130 TradeUniqueCars.com.auGARAGE GURUS
ROB BLACKBOURNURN– WOLFSBURWOLFSB G
ROB^ BLACKBOURNLAST MONTH’S news
that VW Beetle production
was ending caught me by
surprise because I knew that
the last Beetle came off the
line in Mexico quite a few
years back. As it turned out
the news wasn’t about the
classic rear-engined, rear-
wheel drive, Type 1 Beetle – it
was about the demise of the
‘New Beetle’, that strange
hybrid that unconvincingly
combined a Beetle-esque
body with a front-engine,
front-wheel-drive Golf
platform.
The sentimental appeal
of classic Beetles has some
history. Like that other ‘1950s
foreigner’, the Peugeot, the
Beetle won its first dinky
di admirers through its
motorsport successes in the
hands of competitors like
George Reynolds and Eddie
Perkins (Larry’s dad).
Its unique ‘dak dak’
exhaust note soon became
a familiar sound on Aussie
roads. With sales of close to
14,000 in 1958 the Type 1
Beetle became our top-
selling European car, and
was third overall behind
Holden and Ford. A high-
turnover VW spare in those
halcyon days was the lovely
enamel Wolfsburg bonnet
badge (later deleted) that
was frequently nicked from
parked cars.
Certainly driving the early
1200cc Beetles required
some technique. While the
rear engine set-up with a
swing-axle made them a
bit ‘taily’ especially on wet
roads or unsealed surfaces,
the modest torque and
power available from the
air-cooled boxer-motor
minimised the chance of
slides. It also affected the
approach to overtaking on
typical two-lane country
roads. To pass the guy in
front you first dropped back,
changed down to third and
flattened it. Hopefully by the
time you caught him up you
were changing into top at
around 60mph with enough
momentum to carry you out
and past. Often, though, by
the time you’d done all of the
above an oncoming truck
appeared over the horizon
and you had to abort the pass
and start all over again.A welcome and surprising
Beetle bonus I experienced
one night long ago was its
ability to avoid disaster by
skating at speed straight
across an unexpected stretch
of deep floodwater (don’t
ask...) thanks to its light nose
and full sheet-metal front
belly pan.
DIY engine-work was
a breeze – only four bolts
secure the engine to the
transaxle. While oil changes
were needed every 1500
miles (along with valve-
clearance checks to protect
the vulnerable #3 exhaust
valve), they were easily
done. Although I’m without
a Veedub these days, I
still have the manual, my
favourite – John Muir’s HowIT SEEMS THAT BLACKBOURN MIGHT BE AN
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As a hitchhiking kid, before
I ever drove a Beetle, I had
a memorable lift in one in
Queensland on my way to
Tennant Creek. My two new
best mates explained that I’d
have to share the back seat
with a sheep they had shot
beside the road to provide
food for their journey. (Yeah,
I know...)
At Richmond the
aggressive local copper
barred us from going any
further – the wet season
rains had started, meaning
the then-unsealed black-
soil road would soon be
impassable for weeks. No
surprise that once he was out
of sight we pressed on. After
about 20 kays our progress
ceased terminally with the
wheels sunk so deep in the
mud that the Beetle’s belly
was sitting flat on the ground.
I wished the guys well
before hiking west along the
railway line, arriving a few
hours later at Maxwelton
where I raised the alarm
about the stranded VW
with the station-master
before catching the train to
Mt Isa where the bitumen
recommenced.
I’ve often wondered how
much of the sheep those
unfortunate blokes munched
before they were rescued.
And what the copper from
Richmond did to them...G’SWWARRIOR
GLINGFFOO BBEERRSSHHHIIPP
UBB FAN CLUB.tokeepyooururVolkswagen
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