... Mine, Yan's, The one at KK (if it's still there?) and the Rometsch and Heb in Ireland...

Anyone know of any others hidden away?

:roll:

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ERRR! Yes  6457.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

But then neither Hebmüllers or Karmann's are true coachbuilts... :wink:

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OK, other than Karmanns! :wink:
(Hebs and Karmanns are real Volkswagens!)

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Sorry Rob, which forum should I post Heb stuff in then?:wink:

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Yeah Rob
There's more than one pub that sells beer in the village 😃 😃 😃

:lol:

so do you disagree?

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The sub headiing on this forum includes Hebmuller, so you had better change it then Rob!

So, I'll re-phrase my original question just to keep the "coachbuilt police" happy:-

Does anyone know of any VW based coachbuilt cars in the UK?

There, is that better?




:roll:

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I agree to a certain degree.
The handbuilding for the bodywork of a Romy,D/S etc took far more skill and craftsmanship than "just cutting the roof off a beetle"as many think Hebmuller and Karmann did,if they had restored one of these cars they would realise, sooo untrue.
However we are talking about finishing a whole car,this is when the craftsmanship at Karmann shows.We are talking,for it's time, the finest hood on a convertable ever made,Period.
And any one looking at the history of Karmann and Hebmuller will see they have performed far more than just convert beetles.
They where/are up there amonst the finest of coachbuilders.
And through it all, one and only one, of the fifties coachbuilders have survived until today to tell it's story.So production in numbers saved this company.Did they sacrifice handbuilding quality for survival? Maybe.  6466.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

I got into the wonderful world of aircooled Volkswagens because I like beetles, not the other models, and in my eyes the ultimate beetle has to be the Hebmuller type 14a.

If Hebmüller had survived and flourished as Karmann did then I would still want a Hebmüller 2 seater convertible, but perhaps I could collect one from each decade! 😎

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What that man said.
I'm here because i love beetles owning a Karmann was a natural progression.And one day i will park a Heb next to her,it will happen.
Is a Rom a real volkswagen or are we talking kit car :lol: 😃 :lol:

KARMANN -- Coachbuilders or not ?  6469.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

I didn't raise the point in order to kick anyone out of this forum!! And anyone who knows me will tell you how much I like Heb's. I just think its an interesting point.

Gilles and I swapped emails on the subject a little while back and basically at that point we agreed - because Hebs & Karmann's were built on a production line from pressed panels then technically they weren't real coachbuilts. But after doing a little research now I'm not so sure. :?

It seems that the distinction between a car manufacturer and a coachbuilder is that the coachbuilders only manufacture the body not the rest of the car, its not related to the amount of hand-crafted components that go into the process. So, based on that logic then Hebs & Karmann's are coachbuilt cars. (welcome back everybody)

Now just to muddy the waters a little, there is a huge US manufacturer called Fisher Bodies. They're a coachbuilding company from the 1800's who moved into automotive bodies. They hooked up with GM and provided all the bodies for Chevrolet cars all through the 40's, 50's, 60's & 70's (not sure but they may still do). But nobody really thinks that a 55 Chevy is a coachbuilt car...

I suppose this is a bit off-topic really, but it certainly does change the numbers :!:

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SO ARE THERE ANY MORE COACHBUILT VWS IN THE UK ?????

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I've got a '65 Karmann :wink:

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That's not a coachbuilt.It's just a beetle with the roof cut off.
:lol: 😃 :lol:

Just like this then! :shock: :wink:  6476.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

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There is a great book I recommend on this subject which clarifies this subject.

The Illustrated Dictionary of Automotive Body Styles, written by Lennart Haajanen and Illustrated by Bertil Nyden with Forward by Karl Ludvigsen... and published in 2003 states:

"Coachwork 1: the design and process of manufacturing the external shell for a carriage or an automobile."

"Coachwork 2 : the external shell of a carriage or an automobile (usually custom built)"

other languages... Carrosserie, Karosserie, Carrozzeria.

By definition Hebs and Karmann's are all Coachbuilt cars... the question is whether they are Custom.

This book is fabulous for those of you interested in the minutia of the history of automotive styling terminology. There are almost three pages on the term Coach and it's derivatives alone.

Eric M.

PS... the truck in this photo is NOT a coachbuilt. However... it is a custom.
 6491.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

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This is a custom coachbuilt car... But because it's builder (bugatti) built the chassis, engine etc.... it was built by an "automotive manufacturer" rather than a coachbuilder.

Eric  6492.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

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This little car is also coachbuilt. It's body was made by a "coachbuilder" called Ruetter for an "automotive engineering firm" named Porsche.

Porsche later evolved into an "Automobile Manufacturer".

I know you are all bored to tears now... so I'll shutup.

Eric  6494.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

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