It was still questionable whether Thomas, Peter, Arnold and I would make the trip to the Achterhoek. A gem of a ride is planned in a beautiful part of the Netherlands. It was raining the day before, but the dawn of October 21 was gold in the mouth. And so four men with two Typ 3 examples are on their way to Eefde, where a large number of Typ 3 and Typ 4 examples are ready for an enchanting ride in their own country. A ride that was excellently organized by Maurits Schouten of the Luchtgekoelde VW Club.
Both Volkswagens give the concept of 'green' a different dimension. Thomas's car is a green Variant Automatic from 1973. He has not owned the VW for very long, but fell head over heels in love when he came across this classic with American history through social media. He sold his other Variant, which we will encounter later that day. We are now in Thomas's latest acquisition, and you can tell that everything about this car has been very well taken care of. No creaks, no rattles, everything feels rock solid.
The only sounds you hear are our voices, some wind noise and the pleasant-sounding air-cooled boxer engine in the back. Yes, and the sounds of Radio NL, which enter the cozy interior via the dashboard box. The injection power source produces its confidence-inspiring sounds smoothly, the technology is fresh, the engine turns beautifully. And that contributes to the experience of comfort on board, the Variant smoothly swallows away bumps and is a great classic to travel with. Relaxation at its finest, the dawn intimately embraces the fine VW. This is exactly why air-cooled Volkswagens are uncontroversial to me. They offer you the security of a nice home.
The second Typ 3 is the 1600 TL Automatic from Peter and Thomas, which played a role in the Dutch TV series 'De Zaak Menten'. In 2022, this also green and fully documented 1600 TL entered the family, and there is very little chance that this beautiful Typ 3 will ever leave the family again. The sight of the two green Typ 3 models is charming, special, beautiful, and rare. Thomas and Peter start the engines of the cars, the very nice classics. It's 9.00am, and we have a nice ride ahead of us.
So we drive in a small formation to Eefde, and when we arrive there we see something you don't often see. Dutch and German owners bring together numerous Typ 3 and Typ 4 examples. In this way, the Typ 3 and Typ 4 forge a beautiful alliance, they meet each other. This encounter involves relative obscurity, recognition and trust. There are Type 3 versions with the short nose and with the long nose. With the windshield wipers left and right. The three bodywork variants (Ponton, Fastback, Variant) are all present in multiple capacities. This also applies to the Typ 4. Also beautiful: the differences between the 411 and the 412, so clearly visible at the front. The collection is therefore unique and colorful.
The welcome in Eefde is warm, as are the coffee and apple pie. Maurits Schouten welcomes the participants, the German guests are also hospitably received by Schouten in their own language. The route booklets are handed out, and not much later the thirty or so teams are on their way. And you already feel that things are well organized. Everything is facilitated, we just have to follow the right paths.
This world is teeming with Volkswagens, but the sight of so many Typ 3 and Typ 4 examples in the beautiful landscape is unique. It is picked up by countless passers-by, who capture the special image with their camera and telephone. The first stop is at Jan Lankhaar. The participants park the classic VWs in three rows of ten on a large field. After this we walk to the buildings and yard of Lankhaar, who for the occasion has displayed a Volvo PV544, an old tractor and... a VW Jetta 1.3 from 1981 with nine (!) tons. Today the theme is not only Typ 3 meets Typ 4, but also Qualität begnet kvalitet.
The meeting is warm, then we take up the route book again. Based on the detailed directions, we go to the beautiful castle in Vorden. Life is good there, it is again beautiful to see how the Typ 3 and Typ 4 models are positioned one after the other. We're having a good time, fooling around, having a cappuccino, flirting with the wait staff and then heading to the next stop, satisfied. An avid VW collector has coffee waiting for us, and we walk through the stables to enjoy, among other things, an Oval Beetle, a Spectacled Beetle and a restored Cabriolet from 1965.
In the meantime, someone asks Arnold and me 'if we also know about these cars.' While we are explaining a few things, the interested party suddenly runs away and says: “nice weekend.” He leaves us bewildered, and soon Arnold and I say to each other that we should have told them that we were face to face with 2CVs. “Then he would have believed it too.” We still have a good laugh about it, while the last bit of anger leaves us.
We continue the route. The engines of the Variant and the TL run smoothly again and ensure that we drive to the last stop via beautiful Bronkhorst. And that is a famous wine farm. Connoisseurs know which one, and that 't Heekenbroek. We will taste wine there. The cottage is leafy. We don't just taste wine there; We also get an insight into how growing grapes and making wine works in the Achterhoek. Interesting, and the listening ear is well represented.
We are slowly driving to the final destination. We are going to eat in 't Wapen van Heeckeren, where everyone sits together and mixes together. Arnold, Peter, Thomas and I toast our deceased comrade, and there is silence for a moment. The conversations become different, and some melancholy takes over me, and increasingly so. The food is excellent, and Peter and I pull the cart at the table. Peter also says something very beautiful, which affects me personally. Yes, of course we are friends, without reservation, unconditionally.
And the latter concept is one of the common threads during the day. There is unconditional camaraderie, unconditional love for air-cooled. We still have a ways to go. It is dark and cozy on board Thomas' Variant. The positions of the control lever of the automatic transmission are softly illuminated, the same applies to the instruments.
The muffled boxer sound gives a familiar and pleasant feeling, especially on the way into the night, and the romance of being on the road in a Volkswagen with an air-cooled engine comes out so beautifully now. And you know that you will always come home. With a wonderful memory in the back pocket. A memory of a day that was excellently organized by Maurits Scholten. A day too, which we enjoyed together in an unconditionally friendly manner.
Skreaun foar Oane
What a beautiful and poetic story, the atmosphere was so good. Thanks!
Beautiful pictures. I'm a big fan of the Ponton myself. We used to have one that used to be from the police. There you could lock the battery under the back seat. 😉
What a beautiful collection, what a beautiful day that must have been.
very nicely written! thanks also for the photos
Great, especially those Type 4s as a variant. On the one hand, they are particularly ugly at the back, but there is something to it.
Type 3 is a tricky car in wet weather. But very beautiful!
Love all those colours! If you put together such a company with new VWs, you can unfortunately make do with black and white photos because black and all kinds of shades of gray now predominate...
I see in the photos exactly the same Ponton that my father used to drive. Even that gray beige color is the same. It was a 1500. That was sometime between '67 and '69. More than 50 years later I still know the typical smell of that VW. And I still know the sound. Real nostalgia. Delicious!!
Another time, I didn't think about ever buying a Typ 3 or 4, nothing special when they were on every street corner (at least the Typ3). Now, a smile of recognition, a memory of a different, beautiful time