1969 Volkswagen Type 3 Fastback 43K – SOLD!

May 4, 2023, Update – We confirmed the seller of this “Classifind” deleted their listing, so we can now call this one “SOLD!” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call us directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

April 13, 2023 Update – The seller lowered their asking price slightly from $14,500 to $13,800 only one week after first posting their Craigslist ad. With only 43K original miles, this VW Type 3 Fastback may be one of the few true unmolested survivors of its kind.

Despite featuring a number of air-cooled Volkswagen Type 3 Squarebacks for our Wagon Wednesday theme, to date we have never come across a much rarer fastback version worthy for us to highlight in another daily theme. Not only does this robin egg blue 1969 Volkswagen Type 3 Squareback spotted for sale on Craigslist in April 2023 in Port St. Lucie, Florida, make the cut with great pictures in the listing, but it’s a 43K-mile survivor with the only non-original item being the set of aftermarket wheels currently installed on the car.  If you ever knew what these cars looked like when new, this is one of the best-unmodified examples we’ve come across.

Last offered for $13,800 (the original ask was $14,500), Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the collector car market, confirms the ask is slightly below the one-year rolling average of this guide’s summary for Volkswagen Type 3s of all body styles produced between 1961 and 1973.  By clicking on the green dots in the graph below, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you evaluate the price of the truck featured here:

As a second data point, the  Collector Car Market Review Online Tool reveals the seller’s ask falls between this guide’s #2 Very Good” estimate of $10,200 and its #1 “Excellent” appraisal of $16,500.

Volkswagen (“VW”) launched their Type 3 line of compact cars for the 1961 model year and continued production through 1973. VW offered the Type 3 in three two-door body styles: Notchback, Fastback, and  Squareback.  The Type 3 diversified Volkswagen’s product range beyond the existing models – the Type 1 Beetle, Type 14 Karmann Ghia, as well as the Type 2 vans and pickups – while retaining Volkswagen’s hallmark engineering features: the air-cooled rear-engine, rear-wheel drive train, body-on chassis construction with a backbone chassis integrated into the car’s floorpan), as well as torsion bar front and rear suspension.

Despite using the Beetle’s 94-inch wheelbase, VW engineers conceived the Type 3 as a larger car, offering a bigger displacement engine and increased cargo and passenger volume — the latter from its increased length and width as well as from its slab-sided, Ponton styling, maximizing the platform’s footprint.

Despite launching the Type 3 five years earlier in the balance of the world, Volkswagen of America didn’t offer the Type 3 until 1966, but only in “Squareback” and “Fastback” configurations.  In the U.S., the Type 3 competed against the Chevrolet Corvair, which provided a 6-cylinder rear-mounted air-cooled engine in notchback and station wagon body style, as well as a compact van derived from the platform. It also competed in the US with the Renault 8, which also offered a rear engine and rear-drive sedan.

For the 1968 model year, 1969 in the US, a three-speed fully automatic transaxle became available, noted for extremely low internal friction. With the automatic came CV-jointed independent rear suspension (IRS), replacing the swing axle (also IRS) set-up. For 1969, the CV-jointed rear axle was standard with both automatic and manual transmissions.

The Periscope Films YouTube Channel features this vintage Volkswagen commercial featuring actor Dustin Hoffman pitching the advantages of VW’s Type 3 Fastback:

Not only is it a rare treat to find a 1969 Volkswagen Type 3 Fastback for sale, but it’s also even rarer to come across an unmodified, low-mileage survivor such as this example. With the only obvious modification being the aftermarket modern wheels shod with radial tires, the next caretaker can easily sort a set of factory wheels to really take the car back to stock condition.

If you are serious about buying this Volkswagen Fastback, you can start the conversation by contacting the seller using the information provided in their Craigslist ad.  When you connect, please remember to mention you saw their Type 3 survivor featured here on GuysWithRides.com. Good luck with the purchase!

Here’s the seller’s description:

Show or go: What would you do with this 1969 Volkswagen Type 3 Fastback survivor for sale?  Please comment below and let us know!