Long Term Ownership: 1969 Volkswagen Squareback Automatic
In 1961, Volkswagen enhanced its line-up by introducing the Type 3 in several body styles – all meant to provide more cargo and passenger capacity than the Beetle. One of the more popular Type 3s was the Squareback, which sold some 860,000 worldwide until production ceased in 1973. Here on eBay is a 1969 Volkswagen Squareback with an automatic transmission and long ownership history, bid to $12,800. Using the buy-it-now option at $15,995 can put this car in your garage more immediately. This Squareback is currently located in Pleasanton, California but spent 38 years stored in Santa Clara. It is being sold by Dusty Cars; I always appreciate this dealer’s listings since the photographs tend to be excellent, and that’s the case here.
The motor in 1969 was a rear-mounted, 1600 cc flat-four with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection. The Bosch Jetronic came with an onboard engine control unit (ECU) – the brain that tells the injectors what to do. The humble VW Type 3 was literally the first production car with an ECU, kicking off an automotive technology trend that hasn’t slowed. While performance was a slight improvement over the Beetle, the motor’s true claim to fame was its fuel efficiency, at about 30 mpg. This car is equipped with a three-speed automatic, though most Type 3s were built with a four-speed manual. The engine and brakes have been serviced and the tires are new. The seller notes that the VW’s long ownership (it was purchased in the early 1970s, driven some, and garaged until now) contributed to a low odometer reading of 21,060, but the listing does not definitively claim this to be the car’s true mileage.
The front seat covers are new; other than that the interior is original. The upholstery installation work was decent but I don’t like how the driver’s left-hand seat back looks where it meets the bottom cushion. A tear in the headliner above the driver’s door will be left to the new owner to repair. The rear seats look great. The instrument panel displays VW’s usual philosophy of simplicity. The trunk is beautiful: while the exterior paint shows wear here and there, viewing the trunk supports the low mileage reading.
Dusty’s undercarriage photos are excellent. Choosing just one for this article was difficult. I could find no sign of serious damage, just the almost-unavoidable crinkling in the very edge of one valence, far under the car. The brake work is evident in this photo. Plenty of squarebacks have been hot-rodded or at least customized; original cars are still available, however. This example appears to be exceptional but I’m still balking at the buy-it-now price for an automatic. What do you think?
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Comments
Have to agree that the automatic might hold it back some. Pretty clean though. GLWTS
Says original paint in the dealer’s ad. Clear spots of overspray, so I doubt that claim is accurate. Nice car. I would love to have it. Memories.
I had one just like it around 1981, and this ones in better shape now, from the looks of it.
I’d say most folks agree with you on the price for a decent old VW with the auto trans, Michelle but It’s priced in accordance to being in The Bay Area, where a 1 bedroom apartment rents for about $4000 @ month..
For the real car world it’s silly money that they’re asking for a Squareback with the auto IMHO.
The Type 3 Variant (Squareback ) in my opinion has been very undervalued when compared against its larger Type 2 bus sibling.
I have a 1966 Variant with a factory sunroof and a four-speed manual transmission and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Very comfortable car and our German Shepherd has plenty of room with the seat folded down.
This example appears to be remarkably original and unmolested. Nice to see one that’s not heavily modified.
I almost bought a used Squareback back in the day, but the interior fumes made me nauseous.
My brother was driving his Squareback on the freeway past our town’s “auto row” when smoke started to come out from underneath the dashboard. He pulled off the freeway at the next off-ramp, let it sit with the windows down for awhile and then traded it in on a new car.
He was following in the footsteps of our father, who loved telling the story of how, in the 1950s, he parked his trade in across the street from a dealership in a driving rain storm. The salesmen, not wanting to get wet, appraised its value through the show room window based on what they could see. He forgot to mention to them that the passenger’s side was extensively damaged. He used to say that he wished that he could have been there when the rain stopped…
I’ve driven a 69 squareback FI/AT for the last 16 years. Does take some maintenance, but I have a good mechanic!
I have not see one of these in years. My Shop Chief at Otis AFB had one.
I bought a ‘67 square back new. Loved it!! It was the last one with carburetors. The FI killed the T3 reputation.
I had the type 3 Slantback – ’67 in VW red – bought it from a kid who worked at a Porsche auto-parts store in West L.A. so the engine had been built with “Good German” parts – the ’67 had the carburator as I recall (pre-EFI) and it all ran very well with the standard shift with new clutch, etc.,- it was nice with the front trunk and rear hatch over the engine bay, etc. I had the body work done and painted a “nice” (for me) “1-Day” metallic silver, but I should have upgraded the tires as they got hot when I was running it down fast from Mt. Baldy one summer afternoon and they broke loose on a turn causing me to T-Bone total it against the rocky side. Bummer. The slant-back may be even rarer than the square-back.
Fastback
Lots of us still driving VW with parts & advice from http://www.TheSamba.com
The beetle auto stick used the same pan as the regular 4 speed. In the tunnel was the clutch cable tube, which made for an easy conversion if someone wanted. Not sure if that’s true for the fastback or square back. Nice car. GLWS
To the best of my knowledge, the Type 3 was never offered with auto stick. Rather, it was a traditional automatic as we know it in America.
I grew up with a 68. It was dead with <80k miles and ten years, rusted to death in Boston salt. The EFI was a constant issue because as the body rusted it lost good grounds and so would fail intermittently. However, the real kicker was the heater boxes and ducts rusted out after 4-5 years and so there was no heat or defrost. I remember driving to Providence, RI as a kid, wrapped in blankets and using my hands to keep the windshield warm. My first car, a $200 1970 Coronet 500, had a V-8 and heat because of my experience with the Squareback.
I had an orange squareback that I used for commuting to my bank job for years. I even carpooled with a co worker, driving him back and forth. Daily mileage was about 25. I paid about $1200 for it. It was totalled when someone dented the rear bumper while I was at a stop light in Lake Oswego. I took the insurance money ($1400) and bought a rear bumper. I fixed the body and did the repaint myself. The car was enthusiastically rotting out from the rear heater vents and I did finally sell it – for another $1400. I joke that it is the only car I ever made money on.
automatic sez DD for me so I’d go for it. I think it was 2 IDFs I put on my girlfriend’s ‘back in the day’. Just bout right sized (a lill small, like the Japanese ones) and definatly a wagon so there’s 2 boxes checked off (5 more ta go).
My wife and I owned one of these when we were stationed in England. We loved that car, we drove it four years and only had one problem, on a rainy morning it would not start by the starter. To get it started I would coast down a hill and pop the clutch.
My family had a ’71 Squareback with the automatic. A 4-speed example isn’t exactly a drag strip terror, so an automatic example is woefully underpowered. I remember ours struggling to maintain 40 mph in the hills of suburban Pittsburgh.