55 Years of Volkswagen Type 147

If you don’t live in Germany, you probably don’t know anything about the vehicles with which the postman distributes letters and parcels every day in this country. If he can’t work in the city by bike, there is a high chance that by now he is using an electric van from the small German company Streetscooter, which at the end of 2014 became a fully-fledged subsidiary of Deutsche Post. Alternatively, in more rural areas with large delivery areas they still use the Volkswagen Transporter with diesel engines. This partnership between the Post and VW has been around for many decades. It all began with delivery vehicles based on the legendary Beetle, which were ordered by the Deutsche Bundespost with right-hand drive, so that the postman could remain in the car even in the rain while emptying the public mailboxes. However, it soon became clear that the baggage capacity of the Beetle was rather limited, even with the rear seats and the front passenger seat removed. Soon the Bundespost tried out several other vehicles of different manufacturers, which often failed due to the difficult conditions of short-distance traffic.

In February 1962, therefore, the Deutsche Bundespost (German Federal Post Office) officially ordered a new transport vehicle with at least two cubic meters of cargo volume and 400 kilograms of payload as well as direct access from the driver’s seat to the cargo space at Volkswagen. As a further idea, the technicians were asked to use sliding doors, as conventional doors often are a problem in narrow streets. The project got the internal name ‘development order 149 (Entwicklungsauftrag 149)’, so abbreviated EA149. Volkswagen teamed up with the Westfalia company from Wiedenbrück near Gütersloh/Germany, which might be known to some readers from the camper van scene. However, Westfalia not only produced caravans and camping equipment, but also, for example, the bodywork for the Gutbrod Superior Kombi-Limousine. In 1963 a number of prototypes for the EA149 were created, with Westfalia resorting to various components from the shelves of VW for cost reasons. The chassis was supplied from the Karmann Ghia, axles, engine and gearbox came from the Beetle and the hood is a slightly shorter part from the T1. At the front this otherwise completely new designed transporter van got the round headlights of the VW Type 3. Inside, the driver’s seat, instruments, warning lights and steering wheel are known parts from the Beetle.

Starting in 1964, the series production of the ‘Type 147’ started at Westfalia. The vehicle was offered at VW dealers in Germany and Switzerland at a price of 6,834 DM (incl. VAT, price of 1968). This was just 360 DM less than the base price for the much bigger T1, so customers didn’t queue up for it. Until 1974, the price for the Type 147 rose to 8,270 DM. However, hardly anyone knows this vehicle by its official name, as a nickname from Westfalia workers had prevailed quickly for the mostly yellow painted transporter: ‘Fridolin’. The cleverly designed construction outperformed the original requirements from the specification book. Loading volume reached 2.3 square meters in the rear and another 0.6 square meters next to the driver’s seat, when the front passenger seat was folded under the dashboard. Payload was officially 410 kilograms.

In addition to the Deutsche Bundespost, also the Swiss Post PTT was interested in this car, but ordered their vehicles with a stronger 1.3-liter boxer engine with 32 kW/44 hp and disc brakes at the front axle for a safe use on the mountain roads. Next to that it also got a stationary heating system. In this form they created 1,201 copies, while until 1974 Westfalia built another 6,139 ‘Fridolin’ with the smaller 25 kW/34 hp Beetle engine and drum brakes all around for the Bundespost and a few other interested parties such as the Lufthansa, which used it as an airfield vehicle. Due to a lack of rust prevention and service in any weather, the stock of cars was reduced rapidly. Estimates assume that at most 200 copies exist worldwide today. Interestingly, this isn’t reflected in the market price for well-maintained copies. In 2013 this was only 9,500 euros, ie one tenth of the value for a Volkswagen T1 Samba in good condition.

Images: Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge