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Russ Wolfe wrote: > On Mon, 2002-02-18 at 23:38, Jedediah Millheiser wrote: > > > > > > > > > perfected it on their cars yet and the T4 is > > supposedly the worst handling VW car(excluding the bus > > of course which is a van) of that era. Thankfully by > > the time the super beelte came out VW had perfected > > the strut front end for it so it worked a lot better > > than the T4 suspension. > > > No, they were still working on the McPherson strut design when the > SuperBeetle came out. '71 Super beetle was one of the worst handling AC > VW's produced, IMHO. And I wish I had a dollar for every strut I > replaced in '71-'73 Super. About the time the USA reduced its speed > limits to 55 mph, VW came out with a car that shimmied it's worst just > at that speed. > -- > Russ Wolfe I have owned six Type3s (1963 to 1970 models) and one Type4. The Type4 is a 1969 model (the first of the Type4s) and, with over 85,000 miles behind it and many years of service in the very rough hot steamy equatorial conditions of Papua New Guinea, it is still performing superbly. Its McPherson struts are original and, compared to a Type3, this car corners as if on rails. And, it really is much faster off the line and in terms of maximum speed. (Check with contemporary road test for this.) Also, after all those years in the hot humid tropics, the only rust was in the front mudguards (fenders) and a little in the rear ones. Everywhere else is still perfect even around the battery. I think there is a lot of misinformation around about Type4s. They are the most underrated VW ever produced. Yet, they were a landmark design not just for VW but for motoring in general especially in terms of their suspension, monocoque body (designed by Budd of Philadelphia), crash safety and, of course, its engine lived on until 1983 model Vanagons! Perhaps, its only real weekness is that it is underbraked. This was remedied later with the addition of optional power steering and then larger discs and drums for 1974 models. Styling is a matter of taste although it has to be said that the original 411 was styled by Farina. I think it is ugly but with the 412's facelift it had become quite good-looking. Nevertheless, if a 411 is ugly, that's nothing compared to some of the current Toyotas, Daewoos, Hyundais and even the current VW Polo. (I'm not familiar enough with the styling of current US models.) I will agree that the pre-1970 Type3s were just about the prettiest sedans and wagons ever produced. Simon Glen Toowoomba, Australia ------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe? mailto:type3-request@vwtype3.org, Subject: unsubscribe