Re: [T3] ebay type3 vinyl top???

[Simon Glen <simonglen@bigpond.com>]

VW did put vinyl tops on some of their cars.  In September 1973 the
American magazine "Road and Track" did a road test of a 1973 VW 1303
Beetle which was marketed in the US as a "Volkswagen Sports Bug".  
This car had a bright yellow ("rallygelb" D7D7) basic colour scheme
and a contrasting black vinyl roof.  It was an official Volkswagen of
America package with a number of other factory extras such as
air-conditioning and very nice 5.5J VW-made sports wheels with Pirelli
175/70 HR-15 radials and some other aftermarket accessories included
in the deal such as sports seats, go-faster stripes and small steering wheel.

This "Volkswagen Sports Bug" was essentially a US-market version of
"The Yellow and Black Racer" or "Die gelbschwarzen Renner" package
for Beetles (VW Sondermodelle S714) which was sold in other markets
such as in Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Switzerland in 1973. 
However, unlike the US versions, these European "Yellow and Black
Racers" did not have vinyl roofs.  So, I suspect the vinyl roof was
installed in the USA by Volkswagen of America - it was a typical
seventies fashion item.

Nevertheless, I don't believe this "sports" package was ever offered
for Type3s in the USA or elsewhere.  Maybe it was??????

Simon Glen
Toowoomba,  Australia.

Russ Wolfe wrote:

> On Wednesday 10 October 2001 16:53, Jim Adney wrote:
> > On 10 Oct 2001, at 17:09, GTIsmoke@aol.com wrote:
> > > VW put vinyl tops on thier cars? this nice squareback on ebay appears
> > > to have a vinyl top, seller says its factory installed??? i have never
> > > heard of such a thing....
> >
> > Neither have I. Most people don't make a distinction between
> > "factory installed" and "dealer installed" anyway, but the difference
> > is large and often important.
> >
> > Then again, this vinyl roof was more likely installed in 1977, when
> > this car was several years old.
> >
> I always am suspicious of VW's with vinyl tops on them. They are probably
> covering up roof damage.
>
> --
> Russ Wolfe
> '71 Fastback AT
> '66 Fastback MT (IT RUNS)
> russw@classicvw.org
> http://www.classicvw.org
>
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