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| 1961 VOLKSWAGEN - MY PRIDE & JOY - WHEELS AT LAST!
In 1963 at age 23 I finally was in a position to buy a car. Already the fascination with things German had ensured that it HAD to be a VDub. In any case, the mighty VWs were enjoying cult status at the time, and why not? They had several times won the epic Round Australia Car Rallies, knocking the Peugeot 203s off their perch. And if we didn't know it before , full page ads. in the daily press told us that our VDubs were so well built they would float!Which they did.
Driving around in a VDub made one a member of an instant fraternity, exchanging discreet waves of the hand or nods of the head as we drove along . That was a bit demanding as there were so many of us. The Fuhrer would have been pleased!(Joke - in case any of the humourless PC police are reading!)
The car was bought from a VW dealer in the heart of Double Bay. It had had one owner - a Commercial Traveller- who used it on regular trips Sydney to Melbourne. It was in superb condition and had done only 23,000 miles and went like a VDub dream! At that stage they still had orange lighted turning indicator arms which came up out of the door posts and dropped back with a good Germanic clunk when cancelled. In addition, there was no fuel gauge! Instead, there was a floor mounted small lever which when turned as the engine began to splutter, gave access to a Reserve level of fuel which was good for about 40 miles I think.I was so absorbed in the joy of mobility that I did not think much about the practicalities surrounding this device.Until one day......heading West on Parramatta Road, just at the junction with City Road, the car started jerking about , the engine sputtered, and in great confusion, to the sounds of derisive following cars ( and horrors, possibly trams!-I dare'nt look) hanging onto the Steering Wheel with my right hand, I reached down with my left hand to turn the Reserve lever...but couldn't contact it!!!In desperation I took a quick look down and kicked at it with my foot and all was well as the Reserve came on stream. As I drove off looking resolutely ahead I realised it could only work properly foot activated. The worst times are when you realise you have been stupid!
I have very happy memories of the VDub, the comforting reliability of the chaff-cutter sound from the great hearted flat four rear engine and the dream to use Gear Box. Oh! That brings to mind one special feature( I nearly said "deficiency"!)- no synchro on First! It seems incredible now , and even then the Car Reviewers were hypercritical. But we loyal VDubbers would not publicly acknowledge it as a problem when speaking to drivers of "ordinary" cars".
I have had one occasion to sit in the front seat of a Beetle as they were also known, in recent years and found it hard to escape the idea that the windscreen was "in my face"and that a fuel tank "bomb"was immediately in front of me! We change after long years of conditioning,this time for the better. But it isn't always so.
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| A very poor photo of the 23yrs old Banker and his German wheels - I guess these days it would have to be a Beamer ! |
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