[T3] Fender Exchange

Jim Adney jadney at vwtype3.org
Mon Sep 24 19:51:47 PDT 2012


On 24 Sep 2012 at 0:00, Robert Rogers wrote:

> Well I´m having second thoughts about placing ´71 rear fenders on my
> ´69 Fastback.  The only reason I contemplated doing it was because the
> ´69 has vents that have been pop riveted to the fender. In talking to
> some, I discovered that there was an aftermarket replacement for the
> vents.  Apparently there was a need to reverse the directio? of the
> vents to face forward and thus ?apture additional air.?

VW changed the direction of the vents (starting ?) in order to reduce 
their propensity to pick up dirt. I'm sure they considered the effect 
this would have on air entry, and found it to be insignificant. 
Nevertheless, the few people who had engine failures, and there will 
always be a few, caused a ruckus and demanded a VW fix for the 
"defective" vents, so VW made those panels to reverse the vents.

The whole thing must have been a PR nightmare for VW, so I believe 
they went back to the forward facing vents after that.

It's really not anything that I pay any attention to. I've had both 
styles and never had an engine cooling problem that couldn't be 
traced to something else.

If you really want to fix it right, look for an unmolested pair of 
'68-9 fenders and put them on.

BTW, Russ once told us a story about a customer who kept blowing 
engines until they finally figured out that he had a great big air 
deflector that he mounted on the front of his Type 3 before he went 
on a long trip. That kind of thing really makes big changes to the 
airflow all around the car, including making the engine work harder 
to maintain highway speeds.


-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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