Here’s a nearly forgotten link in Volkswagen’s transition from its air-cooled halcyon days to its mainstream modern form: the Type 4. The Type 4—otherwise known as the 411 in 1971 and 1972 and the 412 in ’73 and ’74—remained superficially similar to what had come before, retaining a rear-mounted, air-cooled flat four and rear-wheel drive, but updated the formula to include unibody construction, fully independent suspension, fuel injection, and VW’s first four-door sedan bodystyle, all paving the way for the Passat (Dasher to us Americans) that would follow in 1974. This ’73 412 wagon is a nicely preserved example of this pivotal moment for Volkswagen; find it here on craigslist in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, with a $5,700 asking price.
The 412 wagon bore more than a passing resemblance to the older, smaller, and cheaper Type 3 “Squareback” it replaced in VW’s U.S. lineup, despite styling credited to Pininfarina, with a 1972 facelift by Brooks Stevens. It also shared a couple of the Squareback’s biggest drawbacks: unlike the 412 sedan, the wagon was only available as a three-door, and its rear-engine configuration dictated a high liftover height through the tailgate, and a relatively shallow cargo area. The roomy, and nicely finished, front trunk helped offset the compromised carrying capability somewhat, but wagon utility wouldn’t be a VW strong suit until the front-engine, front-wheel drive Passat/Dasher wagon came along in 1975.
The 412 wagon’s other big compromise was that its fuel-injected, 1.7-liter flat four was exclusively mated to an automatic transmission, although a four-speed manual was available in the sedan models. Performance and drivability were adequate, but not exactly lively, although the combination of MacPherson struts up front and a wishbone trailing arm rear suspension did improve handling over the live-axle VWs of old. This example, despite having been in storage for the last 14 years, is described as “nice running.”
While the rust-free exterior presents very well, the interior needs a fair amount of work. There are major tears in both front seat cushions, and while the rear seat doesn’t look as bad, it does appear that the horsehair padding has fallen out all around. The Type 4 had a unique seat design, with no interchangeability with other VW models, and replacement seat covers don’t seem to be widely available, so custom reupholstery may be needed to repair these. The dash isn’t pictured, but commonly falls victim to cracking, too.
Otherwise this cute little Maya Gold Metallic wagon seems very clean all around. The Type 4 is a bit of a forgotten footnote between Volkswagen’s past and present, but if you’re a fan of funky VWs or want to experience one of the last (U.S.-compliant) evolutions of the company’s air-cooled lineage, this 412 is a great example!
Whatever faults these cars had, and there were a few, you can’t fault VW for being different. I had a cousin that drove a square back from NC to Texas with a wife and two young kids; what a trip that must have been. I made it with him two years later with an extra baby in a full sized wagon and it was, shall we say, stressful.I can’t imagine this with an automatic, two speeds, slow and slower but you can at least find reverse on the first try. Someone out there will take this and love it and it will probably be the ONLY one in town .
I agree. I’ve always loved this style for the VW wagon. It’s a damn shame it was discontinued in favour of the Dasher (Passat). I loved it, and the earlier Squareback wagon.
These and the type 3s had a fully automatic 3 speed tranny. The guts of it are a Borg Warner 3 speed that vw used up till the early 80s. Much better driving experience than the old beetle semi auto. And fairly reliable too.
I really miss seeing the Square backs. They are just not around anymore, sadly.
Glenn – me too ! (See my prior comment from Sept.) I hauled everything in or “on” mine. Nearly always had the backseat down so my Great Dane/s could fit in back. Lots of art supplies were also trucked around and mine was involved in helping quite a few folks move, including myself. It was never as easy to work on as my ’65 Beetle, but few things were… BTW, I came very close to “turning turtle” in it on the old “S” curve of Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Dane saw dog in adjacent car, lunged & car went up on 2 passenger-side wheels. I jerked wheel left and car slammed down. A true heart -in – throat experience !
We had a ’74 identical to this, color and all. My sister and I shared it as our 1st car. It was surprisingly lively, with a button under the accelerator pedal to kick it down into passing gear–which I did constantly. The fuel-injection was problematic; it was constantly in the shop at the dealership (2 different dealerships) getting warranty work done, but they could never get it quite right.
Eventually traded it for a new ’76 Datsun B-210 hatchback–which I’d sure like to have now.
I remember those B-210 hatches. A couple of kids in high school had one and they hot rodded them as much as possible. They looked pretty good with the louvers on the back window.
Even though Volkswagen was a 4 letter word to my old man, I liked these. Simple, roomy, dependable cars. Same as the Dashers, people just couldn’t get the Beetle out of their minds, and never gave these cars a chance. Wisconsin you say? This car wasn’t raised there, for sure.
I remember when these were new. I was in high school driving a Ford Anglia that had a 1740cc modified Kent crossflow. It was fast.
But these station wagons would fly pass maintaining extremely high cruising speeds forever. They were so much more modern cars, almost futuristic.
Amazing that in the picture this one sits next to another German beat-down machine, the MB 450SLC.
Excellent taste … or something …
I had one identicle to this one. It was a great car. The fuel injection had been removed and replaced with a carb. It didnt fit under the floor so it had a plastic bulge over it. It sounded awesome inside the car. It developed an oil leak on a trip from Tucson to south Fla. We had to add a quart of oil every hundred miles for over 2000 miles. We shipped it to England when I was transfered there. It was a great car. It eventually got retired due to a trans failure. This is a great deal.
This guy is flipping this thing – it was for sale early this summer for $3500 and I bet he paid less than that for it. I considered picking it up to add to my collection of low buck German cars, but I didn’t. You would think if he’s trying to make that much on it, he could at least buy an upholstery kit for the front seats. Same guy has picked up a cheap Mercedes SLC to flip as well.
Hey guys, how do you think this car measures up to the one sold in the US?
This is the Brasilia and they are all over Mexico.
Aside from the rear engine and the style of the headlights, the two have very little in common. The 411/412 is larger, has coil springs all around instead of torsion bars, has a substantially redesigned engine, etc. At the time, they were known for sluggish, sloppy handling compared to their competitors, and lack of reliability. On the other hand, I’d love to have a Brasilia, since it used the older VW tech! 😃
Here is the rear of the car.
No automatics here.
I’m sure the rear wishbones are more sophisticated than earlier VW rear suspensions, but I wouldn’t call any of them “live axle.” The originals, up to ’68 I think, were swing axles–independent of each other, but not jointed at the outer end, so the wheel was always perpendicular to the axle. This is what made these cars death traps–it was the main feature of the Corvair that supposedly made them “Unsafe At Any Speed,” and VW had been building them that way since 1938. In 1968 VW switched to fully independent rear suspension, and IRS conversions have been common on older VWs for decades. With the transaxle bolted to the frame, a live axle would have meant no rear suspension at all.
Here in the rust belt, these cars were virtually biodegradable. The great thing was the engine: Yank it out, do a Joe Cali/Next Gen conversion, & stuff it in a Type 1. They could be punched out bigger than a Type 1 mill, without the loss of reliability. And only about a 20 pound weight increase. A friend & I did a Beetle & 2 Ghias, with great results.
Working as a detailer at a wholesaler lot at age 16, I got to drive a 412 and MB 450SE on the same day! My first experience driving German cars and I remember the VW compared favorably to the Benz. At least in my young impressionable mind.
Growing up, my close friend’s grandfather had a ’73 VW 412 Wagon in yellow with brown vinyl interior and a sunroof. We went many places in it with him. He used it as a wallpaper hanger to transport things for his work. He traveled to Hilton Head, SC from Pennsylvania with his wife and followed my friend’s family for several summer trips. The 412 Wagon was great in the snow and seemed to be an all-around great car. In 1977 or 1978 he traded it for a Mercury Zephyr Wagon when they came out. I liked the 412 better!
for those are interested, in Germany it has the nickname “Nasenbaer”, which means “coati”
If I lived in the 70s, and wanted a VW, I would’ve bought a 412 wagon. Although I’ve never cared for the air-cooled engine, I do like having the engine over the driving rear wheels.
my dad had one, never could get that dam heater to work
I remember when these were new. I was in high school driving a Ford Anglia that had a 1740cc modified Kent crossflow. It was fast.
But these station wagons would fly pass maintaining extremely high cruising speeds forever. They were so much more modern cars, almost futuristic.
I remember these. My aunt and uncle had 4 children. He rebuilt a VW Beetle for each child. He and my aunt each had a wagon like this, one was green .
He traded one of the wagons for a new 1976 Audi 100LS which he drove for several years
It is the first plug in diagnostic machine I ever worked on. It truly is an electrical nightmare when the fuel infection acts up.
The strut front end was a terrible loss of road feel for VeeWees to me, and this model was a mushy feel at best.
You saw them in yellow or gold most of the time, and this one looks great.
The 411 that I owned was built in Germany, shipped to the US and sold to an Army captain who shipped it back to Germany when he got transferred. I bought it from him there and shipped it back to the U.S. when I returned. That car covered a lot of miles when the wheels weren’t even turning! It ran great, but the fuel injectors tended to leak, and the hot gasoline fumes were blown from the engine into the passenger compartment by the heater. The fuel injection was controlled by a computer box inside one of the rear quarter panels, that had about fifty wires in a cable connected to it.
Always found the styling of these most interesting. Especially the front end. To me it looks like a “sectioned” Corvair, or a scaled-down BMW CSL with the grilles missing. I’ve seen very few on the road during my life. My personal VWs were a ’65 Beetle and a Type 3 “squareback”, so I’m well aware of the F.I. and computer issues on those. Yank box, get deposit and new box, old sealed box sent back to Deutschland. I’m a brute on these, and after 4 engine rebuilds between the 2, moved on to “sturdier” engined cars…
I would’ve installed a Subaru water-cooled boxer engine. I would’ve preferred it any day over the air-cooled engines that powered Volkswagen cars at the time.
I had one. It wouldn’t crank fast enough in Winter to start. No heat unless you used the auxiliary gasoline heater which got you down to 12 mpg.