marketed as the 1600A trim level. In the US, and for 1973 only, Volkswagen offered two trim levels of the Type 3 Fastback in the USA, marketed as the Type 3 Sedan and Type 3 Basic Compact. The Basic Compact featured reduced content, including limited color and upholstery availability and without belt line chrome, clock, electric rear window defogger – and with painted frames around the vent windows, a black cardboard front trunk liner over the gas tank without a liner on the sides of the trunk or over the firewall, plain vinyl door panels without door pockets and rubber mats in lieu of interior carpet.[citation needed]
While the Type 3 was a more modern design, it never reached the same level of popularity as the Beetle. As Volkswagen started to produce front-wheel-drive water-cooled designs, production ended in 1973 at the Wolfsburg plant, with production moving to VW's new Emden plant, which was later retooled in 1973 to build the first generation Passat (marketed variously, also as the "Dasher"). The Wolfsburg plant was retooled to build the Golf, which eventually replaced the Type 1 as Volkswagen's best selling sedan.
The Type 3 was initially equipped with a 1.5 L (1493 cc) engine based on the air-cooled 1192 cc flat-4 found in the Type 1, but given a 69 mm stroke it became the basis for the 1300 cc and 1600 cc engines that followed in the later Beetle (Type 1) and Volkswagen Type 2 T1 and T2.[citation needed] While the long block remained the same as the Type 1, the engine cooling was redesigned by putting the fan on the end of the crankshaft instead of on the generator. This reduced the height of the engine profile, allowed greater cargo volume, and earned the nicknames of "Pancake" or "Suitcase" engine. The engine's displacement would eventually increase to 1.6 L (1584 cc).
It used a similar transmission to the Beetle but with higher ratios (4.125 R&P v 4.375 R&P) and longer axles. Unlike the Beetle (Type 1), the Type 3 engine and transmission unit was mounted into a subframe (which contained the complete rear suspension), in turn rubber-mounted to the floorpan and body, thereby isolating vibration and road noise from the passenger space.
The original Volkswagen 1500 used a single side-draught 32 mm Solex PHN carburetor. In August 1963 VW introduced single- and twin-carburetor versions, respectively the Volkswagen 1500 'N' (Normal), rated at 45 PS (33 kW; 44 hp), and the 1500 'S' (Super), 54 PS (40 kW; 53 hp) which had high-compression (8.5:1) domed 83 mm pistons and twin downdraught 32 mm Solex PDSIT carburetors for more power.
The Type 3 engine received a larger displacement (1.6 L) for 1966 (August '65) and in 1968 became the world's first volume production car to feature electronic fuel injection – pioneered by Bosch. The Bosch D-Jetronic system was offered on the Volkswagen 1600 TE & LE version (E designating "Einspritzung" or "injection" in German). A similar Bosch injection system was used in the later Type 4 VW 411, some models of the Porsche 914, Opel Admiral, Diplomat and Commodore, and available for the Volvo 1800E/ES, 142E, and certain 1972-75 140 and 164 series cars (see Volvo P1800). Also introduced for 1968 was a fully automatic transmission.
A notable advance from the Type 1 to the Type 3 was the front suspension — although similar to the Type 1, it was the first Volkswagen front suspension to incorporate transverse round torsion bars, as opposed to the Type 1's torsion leaves. The Type 3's torsion bars are cross-mounted in the lower tube, so that each individual torsion bar spans the full width of the car, the upper tube containing an anti-roll bar that connects the upper trailing links to each other. The complete front suspension unit is rubber-mounted to the car's floorpan. In 1968 the rear suspension was upgraded to double jointed CV joint semi trailing arm suspension (sometimes called IRS by VW enthusiasts to differentiate it from the previous ( IRS ) swing-axle type), a design feature that previously appeared on the VW Type 2 in 1967.
The Type 3 offered both front and rear enclosed luggage areas, with greater volume and cargo accessibility via both the boot (trunk) and the bonnet (hood). In each of the 3 variants (Notchback, Squareback, and Fastback) as well as the Type 2's from 1968 on, the engine was located under a panel in the rear trunk.
This unusual placement was highlighted in a period Volkswagen television commercial for the American market. It featured actor Dustin Hoffman showing the interior of the Fastback model and explaining the car's technical features but unable to locate the engine. The ad closed with the copy, "Your VW dealer will show you where the motor is."
The original Type 3 with 5-stud wheels (5 x 205 mm PCD) used twin leading shoe drum brakes at the front. In August '65 (the '66 model year) these were replaced by disc brakes, coinciding with the introduction of the Fastback and 1600 engine (Australian built models retained drum front brakes until August 1967). These have 4-stud wheels (4 x 130 mm PCD) with 8 cooling slots. Rear brakes were always leading / trailing shoe drums.
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