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Hi Simon! Thanks for the reply! I hate to burst your bubble, but VW is known for putting later parts on cars in the museum. They are not as concerned with correctly dated parts as most hard-core restorers are. Therefore, later parts on a museum piece is not grounds to dismiss the date. Case in Point: the NSU car that was designed by Herr Porsche (predecessor to the VW design). It has completely incorrect headlights mounted in the front fenders. I was not able to get to my library where I have some documentation on the EA97, I'll try this weekend to retrieve it and scan it. Yes the EA97 was designed, NOT as a replacement but a larger more luxurious companion model to the Bug... Guess what? So was the Type 3 notchback! VW NEVER wanted to replace the Bug. Why would they? Sales were through the roof! The Type 3 Notch had another prototype nomenclature that I can't remember at this time. Anyway, it was a prototype AT THE SAME TIME AS THE EA97! They were both candidates for the "new model" that VW was developing. There were about 10 models up for consideration for this "new" model. All my point was that this certain car on sale at eBay should not be considered to have it's stock motor or other parts and that there would be some very unusual parts on this model since this certain car was based on a prototype designed at least 10 years previous then produced by Brazil's plant known for changing the plans to fit regional conditions/requirements. I can't confirm or deny that it could have been a possible replacement for the Type 3 line in 1965. Thanks for the information on this certain (ebay sale) model's history. Big Al simonglen@bigpond.com writes: >Dear Alan Presley, > >One should not be confused by the fact that the 2-door EA97 prototype on >display at the VW Museum in Wolfsburg has "1960" written on it. If you >have >a close look at the car on display you will see, from the number of >components which have clearly been taken from much later production line >parts bins, that it was made long after 1960, more likely about 1965 or >1966 >or maybe even later. > >In fact, EA97 (or "Entwicklungsauftrag Nr 97") began in 1957 and there >were >two stages of this project. The first ran from 1957 to about 1963 and was >intended as a design study for a possible Beetle replacement but its size >got >out of hand. Realising this by 1960, VW upgraded the project into a >second >stage which became a design study into a possible alternative to the then >well advanced Type 3 project. By 1965 this EA97 stage 2 had developed >and >changed such that it had become a possible upgrade for the Type 3 and, >indeed, 200 different examples were built, including a 2-door sedan, a >4-door >sedan, a 2-door wagon or Variant and even a 2-door cabriolet. All were >built >on the wide floor pan similar to the Type 3 but many had the Beetle Type 1 >ball-joint front axle beam rather than the Type 3's cross-over torsion bar >axle beam. Some had the Beetle Type1 upright fan motor while others had >the >Type 3 pancake motor. > >However, at this stage this upgrade of the Type 3 was shelved in favour of >the "Langschnauzer" or longnose Type 3 design which eventually came off >the >Wolfsburg production line in August 1969 as 1970 models. Nevertheless, >all >the dies and tooling for this well-advanced EA97 project were not >discarded >but (after some delay caused by a shipwreck) were sent to Brazil where it >entered production. Thus, in December 1968 Volkswagen do Brasil >introduced >their version of EA97 and called it the VW1600 4-Portas. This was the >4-door >version of EA97 and it built on the wide Brazilian Karmann-Ghia floorpan >because the Karmann-Ghia was already in production in Brazil and for >reasons >of economy it was decided not to manufacture another separate wide >floorpan. >The 1600 4-Portas was also fitted with a German Beetle ball-joint front >axle >(Brazilian Beetles and Karmann-Ghias always only had king-pin front axles) >and a twin carburettor version of the Beetle upright fan motor. So, it >could >be regarded as a bit of a hydrid rather than a pure Type 3 except that >these >modifications to what was essentially a Type 3 project and incorporate in >it >a number of Type 1 components were carried out in Brazil for reasons of >economy. They clearly saw that it was cheaper to use an existing >Karmann-Ghia wide floorpan with its Beetle-style front axle beam and to >use >an existing motor then used in Beetles. (Brazilian Beetles also used a >twin-carb version of the upright fan motor.) Later, the flat pancake >Type 3 >motor was used from late 1970 and by 1978 the evolving Brazilian Type 3 >had >become quite sophisticated with a McPherson strut front end, rack and >pinion >steering and a CV-joint (IRS) rear end ( the VW Variant II). > >And, incidentally, more than 430,000 of these evolving Brazilian "EA97 >Type >3s" were made between December 1968 and December 1981. The first of them, >the 1600 4-Portas which is currently on sale at Ebay, was in production >between late 1969 and late1971 and probably close to 100,000 of these were >made. So, while they may be rare in Europe and USA, they were not so >rare in >Brazil. And, later two-door wagons or Variants and the four-door fastback >versions were exported to other countries in Latin America and the >Caribbean >as well as to the Philippines and Nigeria. > >Regards, > >Simon Glen >Toowoomba, Australia. > >"Alan W. Presley" wrote: > >> Sorry PerL, >> >> THIS car from eBay was introduced in 69. >> >> The actual EA97 prototype was produced in 1960 >> >> go here >> http://www.mtv3.fi/autot/artikkeli140.html >> items in the Wolfsburg museum > >------------------------------------------------------------------- >Search old messages on the Web! Visit http://www.vwtype3.org/list/ >