Holmgrens VW i Pålsboda

This presentation of Volkswagen cars don't show all cars which Holmgren have collected in his museum. You can find all different models which have been produced before the model type 1 was terminated. If you want to know more about opening times open their website.

I have visited Holmgrens VW collection in Pålsboda twice. To write about VW can be a dangerous work. Private views about the facts for the car are as many as there are VW enthusiasts. Once I said that there was a Type 1, 4 wheel drive. "Kommendateurwagen", after a picture I had taken at Stiftung VW museum. At once several showed their knowledge that there was no such a car. This was from the beginning the Schwimwagen, which was 4 wheel driven, this base unit got a type 1 coach work. To mention production figures are as dangerous as the amount of km the 30 first cars were test driven.

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Volkswagen type 1 1949

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Volkswagen story

Volkswagen after WWII

Convertible story

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Porsche museum.

VW 1949
Engine 1131 cc 25 ps.

In the beginning of 1949 50 cars were imported. They were not sold, instead used at test cars. Philipsson who earlier had the rights said that this car would not be able to be sold in Sweden. Scania Vabis got the rights instead.

This car had mechanical brakes and non synchronized gearbox. The rear window was divided in two parts and got the name "Hitler spades" when they had the form of a spade. This because it was sold as a accessories. The spade was produced from the rests when the opening in chassis were punched.

Already 1949 the 4 seats cabriolet was produced. It was the chassis builder Karmann who build it. This car was much more expensive than the standard car.

A two seat cabriolet was also produced. It came from Hebmuller. It became a rare variant which was only produced in 630 copies most because of production problems.

Scania Vabis did only import one of these 2 seats cars. 1953 the production ceased of this model.

Just this standard model which the picture shows is coming from Norway. The reason why there were no other cars from 1949 was that Sweden imported the more luxurious model equipped with chrome details. The Norwegian importer chose the standard model. This because the dark impression.

The small pictures are historical and show Ferd. Porsche outside his living house. He drove there at occasions with one of the 30 test cars. Before this he had hand made 3 prototypes. Daimler Benz produced the next 30 test cars. Those were test driven by the military 10000 km continuous day and night.

The second picture shows Ferd. and Ferry, the son, when they show the first 356 Porsche.

The third shows the wellknown spade.
Text from Porshce and Autostadt museums.

Volkswagen Type 1 1948.

At the museum there is also car produced on the 7 th of Dec 1948 and is one of the total of 60 1948 cars which was imported by Scania. The Swedish defense bought 12 cars and among them this got to make duty at Jokkmokk.

The car was the moved to I1 Stockholm. Here it changed owner several times. 1961 it was scraped at Eda scrap yard in Värmland Sweden. From this place it was saved by a VW enthusiast from Stockholm. This was the last surviving Volkswagen from the first delivery to Sweden.

This model is epoch-making. It has a so called early export taking out. This means that cars produced between 1947 and 1949 which were exported were equipped with chromed fenders, handles, headlight borders and hub caps.

The premier export model was introduced June 1949 equipped with strips on the chassis sides, badges on the front hood. The standard model which was sold in Germany was free from this kind of ornaments.

20000 cars were produced 1948 and 4500 were the early export cars.
During 1949 there were lots of changes of the construction. This made that the cars from 1948 were more common with the origin model from 1938 than later cars from 1950.
The car was painted at factory with nitro enamel, cellulose.

These 50 imported VW cars shall not be mixed with the 60 copies which were sold. The 50 copies described in the article were used as test cars.
Text from museum infos.

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Pictures from Autostadt at my visit.

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Autostadt museum

Volkswagen museum

Porsche museum.

VW V3 1936. Kopia på Autostadt. Alla original förstördes under kriget. Ref 1

Volkswagen V3 Prototype 1936 Ref 1

4-cyl boxer, 985 cm3, 23.5 hk 3000 rpm, max 100 km/h. Ferd. Porsche who before 1936 had made prototype constructions for Mercedes Benz, Zündapp (5 cyl star engine) and NSU in is trials to create a small peoples car. None of these firms had money to continue the evaluation up to production. Anyway prototypes were build. Now he got 1934 from the state money to built 3 prototypes in his office (garage) in Stuttgart.

1937 a new series of 30 trial cars were ordered from Mercedes Benz. In the museum there is a drawing projected by the origin VW.

It has a one cyl air cold engine. From the first three car there are non left. The one at Autostadt in Wolfsburg is a copy. Compare the front end from the NSU prototype which is shown. No cars were sold to the public before war. After war the English took over and after lots of discussion the production started with a series of resting parts from the production 1938 -39. 1949 the production unit in Wolfsburg was transferred to Germany and after 19 million this model was terminated 1975.

Look carefully on the drawing behind the car, you can se that the engine on this drawing is a one cyl air cold engine. It looks like a mc motor.

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Porsche Prototype 1932 (NSU) Ref 1

This prototype was built by NSU is a forerunner to VM V3. Engine, wheel construction and front is the same. It had 1470 cc air cooled rear engine, 28 ps, 100 km/h. It is very alike VW V3. This car was owned and driven to work by an employee up to 1956. Picture from Autostadt.

VW EA 48 1955 (EA=entvicklungs
auftrag) Ref 1

1953 they started developing a small 4 seat car and it should cost 2000 DM. The car had front wheel drive 2 cyl engine, 700 cc and 18 hp and could be driven in 80 km/h. The development did not go further than this.

In august 1968 a new larger VW was introduced. It was called type 4. As on all VW, the engine was placed in the rear. The engine had two carburators feeding the all new 1.7 liters engine giving 68 hp at 4500 rpm. Inner space was good. A flat floor, bigger length and broadness, the car was placed in a all new class than type 1. Even the luggage place was quite bigger.

1969 the electronic was introduced.
68 hp and a very bad reliable made that en new stronger engine soon was developed. Furthermore new for this time was the fuel injection. Higher compression ratio and a better camshaft gave the engine 80 hp. Fuel consumption increased also till 1,1 - 1,2. This was normal for this time. The reliable became also better.

I august 72, year model 73 was presented, the next changes were introduced. The front became sharper bumpers and blinkers were raised higher. Even bumper in the rear was raised and the rear lights became more narrow. The car was christened to 412.

Some stiffer wheel uprights and better brakes.
Near model year 74 the carburators were back and the engine volume raised to 1.8 liter. Power became 85 hp.

The car was not a success because it had bad reliability. It had also a most sophisticated heating system.

The petrol heater was mounted on the upper side of gearbox and was impossible to serve and seldom functioned.

Very bad road ability. Had an odd look, hard to serve. The VW service could not make the proper service specially with the injection technique. Totally there were 9112 cars sold in Sweden between 68-74. During the same time 85000 type 1 were sold.

Driving the car was silent and comfortable. Good space and arch front chairs. Very god on snowy roads but dangerous on slippery ones. The car was sensitive for wind. To press it up to it's top speed 150 km/h was a close death feeling. The front end gave driver the feeling to start flying and the steering became very light.

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Karmann Ghia

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Karmann Ghia

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Karmann Ghia

The VW people were convinced that there was a market for sport based car model.
The coach work Karmann, who built the VW cabriolets to design a sport car. Karmann asked Carozzeria Ghia in Turin Italy for help. The designer Luigi Segre made an elegant suggestion for a very elegant coupé model which fitted into Karmann's specifications.
At Autumn 1955 the first Karmann Ghia was introduced with great success. In the beginning 3-400 cars here produced pro month.

Ghia cab could be sold as many as could be produced. 1961-62 Ghia got it first face lift. The front fenders were lifted up and head light were placed higher and the air intakes were redesigned.
The car became now named the poor man's Porsche and was a great success. This no one could ream on this. In the 19 years the model was built 1955-1974 364000 cars left the factory. From these were 81000 cabriolets, another 235000 were built in Brasilia.

Sweden imported 3089 Ghia cars during these years.
The red 1973 Ghia is one of the three cars that were sold this year.

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Lots of different coach works, more or less in fantasy mode, were built on the bottom type 1 plate. Here I show in picture order. "Sand flea", copies of older cars, Sport cars, VW Spyder which was made in a small series by VW. The same car model owned by James Dean in which he was killed. In fact he was hit by another car in a road crossing. Shorted models lengthened limousine and a full cab.

The Ford copy which is called the Ford Cab. This VW is from the beginning a normal Type 1. The roof is removed and replaced with a cab. Some reinforcements must have been done for rigidity in several places. The bottom plate is reinforced with extra beams.

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Models through the years

The last model of type 1 got because of stipulations in front an arched front glass. The head had to be positioned a certain distance from the glass, that's why they also had to reconstruct the front seat. A separate opening for filling petrol. the last type 1 in Wolfsburg left the line on the 1 of July 1974 and from Emden factory 18 January 1975. 1972 the T-Ford production record was reached.

The very last type 1 left the assembly line in Mexico on the 30 of July 2003. At this time there were 21.526.464 cars produced.

Sweden sold up to 1975 482000 cars.

Brasilien.
Ghia produced during 3 years on the 70th. It was build on the type 3 main plate and a modified front end.
It was equipped with extra stabilizer both rear and front for better driving. The engine had 1678 cc and 68 hp and as all other VW a 4 cyl boxer engine.

In Brasilia this model was only been produced in 10000 copies. From this 582 were exported to South America. In the Holmgren museum the only Swedish 1973 Ghia car shown. It was imported 1973.