Tom and Ric, Ellie, Henk and Bernard of the Netherlands Type 3 Club put on a wonderful event on the campsite just outside Amsterdam at the end of May.
Just a few of the 60 or so Type 3s at the meeting
Supported by many Dutch members and the German Type 3 Enthusiasts (Typ 3 Liebhaber IG) who came in force, and with individuals from France, Norway, Ireland, Australia, plus several Brits, there were around 60 Type 3s altogether by the end of the weekend.
Arriving early in the week gave us a chance to see something of Amsterdam, tour the canals (we tried the glass-cruisers and the pedaloes; the boys pedalled, but we all got damp!), and get a flavour of this distinctive city.
The camp-site was ideal for the purpose, particularly if you had an interest in aircraft, being close to Schipol Airport. We had our own extensive field, and the Dutch dynamos Tom, Ric and Ellie were hard at work on Wednesday erecting and filling a ‘gazebo palace’ for the auto-jumble.
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A present from VW; this cutaway chassis attracted much attention
The most intriguing thing on display was a sectioned rolling Type 3 chassis - everything was cut-away, even parts of the carbs. Without a chassis or engine number, identification was not too easy, but twin carbs and flat top pistons suggest an early 1600 model. The inside structure of the heat-exchangers has to be seen to be believed.
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A magical mystery tour around the country lanes and alongside the dykes included a ferry crossing and took in a coal-powered pumping engine, built in Cornwall. This massive engine drove eight beams linked to a single boss driven by four high and one low-pressure cylinders, and was housed in a round tower; most impressive! On returning to the site, the final question in the treasure hunt was a "guess the parts in the bag". Most were fairly evident, but you needed to have taken a Type 3 apart to identify them all, really. Something for our AGM meeting, perhaps, to add to the interest.
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Organiser Tom's Superb Fastback |
Genuine Fire Engine Red Variant |
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Jorg Fischer's lovely '64 1500S Notch |
The best car for camping there is! |
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All the 'Backs, from T3Liebhaber-eV |
Eriba Caravan and Variant |
More vehicles arrived for the Sunday gathering, making quite a show. Plenty of Notchbacks, always much more popular on the Continent than the Fastback, ensured ‘our’ Danny Lord was a ‘happy snappy’. If you haven’t seen his display of Type 3 photos at the VW shows, make sure you see them at VW Action. There was even a more-or-less rust free Notch on sale for £1250 by one of the Dutch group, who also had a fire-engine red Variant, complete with blue light, twin tone horn and other special Fire service items.
Following a further opportunity to purchase spares, everyone gathered for the prizes and farewells, which included a pair of miniature commemorative clogs for the foreign visitors, prior to the German enthusiasts’ annual general meeting.
It was a most friendly and informal gathering; it makes you wonder what the politicians are going on about when they discuss European dis-unity! I reckon we should get a cultural grant for these international gatherings.
Thanks to everyone who had a hand in the organisation - it was truly a great occasion!
Dave Hall
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