WARNING.— The person in whose name this vehicle is displayed may or may not be the current owner of the vehicle. Readers are warned, therefore, that this entry is not proof of ownership.
Details
- Registration Mark
- 7649 ZH
- (a) Type:
- Type 4
- (b) Year:
- 1973
- (c) Colour:
- Maya Gold
- (d) Paint code:
- L98
- (e) Engine CCs:
- 1800
History
- (a) Country of origin:
- Ireland
- (b) County first reg'd:
- Dublin
- (c) Current or last known location:
- Carlow
Model information
412 and Type 4
Info
This car came up for sale in Carlow in Spring 2021 as part of a yard clerance. Its an early 1973 type 412 with a 1.8 litre engine. The type 4 started life in 1968 as the 411. A revamp in 1972 resulted in a name change to the 412. The most noticable external change from 411 to 412 was to the nose and headlights.
The type 4 was available in 3 body styles. These were fastback 2 door, variant 2 door and fastback 4 door seen here. This was VW’s first 4 door car and commentators cruelly suggested that 411 stood for 4 doors 11 years too late! While this may be the case the type 4 was the first mass produced car to have fuel injection. However in 1973 the Bosch D-Jetronic injection system were replaced with twin carburettors which is what this car has. They also had a unibody construction, hydraulic clutch, and a suspension featuring MacPherson struts up front and trailing wishbones at the back.
Irish sales of the type 4 never matched those of the type 3 and so consequently they were unusual in their day. This coupled with the slightly odd styling and lacking the charm of the beetle meant that very few made it into the 1990s. While obviously somewhat rusty the external condition suggests it spent a part of its life indoors.
It is hoped that this lucky survivor will make it back on the road some day.
If anyone can supply more information on this car it would be most welcome.
Submitted by: Aidan Brosnan>