Me & My '67 square

["Charles E. Whitney" <clncrew@ziplink.net>]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the internet, E-Mail, and the Type3 List. I hope my post is 
appropriate and not to long and rambling.

Here is the story of how I got into T3's and my '67 square:

Model 361
Engine T0 320 698
Poduction Date  October 13, 1966
Delivery Date  October 24, 1996
Delivered to:  New York

I have been into air-cooled VW's for about ten years, but have always 
stuck to TI's and T2's.  I thought T3's were basically kind of ugly.  
T1's and T2's have a unique design & styling unlike anything else on the 
road. T3's?  Ever had your car compared to an old Volvo, or your T3 Ghia 
to a Corvair? Then you know what I mean.  Also that pancake engine was 
soooo different than my upright engine.  I'm basically an idiot when it 
comes to engines.

But, being a VW addict, I always scan the classifieds of the local 
newspaper to see if there is anything interesting.  In early Oct. of 
last year, I read the following ad:

    "VW squareback '67  40K orig mi. Good cond.  Must sell. BO" and then 
the phone number.

I own a housecleaning/janitorial business and thought it might be easier 
to haul my vacuum, mop, broom, etc. in and out of the back of a square, 
than out of the back of my '71 T1.  But I wasn't too keen on T3's.  But 
it said best offer, and I thought if I could get a bargain, what the 
heck, it's a '67, vintage, and hey, still a VW!

So I call up the lady and talked to her about it.  It sounded in good 
shape, but who can tell over the phone.  It was about a 45 minute drive 
and didn't want to waste my time going over if my ridiculous offer was 
totally unacceptable.  She said she didn't know, but that it was about 
right, and that she did say Best Offer.  My offer at the time was the 
best so far. 

So I drove over.

I could not believe the excellent condition it was in, and I was saying 
to myself, "ya right,  someone's going to definately up my price by 
probably $1000.00."  The interior was nearly perfect: cushions still 
full and springy, interior paint totally unscratched, no holes in the 
headliner etc.

Some years earlier their daughter ran into the back of a pick-up and 
messed up the front end a little.  They had had it fixed, but it was 
kind of a hack job, and the paint in the damaged area was cracking and 
peeling.  But the rest of the paint was great, not show quality, but 
from 20 feet looked perfect.  The uprights on the front fender were 
missing, it needed a new muffler, and the brakes were frozen.  But 
really, that was about it.  It has a Saphire V Am radio with the 
original dealer faceplate.  It has mid pop-out windows, original tire 
beauty rings, and dealership added VW retractable lap seat belts (no 
shoulder harness.)  Other than that totally stock.

Am I rambling too much?

It turns out this ladies father had purchased the car new from Harbison 
VW in Abington Pennsylvania in December of '66.  He kept immaculate 
records of the car and had it serviced at the dealership according to 
the schedule in the back of the owners' manual.  He was fairly old at 
the time, and suppose he had nothing better to do.  In the glove box I 
found a record he kept of the oil level every time he filled up for gas! 
 He had gone through the owner's manual and made little notes about 
things in the margin to make sure he remembered them.  It seems that 
this car was his baby.

He finally got too old to drive, or went into a rest home, I don't 
remember exactly.  But at that point, in November of '85, he gave the 
car to his daughter.  She drove it very little.  In 1987 they parked it 
in their garage, and there it sat for the next ten years, until I came 
along.

So anyway, I again told the lady my offer and said that was all I had to 
spend.  She said she would talk it over with her husband and to call 
back late that afternoon.  I was worried someone else was going to call 
and make a better offer.  I called later that afternoon and the husband 
answered the phone.  I told him who I was and asked if the offer was 
acceptable.  He said he thought it was low, but that it was his wife's 
car, and if she said it was okay, then it was okay.  Through muffled 
sounds on the phone they were discussing it.  He came back on and said 
the car was mine --------- FOR $500.00, yes, five hundred bucks!!!!

As I've driven the car I've really fallen in love with it, and it's kind 
of funny, sort of lost interest in T1's and T2's.  

And now I am addicted to Variant behavior!