A number of readers, knowing my fetishes and sources of joy remarkably well, sent me this video to check out. It’s a video from the Exploring the Unbeaten Path YouTube channel, which features a lot of videos exploring places like abandoned military sites and ships and, in one especially interesting episode, the hangar where the dilapidated Soviet space shuttle Buran was left to rot. In this episode, though, they’re exploring a mine in Switzerland that is, improbably, filled with a metric (remember, it’s Europe) crapload of mostly ’70s (but some ’60s)-era Beetles, Mark I and II Golfs, and the occasional Polo, Passat, and New Beetle.
Volkswagens all, sitting there in the damp mine, getting slowly covered in mold, a strange colony of VWs in the darkness and dankness. It’s fascinating and strange, but there does seem to be a reason why all those VWs are down there. There’s also a sort of mystery under the decklid of one of those Beetles I need to show you, too. And some other weirdness!
The reason for why these VWs are down there seems to have been solved, though, so that’s good. The cars seemed to be owned by the proprietor of the Musée Volkswrecks, in St. Sulpice, Switzerland. These seem to be parts cars or cars that were deemed unfit for public viewing, based on whatever arcane and complex criteria the curator has. The museum (and bar, it seems) is described like this:
Museum of old VW air cooled cars. More than 125 vehicles to discover. Discover the magical world of the Volkswagen dating from 1950 to 1980 in more than 40 reproductions of sets. A design bar made of car parts and an alley of 60 beetles where visitors can sit behind the wheel and enjoy memories and discoveries for young and old.
That sounds pretty amazing to me! Next time I’m in Switzerland to get my chocolate watches repaired or my cheeses perforated, I’m going to be sure to check that out, because if it was any more up my alley, I’d be dragging my trash cans out into it.
Okay, you need to see this video already, so we can discuss:
Pretty amazing! I’m still not clear on what the logistics of getting them down in there was – were these driven in? Towed in? How did all that work? I guess there’s an entrance off a road? None of that part is clear.
I’m happy to leave that to be a mystery, but let’s look at the cars. The first one they encounter is this at least 1973 Super Beetle with a golden hood:
If I owned this Beetle, I’d name it Tycho Brahe, after the 16th-century Danish astronomer who had a golden nose, because he lost his OE nose in a duel over who was a better mathematician. He also died because he wouldn’t get up to pee, so, take a lesson, people. The condition of this Beetle is pretty representative of most of the cars down there: not much rust, but lots of mold and decay, and missing glass.
For a lot of the missing glass cars, I assume the glass was just used for other cars; what really baffled me was this car, which seemed to have its glass (or is that plexiglass?) really clumsily replaced by securing it in place with that spray-foam crap. Why? What’s going on here?
This other Super Beetle was pretty fun as well – someone had modified it to look a bit like a Hebmueller cabriolet, or, really, like a DIY version of the famous Stoll Coupe, a one-off Volkswagen with that very prominent bustle-back.
It’s actually pretty well executed, I think, at least the bodywork. The flame job I’m less sold on.
This is an interesting car, one very unusual in America: the second-gen Passat, in five-door hatchback form. I always liked these. It’s the big triangular-ish C-pillar window that makes it for me. There’s other good water-cooled VW stuff down there, too, like this well-preserved Kamei aftermarket catalog:
I like those colander-style wheels especially. And the quad-rectangular headlamp Golf looks surprisingly good!
This DIY Remus sport exhaust made of square-section tubing is also pretty funny. What are the little needles for there? To keep out nesting birds?
Okay, let’s get to the big mystery. It was under the engine lid of this 1302 Beetle:
It’s odd seeing the two-vent decklid (1970-1971) with the big “elephant’s foot” taillights (1973 and up) but you know how Beetles are, parts get mixed and matched all the time. Anyway, look under the hood:
So…what’s going on with that plastic jug? It sure as hell isn’t coolant – you’re breathing Beetle coolant right now. The hose doesn’t seem to lead to the fuel pump or fuel feed lines, but instead seems to disappear back into the lower part of the fan shroud. It’s not the crankcase breather, which is combined with the oil fill tube on a Beetle, and vents into the air cleaner, as pointed out in the picture.
So what the hell is that plastic tank doing? Could it be a fuel expansion canister? Those were usually up front in the trunk, near the gas tank. There was also another canister under the left rear fender, but I don’t think it’s that, either. What would it be filled with? The only liquids in an air-cooled VW engine are fuel and oil, and it doesn’t seem to be either of those.
Hmm, the oil cooler is in the fan shroud there – could it be plumbed into that? And if so why? And if so, why is that white plastic tank so relatively clean-looking?
What am I missing here? Someone help me make sense of this.
I think it’s just a classic “my fuel tank/pipes are dirty/rusty but I need to drive it a short distance” can, the hose COULD go behind the distributor to the lower inlet on the fuel pump.
It would of course look a lot more David Tracy with the optional broomstick, but this is just a simple Beetle, so simple solution fits well I think 🙂
Tycho Brahe also kept a pet moose, that was apparently an indoor moose that liked to get drunk. All went well despite the moose drinking like, well, a moose, until Tycho took his moose to a party at a friend’s castle, as one does, and the moose got totally plastered. Unfortunately the party animal found itself in an unfamiliar strange castle, got lost and fell down a flight of stairs. Between the alcohol and the injuries suffered the moose unfortunately died.
Many a time when I find myself drunk in a strange castle I tell myself “I’m glad I’m not a moose.”
Obligatory: A møøse once bit my sister.
We travel regularly to Ven Island, between Denmark and Sweden, for vacations (it’s great!), having been to his Observatory Museum many times, but have never heard THAT story before, so thanks (thumbs up emoji)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ven_(Sweden)
Is it an auto-stick and this is a makeshift ATF reservoir?
That’s just the spare air used to spray the washer fluid…or it’s horn or blinker fluid
Following up a comment about mold with the photo of that spray foam was *evil.*
For a lot of the missing glass cars, I assume the glass was just used for other cars; what really baffled me was this car, which seemed to have its glass (or is that plexiglass?) really clumsily replaced by securing it in place with that spray-foam crap. Why? What’s going on here?
I think it’s to keep water out. If that place is that humid I’d expect the voids left by the absence of the glass to fill with water otherwise.
Blinker fluid ?
I would have taken pictures of some VINs, try to track down the last owners, and ask questions.
This is what’s needed to crack this mystery! With that many cars a few should show up in some records.
After poking my brain with a sharp stick, the best it could offer is perhaps there is a fuel overflow connection on the carb in case the float gets stuck, and the poorly-installed plastic dealie is a petrol catch can.
Oh no! Its the cave of the beetles!
Pretty certain that’s absolutely an “auxiliary fuel tank” somebody rigged up because either the frunk-mounted stock tank or the steel lines are clogged with rust. It looks a little odd in the photo, but I think the fuel line is just routed back behind the distributor before making a loop in front of the coil and back down into the fuel pump. I wish there was a wackier answer, but I’ve seen (and performed) similar hackery several times with these cars.
Or perhaps once they’d got the car into the cave, they disconnected the hose and just shoved the bottle out of the way so they could close the engine cover and forgot about it.
Wrote the same thing, then scrolled down and read yours 😉
Jason, your mastery of English truly delights me. And that’s not a comment I’m pulling out ex recto.
I’m surprised David let you get away with the copy in the topshot!
I’m going to guess the spray foam and Plexiglass is because they needed the actual window glass for another car and decided the interior of the donor vehicle was in better than average condition and wanted to seal it up in case they needed some of those parts later
That bottle is a handle of vodka, with a hose running through the firewall, up the inner roof, and down the A pillar, where it is capped off with a Camelback style spout. With it nestled in the engine bay the creative driver can never be cited for an open container in the vehicle. This is known as the Russian Heater.
Not sure if joking or serious…
I think I know their eventual fate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctin21yrfcA
My completely unfounded theory is that they did drive the cars in, however this one had a severe oil leak coming out of the oil cooler, so that jug was filled with 2 liters of oil, exactly how much would leak out on the 1.3 mile (1.8km because Sweeden) trip from the secret entrance to the
batbeetle cave.RE: the bottle, possibly water injection? That was really huge in the 70’s, and featured in all kinds of magazines from hippy ones to Popular Mechanics.
Jason, we’re going to need you to go spelunking. Get down there and get hands-on with this for answers.
We’ll never get him back, you know that. He’d end up as VW Gollum.
“What has it got in its frunkseses?”
The tube goes up to the cabin so that you can pee into a jug separated from the passenger compartment and avoid poor Brahe’s fate. They had to scrap the idea once they realized that the physics of the contraption didn’t work in their favor. There’s likely a lot of urine up at the other end of the tube, but the container stayed clean.
It’s the Cave of Forgotten Dreams!
Now I can only read this in the voice of Werner Herzog: “A number of readers, knowing my fetishes and sources of joy remarkably well, sent me this…”
“…Nothing is real. Nothing is certain. It is hard to determine whether these creatures are dividing into their own doppelgangers and do they really meet or is it just their own imagining mirror reflection? Are we today the crocodiles who look back into the abyss of time when we see the air-cooled VWs?”
I finally found a suitable purpose for all that AI bullshit:
A service that reads anything you paste into it in the voice (and accent!) of Werner Herzog!
Dude. That’s the supercharger.
I think I found Torch’s vacation home.
Line the walls and ceiling with taillights for illumination and you’ll NEVER get him out!
Eventually his eyes will get big like Gollum and he won’t need the lights.
A battery is wired to a servo that rhythmically beats jug to imitate the sound of an operative engine.
Ah, you beat me to it.
COTCentury
I’d go Midas on the gold hood VW. BECAUSE everything he touched turned to gold and if he went to pee well breakdown. Goldmember.