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A life for the coati - Hilmar Walde and type 4

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Created on August 2, 2024

Text:

Thorsten Link

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Thorsten Link

39

Thorsten Link

39

VW 412 LS (1974) - the name "Nasenbär" is no coincidence

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VW 412 LS (1974) - Hilmar Walde in his favorite Type 4

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VW 412 LS (1974) - two 412s on the road

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VW 412 LS (1974) - Hilmar Walde in his favorite Type 4

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VW 412 LS (1974) - Hilmar Walde on the road

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VW 412 LS (1974) - on the road

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VW 412 LS (1974) - Hilmar Walde in his favorite Type 4

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VW 412 LS (1974) - Hilmar Walde in his favorite Type 4

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VW 412 LS (1974) - Hilmar Walde in his favorite Type 4

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VW 412 LS (1974) - Hilmar Walde in his favorite Type 4

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VW 412 LS (1974) - Hilmar Walde loves driving his Type 4

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VW 412 LS (1974) - in front of the Waldes workshop

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VW 412 LS (1974) - Walde explains the special features of this original car to Link

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VW 412 LS (1974) - the test report of the time shows the load volume

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Hilmar Walde and Thorsten Link in conversation in the workshop

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VW 411 (1971) - Hilmar Walde shows author Thorsten Link his Type 4 collection

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VW 411 (1971) - Hilmar Walde in his Type 4 collection

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A gearbox is being worked on here

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Working on an engine in Walde's workshop

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Own parts warehouse with spare parts collected from around 25 slaughter vehicles

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Own parts warehouse with collected spare parts

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Own parts warehouse with collected spare parts

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Memories on the photo wall

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Memories on the photo wall

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Memories on the photo wall

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Memories on the photo wall

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Memories - Skieferia with type 4

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Memories - test reports, brochures, private photos

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Memories - Walde dismantling a VW Type 4

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Memories - Walde at work in the engine compartment

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Of course, model cars are also part of the collection

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VW 411 (1971) - fire department command vehicles, available ex works at the time

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Also the small fire engine

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Walter Röhrl is apparently also a fan, he labeled the steering wheel Waldes

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VW 411 LE (1969) - part of the Hilmar Waldes collection

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VW 411 LE (1969) - the first car in the Walde collection

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VW 412 LS (1974) - type designation on the rear

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VW 412 LS (1974) - View of the engine

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VW 412 L (1974) - Advertising - a big snout at the front, a big mouth at the back

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Summary

The VW Type 4 has become rare, especially in this country. There are less than 200 of them left on Germany's roads. Fortunately, there are enthusiasts like Hilmar Walde who remain loyal to the four-door Volkswagen. And have done so for 40 years. Thorsten Link visited the collector and fan in his workshop.

This article contains the following chapters

Hardly to be found in Germany
Collecting for 40 years
Unorthodox
Practical design
Infected from childhood
Even back then, everything was at extra cost
Modern chassis and four doors
Victim of the paradigm shift
End as an engine donor
25 cars slaughtered
Fire department rarity
Growing stock

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

We meet Dr. Hilmar Walde in the back room of his garage, where he is in the process of getting a gearbox back on the road. The oil pan is leaking and the seal needs to be replaced. Walde has managed to get hold of a replacement with some difficulty in faraway America. VW Type 4 models are more common there than in his home country. Unfortunately, Walde complains, VW once deleted the big Volkswagen from the Group's memory and more or less stopped supplying spare parts as a result. Yet Volkswagen had big plans in the truest sense of the word for the Type 4 at the end of the 1960s. Unlike the Type 3, which was even more strongly oriented towards the Beetle in terms of design, the Type 4, despite all its stylistic restraint, was almost a genuine "new development", the foray into a completely new, higher class for VW and into a higher price segment. The crowning glory of the model range, so to speak.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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